Thursday, April 20, 2017

Daddy's Dyin' Who's Got the Will

Del Shores’ “Daddy’s Dyin’,Who’s Got the Will?” is playing to near sell-out houses at the Ooley Theatre, under the direction of Corey Morris, making his Sacramento directorial debut.

This black dramady is the story of the dysfunctional Turnover family, from Lowake, Texas, gathering after years of estrangement, for a death watch on father Buford.  All the children are desperate to find his will. but it is missing and Buford (Lew Rooker) is so demented, he is of no help.

The roost is ruled by Mama Wheelis (Deborah Shalhoub – Tony’s sister), Buford’s mother-in-law, who rules with a strong hand, doesn’t allow profanity or pre-marital sex in her house.  She has aprons for all occasions, including a black one for funerals.

Sara Lee (Adriana Marmo) is the “good child” who stayed home to care for her father, while sister Marlene (Elise Hodge) is a born again preacher’s wife who lives nearby and helps, when she can, with their father.

Evalita (Bethany Hidden) has not been home for years.  She arrives with metallic red hair and a costume in danger of having a wardrobe malfunction at any moment.  She’s working on husband #6 and hopes to use her inheritance to pay for costs to produce her first record.

Son Orville (Rob McCrea) is a stereotypical redneck wife-beater whose wife Lurlene (Elizabeth Anne Springett) is obsessed with her recent weight loss.

Rounding out the cast is Evalia’s barefoot boy toy Harmony (Mitchell Thompson) who is getting a little tired of Evalita’s self-centeredness, and finds a friend in Lurlene.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why no address for this theatre...never heard of it.

Bev Sykes said...

Sorry. I reprint the reviews that have appeared in the newspaper, which prints the address of the theater. This review appeared in the Sacramento News and Review. The address is 2007 28th St., Sacramento.