Kenny and Logan are a couple. Kenny is an African American Baptist and Logan is Jewish. Kenny’s granddad has passed, and he wants Logan to join him, when he returns home for the funeral. Logan is understandably dubious. Kenny’s family has given him the cold shoulder before, especially his mother, who barely acknowledges his presence. But Kenny insists, believing all will work out in the end.
Kenny’s mother, Baneatta, is a steadfast Christian, and a force of nature. She’s small but she’s powerful. Prayerful, vigilant, devoted, some might even say, old school. When she sees the dress her sister, Beverly is wearing for the funeral, she doesn’t mince words, and she doesn’t use euphemisms. Her husband, Reginald, is supportive, but like many spouses, he might delicately fill in the blind spots for their better half. Beverly (Kenny’s Aunt) has got a lot of living to do. The frock in question certainly emphasizes her assets, and in a different context would certainly work to her advantage. But how many guys does she hope to pick up at a funeral? And where did she find that hat? Her teenage daughter, Latrice, is far better grounded in actuality than mom, and something of an opportunist. She isn’t shy about promoting her band or cadging a vape from Logan.
Playwright Douglas Lyons has fashioned an affectionate tribute to the whirlwind worship of the African American church service. Talk about intense love, overwhelming adulation, laser focused, unwavering faith. The loud and proud proclamations of: Amen! and That’s right! and Thank you, Jesus! put other denominations to shame. Stirring beyond measure. No room for doubt.
That being said, Lyons has created a cauldron of strong emotions and wretched excess. All the better to tickle you, my dear. Beverly, who lives to be the center of attention, waggles her tuchas, etc, at a moment’s notice, and no one seems surprised when she throws herself on the coffin. Poor Logan is lost (and too often shunned) in this throng of keening, emotional Gentiles.
I have noticed in the past, that the strongest comedies include an aspect of sadness and/or rage in the narrative. The relatively recent propensity for another Laffathon, is sloppy and clumsy strategy. Spaghetti at the wall, if you will. Logan must deal with homophobia, when he’s already a stranger in a strange land. The hurt is so unbearable Kenny must convince him not to leave. The appearance of an unwelcome congregant raises numerous issues of infidelity, and the need as a family to confront anger, wounds and betrayal, to move forward. In some ways, Chicken and Biscuits reminded me of the familial plays of Neil Simon (Brighton Beach Memoirs) and Clifford Odets (Awake and Sing). Lyons carefully explores the behavioral flaws we all share, creating the balance we find in the best.
Uptown Players presents : Chicken and Biscuits, playing July 28th-August 13th, 2023. Kalita Humphreys Theater. 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd, Dallas, Texas 75219. (214) 219-2718. uptownplayers.org