In Margulies' play, Dinner with Friends, the following lines make commercial references: "DAD' WE WANT TO WATCH THE AJRISTOCATS'" and "You want some Motrin?" In order to make more money, producers of plays and movies often put subtle commercials into their productions. These are two examples. Write an opinion piece about this practice of commercialization. What are the benefits? Do they outweigh any cons you can see in this practice?

The movie American Beauty, which won the Academy Award for best picture in 1999, covers themes that are in some ways similar to, as well as in contrast with, the themes in Dinner with Friends. Watch the movie (now on video) and then write a paper on how the two works approach similar topics, stressing both their similarities and dissimilarities.

In act 1, scene 1, of Dinner with Friends the dialogue between Karen and Gabe overlaps. Find a partner and practice this first scene (End at the place where the children's voices are heard.) Work on the rhythm until it is smooth, and then present it to your class.

The couples in Margulies' Dinner with Friends were probably raised in the late 1950s, were married m the late 1970s, and were divorced in the 1990s. Research statistics of divorce m America during those three decades How have divorce rates changed?