''Painting Churches'' is a play written by

Tina Howe Tina Howe (born November 21, 1937) is an American playwright. In a career that spans more than four decades, Howe's best-known works include ''Museum'', '' The Art of Dining'', '' Painting Churches'', ''Coastal Disturbances'', and ''Pride's Crossi ...

, first produced Off-Broadway in 1983. It was a finalist for the 1982

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

. The play concerns the relationship between an artist daughter and her aging parents.

Background

The play grew from Howe's particular and enduring experience of art. Howe said: "Now... I'm enthralled with the French Impressionists."Brenson, Michael
"Art Given A Role In Tina Howe's Play"
''The New York Times'', February 18, 1983 One theme of the play is an artist's coming of age. Howe: "How does a child get his parents to accept him not as a child, but as an artist?... There is an odyssey every child has to face in order to find his legs in his own household... The play is also about the departure of a vanishing breed..."

Plot

In a townhouse in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, an elderly couple, Fanny (in her 60s) and Gardner (in his 70s) Church, are packing. They are moving to a beach home on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. Gardner is a poet and Fanny is from a "fine old family." Their daughter Margaret (Mags), an artist who lives in New York, has arrived to help them pack and paint their portrait. Over the course of several days, Mags sees her role in the parent-child relationship changing. Gardner is having memory problems and has become frail, and in his frustration, recites the poetry of

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

and Robert Frost, among others. Mags finishes the portrait of her parents, in the style of

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

. Her parents are able to see her talent, and enjoy being in a "Renoir" party as they dance a waltz.

Production history

''Painting Churches'', produced by

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...

, premiered Off-Broadway on February 8, 1983 (previewing from January 25, 1983) at the South Street Theatre, closing on February 27, after 30 performances. The play transferred to the

Lamb's Theatre Lamb's Theatre was an Off-Broadway theater located at 130 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City inside the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, near Times Square in New York City. It seated approximately 350 and specialized in musical productio ...

where it ran from November 22, 1983 through May 20, 1984, playing 206 performances. The production was directed by Carole Rothman, set design by

Heidi Landesman Heidi Ettinger, also known by her former married name Heidi Landesman, is an American theatre producer and set designer. She studied at Occidental College and the Yale School of Drama. She was the first woman to win a Tony Award for set design, wh ...

, costumes by Linda Fisher, and lighting by Frances Aronson. The show featured

Donald Moffat Donald Moffat (26 December 1930 – 20 December 2018) was a British–American actor with a decades-long career in film and stage in the United States. He began his acting career on- and off-Broadway, which included appearances in ''The Wild D ...

as Gardner Church (at South Street Theatre) and George Martin in the same role (at Lamb's Theatre),

Frances Conroy Frances Hardman Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth Fisher on the television series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005), for which she won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and received four Prime ...

as Margaret Church (at South Street Theatre) and then

Elizabeth McGovern Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress and musician. She has received many awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination. Born in Evanston, Ill ...

(in the same role) (at Lamb's Theatre), and

Marian Seldes Marian Hall Seldes (August 23, 1928 – October 6, 2014) was an American actress. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for '' A Delicate Balance'' in 1967, and received subsequent nomination ...

as Fanny Church (in both productions). The play was revived Off-Broadway by the Keen Company at Clurman Theatre in 2012, starring

Kathleen Chalfant Kathleen Ann Chalfant (née Bishop; born January 14, 1945) is an American actress. She has appeared in many stage plays, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, as well as making guest appearances on television series, including the '' Law & Order'' ...

(Fanny), John Cunningham (Gardner) and Kate Turnbull (Mags). The play was filmed for the public television series "American Playhouse" and broadcast in 1986. The cast featured

Sada Thompson Sada Carolyn Thompson (September 27, 1927 – May 4, 2011) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to television audiences as Kate Lawrence in '' Family'' (1976-1980). Life and career She was born Sada Carolyn Thomps ...

, Donald Moffat, and

Roxanne Hart Roxanne Hart (born July 27, 1952) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Brenda Wyatt in the 1986 film ''Highlander'', and as Nurse Camille Shutt on the CBS medical drama series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–1998). Hart has also received ...

. It was remade for television in 1993 by

Turner Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...

as ''The Portrait'', starring Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, and

Cecilia Peck Cecilia Peck (born May 1, 1958) is an American film producer, director and actress. She is the only daughter of actor Gregory Peck and his second wife Veronique Passani. Career As an actress, Peck was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for '' ...

. In regional theatre, the play was presented at the Hartman Theatre, Stamford, Connecticut in June 1986, starring Kim Hunter, George Hamlin and Lizbeth Mackay.Klein, Alvin
"Howe's 'Painting Churches' in Hartman Production"
"New York Times", June 8, 1986, p. CN33

Critical response

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is curren ...

wrote in his review of the 1983 original production in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'': " 'Painting Churches,' which opens the Second Stage's season at its temporary new home on Theater Row, is in the dreamiest impressionistic spirit. It remakes reality with delicate, well-chosen brush strokes, finding beauty and truth in the abstract dance of light on a familiar landscape... It's a high compliment to Miss Howe... that the old bones of her material rarely peek through her writing's high, lacy gloss." The ''Variety'' reviewer wrote of the 2012 revival: "Howe has written poignant solo moments for each of her fondly observed characters... 'Painting Churches' is still a stunner, a group portrait painted in a soft, impressionistic style. But the shimmering lights of this visual poem have been dimmed in this too-too production — too solid, too specific, too literal, too loud, and too bright." The reviewer for the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote of the television film that there were "knockout performances by Sada Thompson and Donald Moffat". He praised the production: "Then there is the captivating rhythm established by writer Tina Howe and director Jack O'Brien, who skillfully wend their way in and out of various moods without signaling where they're going next."Margulies, Lee. "TV Reviews : A Wealth Of Quality Drama Tonight", ''Los Angeles Times'', May 19, 1986 Alvin Klein, reviewing the 1986 Hartman Theatre production for ''The New York Times'' wrote: "As the curtain falls...Fanny and Gardner Church, an elderly couple, begin a life-affirming waltz... the playwright's lyric and literate words and genuine feeling have peered through a pedestian production."

Awards and nominations

; Obie Award 1983 *Performance - Donald Moffat (winner) *Design - Heidi Landesman (winner) ; Outer Critics Circle Award 1984 *Best Off-Broadway Play (winner) *Best Actress - Marian Seldes (winner) *John Glassner Award - Tina Howe (winner) ;1984

(finalist)

References

{{Reflist
Google books, "Painting Churches", Published by Samuel French, Inc., 1984

External links

Lortel Archives, Internet Off-Broadway Database listing, "Painting Churches", McGinn-Cazale TheatreLortel Archives, Internet Off-Broadway Database listing, "Painting Churches", Lamb's TheatreInternet Movie Database listing for telefilm, 1986
1983 plays Plays by Tina Howe Off-Broadway plays Boston in fiction Plays set in Massachusetts