Comedy Dearly Departed
Opens Tonight at Stone Center
By Shawn Ryan
Star Entertainment Editor
05-31-2007

Reprinted here in its entirety.

'Dearly Departed' — Yeah, You Know 'em

'Dearly Departed' is the final production of the season for JSU's Drama Department. Photo: Special to the Star .

You'll probably recognize some of the folks in Dearly Departed.

They're Southern, after all. Real Southern.

But if you do recognize them, and they remind you of folks in your own family, you might not want to claim 'em.

The final production of the season for the Drama Department at Jacksonville State University, Dearly Departed is a comical study of Southern quirks, traits and traditions. Centered on the funeral of the downright nasty Bud Turpin — his wife Raynelle wants the words “mean and surly” carved into his tombstone — the play takes place somewhere in the South (heck, it could by anywhere in the South) and is populated by as dysfunctional a group of human beings as you'll find … well … at any family gathering, actually.

Ray-Bud, son of Bud, is a lazy bum who looks forward to going on welfare; handsome but dumb-as-a-stump Junior is a cheatin' fool; Nadine is a boozer who drinks even when she's pregnant — mainly because she's always pregnant; daughter Delightful stuffs enough junk food into her mouth to immediately clog her arteries; Raynelle is just glad that Bud is dead.

At the funeral, each member of the family confronts his or her disappointments, desires and failures, most of which reside in their unsuccessful dealings with the rest of the family. The flying bullets of the Hatfields and McCoys are nothing compared to the verbal barbs of the Turpin family.

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Dearly Departed

What: JSU Drama Department.
When: 7p.m. Tonight-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday.
How much: $9 adults, $7 senior citizens/JSU personnel, $5 students/military; paid reservations recommended.
Contact: (205) 782-5648.

About Shawn Ryan

Shawn Ryan is the travel editor and entertainment editor for The Star.

See story at The Anniston Star's website: www.annistonstar.com .

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