In this episode, Randy and Tyler take a look at the 1921 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Miss Lulu Bett by Zona Gale -- who is also the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Note: We apologize -- Tyler's mic had some minor buzzing issues in this episode as well as the last. He's got a brand new mic now, so the next episode will be better!
Synopsis from theatremania.com: Miss Lulu Bett, a 28-year-old spinster in a small Wyoming town, lives more or less as a servant in the home of her spoiled sister, Ina, and Ina's pompous husband Dwight Deacon, a dentist who doubles as the local justice of the peace. Also living under the roof are the sisters' mother and the Deacon daughters--Diana, having a mildly rebellious (i.e. normal) adolescence, and Monona, a prepubescent given to tantrums featuring especially ear-piercing squeals. Accepting of her lowly station and adept at fulfilling its demands, Miss Lulu Bett--as she's repeatedly addressed--may long to be elsewhere, but joins in the family pact to do nothing about it.
Until, that is, Dwight Deacon's adventurer brother Ninian drops in for a rare visit, spots Miss Lulu Bett's virtues, sees through her veiled longing and, in a playful moment one summer evening, proposes to her. There's a hitch, though--and "hitch" is definitely intended as a pun in this case: Because Ninian and Lulu exchanged their mock vows in front of Justice of the Peace Deacon, their union could be viewed as official. And, as it happens, the impulsive pair choose to see it that way, packing their honeymoon bags immediately.
Hard to credit, no? But Lulu and, more importantly, her appearance-consumed family, do credit the marriage knot. So when Lulu returns from her trip with the news that Ninian already had a wife, the Deacons prevail on her to shut up about it. Indeed, they suggest that Ninian's revelation may not even be true; it may merely be his pretext for dumping Lulu. That's when Lulu decides she has to be open to neighbors about her predicament. Furthermore, she wants to establish the truth of Ninian's statement--she needs to know she hasn't been forsaken. When she gets reassuring news in the form of an old wedding announcement, she throws the Deacons' hypocrisy in their faces and strikes out on her own.
******* IN OUR NEXT EPISODE *******
Join us as we discuss the play “Sweat” by Lynn Nottage, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2017. Here's a synopsis for "Sweat" from StageAgent.com: It’s the year 2000 in Reading, Pennsylvania and a group of friends go to work at the steel mill and then decompress at the bar like they’ve been doing for over 20 years. But, unbeknownst to them, their lives are about to be uprooted. Their steel mill, Olstead’s, is making some changes and the blood, sweat and tears, not to mention the generations of loyalty these workers have shown, don’t seem to amount to much. These middle class, unionized, steelworkers have made plans to save money, go on vacations and then retire with a nice, healthy pension, but when rumors start flying that the company is considering layoffs, and flyers are hung to recruit non-union Latino workers for less money, the war between community and capitalism begins, and tensions start destroying not only jobs, but also relationships. This poignant play takes a look at the de-industrial revolution through the lens of a history play, but also delves into the issues of today: the economy, immigration, race-relations in America, and politics. Lynn Nottage’s Sweat gives us characters filled with the good and the bad and asks us to reflect on our own views and the views of others. Nottage never tells us who’s right or who’s wrong, but always shows us who’s human.
Note: This episode was recorded in 2021 in the middle of the COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") pandemic.
DeScripted
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeScriptedPod
Twitter: @DeScriptedPod - www.twitter.com/DeScriptedPod
Instagram: @DeScriptedPod - www.instagram.com/DeScriptedPod
Note: We apologize -- Tyler's mic had some minor buzzing issues in this episode as well as the last. He's got a brand new mic now, so the next episode will be better!
Synopsis from theatremania.com: Miss Lulu Bett, a 28-year-old spinster in a small Wyoming town, lives more or less as a servant in the home of her spoiled sister, Ina, and Ina's pompous husband Dwight Deacon, a dentist who doubles as the local justice of the peace. Also living under the roof are the sisters' mother and the Deacon daughters--Diana, having a mildly rebellious (i.e. normal) adolescence, and Monona, a prepubescent given to tantrums featuring especially ear-piercing squeals. Accepting of her lowly station and adept at fulfilling its demands, Miss Lulu Bett--as she's repeatedly addressed--may long to be elsewhere, but joins in the family pact to do nothing about it.
Until, that is, Dwight Deacon's adventurer brother Ninian drops in for a rare visit, spots Miss Lulu Bett's virtues, sees through her veiled longing and, in a playful moment one summer evening, proposes to her. There's a hitch, though--and "hitch" is definitely intended as a pun in this case: Because Ninian and Lulu exchanged their mock vows in front of Justice of the Peace Deacon, their union could be viewed as official. And, as it happens, the impulsive pair choose to see it that way, packing their honeymoon bags immediately.
Hard to credit, no? But Lulu and, more importantly, her appearance-consumed family, do credit the marriage knot. So when Lulu returns from her trip with the news that Ninian already had a wife, the Deacons prevail on her to shut up about it. Indeed, they suggest that Ninian's revelation may not even be true; it may merely be his pretext for dumping Lulu. That's when Lulu decides she has to be open to neighbors about her predicament. Furthermore, she wants to establish the truth of Ninian's statement--she needs to know she hasn't been forsaken. When she gets reassuring news in the form of an old wedding announcement, she throws the Deacons' hypocrisy in their faces and strikes out on her own.
******* IN OUR NEXT EPISODE *******
Join us as we discuss the play “Sweat” by Lynn Nottage, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2017. Here's a synopsis for "Sweat" from StageAgent.com: It’s the year 2000 in Reading, Pennsylvania and a group of friends go to work at the steel mill and then decompress at the bar like they’ve been doing for over 20 years. But, unbeknownst to them, their lives are about to be uprooted. Their steel mill, Olstead’s, is making some changes and the blood, sweat and tears, not to mention the generations of loyalty these workers have shown, don’t seem to amount to much. These middle class, unionized, steelworkers have made plans to save money, go on vacations and then retire with a nice, healthy pension, but when rumors start flying that the company is considering layoffs, and flyers are hung to recruit non-union Latino workers for less money, the war between community and capitalism begins, and tensions start destroying not only jobs, but also relationships. This poignant play takes a look at the de-industrial revolution through the lens of a history play, but also delves into the issues of today: the economy, immigration, race-relations in America, and politics. Lynn Nottage’s Sweat gives us characters filled with the good and the bad and asks us to reflect on our own views and the views of others. Nottage never tells us who’s right or who’s wrong, but always shows us who’s human.
Note: This episode was recorded in 2021 in the middle of the COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") pandemic.
DeScripted
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeScriptedPod
Twitter: @DeScriptedPod - www.twitter.com/DeScriptedPod
Instagram: @DeScriptedPod - www.instagram.com/DeScriptedPod
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