An Early History of Fire
Opening Night: April 23, 2012
Closing: May 26, 2012
Theater: Acorn Theatre
An Early History of Fire is set in a small Midwestern town at the tipping point of the early 1960s. A few years out of high school, Danny finds his days defined by friendship and loyalty – but a confusing new world encroaches in the form of Karen, back from college in the East, alluring and unsettling because of all she has learned. A-whirl in longing and eyeing a chance for radical change, Danny struggles against the grip of his immigrant father, who clings to his only son while mourning a vanished world of lost prestige. Poignant in its portrayal of the loss of America’s innocence, this world premiere marks David Rabe’s return to The New Group, following the company’s acclaimed 2005 revival of Hurlyburly.
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May 1, 2012
The young, hard-partying and almost innocent characters in “An Early History of Fire,” the new play that opened on Monday night at the Acorn Theater, may seem like amateurs in the dark arts of self-immolation, especially compared with other tortured characters conceived by their creator, David Rabe. But give them a break. It’s only 1962, and they’re still in their early 20s.
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