What Did You Expect?
Back in the kitchen of the Gabriel family, the country is now in the midst of the general election for President. In the course of one evening in the house they grew up in, history (both theirs and our country's), money, politics, family, art and culture are chopped up and mixed together, while a meal is made around the kitchen table.
Richard Nelson
Richard Nelson
Casts & Crew
Meg Gibson
Lynn Hawley
Roberta Maxwell
Maryann Plunkett
Jay O. Sanders
Amy Warren
Also Directed by Richard Nelson
The fourth and final play in this captivating series, Regular Singing, opened on November 22, 2013 – the 50th Anniversary of JFK's assassination that shocked the world.
Eight months after we first meet the Gabriels, Patricia, the family matriarch, joins her children and daughters-in-law as they prepare a meal from the past and consider the future of their country, town and home. Paying tribute to the difficult year behind them, the Gabriels compare notes on the search for empathy and authenticity at a time when the game seems rigged and the rules are forever changing.
Set on election day, November 2, 2010. Uncle Benjamin’s dog has died, and his nieces and nephew have gathered for dinner in Rhinebeck, New York, to surprise him with a new one. While the polls close, the Apple Family discusses memory, manners, and politics.
In the midst of our unsettled world, the Apple Family, last seen in 2014, return, though not over the dinner table, but via Zoom. This hour-long play picks up with them during their now suspended and quarantined lives. They talk about grocery shopping, friends lost, new ventures on a hoped-for horizon—all at a time when human conversation (and theater) may be more needed than ever before.
The Apple Family finds themselves together again for the first time since Election Night, 2010. Marian, reeling from a personal tragedy, now lives with her sister Barbara; sister Jane is back with her boyfriend Tim; their brother Richard has come up from Manhattan; and Uncle Benjamin prepares for his first dramatic performance in years. Over Sunday brunch on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the Apples find themselves talking about loss, memory, remembrance, and the meaning of compensation.
A year after Sweet and Sad, the Apple Family again share a meal in Rhinebeck, as they sort through personal and political feelings of loss and confusion on the morning of the day the country will choose the next president. Like the first two plays in this trilogy, Sweet and Sad and That Hopey Changey Thing, Sorry opens on the day that it is set, November 6, 2012: Election Day.
The Apple Family reunites to discuss recent events during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The final installment of "The Apple Family: Life on Zoom" trilogy, featuring Lucy Michael of "The Michaels."
Hungry is the first in a three-play cycle introducing us to the Gabriels of Rhinebeck, New York. These three plays unfold in real time and track the lives of the Gabriels throughout the coming presidential election year. To the rhythm of peeling, chopping and mixing, Hungry places us in the center of the Gabriel’s kitchen. The family discusses their lives and disappointments, and the world at large and nearby. As they struggle against the fear of being left behind, the family attempts to find resilience in the face of loss.
Vanya and his niece Sonya struggle to care for the estate owned by Vanya’s brother-in-law Alexánder, a wealthy professor. When he returns with a beautiful new wife and plans to sell the estate, hidden passions explode and lives come undone.