The Rehearsal [Paperback]

Sarah Willis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2003

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...

Editorial Reviews

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.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (January 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425188302
• ISBN-13: 978-0425188309
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,565,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting prism, January 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rehearsal (Hardcover)

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!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Theater as Life/Life as Theater, November 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rehearsal (Hardcover)

The find of the year! Engrossing and poignant. I love the way each character gets a say--or a "role"--in the action. Willis does a great job of representing each viewpoint. The characters "live" their roles in the play Of Mice and Men, and they play out their lives on life's stage. Willis writes so well, and so wisely. Highly recommended for lovers of the theater...AND of good novels.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life imitating art..., October 25, 2001

By 

Laume "a million shades of green" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rehearsal (Hardcover)

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.