Hollie's 'Dearly Departed'

Meet Hollie. Hollie, as you can tell from the photograph, is completely crazy. (which is why I love her) She's one of my best friends and an aspiring actress who just wrapped her performance as "Lucille" in the play "Dearly Departed".

Here is an article written by Taylor Leonard featured in the Catossa County News.

When Bud Turpin drops dead at the breakfast table, none of his relatives consider it a laughing matter. However, nothing brings family together like a funeral, and wherever this motley crew assembles, hilarity is sure to ensue.

“Dearly Departed” is a comedy of family, for family. The writers, Jessie Jones and David Bottrell, have a clear sense of what makes a typical Southern clan tick. They don’t ignore the eccentricities between the members; instead they highlight and exaggerate them. By the end of the play, both the audience and the characters see that the only way to overcome differences is to laugh about them.

This play is for anyone who’s ever had a grape slush at the Dairy Queen, for anyone with living room furniture on their front lawn, for anyone who’s been forced to eat a ham loaf. In short, “Dearly Departed” is for anyone who’s ever lived, visited, or just driven through the South.

Bud is the patriarch of the Turpin family, and his funeral is a big to-do for his surviving relatives. His wife, Raynelle, is the de facto funeral planner. However, she can’t seem to come up with anything nice to say about him, and requests that “mean and surly” be carved on his gravestone.

Bud’s sister, Miss Marguerite, is more concerned with quoting the bible and saving the soul of her good-for-nothing, lazy son than burying her brother. She is one of the most identifiable characters in the play, acting the part of the every-mother. What good, Southern-raised citizen hasn’t heard a mother yell, “You better straighten up and fly right!” while shaking her index finger?

Bud was survived by his three children, Ray-Bud, Junior, and Delightful. The last of these, a daughter, has only one line in the entire play because her mouth is too busy eating things to take the time to comment.

Junior has good intentions. He tried to open a business cleaning parking lots, but it went under and now his family is broke. His wife, Suzanne, rules the roost and does nothing but criticize his every move. Junior also has three “demon spawn” children, but the jury is still out as to whether they are a blessing or a curse.

Junior’s brother, Ray-Bud, is not better off. He’s the worst kind of penny-pincher and an alcoholic to boot. His wife, Lucille, is the most morally upright character and makes attempts to be a peacekeeper between the feuding members of the family.

“Dearly Departed” is truly a character-driven play, and when the family meets and interacts, the scenes quickly become hilarious. However, there are touching moments of understanding placed intermittently throughout the two acts. These instances culminate at Bud’s funeral when everyone is able to take a step back, look at their problems, and laugh at them. The Turpin family realizes that they are all different and that they all make mistakes. These faults are common threads that bind them together into a dysfunctional family that loves and appreciates each other.

“Dearly Departed” features a local cast and crew and is directed by man-about-the-Colonnade John Lee. It is truly a community event that families with children of all ages can attend.

I'm super proud of ya Hollie, I had an amazing time watching you in action.