“Tea And Sympathy” at Attic Ensemble

Tea And Sympathy is the story of Tom Lee, a young student at a boys' prep school. Tom is a loner, interested in music and literature, shy around women, and not much interested in conventional "masculine" pursuits. He is cruelly taunted by his classmates and the headmaster of his dormitory. The headmaster's wife, Laura, becomes determined to help Tom, in part due to memories of her own "unmasculine" first husband. Her efforts lead to conflict in her present marriage. It is Tom's lack of "conspicuous" masculinity, his presumed homosexuality, that is the reason why he is treated so cruelly, and the play's use of this subject matter made it highly controversial.