The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs

by William Inge, Tennessee Williams (Introduction)

Oppenheimer: "In this latest play Mr. Inge has taken us back to the early 1920s and into the home of the Flood family in a small Oklahoma town. Here we find Rubin, a traveling salesman for a harness firm, Cora his sensitive and lovely wife, Sonny their little boy and Reenie their teen-age daughter The plot of Mr. Inge's comedy drama is less one story than a series of short stories the fight between a husband and wife; the fear of an overly shy young girl on going to a dance; the problems of an introverted little boy who feels that the whole world, including his family is against him; the outwardly peaceful and inwardly corroding marriage of Cora's rowdy sister; the tragedy of a military school cadet whose mother has never provided him with a home and who suffers from the stigma of being a Jew in an alien community. What Mr. Inge is saying, with a power and tenderness of speech, is that there is dark at the top of everyone's stairs, but that it can be dissipated by understanding, by tolerance, by compassion and by the brand of companionship that demands not conformity but love For Mr. Inge has made in his play a statement of faith for all people who, if they accepted it, would live in a far better world."

Genres: Plays, Drama, Fiction, Theatre, American

128 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1960

About the author

Dramas of American playwright William Motter Inge explored the expectations and fears of small-town Midwesterners; his play Picnic (1953) won a Pulitzer Prize.

Works of this novelist typically feature solitary protagonists, encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s, Broadway produced a memorable string. Inge rooted his portraits of life and settings in the heartland.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, by William Inge, 1958, years ago. Inge holds a very close place in my heart, so for Pride month I thought it would be a wonderful way to celebrate, by rereading this, his most autobiographical play. I was not disappointed. This is, to me, one of Inge's best plays (along with Natural Affection), but it is also one of his less produced productions.

Inge was a giant of the American theatre. Being one of the true powerhouse gay writers to usher in a new kind of theatre, along with Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee. Like his contemporaries, Inge did hide a lot of his homosexual themes in heterosexual stories. Picnic, Bus Stop and Come Back Little Sheba are his greatest hits.

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs was Inge's fourth consecutive hit on Broadway. The original production starred Theresa Wright (Mrs. Minier and The Best Years of Our Lives), Pat Hingle (Batman series with Michael Keaton as Commissioner Gordon), and Eileen Heckart (The Bad See and The First Wives Club).

It's a story really taken from Inge's own childhood. Cora is a wife and mother who has had to give all her love and affection to her two socially awkward children, daughter Reenie who is freakishly introverted, and son Sonny. He is constantly being picked on by other boys and slips into a fantasy world of silent films and movie stars. Cora's over affection for her children is on account of her husband Rubin, being a salesman and never around. During a heated fight, Rubin slaps Cora and leaves, promising never to come back. Cora is plunged into a frenzy about how she is going to survive.

So how is this a good representation for a Pride month read? Well, Inge was a closeted homosexual who I think was very much the character of Sonny in the play, who's a 10-year-old boy totally unable to face the teasing of his tormentors. He wishes the world was as beautiful as the film stars on the silver screen. But most of this play is about people being afraid of the world, of getting hurt, of letting go and coming into their own, taking on a world that is so frightening. That dark at the top of the stairs that is so unknown and scary to all of us in life. It is a coming of age and of oneself play, that I think makes it a wonderful read and a perfect first plunge into Pride month.

Sadly, many of the themes of the play didn't hold up in the author's real life. Inge, who had been accustomed to hit after hit, suddenly found himself with his next play, not getting good reviews. He abandoned the theatre and wrote two novels. His last, My Son is a Splendid Driver, is another autobiographical work of fiction. When that didn't go well, he sunk into a depression and took his own life a year later.

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is a powerful play. It's a shame that it hasn't really been revived recently. It's about letting go, becoming an individual, facing life, women's sexual awakenings, etc. It's a fairly simplistic play in construction. But it's Inge's lines and character development that make this play a masterpiece of American theatre. Act three is pretty dark, so be prepared. It's about people not thinking of others, their selfishness, and how gentle people are sometimes crushed under cruelty. I highly urge you to seek this one out. The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, by my man, William Inge. My rating - 5/5

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of America's most under-rated classics.

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked a monologue I had read before, so I wanted to read the play. I thought they should have split up at the end.

[Samuel Hud Gardella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Checked every bingo box for a controversial successful play post 40’s:
Distressed housewife
Not so surprising suicide
Saying the most inhuman dialogue in order to express the characters arc in real time

[Laurence Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

ending was too happy

[AJ (the.booknerd.reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad play! Dramatic and entertaining, and fairly relatable.

[Dillon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a hard time rating this. I was really taken into the story in the beginning. I loved the characters, how we get to know them felt so authentic. And it was such a terrific ride. I couldn't believe the amount of guilt Cora was heaping on Reenie after hearing about Sammy. I really thought this story is building up to some high pressure. Something is going to snap here.

Then no. Rubin comes back and the kids give up their hatred for each other and learn the way of forgiveness thanks to their deadbeat father sneaking back after getting fired. Cool. Now they obediently leave the house to let the adult "be alone together."

The fact that Cora accepts Rubin back so quickly is still very bleak. She's clearly a broken abused woman who is fooled by Rubin. I know that people go through the most insane trials and tribulations for love. That still keeps me sad.

No, what makes me upset with the ending are the children. Reenie is still sobbing over Sammy, but more of her already skewed psyche isn't damaged? She's just gonna pick up life from this moment and never look back with any teenager regrets? She's just open to stroll along with Sonny, who no longer despises her, to catch a flick?

I just feel like it was a letdown. Such great drama was building only to collapse on what seems just shy of happily ever after.

I still want to see the movie but danged if I can find a copy.

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years ago, I played Sonny Flood in a production of The Dark at the Top of the Stairs. As an awkward high school student, I found solace and excitement working with adults five nights a week during rehearsals.

I knew at the time there was more to the story then I could perceive, being so naive. As child cast members we were treated similarly as the children in the play. Things were alluded to while we were there, spoken freely when we were out of the room

When my sister brought me some clippings about my performance, I decided to find and read the play as an adult. WOW! It was a steamy drama with lots of intense scenes.

If you dismiss the 1950's as a bland, black and white movie. Or think that generation was boring and out of touch, think again. Although still reeling from WWII, they were dealing with tough issues as best they could. From men and women relationships, prejudice and class.

Plot wise, I was a little disappointed how everything was suddenly cleared up in the last two pages. But still, the theatre goers were left with a lot to think about.

[Jordan Muschler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little cluttered, but with such empathy and complicated characters making strange but understandable decisions. I love the specificity William Inge brings to his plays, and the people who are so familiar to me as a midwesterner.

[mj manning · Rating 2 out of 5]

In some parts very good, however the play was just such a confusing mix of the most random plot points that were incredibly jarring. at no point did i know where this play was going, not necessarily in a good way. however, some good scenes? no idea what the message of the play was though..

[Thomas Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Excellent. A play with many good words in it."

- Tumis Beck, The American Journal of Medieval Crunk

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t love this.

[Brian McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second rate Inge.

Still, it was better than some of the 1970s-era plays I’ve read lately.

DARKNESS AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS is a soap opera, just not a very good one.

[Kat Abraham · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters were interesting, but didn’t love or get the plot! Overall good, but maybe wouldn’t read again!

[Stevefk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the 4 William Inge plays I read this month, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs struck me as the best. I enjoyed Inge's dialogue and all around writing. A strange mixture, both old-fashioned and dated, while at the same time more modern in theme than that of his contemporaries. But I'm a nut, so whatever. Highly recommended.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent drama. I wish I could see a film version. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Christopher Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play of expectations. Marriage. Girlhood. Boyhood. Sex. All wrapped up in that neat little Midwestern flavored malaise. Characters flawed and unhappy and broken but trapped in that cycle ever repeating for fear of the dark at the top of the stairs. Bringing into the questions of how much we are willing to sacrifice if it means we can maintain some stability in our chaotic lives. Even if what we're throwing in the fire is our wills to live. Inge was a playwright from my home town, and in starting into what is arguably his best play, I'm reminded of a story told after his suicide. A lone officer showed up at his estate and picked up his Academy Award for "Splendor In The Grass" off the desk and remarked "So that's what one of these feels like". It's a small thing, but it gives a glimpse into what made Inge's work so real. This may surprise you but Inge had four Broadway hits, this being one of them, and was much more successful than his contemporaries Tennessee Williams or Arthur Miller. For all that however he's only really remembered and appreciated by the town that raised him. There's a poetry in that, just like the characters in his plays, he too ultimately failed to break out of the cycle. We started a festival in his honor not long after he died, I wonder what he would have thought of that. If anything.

[Sapphire Detective · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

When I finished Act 1 last night, I had had a feeling that this was going to be my least favorite of the four Inge plays I've been reading. I wasn't sure why, honestly; something just didn't sit right. Fortunately, Act 3 helped to change that. I don't think it's the best play of the lot (that would be Bus Stop), but it's certainly not the worst! Very touching ending to the play.

My rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up)
Would I own/re-read?: Not necessarily.
TW: Domestic Abuse, Unhappy Marriages, Overprotective Parents, Anti-Semitism, Death, Suicide
Does the animal die?: No animals are harmed in the Dark.

[Mike Polidore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some words to live by from Cora in 'The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'

"Now, you listen to me. I've heard all I indent to listen to about being so shy and sensitive and afraid of people. I can't respect those feeling any more. They're nothing but selfishness....It's a fine thing when we have so little confidence in ourselves, we can't stop to think of the other person."

[Jessica]

Kind of Dark, but the characters have good chemistry. The characters are also relateable, as they all have insecurities and problems that readers can relate to.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great character studies. Interesting play but not earth shaking.