SAY CHEESE—AND PASS THE TRAUMA

Sharr White’s adaptation of Larry Sultan’s memoir
turns one California family into a deeply
recognizable portrait of memory, regret, and love

Now making its West Coast debut at Marin Theatre is a story with roots here in Marin County. Bay Area photographer Larry Sultan assembled a series of family photographs and published them in a 1992 memoir called Pictures from Home. The book captured a middle-class family’s suburban California life in the 1980s through intimate snapshots and candid imagery. The images present a kind of Norman Rockwell vision of family life. Being California, of course, there are numerous photos of young children playing at the beach. We also see dad playing golf and mom doing chores around the house. Covering ten years of the Sultan family’s life, the book became a bestseller.

Writer Sharr White studied the book along with various interviews with Larry Sultan. The result became a play that debuted on Broadway in 2023. Sultan, who taught photography at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, clearly inspired an autobiographical work. However, its themes of family dynamics, the American Dream, aging parents, and the way photographs help us hold onto childhood memories are universal and deeply relatable.

Susan Koozin as Jean, Victor Talmadge as Irving, and Daniel Cantor as Larry

All the action takes place in the San Fernando Valley home of Larry Sultan’s semi-retired parents. In this intense one-act play, Larry (Daniel Cantor) is a young father, conducting a kind of family excavation project using old photographs while pressing his parents through a series of interviews. His mother Jean (Susan Koozan) enjoys the weekend visits from her son and willingly accommodates his project. Dad Irving (Victor Talmadge) is another story. At this stage of his life, he prefers retirement, golf, and soaking up the California sunshine. There are also aspects of the past he would rather leave untouched. Larry remains determined to piece together a fuller understanding of his family’s past, especially now that he is beginning a family of his own.

The writing is fantastic and all three actors deliver authentic, heartfelt performances. They convincingly relate to one another as a family. Their dynamics, of course, include banter back and forth about old stories and memories, each person, naturally, with their own version of events. Irving is the classic postwar WASP father who worked hard to support his family, though financial struggles and professional disappointments left lasting scars. Larry eagerly wants every detail while Irving resists revisiting painful memories. Jean remains warm and optimistic throughout, maintaining a cheerful disposition despite years spent keeping the household afloat during uncertain times. Being married to a headstrong Irving clearly took its toll. She still works part-time to help cover expenses. While the play focuses heavily on family interactions, each character is also given moments of meaningful self-reflection.

In this intimate family drama, the audience often feels as though we are peering through the windows of our neighbors as family secrets emerge and long-simmering frustrations resurface. Yet we not only sympathize with this family, we recognize echoes of our own in them. Kate Noll’s multi-level set depicting the parents’ home is used to excellent effect, allowing the actors to move fluidly from room to room and onto the outdoor patio. While Irving is never portrayed as openly racist or bigoted, his loud certainty, stubborn opinions, and clashes with Larry strongly recall Archie Bunker’s relationship with son-in-law Mike in television’s All in the Family. Jean often retreats into the background simply to preserve the peace.

Director Jonathan Moscone draws deeply nuanced performances from all three actors. As with any family drama built around generational divides, there are no easy answers or tidy resolutions. Yet audiences leave satisfied after spending time with a family that could very easily be our own.

Jonathan Moscone directs.

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photos by David Allen

Pictures from Home
Marin Theatre
397 Miller Ave. in Mill Valley
ends on May 31, 2026
for tickets ($38–$94 + handling fees),
call 415.388.5208 or visit Marin Theatre

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