By Nicole M. Robertson
For weloveannarbor.com
Are you ready for some girl-on-girl funeral action?
Then prepare for some laughs and witty wordplay in “Fourteen Funerals.”
The second production in Purple Rose Theatre Company’s 34th season is the Michigan premiere of Eric Pfeffinger’s 2-person comedy, starring Shonita Joshi of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Ashley Wickett of Bloomfield Hills.
Joshi plays Chicagoan Sienna, who arrives at the Martin Mortuary in Blissfield, Indiana, expecting an inheritance from distant relatives.
Instead, funeral director Millie (Wickett) informs her that because she’s the closest living relative to 14 members of the Fitchwood family — who’ve all died in an illegal fireworks accident — Sienna will have to do eulogies for them all.
Sienna was a child when she last visited the small town of Blissfield, and the only one of the deceased she can recall is “cough drop guy.”
“Roger!” Millie enthuses. “He’s the first one.”
First? Yes, because to Sienna’s horror, these are to be separate funerals, even though they all died together. So it’s going to be a two-week process.
But luckily for you, dear theatergoer, the 90-minute play clips along with amusing asides — Millie privately writes and performs hilarious commercial jingles that might NOT entice a family to choose her family-run funeral home — and cleverly ad libbed speeches for strangers you’ve probably met.
There’s cousin T.J., who loved his shirt: “You all know that shirt! He reaches for it every day.” And Krista, who plays cribbage, and crafts carefully sanded balls of mud to give as gifts. To honor Lainey, a competitive mooer, Sienna gets the crowd to moo along in tribute.
She reminds us that there’s something universal and memorable about every person’s life.
“Time is important; we all value our time,” Sienna reminds us in Aunt Charlene’s eulogy. “And here we all are because of Charlene. That’s the thing about time. It doesn’t stop for you, or for me or for Charlene or anybody.”
Along the way, the two women discover each other in ways that surprise everyone.
The production is directed by Rhiannon Ragland, a resident artist at the Purple Rose. Scenic designer Sarah Pearline created walls decorated with a trompe l’oeil of receding buildings on a main street, which double as paneling in the funeral home. During the eulogies, the main stage lights dim and the windows of the buildings glow, evoking evening in your own little hometown.
Between the laughs, this warm little comedy may even bring a tear to your eye.
“Fourteen Funerals” runs through March 9 at the Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St., Chelsea. Ticket availability is limited, as many performances are sold out. Visit www.purplerosetheatre.org to purchase tickets, or call 734-210-1415 for more information.
Photos by Sean Carter Photography
