DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, THE

by Inge, William

William Inge’s look at small town life in the 1920’s is set in the house of Rubin Flood and his family. A travelling salesman, he lives with his wife Cora, their teenage daughter Reenie and young boy Sonny. As the play progresses, the trials and tribulations of each emerge in a mosaic portrait of a family whose secret hopes and fears are bubbling just below the surface. Soon others are taken into the story as well, from Cora’s sister Lottie and her husband Morris to Reenie’s friends Flirt, Punky and Sammy, with far-ranging effects on the entire community. At the end it has become apparent that while there is dark at the top of everyone’s stairs, through love and understanding it can be overcome and a better world can be made.