Opening Nights

by Janet Burroway

During the rehearsals of her ex-husband's play - which comes to a comically tragic end - costume designer Shaara Soole becomes a reluctant ally of Boyd's new and much younger wife, Wendy.

Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published June 1, 1985

About the author

Janet Burroway is the author of seven novels including The Buzzards, Raw Silk (runner up for the national Book award), Opening Nights, and Cutting Stone; a volume of poetry, Material Goods; a collection of essays, Embalming Mom; and two children's books, The Truck on the Track and The Giant Jam Sandwich. Her most recent plays, Medea With Child, Sweepstakes, Division of Property, and Parts of Speech, have received readings and productions in New York, London, San Francisco, Hollywood, and various regional theatres. Her Writing Fiction is the most widely used creative writing text in America, and a multi-genre textbook, Imaginative Writing, appeared in 2002. A B.A. from Barnard College and M.A. from Cambridge University, England, she was Yale School of Drama RCA-NBC Fellow 1960-61, and is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Emerita at the Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Reviews

[Robert Temple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burroway at her best, very entertaining.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opening Nights. Janet Burroway. 1985. Bantam Books. 283 pages. ISBN 0553258923.

Opening Nights is a black comedy entwining the lives of people involved in theater. Pulitzer-Prize winning Janet Burroway has very original style, and readers will not need to be a fan of theater and drama to enjoy this novel.

Opening Nights shares the stories of the lives of a few core characters: flouncy costume designer Shaara Soole, her ex-husband and theater director Boyd Soole, Boyd's new, young wife Wendy Soole, and Gene Keyes, a low-class laborer vying for Shaara's affections. Each character is quirky but we come to love all of them for their odd ways. Wendy has super exciting and crazy experiences; while Shaara's struggles to accept Gene into her life are equally comical. Opening Nights is raw, sarcastic, and gross at times, which makes it uniquely charming.

Details on Boyd's play are an afterthought and not as much as a focal point in the story as readers might initially think. The kookiness and climax of Opening Nights is shocking and unforgettable, and readers will put the book down with a wry smile on their faces. Although the book was published in 1985, its material is not time-sensitive and definitely can be considered classic. Janet Burroway has great talent and after many years of taking a break, recently released post-9/11 novel entitled Bridge of Sand.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it - too depressing.