A Cultivated Friendship
A Staged Reading with playwrights John Dennis Anderson and Karen Vuranch
Free admission; donations appreciated!
In 1930s Paris, American novelists Edith Wharton and Louis Bromfield were unlikely friends. She was 34 years his senior, he was a Midwestern farmer, and both were vocal about their conflicting political views. Even so, the two expatriates formed an intimate bond that transcended differences. Both loved gardening, travel, writing, and renovating historic homes—fodder for years of correspondence that playwrights John Dennis Anderson and Karen Vuranch have adapted into A Cultivated Friendship, a play interweaving truth and fiction based on Wharton and Bromfield’s distinctive rapport.
Learn more…
Read more about Edith Wharton and Louis Bromfield’s relationship in letters on the The Mount Blog .
Read the Blog >>
Playwrights / Performers…
John Dennis Anderson, a native Texan living on Cape Cod, is a performance studies scholar and Professor Emeritus in the Dept. of Communication Studies at Emerson College, where he taught for 27 years. He presents interactive solo performances as writers Henry James, William Faulkner, Washington Irving, Robert Frost, Ernest Hemingway, and others as well as Louis Bromfield. His plays Isherwood, A Cultivated Friendship, and Beston have been given readings on the Truro Playwright Collective reading series. He teaches classes for the Open University of Wellfleet and a trustee of the Helltown Players. His website is jdanderson.org.
Karen Vuranch has been a professional actor for over 30 years and has toured nationally and internationally with Coal Camp Memories, a storytelling drama written from oral histories. Karen also recreates historical figures including author Pearl Buck, labor organizer Mother Jones, humanitarian Clara Barton, Irish pirate Grace O’Malley, chef Julia Child, adventurer Gertrude Bell, pop star “Mama” Cass Elliot, pilot Jackie Cochran, and movie star Mae West as well as Edith Wharton. Karen has produced a DVD of Coal Camp Memories and two storytelling CDs. Karen taught Theatre at Concord University in West Virginia for the past 20 years until recently retiring.
John Dennis Anderson as Louis Bromfield and Karen Vuranch as Edith Wharton.
Event Accessibility Information…
The Fine Arts Work Center is committed to making its events and services inclusive and accessible for everyone. If you need any accommodations to fully participate, please contact our Accessibility Coordinator, Susan Blood, at 508-487-9960, extension 106.
Both the Stanley Kunitz Common Room and the Hudson D. Walker Gallery meet ADA accessibility standards. If you need help accessing these spaces, please call us at 508-487-9960 ext. 101 before your visit.
With the exception of service animals, pets are not allowed in the Fine Arts Work Center’s indoor public spaces. While we recognize the important role pets play in our lives, our priority is maintaining a safe and inclusive environment for all participants and approved animals. These policies are based on feedback from staff and the community. For more details, please visit our Service and Emotional Support Animal Policy.
Thank You to our Sponsors
This program is supported in part by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, Mass Cultural Council, Mass Development, and the Provincetown Tourism Fund.
Helltown Players Connection…
Helltown Players is happy to support Helltown Trustee John Dennis Anderson in the reading of this wonderful play he co-wrote with Karen Vuranch.
