For most of us who have worked intimately with I Never Sang for My Father, every rehearsal has brought personal and sometimes bitter memories of our pasts. Dealing with the play has forced us to examine ourselves and the relationships with those we love, particularly our own fathers.

Discussion has sometimes suggested that the tenuous father/son relationship expressed in this play is outdated: that "fathers" have changed to "daddies;" that women's lib has given ground to men's lib; that fathers and sons can be friends.

Yet each one of us - father, son, mother, daughter, brother, or sister - has said, "Yes, I know that person; I've dealt with these issues; they are universal."

Gary Phelps