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The Rehearsal, by Sarah Willis
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An engaging new novel about love, on-stage and off
In 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.
- Sales Rank: #4828158 in Books
- Published on: 2001-10-03
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.03" h x 6.70" w x 8.64" l, 1.20 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 272 pages
- Sarah Willis
- fiction
- drama
From Publishers Weekly
In Willis's second novel (after Some Things That Stay), theater director Will Bartlett has invited the actors in his resident theater company to his family's small upstate New York farm, before the opening of their summer production of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. It's 1971, resident companies are struggling financially and the theater is changing artistically under the influence of new ideas like Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty. In his late 50s, Will is not avant-garde enough for nude rehearsals, but he does want to try something new. So he asks his cast to "live" their characters while offstage as well as on. The pressures created by this effort, together with the strains imposed by communal life in a small house and decrepit barn, exacerbate problems in the Bartlett family. Will's wife, Myra, a musical comedy actress who retired after a severe bout of stage fright that followed marriage and motherhood, is reexamining her life, while his daughter, Beth, is maneuvering to get her first role. The addition of the sexual and professional tensions that inevitably plague actors adds fuel to the fire. The present-tense narrative creates a sense of urgency, but the potentially combustible ingredients don't come together to create an explosion; the few sparks struck ultimately fizzle. Although dramatically unsatisfying, this is true to life, as are the portrayals of Will and the various members of his personal and professional families, especially the angry and confused 16-year old Beth.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Director Will Bartlett, 60 and irresistibly charismatic, has a great idea. He invites his small Pittsburgh theater company to spend a month at his country place near Lake Chautauqua, where the troupe is scheduled to perform Of Mice and Men later in the summer. The members will immerse themselves in the characters they play, actually becoming them while rehearsing and living on the farm. Unfortunately, Will's family is less than thrilled. The much younger Myra, a thwarted actress, is falling out of love with her oblivious husband and into love with his best friend, Ben, who plays Lenny. The Bartletts' hormonally furious 16-year-old daughter, Beth, is planning to poison her mother. Eight-year-old Mac, sweet, overlooked, and fearful of mostly everything, seeks non-Bartlett nurturing. The actors get into the adventure until the Bartlett family starts seriously unraveling, hurtling everyone toward disaster. Willis, author of the award-winning Some Things That Stay, has nailed the various quirks of the acting world quirks that mightily exacerbate the relationship insecurities of people who spend a great deal of time pretending to be what they are not. A brief refresher of the Steinbeck masterpiece will add to the pleasure of Willis's offbeat tale. Recommended for most public libraries. Beth E. Andersen, Ann Arbor District Lib., MI
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Throw a dying theater company, a handful of volatile actors, a brilliant director, a failing marriage, a troubled family, and a Steinbeck play onto a rural farm in the early 1970s, and you have an interesting story. Will is the director, who invites his theater company, facing possible breakup, to spend a month on his family farm, where his wife and children live during the summer. He intends for them to live out the roles of the play they are scheduled to perform later that summer, which is Of Mice and Men. Skeptical, they arrive on the scene to discover that Will's wife and family are not enthusiastic about their visit. Will's wife, who longs to act once again, begins to find comfort in his best friend. Will's daughter, an often chemically enhanced 17-year-old ball of hormones, also has acting aspirations. Will's tragic flaws bring his ideas and relationships crashing down on him, but his hubris brings redemption as well. Willis creates a good story imbued with a great deal of pathos. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
An interesting prism
By A Customer
I found this second book by Sarah Willis to be a good read, in large part because of its original approach. Willis puts the rehearsal for "Of Mice and Men" center stage; we learn about the troubled family members as they walk into scene, work backstage or look on as spectator.
As if we were looking through a kaleidoscope, we see the characters develop, discontinue, or renew relationships with each other in subtle shifts; the novel benefits from this multi-layered texture. Willis also demonstrates her skill as an author by maintaining a deliberate pace throughout these shifts. Certainly the stakes become more and more intense, and as a reader, you can't help but think ahead to the final scene, but in this book the conclusion is not one you can predict.
From the start, it is apparent to the reader how Will's role as director eclipses his role as husband and father. How much he has ignored his family becomes starkly evident in the climax of the book, but as the cast rehearses there are plenty of other surprises along the way.
My only criticism would be in regard to the character of Beth, the bratty teenage daughter. In an otherwise rich ensemble of characters, this painfully screechy character is the only discordant note. I realize her character functions as a catalyst, but I would have preferred it if she had been less hysterical. I was a sixteen year old girl once; we're not that bad!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Life imitating art...
By Laume
Sarah Willis' "The Rehearsal" had great expectations to live up to. Not only did this book capture the magic her first novel "Some Things That Stay" had, but it exceeded my expectations.
The Rehearsal is about Will, the director of a Pittsburgh theatre company. He has heard rumors that they might not ask the company to return after this season since it is the early 70's and broadway and New York actors are all the rage. Determined to save his company he invites the cast of his latest play "Of Mice And Men" to his summer home where he and his family go each summer. The idea is to live the play. To sleep like the ranch hands in the play who sleep in barns, the point is to do everything in character. Will and his wife, Myra and their two children live along side these actors for a month. The story is about all of these lives that become entwined and how things change, why they change and sometimes why they stay the same.
Sarah Willis has the most beautiful prose, both of her books have quickly become favorites of mine. Her words flow on the page like poetry, with the most incredible metaphors and ways of looking and describing things. I would not hesitate to recommend either book to anyone, they do not disappoint.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
When Theater becomes Life, Life becomes Theater!
By Michael Meredith
Will Bartlett, the director of a small resident company of actors in the 1970's, senses that their work has become a bit complacent, making their company vulnerable to closing in favor of more popular (and "safe") touring productions. His solution is to bring the entire cast to his rural summer home, so that they might "live" the production of Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", thus uncovering new depth to their roles that will energize the audience and the company's benefactors. Unfortunately, he has failed to notice the complacency and stagnation within his own family. The result of this exercise in creativity is a mixture of chaos and pathos as various members of Will's theatrical and home families jockey and learn more about themselves, their friends and rivals.
Will's wife Myra and daughter Beth discover a mutual yearning for the role of Curley's Wife, that threatens to send their already robust mother/daughter rivalry over the edge. Meanwhile, Melinda the flower child actress embraces the role along with a castmate. Meanwhile, the motley collection of actors discover that living the lives of farm workers is much more difficult than recreating them on stage.
The near-communal living conditions stretch hormones as well, as Beth plots her seduction of the hunky young heartthrob, Myra looks to re-energize her life with Will's best friend, and a closeted gay man discovers a potential soul mate. Throughout the week, Will the director focuses so tightly on his concept of the play that he is completely blind to the shifting relationships offstage. The events of man and nature bring the ensemble to a collection of resolutions that range from poignant to worrisome.
With a third person literary style that constantly shifts from character to character, Ms. Willis has created a nice novel that somehow left me wanting more. The players are all vividly portrayed, however I can't help but wish that events could have moved just a little faster than a snail's pace.
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