'Never Sang' deals with father-son relationship
By Maya Cantu, contributing writer
Posted on April 20, 2006

Few situations — in life and in drama — can be more wrenching than the imminent death of a parent.  The son or daughter faces deep sadness, regret and the inevitable tussles with the ghosts of the past.

Robert Anderson’s 1968 play “I Never Sang for My Father” explores a man’s powerfully complex emotions towards his demanding dad. Stratford Players’ staging, however, resembles a baritone who hits most of the right notes, but not always with the proper amount of passion.

In the play, widower Gene (played by freshman Lash Dooley) visits his parents whom are aged and ailing. Tom (played by senior Zach Livingston), once a self-made success as a businessman, has lived his life tightly budgeting his emotions toward Gene and toward his wife Margaret (played by sophomore Julia Henry), with whom Gene is close. After Margaret dies, Gene — whose desire for his father’s approval and love is as strong as his resentment — is torn between two choices: he can either leave for California to pursue his own happiness with his girlfriend or stay behind to take care of his rigid, irascible father.

The play belongs to the dysfunctional family drama genre. There are the expected scenes of tear-stained anger and accusation. “I Never Sang for My Father” has some stunning passages of dialogue, but it often carries a strong whiff of melodrama.  The play, then, can either be approached with subtlety or with full-throttle emotional rawness.

Directed with an able, if somewhat unimaginative, hand by senior Kevin Branson, the production aims at heavy-duty emotional power, but some of the performances fail to ignite.  Senior Ali Cheff comes the closest as she blasts fire and pain at the audience as the jaded Alice, the disowned daughter of Gene.

Other performances are admirable, if not as emotionally engaging. You would have to sit fairly close to the stage not to be convinced by Henry’s physical embodiment of the frail, loving Margaret (kudos to the eight-person makeup team).  Livingston is too vigorous as Tom, seeing that for a sick man, he might be up for a few rounds of golf.  Yet the actor nicely conveys the blend of repression and sarcastic humor in his character whose past problems with his own father have affected his parenting skills.

The scenes in “I Never Sang for My Father” occur in flashbacks, so senior Rick Gerriet’s minimalist set makes sense. Sophomore Jared Singer’s lighting design is decent, but could be even more attuned to the mood changes of the play. 

There’s not much wrong with Stratford’s production of the play. It is a strong play with some standout performances, but falls short of greatness.