Cocktail Party Fact: The song which character “Ricky Nelson” sings in Sticks and Bones — “Baby, When I Find You” — was written with lyrics by Rabe and music by Galt MacDermott who had recently written the score to Hair.

Here’s The Plot: This scathing attack on the American family and its connection to the Vietnam war, which was still in high gear in 1969 when the piece was originally written, takes as its image the seemingly perfect family of the bland TV sitcom Ozzie and Harriet. But in this play, Rabe imagines them somewhat differently. Into the placid world of Ozzie and Harriet comes their son David from the war, now blind. They try to act as if nothing is wrong, but David’s experience begins to peel away the layers of hypocrisy and it soon becomes clear that Ozzie has become twisted and paranoid, Harriet is in rigid denial thinking that any problem can be solved by eating some more fudge, and Ricky is the do-nothing son who has no interest in facing the enormity of his country’s involvement in Vietnam. Ultimately, David realizes he cannot live the lie of his all-American family, and suffers the nightmarish consequences.

Memorable Melodies: The final scene, in which the family helps David slit his wrists, explaining that it’s best for everyone that he kill himself. As he bleeds to death, the family goes back to its former uncomplicated and happy life.

Vital Statistics: Sticks and Bones was written in 1969. Its first revised text was released in 1972 and the second revision not released until 1979.

Why See It?: It’s good to remember there was a time when real rage and anger against what many felt was an unjust war was unleashed on the stage. For a period of five years, the Vietnam play was a genre which saw many viewpoints, but Sticks and Bones is one that uses surrealism and even grand guignol (in the image of watching a man slit his wrists and bleed to death onstage) to shock the then complacent audiences into facing what was going on in America.