Play #29 - Goodbye Avis by Celeste Koehler
I have to admit, I kind of have a soft spot for plays about feisty old ladies, so this was a fun little read for me. In Goodbye Avis, Emma and Miriam show up to the viewing for their dear friend Avis, lamenting that her good-for-nothing son Leonard has finally shown up now that she's dead, when he couldn't be bothered to visit while she was alive. And how dare he bury his poor sweet mother next to her awful ex-husband, who had made her life so miserable. But, when they walk up to the coffin, they are shocked to discover that the woman inside is not their friend - it is the body of a crazy woman from down the hall in their nursing home...and her burial had been the day before. This leaves them with something of a dilemma. Do they tell people about the mistake? By telling, will they embarrass Leonard? Or do they just open him up to sue the funeral home, profiting from his mother's death. If they tell, do they doom their friend to an eternity lying next to a terrible man? But is it really fair to make this poor woman spend eternity beside him? And wouldn't it be embarrassing to Avis's memory to know that her son couldn't identify her? They argue back and forth about the point for a while until Leonard invites them to ride with him in the limo... and they agree. We never know what they decided to do, but they are definitely looking for some way to help their friend and somehow also stick it to her lousy son. It's quick, it's cute, an old lady talks about burying her foot in someone's ass... it has something for everyone!
I have to admit, I kind of have a soft spot for plays about feisty old ladies, so this was a fun little read for me. In Goodbye Avis, Emma and Miriam show up to the viewing for their dear friend Avis, lamenting that her good-for-nothing son Leonard has finally shown up now that she's dead, when he couldn't be bothered to visit while she was alive. And how dare he bury his poor sweet mother next to her awful ex-husband, who had made her life so miserable. But, when they walk up to the coffin, they are shocked to discover that the woman inside is not their friend - it is the body of a crazy woman from down the hall in their nursing home...and her burial had been the day before. This leaves them with something of a dilemma. Do they tell people about the mistake? By telling, will they embarrass Leonard? Or do they just open him up to sue the funeral home, profiting from his mother's death. If they tell, do they doom their friend to an eternity lying next to a terrible man? But is it really fair to make this poor woman spend eternity beside him? And wouldn't it be embarrassing to Avis's memory to know that her son couldn't identify her? They argue back and forth about the point for a while until Leonard invites them to ride with him in the limo... and they agree. We never know what they decided to do, but they are definitely looking for some way to help their friend and somehow also stick it to her lousy son. It's quick, it's cute, an old lady talks about burying her foot in someone's ass... it has something for everyone!
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