The Cocktail Hour January 18, 2008

'The Cocktail Hour' by A. R. Gurney is set in upstate New York in the mid-1970s. It centers on John, a playwright who returns home seeking his family's permission to produce a new play he has written about them. His upper-crust parents have their reservations, as does his self-centered sister who is mostly concerned with being relegated to a minor role. Their confrontation takes place during the ritual of the cocktail hour, when revelations and recriminations flow as readily as the martinis.