By Steve Sheldon
Playwright Eric Pfeffinger, director Rhiannon Ragland, combined to create a hilarious 90-minutes of laughs and a few of life’s hard to learn lessons.
Friday evening was opening night of Fourteen Funerals at the Purple Rose Theatre. Pfeffinger created Blissfield, Indiana, the make-believe small town with a population of 6,044. A town with more bars than gas stations. The family-owned Martin Funeral Home. And a town that experienced a tragic fire, killing fourteen members of the Fitchwood family.
The cause of the tragic blaze was determined to be a fireworks accident. Police reported that an illegal firework flew off course when lit, sailed into the Fitchwood garage, igniting other illegal fireworks, killing all fourteen members of the family, sitting in the garage, watching.
Shonita Joshi as Sienna, the lone surviving Fitchwood and Ashley Wickett as Millie, the daughter of the Director of Martin Funeral Home, played their vastly different roles to perfection. They were likeable. They were believable. And they worked magic with the Eric Pfeffinger script. And director Rhiannon Ragland kept the dialogue, and laughs, moving.
Sienna arrives in Blissfield, Indiana from Chicago after receiving an urgent message of a funeral. And that is when things start to get fun. Sienna learns that she is being asked to provide eulogies for fourteen family members.
Sarah Pearline designed the set and the simplicity works well. The set allowed the actors to move about, creating the space demanded by Sienna. Millie, wanting to show competence, proudly shows off smizing, where her eyes are welcoming while her mouth and lips remain expressionless, demonstrating respect.
Sienna begins to offer a series of eulogies for her relatives. The eulogies are both funny and thought-provoking. She talks about her Aunt Joyce, a realtor who knew what it was like to lose everything but lived her life opening doors for others. It begins to dawn on the two ladies that their own lives need doors to be opened.
And that is the true magic of Pfeffinger’s script. There are several especially important, hard to learn life lessons that challenge the two women to look at their own lives. One from a small town, the other from the big city, yet both are lonely and unhappy, trying to find their way forward.
Under Ragland’s direction, both Sienna and Millie, find in each other what has been missing in their lives. And though the audience is left wondering what comes next for the two characters, they are left with the knowledge that the two will strive to find their way forward. A direction that will allow them to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, whether in a small town, big city, or somewhere in between.
Fourteen Funerals is a very funny, laugh-out-loud production. It runs through Sunday, March 9th at The Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea. All shows are close to being sold out, so you need to call the box office to secure tickets while they last.
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
