Synopses & Reviews
An engaging new novel about love, on-stage and offIn the spring of 1971, Will Bartlett, an ambitious director at a small resident theatre, has an idea: he will invite his cast of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men to his country farm for a month, giving them the opportunity of "becoming" their characters, and enhancing the realistic atmosphere of his next production. Will's family grudgingly agrees to his sudden change of plan, but events and personalities rapidly spiral out of his control. The cast of nine men and one woman is already unevenly balanced, but the situation is made even worse when Melinda--the woman playing the part of Curley's Wife--fails to turn up at the farm as expected. Will's wife, Myra, takes the role, although she has not been on stage since their daughter, Beth, was born. Sixteen-year-old Beth is furious, having already decided that the part should be hers. When the self-obsessed Will remains oblivious to the problems between Myra and Beth, as well as the increasing distance between himself and his wife, Myra finds herself looking at her husband's best friend in a new light. The tension grows between members of Will's family, and the other actors find themselves drawn into a complex tangle of relationships, leading them to question not only how well they know each other, but also how well they know themselves.
Synopsis
Sarah Willis presents "an engaging drama about an egomaniacal director who has become dangerously out of touch with his family"*...The farm house near Chautauqua Lake is where theater director Will Bartlett and his family spend their summers. But the summer of 1971 is different. Will's entire troupe of actors is also descending on the house, for a month-long, round-the-clock rehearsal of Of Mice and Men. For Will, this is a great communal experiment, an artistic adrenaline rush. For his wife Myra, it's an overflowing sink, an organizational nightmare-and, maybe, a chance to resurrect her abandoned stage career. For their 16-year-old daughter, it's the opportunity of a lifetime-not just to steal the lead (and only) female role in the play from her mother, but to make her move on a handsome actor. And for the youngest Bartlett, Mac, it's pretty much summer as usual-dodging spiders, catching crayfish-until everyone else's plans start to fall apart, with results that walk a thin line between comedy and tragedy...
About the Author
Sarah Willis lives with her two children.