AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE: THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH {SEASON TWO PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic anthology series. This episode presents a live performance of the Thornton Wilder play "The Skin of Our Teeth" at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, California. Act I begins in the home of the Antrobus family in the town of Excelsior, New Jersey that is simultaneously set in modern times and in the midst of an ice age. The Antrobus family maid, Lilly Sabina, reflects on the state of the world currently and talks about the family: Mr. Antrobus is responsible for such advents as the wheel and the alphabet, and Mrs. Antrobus is fiercely protective of the children. Henry and Gladys; Sabina reveals that there was once an older brother who was killed by Henry. The actress portraying Sabina breaks the fourth wall to complain about the play, particularly its surreal setting. The stage manager convinces her to continue with the play as Mrs. Antrobus enters, annoyed at Sabina for letting the fire go out. Sabina threatens to quit, and Mrs. Antrobus reflects on how Sabina was brought into the house to make her jealous, but Sabina insists that she is responsible for inspiring Mr. Antrobus to invent things like the alphabet. They receive a telegram from Mr. Antrobus in the city, and at the same time let in a dinosaur and a woolly mammoth from the cold. The telegraph boy relays Mr. Antrobus's message, talking about his progress with the alphabet and the multiplication table. He also talks about the massive wall of ice slowly making its way from the north, and re-lights the Antrobus family's fireplace. Mrs. Antrobus gives the telegraph boy one of the only two remaining needles in the house before sending him off, wishing him the best. She calls in the children to prepare them for their father's arrival. It is revealed that Henry is apparently the biblical Cain, complete with the Mark of Cain, and that his parents struggle to curb his violent tendencies. Mrs. Antrobus is horrified to discover Gladys wearing lipstick and demands that she remove it at once. Mr. Antrobus returns home, bringing food and a prototype for the wheel with him. He discusses the impending ice age with Mrs. Antrobus, not wanting to frighten the children. Many have already fallen victim to it, and all they can think to do is to keep the fire going. Suddenly the Antrobus house is surrounded by various figures in black clothing begging to be let in. The actress portraying Sabina again breaks the fourth wall to issue further complaints, but is coaxed back into performing her part. Mr. Antrobus says that the figures outside are people he's invited in to spare them from the cold, mainly learned folk. Mrs. Antrobus is unwilling to share their meager supplies with them, arguing that knowledge is of little use against the impending wall of ice. Mr. Antrobus argues that once the ice age has passed they will need such knowledge to help rebuild society. Mrs. Antrobus finally agrees, but demands that the dinosaur and mammoth be thrown out, and Mr. Antrobus reluctantly complies. The visitors are let in; they include such figures as Moses, Homer, and the Muses. Henry attacks a neighbor for trying to steal the wheel, and Mr. Antrobus is so enraged he stamps out the fire. Mrs. Antrobus points to all the other disasters they've survived in their time, and Mr. Antrobus gradually composes himself, instructing Henry to break their furniture to provide them with firewood. The fourth wall is broken again as seats from the audience are used to help fuel the fire, and Act I ends as Sabina implores the audience to lend a hand. Act II begins on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where Mr. Antrobus has just been elected president of the "Order of Mammals" and a convention is being held. He gives a television interview about his new position and advises everyone there to "enjoy yourselves." Representatives of the other "orders," i.e. other animals, have sent one male and one female representative to the convention as well. Meanwhile, Sabina has been awarded the title of Miss America by Mr. Antrobus. She plans to try to steal Mr. Antrobus away from Mrs. Antrobus. A fortune teller on the boardwalk predicts that a great apocalyptic storm is approaching, but her warnings go unheeded, as the conveeners on the boardwalk is too busy partying. The Antrobus family arrives and squabbles amongst themselves. The lifeguard on duty puts up various warning signs about the weather and the Antrobus family briefly contemplates taking shelter in a large boat at the end of the pier, but quickly forgets about that and goes their separate ways. Once Mr. Antrobus is alone, Sabina lures him away and attempts to seduce him. However, the actress playing Sabina again breaks the fourth wall to proclaim that she wishes to skip the following scene, and explains that it concerns Sabina convincing Mr. Antrobus to leave his wife and run away with her. This makes the stage manager furious and he demands an explanation; she eventually reveals that a friend of hers' in the audience lost her husband in a similar manner and she doesn't wish to upset her. After much arguing she convinces the cast and crew to skip the scene, although the actor portraying Mr. Antrobus has difficulty getting back into character. He is concerned about breaking Mrs. Antrobus's feelings, but Sabina convinces him not to be concerned, that life is ultimately pointless. Gladys returns and Mrs. Antrobus is horrified to see her in sparkly stockings, believing it reflects poorly on her. The convention organizers warn Mr. Antrobus that he is to go on for his speech in five minutes, but before that he tries to inform Mrs. Antrobus about his decision to leave her. Mrs. Antrobus is at first seemingly unemotional about the news, but then reminds him of the reasons that they got married in the first place, about the promise they made to each other that sustains not only them but their children as well. Mr. Antrobus is similarly appalled at Gladys's stockings, and Mrs. Antrobus makes a statement about the true nature of women before she leaves him. Before leaving with her, Gladys reveals that Henry attacked someone on the boardwalk and is now hiding from the police. Mr. Antrobus wants to go after his family but first must give his address to the multitudes of delegates from other species. He starts to give it, but then the storm starts in earnest and the lights on the boardwalk go out. The fortune teller advises Mr. Antrobus to get his family onto the boat and lead them to safety. The Antrobus family reunites and Mrs. Antrobus gets Henry to emerge by calling him "Cain." Mr. Antrobus directs the delegates from the other species onto the boat with them in order to help restore the world after the storm. Mass flooding begins and the pier starts breaking apart. Sabina begs to be taken along as well, and Mrs. Antrobus says they could use her help. Act II ends as the fortune teller issues a final proclamation as everything collapses around her. Act III starts in the aftermath of a seven-year apocalyptic war, as Sabina searches through the burned-out ruins of the Antrobus home for Mrs. Antrobus and Gladys. The play comes to a halt when it is discovered that a number of actors backstage have fallen ill from food poisoning and will be unable to appear onstage. The stage manager scrambles to find replacements, mainly using some of the design crew and staging a rushed blocking rehearsal for a later scene wherein the actors represent hours of the night, each saying a quote from a famous philosopher as they appear. They rush and stumble through their lines. With that out of the way, the play continues as Mrs. Antrobus and Gladys emerge from their cellar; Gladys accompanied by her infant child. Sabina finds them and they share an emotional reunion. She tells them that the war is over and that Mr. Antrobus is returning home. They are surprised to find that people are beginning to emerge from their houses and try to pick up the pieces of their lives. Sabina relays Mr. Antrobus's instructions to fetch his books, which Mrs. Antrobus has preserved in the cellar. Sabina informs Mrs. Antrobus that Henry was a high-ranking general on the enemy's side, and just then Henry returns to the house. Sabina protests that she isn't afraid of Henry, who wants to burn his father's books, as the ideas they give Mr. Antrobus "make the world unlivable." Mrs. Antrobus emerges and he tries to take her meager food from her, but they fend him off and he collapses from fatigue. Mrs. Antrobus instructs Sabina to start cleaning up, and Sabina protests about the futility of constantly starting life over and over again. However, Mrs. Antrobus counters that no matter the hardship there is always "a work to do." Everyone goes in the back as Mr. Antrobus returns home and pulls a gun on Henry, who awakens defenseless. Henry dares him to shoot but Mr. Antrobus chooses not to, although he snaps that he'd rather still be at war than to make peace with Henry around. Henry hopes to leave and create his own world where he'll have absolute freedom, but Mr. Antrobus believes he's confused liberty with selfishness and says he'll oppose Henry as long as he lives. They get into a fight before Sabina enters and breaks them up. The actor portraying Henry becomes disturbed at his own actions, and breaks the fourth wall to explain that he was recalling his childhood, where he was beaten and abused by his father, and projected that onto the actor portraying Mr. Antrobus. The actress portraying Sabina leads him off, and the play continues with Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus. Mr. Antrobus collapses, claiming that he's "lost the will to begin again" in light of the horrific war. Mrs. Antrobus pleads with him to think of something, that the thought of him returning to bring some progress out of all the suffering of the war was all that kept her going. Sabina enters and reveals that she found some beef cubes which she hopes to trade for a seat at a movie theater. Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus say that the cubes should be distributed to those who need them most. Sabina snaps and says that Mr. Antrobus should have adopted a "dog eat dog" mentality about the world, and that she doesn't believe the world can be saved anymore. She leaves the beef cubes with them, but Mr. Antrobus gives her one anyway; she says that despite her need for some enjoyment she'll support any ideas he has to make the world a better place. Mr. Antrobus asks for his books and is overjoyed to see them again. He feels that they will be the key to rebuilding the world, and that "life is struggle." As he reads through the books, the replacement actors from earlier come down the stage with their quotations, saying them in earnest this time. After a quote from the opening of the Bible, Sabina enters again and repeats her lines from the beginning of the play. She notes that the play and the characters within will continue and that its end is not yet written, and bids farewell to the audience. Includes previews of upcoming "American Playhouse" productions, including "Miss Lonelyhearts," "Family Business," "Keeping On," "For Us, the Living," "Until She Talks," "Fifth of July," "The Ghost Writer," "Haunted," "The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski," "El Norte," and the miniseries' "Concealed Enemies," "Roanoke," and "Sara and Gerald." Also includes a segment about the history of the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, California.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: January 18, 1983 Tuesday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:19:08
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:21316
- GENRE: Comedy; Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Drama
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1982-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jac Venza … Executive Producer
- Lindsay Law … Executive Producer
- Craig Noel … Executive Producer
- Roger L. Downey … Coordinating Producer
- Samuel J. Paul III … Producer
- Thomas Hall … Producer
- Bill Chase … Associate Producer
- Jack O'Brien … Director
- Thornton Wilder … Writer
- Conrad Susa … Music by
- Michael Small … Theme Music by
- Richard Kiley … Announcer
- Harold Gould … Cast, Mr. Antrobus
- Jeffrey Combs … Cast, Henry
- Sada Thompson … Cast, Mrs. Antrobus
- Monique Fowler … Cast, Gladys
- Blair Brown … Cast, Sabina
- Sean Sullivan … Cast, Dinosaur, Chair Pusher
- Michael Lueders … Cast, Mammoth, Lifeguard
- Gary Dontzig … Cast, Telegraph Boy, Conveener
- Bill Geisslinger … Cast, Doctor, Broadcaster
- Larry Drake … Cast, Homer, Conveener
- G. Wood … Cast, Moses, Conveener
- Bonnie-Campbell Britton … Cast, Miss T. Muse, Audio Person
- Renee Brooks … Cast, Miss M. Muse, Showgirl
- Diana Bellamy … Cast, Miss E. Muse, Ivy
- Jonathan McMurtry … Cast, Mr. Fitzpatrick
- John Houseman … Cast, Network Newscaster
- Susan Hegarty … Cast, Showgirl
- Rosina Widdowson Reynolds … Cast, Showgirl, Hester
- Rue McClanahan … Cast, Fortune Teller
- John Eames … Cast, Conveener, Fred Bailey
- James Coyle … Cast, Conveener
- Jeff Harry Woolfe … Cast, Conveener
- Tom Lacy … Voice, Newsreel Announcer