Front Room

A new play by Richard Kalinoski

Synopsis

Sandra is a middle-aged theatre professor and director. Sandra has developed a reputation as a remarkably skilled and insightful theatre practitioner. When a veteran of the Iraq war auditions for her upcoming production of The Glass Menagerie, Sandra's banal and predictable personal life is given a nudge toward new meaning and vitality.

Sandra's elderly, widowed mother, Abby, is a desperate hoarder, as well as a force of nature. When a new and complicated romantic relationship begins for Sandra, Abby's obsessions throw mother and daughter into a passionate battle for control, self- determination and a glimmer of happiness.

Cast Details

3 women and 1 man

Production History:

American Premiere, Pablo Center at the Confluence, Eau Claire, WI, July - August 2026
World Premiere, Teatri Dodona, Prishtina, Kosovo, 2023.
Read publicly at Next Act Theatre, Milwaukee, 2013
Read publicly at In Tandem Theatre, Milwaukee 2012
Public reading at Eastern University on September 23, 2011
Provost’s Fellowship at Eastern University, PA, 10 day workshop with two readings in July, 2011

Debra Hoffman

Retired associate professor of nursing, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire

“The stage set visually and showed the daughter’s challenges — not only emotionally, but physically, the hurdles she faced in her relationship with her mother… What struck me the most is that it was a love story on many levels: love of one’s work, romantic love manifesting between Tyler and Sandra, and mother/daughter love in all its complexity.”

Richard Conlon

Chicago Dramatists Alumnus

“Quite the devastating and haunting piece… I was drawn into Sandra’s and Abby’s world right from the start — such interesting characters with so much going on in their lives, and both so relatable. Loved the parallels with Menagerie and the juxtaposition of the theatrical process with real life. The ending was quite powerful — riveting, in fact.”

Andrea Uppling

Actress who played Sandra

“My observation of Richard Kalinoski’s plays is that he writes a sort of love letter to the people in his world through the attention he pays to their intricacies.”