That Hopey Changey Thing at Stoneham Theatre

Framed by Election Night 2010, That Hopey Changey Thing follows the Apple clan, a family of democrats who gather for dinner and a discussion of everything from Sarah Palin to de-skunking a dog. Mousy host Barbara shares her upstate New York home with her uncle, addled by a recent heart attack. Her dinner guests include her brother Richard, a Manhattan lawyer for the state attorney general's office, and sister Jane, who is working on a book about American manners. But it is third sister and liberal idealist Marian who stokes the flames of this astute comedy, when she reacts with shock and gall to Richard's announcement of a new job in the corporate world - and that he has begun to question his long allegiance to the Democratic Party.