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| 2003 |
| Section C, Page 1 |
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| The Other Arts 1C |
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| FPA |
| con't. from 1C very likely that she would have said something like that. I was further shocked when Buford’s son, Orville, referrs to his sister Evalita’s new boyfriend (named Harmony Rhodes) as a “hippie bisexual homo” and ridiculed the fact that Harmony is a vegetarian and eats mostly natural foods. At first, I could find no justification for this, especially when Harmony later eats a roast beef sandwich while high on marijuana. It was obviously meant to play a joke on audience stereotypes, which were later trashed by the fact that Harmony had once been a pre-med student and was far kinder to Orville’s wife, Marlene, than Orville himself had ever been. I’m still not quite sure why it was necessary to bring up Harmony’s potential sexuality as an insult, however (especially when it is made obvious that he is straight). In addition to these shocking moments, it was the rise and fall of the character’s emotions that also kept audience members alert and involved. As I later related to one of the cast members, the play had a tendency to be: “Funny… Funny…. WHAMBANG! Sad…” This rather uneducated way of describing the play is better related by saying that while the play was inherently hilarious, it had a way of suddenly jerking the audience into violence (when characters get into a fight), then poignancy (as when Buford comforts Sara Lee by singing a song, and then refers to his deceased wife, saying: “I’m putting the baby to sleep.”). Many stereotypes are addressed in “Daddy’s Dyin’”: “nice niggers,” crazy hippies, and evangelical preacher’s wives (Lurlene Turnover is the wife of a minister). The final stereotype addressed is that of the middle-class Texan. => |
| The audience is given all the ingredients: “unsophisticated accents,” less-than-elegant home décor (orange walls and a ceramic cow collection), an “All In the Family” type grandparent, bickering sisters (one of which is a hairdresser sporting a bouffant hairdo), greedy children, and the ever-present roast in the oven. The stereotype would have been appropriate if the children had “taken the money and run” without addressing the rifts in their family. Fortunately for middle-class Texans, however, the Turnover family seems forged anew by the realization that in the midst of their bickering their father has died, and they will never see or speak to him again. This realization is shown in the final scene, where the family sings their father’s favorite song, “In the Garden.” The adult actors’ voices slowly fade, lost in the memory of the children they were. The stage goes black, the audience straining to hear the gentle, far-away voices of the Turnovers as children. If Mama Wheelis had not used the term “nice nigger” and Orville Turnover had not referred to Harmony Rhodes as a “hippie bisexual homo,” then I would have likely missed the subtler stereotypes addressed in “Daddy’s Dyin’.” In addition, if the characters had not violently confronted each other, and then followed the confrontation with a show of love for their father, the true message of the play would have been lost: Love, not money, matters. The actors portraying the characters seemed to understand both the primary message and the secondary mission of overturning stereotypes. A few examples are as follows: Glenda Johnson, as “Sara Lee Turnover,” portrayed the archetypal offspring caring for an elderly parent. She was often calm under pressure, but exploded when faced with ungrateful siblings. When Sara Lee’s father attempts to comfort her, Glenda leaned against him, showing how heartbreaking it was that though Buford was in fact the parent, Sara Lee had become so in effect due to Buford’s condition. Gwen Gibson, as “Lurlene Turnover Rogers,” effectively portrayed the stereotypical preacher’s wife by remaining calm at nearly all times and speaking in a => |
| soothing voice – whether she was praising God or chiding a sibling. Ben Honeycutt, as “Orville Turnover,” was appropriately careless in his movements and speech, looming over Orville’s wife, Marlene, whenever she was supposedly “disobeying,” and shrinking back when she finally found the voice to express her displeasure. Ron Carney, as “Buford Turnover,” though his own character did not really have any sort of message to deliver, portrayed a man lost in a dulled mind incredibly well. When Buford confessed to Lurlene that he hadn’t wanted to lose her - “not to Jesus or nobody,” the audience seemed to sag with sorrow. Though “Daddy’s Dyin’, Who’s Got the Will” is at first glance a romping, hilarious stereotype, it is in fact powerful in its ability to shock and teach at the same time. Through first-class performances, a cleverly constructed script, and a stereotype-friendly atmosphere, the 2003 Foothills Performing Arts performance of “Daddy’s Dyin’” is a meaningful, artistic success. ~ |