Two of his most popular plays are "Love Letters" and "The Dining Room," both of which have been performed recently in the area.

Lake Country Players has wisely chosen the latter drama as its season opener. With its clever script, its smooth direction and its talented cast, a visit to "The Dining Room" is one you won't regret.

The play is divided into 18 vignettes that all occur in a beautifully appointed dining room. Each scene flows into the other seamlessly, and six actors play multiple roles.

The mini-plots revolve around the members of several affluent families, but maids, relatives, friends, a realtor, an architect, a carpenter, and a psychiatrist also intrude upon the scene. The quick costume and character changes are impressively executed.

The play covers a span of years, roughly from the 1930s to the 1970s, where we witness a change in values and attitudes regarding family.

The dining room itself has almost become an anachronism; sitting down with the whole family in the dining room for a formal meal, a faded memory.

Houses are now often built with "eating areas," likely around a counter with stools for a quick bite of fast food ordered in and zapped in the microwave or sometimes around a TV screen, which becomes the focus of attention. Conversation may be becoming a lost art, and this play was written even before a plethora of electronics began to replace face-to-face communication.

Along the way, the playwright also pokes fun at the rituals and customs the affluent deemed important - how to wear your napkin, which fork to use, which china to buy. The "all-about-manners" approach was often a superficial cover for some family dysfunction beneath the surface. A show of manners without compassion and mutual respect can often be quite hollow.

Several of the many entertaining scenes include one between two teenage girls as they discuss the different lifestyles of their respective homes while experimenting with a strange mix of alcohol, and a scene between a grandfather and his grandson as the latter begs for college money and he has to endure the classic "when I was young" speech.

Bob Hurd is especially hilarious in his portrayal of the photographer in his scene with Roseann Fasi as the ultimate socialite, and in the scene where he is the faithful brother out to defend his sib's honor. Melissa Freeson and Carl Liden do a great job of crawling around under the table assessing its failing structure.

Several of the most poignant scenes are those between the aging father and his eldest son, as the father describes his funeral wishes (Jeff Davis and Carl Liden), the scene between the daughter and her father (Liden and Becky Schilling) as she returns home with three children after a failed marriage, and the portrayal of the nanny and her charge as she reveals that she is leaving their family (Becky Schilling and Carl Liden). Melissa Freeson shines in her scene as the unfaithful wife and also in the final scene as she hosts the perfect dinner party.

What is amazing about this cast is how flexible they are in portraying diverse roles, each with credibility. Director Sharon Jahneke deserves a lot of credit for bringing out the best in each of them.

So as we are being entertained, we are also assessing the whole concept of family. And in the present time frame, when the phrase "family values" (without being defined) is being used as a political weapon, it might be good for each of us to clearly evaluate and delineate what we want and expect from our own.

Though the play was written 30 years ago, it still has a lot to say to us.