Dearly Departed Essay, Research Paper

Dearly Departed, is a comedy about a dysfunctional family that goes to a funeral. The play begins with a letter that Raynelle Turpin reads. The letter sets the scene and introduces the Turpin family. During the reading of the letter Raynelle s husband, Bud Turpin has a heart attack and dies. Marguerite Althorns, Bud s sister was the first to be notified about his death. Marguerite a religious fanatic, forces her jobless son Royce to go to the funeral. Bud s oldest son Ray-Bud was very un-sympathetic towards his father s death, his only worry was the price it would cost him to bury his dad. Bud s middle child Junior is a very passive father of two children. He is married to a dramatic woman named Suzanne. While they were on their way to Raynelle s house, Suzanne discovers evidence that Junior had an affair. Bud s youngest child Delightful, is a quiet, overweight girl. Delightful also doesn t care too much about her father s death; as long as she was eating she was happy. Continuously throughout the play the trashy, troubled family argue over the cost of the funeral. The play concluded with the family saying their final goodbyes to Bud and then having a Kentucky Fried dinner reception.

Dearly Departed gave the audience an exceptional performance. Wearing sloppy, country style clothing, the costumes went perfect with the theme. The set design was very practical for the different scene changes. For instance, Raynelle s home, Junior s car, the

Church, Raynelle s backyard and many more. The stage movements were done quickly and quietly. The lighting and sound effects were also timed precisely when needed. For instance, when Marguerite and Royce were arguing over the radio station in the car, the sound of the music was synchronized exactly to the imaginary dial that the actors pretended to turn in the air. The play was a Drop-Dead comedy. I almost fell out of my seat laughing when Ray-Bud tells his wife, When I die just bury me in the backyard and tell everyone I left you. Every single actor and actress gave a great performance. My personal favorite was Suzanne. She was loud, dramatic, hilarious and outstanding. She was so realistic I wanted to cry with her when she found out about her husband s affair. Overall the play was interesting and had a well-structured theme.

Before I viewed Dearly Departed, I honestly did not know how expensive a funeral is. Fortunately, I have not had to worry about the planning of a funeral. I never imagined how much hardship a funeral gives a family. Dearly Departed helped me realize the importance of family cooperation and love during a crisis. Greed and selfishness got the best of Ray-Bud. His behavior almost destroyed his relationship with his family. During the time of a death, a family needs to come together and support each other. Everyone should help make the hardship as easy to cope with as possible. All the immediate family members should share the responsibilities of planning a funeral. Arguing over the cost of a funeral is petty and can only hurt other family members. Before I die I want to pre-plan my funeral to save my family from facing both the emotional hardship and the financial obligations of funeral arrangements. I think it would be a good idea if everyone would have a family meeting to discuss funeral planning with each other before anyone dies. Doing so will also save your family from arguing like the Turpin s.