Period of Adjustment-A Christmas Eve Marital Comedy

The Cast of Period of Adjustment

To celebrate the 100 year anniversary of one of our greatest playwrights, the San Francisco Playhouse presents a rarity, a Christmas comedy by Tennessee Williams.  

Set on Christmas eve, Period of Adjustment tells the gentle, lighthearted story of two couples, one newly wed and the other married five years, both experiencing pains and difficulties in their relationships. The two male characters are veterans of the Korean War. The younger of the two experiences post-traumatic stress (shell-shock, battle fatigue, combat stress reaction), while the older man suffers from feelings of inadequacy toward his wife, the daughter of his boss.  However, the observance of each other's troubles brings both couples to realize what they have and to reconcile their own relationships.  

It is 1958 and a young couple, George (Patrick Aparone) and Isabel Haverstick (MacKenzie Meehan) have just gotten married the day before.  After the ceremony, the newlyweds drive cross-country in George's '52 hearse and he discloses to his bride that he has quit his job.  George impulsively decides to visit his older, Korean War buddy, Ralph Bates (Johnny Moreno), in High Point, Tennessee.  Unbeknown to George, Ralph has also resigned his position and as a consequence, his wife of five years, Dorothea (Maggie Mason) has just left him and taken their young son along with her to stay at her parents (Jean Forsman and Joe Madero).  As befits a comedy, all ends well with both couples headed for a happily ever after.  This is a pitch perfect ensemble who hit all the right notes!

Period of Adjustment runs through January 14 at San Francisco Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street, San Francisco.  For tickets, call 415-677-9596 or visit www.sfplayhouse.org.

Their next production will be Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw, directed by Amy Glazer opening January 28, 2012.

Flora Lynn Isaacson