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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida A&M University (FAMU) Essential Theatre’s 2007-2008 “Essential Re-Play” season ends on a high note with the irreverent, hilarious smash hit Dearly Departed written by David Botrell and Jessie Jones.
The play will run April 2 - 6, 2008 at Charles Winter Wood Theatre located in Tucker Hall on FAMU’s campus. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Ticket prices are $12 for adults; $9 for senior citizens; and $7 for students and children. FAMU students are admitted free with identification.
Dearly Departed is the story of the Turpins, a dysfunctional southern family. The family gathers to bury their mean-spirited patriarch, Bud, whose life equates to three words on his tombstone, “Rest in Peace.” With his family members on hand, chaos ensues and the Turpins not only have a burial to plan but are forced to resolve issues such as childlessness, adultery and unemployment. Tension reaches a comedic climax as the family fights through the funeral.
Dearly Departed, which was staged at FAMU nine years ago, has a fresh cast but a familiar director. Marci Stringer, who appeared in the Lifetime Movie, Life is not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story, performed in the Essential Theatre’s 1999 production of Dearly Departed as Ray Bud’s wife, Lucille, as an undergraduate. Stringer, who is new to FAMU’s theatre program faculty, is a recent University of Florida graduate.
Dearly Departed is known to many as its 2001 film adaptation, Kingdom Come, based on the stage play with well-known names such as: Loretta Devine, Jada Pinkett-Smith, LL Cool J and Whoopi Goldberg.
For more information, call (850) 561-2425.
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