Okay, so irreverent behaviour at the wake for their mother Elaine might have set tongues a-wagging and even a few ripples of scandal around town. Survivable, one could reasonably suppose, if that was the end of it. But the real shock waves are yet to come, and it will be newly orphaned adult siblings Jared and Tiffany Dove themselves who will be left reeling. A stunning revelation at the reading of the will threatens to change both the nature of life as they know it and the course of a future they’d presumed would automatically unfold.
Zella Baines, a set-in-her-ways “virtuous” aunt, and Sonja Dove, an ex-wife who never quite left the family orbit, turn out to be the adults in the room. They take charge of what quickly descends into a sorry situation, regardless of whether their individual pursuits of personal-agenda fulfillment are real or imagined. And given this blueprint for a story of animus and resentment, you’ll have to wade through the airing of dirty family laundry, longstanding family tensions and unrealistic expectations to determine whether there is any hope of it developing also into a story of redemption.
Their self-centred natures aside, you’ll probably empathize just a little with Jared and Tiffany once you realize their plight. But rivalries are wont to reveal. In the ensuing knock-‘em-down, drag-‘em-out battle of wills among an eternally-broke brother and a righteously-intolerant sister who can barely stand each other, a do-gooding aunt who might not be all that good, and a helpful ex whose motivations may mystify — and where family treasure is at stake, no less — villains and heroes may not be so readily recognized.
Keywords: death, drama, estate settling, family dynamics, family dysfunction, family values, heritage, karma, reaping what one sows, relationships, sibling rivalry, tradeoffs
Genre: Comedic Drama
Acts: 2
Run time: 90 minutes
Cast size: 6 actors
Male roles: 3
Female roles: 3
Other roles: 4
Casting notes: In addition to the six primary speaking roles, there is provision for incidental restaurant patrons (gender and ages at your discretion) in ACT I Scene 2 and in ACT II Scenes 7 and 8. Voiceover for the deceased Elaine appears in ACT I Scenes 2 and 3, plus voiceovers or pre-recorded voices to represent the younger Dove family (four persons) in ACT II Scene 6.
