6 Characters: 4 W, 2 M Dark Comedy 96 pages, runs 90 mins
Synopsis
It’s the nineties, but the Earwackers are stuck somewhere between the Victorian Age and a Southern Gothic novel. Joan, the mother and manager of the family, lives vicariously through daughters Hilda, Ethel, and Rose. Operating out of pride, vanity, and hypocrisy, Joan pushes the girls to display so-called family talent at church services, suppers, and teas. Sheldon Durge, the pastor’s son, becomes infatuated with trumpet-playing Rose, and the two create a duo for Sunday special music. Indignant Joan presses on with Ethel and Hilda performing uninvited at the long-awaited Mother-Daughter Luncheon, but the act does not go well. Sheldon asks Allen, Joan’s subservient husband, for Rose’s hand, and the musical pair marry in the church with Joan dreaming of grandchildren to carry on the family’s musical legacy.