The Father

February 20, 1975 · Yale Repertory Theatre
Directed by: Jeff Bleckner · Literature: August Strindberg · Costume Design: Jeanne Button · Production Design: Michael H. Yeargan
The Captain (Rip Torn), a scientist and freethinker whose marriage has gone sour, is engaged in a power struggle with his wife, Laura (Elzbieta Czyzewska), over their daughter, Bertha (Meryl Streep). He wants to send the girl away to school; Laura is determined to keep her daughter at home under her own influence. Laura resolves to drive her husband mad, and she begins by insinuating that he is not the girl’s father.
Cast & Characters
Rip Torn (Captain), Frederic Warriner (Pastor), Stephen Rowe (Orderly), Ralph Redpath (Happy), Elzbieta Czyzewska (Laura), Ralph Drischell (Dr. Ostermark), Elizabeth Parrish (Margaret), Meryl Streep (Bertha)