"Dearly Departed" miscarriage question....
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Topic: "Dearly Departed" miscarriage question....
Posted By: jayzehr
Subject: "Dearly Departed" miscarriage question....
Date Posted: 5/14/08 at 12:56pm
| I know a lot of people on here have done this show. We want something that has some good female roles and want it to be a relatively non-controversial comedy for this slot. (Like Odd Couple, Arsenic, You Can't Take it With You, etc.) I got the script and it seems to fit the bill. However, I have a major question about the apparent reference to a miscarried fetus in a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket. I'm also getting feedback from other members that this is a no-go. Is this something that actually works onstage differently than on the page? Is it a dramatic and painfully touching moment, for example, rather than a something people laugh at? Has anyone had negative feedback about this bit? |
Replies:
Posted By: spikesgirl
Date Posted: 5/14/08 at 6:10pm
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I'm going to keep an eye on this thread. We are doing this show next yeare (I'm SMing) and I was on the committee that voted the show in, but I don't even remember the KFC miscarriage. Hmm, I'm guessing that much of its acceptance (either as a tragic moment or a joke) will depend upon how the director wants to play it. i woud have a chat with him or her about your concerns. Because it is a dark comedy, it could go either way.
I can't wait to see what folks here have to say...
Charlie
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Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 5/14/08 at 6:58pm
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I don't think I'm reading it wrong, but I could be. It's Act I, scene 8 when Ray-Bud is telling Junior about the last miscarriage. Then at the end of scene 6 in Act II Lucille sees a bucket of KFC at the meal and runs from the room crying.
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Posted By: Chris Polo
Date Posted: 5/15/08 at 12:24am
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I played Lucille in this show -- she's the one who runs off at the sight of the KFC bucket because of her previous miscarriage. It's actually a two-part bit -- her husband Ray-Bud has the set-up, when he explains how it happened, then Lucille has the punch line when the KFC bucket appears on the buffet table at the wake. We got laughs on Ray-Bud's story, especially when he mentions "that damned chicken bucket," then got a huge laugh on Lucille's reaction when she pulls the bucket out of a paper bag (one of my fellow cast members still says "WHO BROUGHT THIS?!?" is one of his all-time favorite lines).
We're in a small town, with fairly conservative older audiences, and we didn't hear any objections at all, just a lot of laughs.
All comedy is born of tragedy, which makes the whole question of whether it's a dramatic moment or "something people laugh at" difficult to answer, especially with a dark comedy like Dearly Departed. The characters always have to be sincere in their feelings and true to themselves, whether it's a comedy or a drama. So Ray-Bud really does feel bad about what happened, and Lucille really does go off the deep end at seeing the KFC bucket -- BUT, prior to those moments, the actors have made their characters just off-kilter enough that the audience finds them funny rather than tragic. It's a fine line, as always, and one of the reasons, IMHO, that it's harder to do comedy than drama. ------------- Chris Polo Visit Community Theater Green Room Originals at www.cafepress.com/ctgr "The scenery in the play was beautiful, but the actors got in front of it." -- Alexander Woolcott |
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 5/15/08 at 8:41am
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We have done it in two different theaters and I have to agree with chris... It works... If it were done straight and with a LOT of drama, it might crash.. but as written, it works... ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: B-M-D
Date Posted: 5/15/08 at 12:27pm
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I've been in this show as well and I have to agree with Chris and Marty. Believe me it works and is not offensive. I had the pleasure of meeting Jessie Jones when we did one of her other plays, Dearly Beloved. All three playwrites of that piece were very approachable and personable. You might even want to write to Jessie and ask her specifically about the scene at mailto:playwrights@joneshopewooten.com - playwrights@joneshopewooten.com . ------------- BD 
"Dying is easy, comedy is hard." |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 5/16/08 at 11:46am
| Well, we've decided to go for it and apply for the rights to do the show. |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 5/16/08 at 2:32pm
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Although the movie isn't great, you can get a good idea of the show in the movie Kingdom Come. Whoopie Goldberg got an all star cast for the show. The play is better but the movie gives you a basic look. ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: Cavalier40
Date Posted: 5/17/08 at 2:19pm
| I was part of a production in which the bucket got one of the biggest laughs. We had a person in the cast however that did not like Junior pulling out his gun. |
Posted By: jbenh
Date Posted: 5/19/08 at 8:41pm
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At the moment, we're finishing up our run of Dearly Departed (I'm the director). http://users.techline.com/driftwood/current_play.htm I would say that as long as both actors, Ray-Bud and Lucille, play it straight, it's painfully funny moment. If Ray-Bud gets emotional over it in the first scene, when Lucille opens the bag the audience reacts with dread. The actor we have playing Lucille plays it with a sweet nature, that you can't help feeling sorry for her when she pulls out the KFC bucket. ------------- Ben Hohman |
Posted By: avgsuperheroine
Date Posted: 6/04/08 at 10:31pm
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I think it just needs to be handled right. If done right, you don't really notice it as being an offensive joke, it's more just what happened to them. I think I've seen it painfully overacted, but even in our overly conservative area, it was well received. ------------- http://www.dramaticallycorrect.com - Dramatically Correct Cast Gifts http://www.freewebs.com/costumeorganize - Costume Shop Organization Tips |
Posted By: AngelSong76
Date Posted: 6/10/08 at 10:26pm
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We just closed Dearly Departed and it was an absolute hit in our Southern, conservative community. Actually, we're pushing a lot of boundries this year (our opening show was Misery) and our audience has been along for the ride the whole time without any real complaints.
I agree with the last post here. If played right, it just plays like something that happened to them rather than an offensive joke. Our Lucille played it so well that there was a gasp from the audience when she looked at the bucket. Even before her "Who brought this?" the audience felt sorry for her.
The show is wonderfully funny. Have fun doing it!
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Posted By: sellwoodstreet
Date Posted: 7/22/08 at 1:26am
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I directed a production of this in my rural Southern Indiana high school some 15 years ago. The whole miscarriage gag was a bit frowned upon by the powers that be, but each night it got a laugh that caught us off guard. This show hit a little uncomfortably close to home for most in my hometown, and we all knew it. This was the most fun I ever had with a show. We played up the mellerdramer, at times it felt like a well written episode of Mama's Family. That's the angle we went with it. The audience sat on old couches and la-z-boy's, arranged with end-tables and lamps all culled from the basement rumpus rooms from all over town. The KFC manager was reluctant to give us that unused bucket. We started out with a used one, thinking it was a great idea, we bought dinner for the whole cast and crew, and had a prop to boot, but by the second week of rehearsal the greasy bucket became fetid, so we had to acquire a clean one. This show is so much fun! I strongly recommend it to anyone. |
Posted By: jaytee060
Date Posted: 7/23/08 at 1:06pm
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I've directed this play twice and I can assure you that if you simply play it as written, you're audience will howl. Both times I did this show, members at those theatres asked the same question you are asking. It just comes across as funny.
My home theatre audience is about 60 percent older blue hairs and they laughed and cackled right along with the younger set. I think this play is such a wonderfully off beat show that the audience will accept just about anything. Jump right in and do it. Its pure entertainment. But remember...THIS AIN'T SHAKESPEARE. Tell your actors to have fun. ------------- "REMEMBER ME IN LIGHT" |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 8/10/08 at 3:09am
| I directed the actors to play the scene straight, like something that happened to them rather than as a joke. Tonight I had three people talk to me afterward and say the Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket joke was over the line. We are playing to large houses (for us) that are laughing quite a lot, so I guess I need to take it in context. |
Posted By: teach
Date Posted: 8/10/08 at 10:05am
| I just did this show for a ct using all high school and college actors. The guys lobbied to keep the bit in, the girls were extremely uncomfortable. We used the bit with Ray-Bud to emphasize his insensitivity by focusing on chicken (rather than mock the miscarriage); when Lucille says her line later, we used it to change her character from super-sweet to angry. That actually worked quite well, and added some depth to Lucille's character. We got a lot of laughs, and no negative comments. I will say that this was the hardest issue to deal with for this play. |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 8/10/08 at 5:57pm
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Well, I'm getting mixed reviews on it. A friend of mine who is a minister was at today's matinee (our biggest audience yet) and didn't have any problem at all with it and we're obviously getting good word of mouth.. Leaving it out isn't an option unless the playwrights have some alternative version they let people use.
Actually, the way it's going in our production Ray-Bud isn't reading as insensitive but rather concerned about his wife and upset about the whole thing. |