THE STORY: As gentle and warm as the spring night in which it takes place, is a mosaic of conversations and encounters that occur during a party at the home of a well-to-do family in Harrison, Texas in 1914. The Vaughns are substantial, God-fearing folk who expect their children to accept their standards, which sometimes seem unreasonable and oppressive to their lovely, romantically inclined daughter, Elizabeth. Secretly engaged to the rather rakish Horace Robedaux, Elizabeth announces her determination to break free, despite her parents’ objections, and as she and her sister gossip about the others present, it is soon apparent that their elders are not always their betters and that the previous generation is often guilty of the very sins against which they warn their offspring. But, as the play ends, Elizabeth, while still restless, is not yet quite bold enough to really defy her parents—and to challenge the powerful but reassuring restraints that the times and a way of life have bequeathed to her and her contemporaries.
Part of the nine-play cycle,
The Orphans’ Home, which chronicles the fortunes of the Robedaux family of Harrison, Texas, in the 1900s.
This affecting, warmly nostalgic play illuminates the plight of a young Texas belle eager to break free from the restraints imposed by her strait-laced family.
“…a nostalgic story of a girl’s growing up in a repressive family environment…written with a sure touch…” —The New York Times.
“…a gossamer portrait of tremendous young lust set on the porch of a nicely appointed home in 1914 Harrison, Texas.” —Louisville News-American.
