JOHNSON CITY – (Oct 1, 2020) The Department of Theatre and Dance at East Tennessee State University will launch its fall 2020 season with a virtual performance of the drama “Appropriate” by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins on Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the show are free but patrons will need to obtain a ticket in order to access the link.
In “Appropriate,” every estranged member of the Lafayette clan has descended upon the crumbling Arkansas homestead to settle the accounts of the newly-dead patriarch. As his three adult children sort through a lifetime of hoarded mementos and junk, they collide over clutter, debt and a contentious family history.
But after a disturbing discovery surfaces among their father’s possessions, the reunion takes a turn for the explosive, unleashing a series of crackling surprises and confrontations.
Seven ETSU theatre students will lead the cast of “Appropriate.” They are Gabe Felty, Lindsay Flewell, Hana Goss, Luke Tompson, Kailey Kyle, Nick McClanahan and Billie Williams.
The production team includes ETSU professor Herb Parker as director; Jonathon Taylor, production manager; Emma Rae Carson and Kallie Jenkins, stage managers; Levi Jones, assistant stage manager; Sami Morris, costume consultant; Caroline Daniels, sound designer; and Melissa Shafer, lighting consultant.
Entertainment Weekly describes “Appropriate” as “…prodigiously gifted… [Branden Jacobs-Jenkins] effortlessly and believably taps into a white family’s dysfunction, infuses the script with unforced, viperish humor… ‘Appropriate’ is an uncommonly deft dramatic and technical achievement,” while Time Out (Chicago) writes “…an exceptionally brilliant piece of writing…gut-punchingly honest work.”
The Friday, Oct. 9 performance will be the only time the show will be streamed. There will not be an archived recording of “Appropriate” available.
Tickets for “Appropriate” can be reserved by visiting www.etsu.edu/theatre. For more information, contact ETSU Theatre and Dance at 423-439-6511.
###