Senior Lilly Laverdure is pictured above as Lucille Turpin fussing at her husband, Ray Bud Turpin, portrayed by junior Dillon Nowatchik, in the Oak Ridge High School Masquers’ production of the Southern comedy “Dearly Department.” (Submitted photo)
Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s drama program, will present David Bottrell and Jessie Jones’ Southern comedy “Dearly Departed” for three performances this week.
The performances are scheduled for Thursday, November 9, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, November 11, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, November 12, at 2 p.m., at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.
“Dearly Departed” is the story of the dysfunctional Turpins’ struggle with the death of the family patriarch, a press release said. Ray-Bud starts drinking as the funeral costs keep rising, Junior tries balancing his terrible children, finances, and marriage, and Delightful buries herself in food as the siblings prepare to bury their father. Turning to their neighbors in this time of need, eccentrics and misfits appear ready to help, but rarely successfully. This southern-fried comedy is sure to please as the Turpins try to honor a man whose wife wants the words “Mean and Surly” inscribed on the grave marker.
Under the direction of Joseph Self, “Dearly Departed” offers comic entertainment for the entire family, the press release said. Self has appeared in, directed, or managed more than 300 stage productions, and he is the technical director of the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.
Masquers is a student-driven extracurricular program at ORHS of 65-plus students supported by community members and teaching staff. Past performances have included “The Wizard of Oz,” “Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat,” “Dearly Beloved,” “Harvey,” and many more, the press release said. The Masquers’ yearly season showcases a fall play, a spring musical, and an interactive murder mystery dinner.
Advance tickets are $6 and available at the ORHS office and The Ferrell Shop. At the door, tickets will be $7 for students and $8 for adults.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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