Synopsis
Dream of a Common Language
Published by Samuel French Inc
3 Male 3 Female
This intriguing work was inspired by an actual incident - women were banned from the artists' dinner to plan the first Impressionist painting exhibit in 1874, even though works by women were to be shown
In the play, the dinner is at the home of Victor, a successful artist, and Clovis, an artist who no longer paints
After helping with the preparations and being excluded from the dining room, Clovis devises a "women only" dinner to be held outdoors
"Ends with a re-creation of Manet's "Picnic on the Grass.' Here, however, it is a man rather than a woman who is nude. This is the kind of point McDonald makes well" ~ N.Y. Daily News
"Well written ... and its message is as unobtrusive as it is insistent.... McDonald shows her own linguistic ability in the not too common language of art history" ~ N.Y. Post