Sharr White Shows Corporate Greed Eroding Fragile Family 

by Mary Lou Herlihy

For so many dads of the 50s generation, my own dad included, the message was clear: “Work hard for Corporate America and you will be rewarded with “SUCCESS.” But was it ever true?

In his search for truth, Larry Sultan creates a best-selling book of photos offering intimate and searing portraits of the so-called Good Life. His dad, like mine, got pushed out of work by younger, hungrier workers. I guess it was always just a ploy to crank out more widgets.

As the photographer Larry, Dan Cantor projects an uneasy confidence. Adjusting his imposing camera, Larry ignores sarcastic barbs from his dad who says, “Remember that time you forgot to take the lens cap off?” Larry turns on the tape recorder and listens as his retired Dad reminisces. In the San Fernando Valley, they sit at the kitchen table in Larry’s childhood home.

The set comes right out of Sunset Magazine, all pumped up colors and mid-century furnishings. We are immersed in a 70s sitcom, complete with silly quips and laugh track. But we feel uneasy with the exaggerated perfection.

Irving Sultan (hypnotic Victor Talmadge) was inspired by John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, after surviving poverty and antisemitism in New York. To prove himself worthy, he moves his young family from Brooklyn to southern California to begin a career selling razors for Schick.

 Now 70 years-old, relaxing in country club garb, Irving picks up his son at the airport. Flying down from San Francisco, Larry spends precious weekends photographing his aging parents, “looking for something that I know is there.” But a chilly greeting and awkward silences suggest years of tension between father and son—the gulf between commerce and art.

Larry’s mom Jean (hilarious Susan Koozin) is a firecracker. Running around in blazing pink sweats, she’s full of the passion that Irving lacks. Jean knows how to promote her husband’s business-like image. As she confides to Larry in a recording, she bailed the family out after Schick fired Irving. Mom saves the day, but Irving calls her real estate work “a hobby.”

Larry’s parents cast doubt on his prolonged photo project. Irving tells us that it FEELS like his son is here EVERY weekend, though it’s barely once a month. Although Larry says the project is about his parents, Irving counters, “Make no mistake, it’s all about him.”

On a screen used to project home movies, we see Larry’s favorite image of his dad, shirtless and resting. Irving loathes images that show him looking vulnerable. But Larry sees a secret side of his dad—gentle and unmasked.

Pouring himself another drink, Irving wonders if Larry is a “LOSER.” Irving speaks to us directly, boasting about the rigorous discipline of his retired life. He says the ladies at the community garden “can’t keep their hands off my vegetables.” Irving never stops chasing after lies.

“Pictures from Home” may not be perfectly suited for the stage, but Sharr White has created a timely warning about the hollow promises of Corporate America.

“Pictures from Home” by Sharr White, based on the photo memoir Pictures from Home by Larry Sultan, directed by Jonathan Moscone, set design by Kate Noll, costumes by Meg Neville, lighting by Russell Champa & Charlie Mejia, sound & music by Cliff Caruthers, and projections by Joan Osato, by Marin Theatre, Mill Valley, California

Info: marintheatre.org – to May 31, 2026.

Cast: Daniel Cantor, Victor Talmadge, and Susan Koozin.

Banner photo: Victor Talmadge and Daniel Cantor. Photos by David Allen