BWW Reviews: Osborne & Eppler's SOUTHERN FRIED NUPTIALS Walks Down the Aisle in Bethlehem UMC Premiere

After exhaustive deliberations, I have come to the conclusion that funerals are funnier than weddings. I think it's because you need the emotional release brought about by loud guffaws and incessant laughter after you've been in a protracted state of mourning and unrelenting sadness. It cleanses you somehow and reaffirms your living, breathing self. Weddings, on the other hand, are filled with romance (even when folks are fussing and fighting over who's at the singles table, who gave the happy couple those tacky-as-all-get out placemats and what hideous color scheme will be foisted upon the members of the wedding party), culminating in a new union that is filled with hope, love and the sense of bonhomie that often follows. And even if you are only tangentially connected to the wedding, you are likely to find yourself in a heightened romantic state afterwards.

Granted, most of my research can be credited to two plays by J. Dietz Osborne and Nate Eppler (known professionally as the eponymously named Osborne and Eppler, in the spirit of Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kaufman and Hart and George and Ira…Gershwin…which sorta ruins the sound of my sentence, but what can you do?), an impressive and noteworthy Nashville playwriting team, who seemingly have cornered the theatrical market on such Dixiefied ceremonies and celebrations in their comedies Southern Fried Funeral (which was debuted by Franklin's Bethlehem Players in 2010) and Southern Fried Nuptials (now onstage at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in its world premiere production). I'll be sure to include them in the footnotes when my findings are published.

Clearly, the two men excel at creating sharp, witty and incisive dialogue that is fairly redolent of honeysuckle and magnolias, perfectly conveying a decidedly Southern approach to these landmark events on the lives of the richly drawn characters they create. By returning to the overflowing fount of inspiration that is to be found among the characters who first peopled the town of New Edinburgh, Mississippi, in Southern Fried Funeral, they again poke gentle fun at small-town social hierarchies and the centuries-old traditions that make Southern families unique.

Osborne takes on the job of directing the debut production of the pair's latest play and he succeeds in crafting an easy-to-enjoy production, brought to life by a strong blend of professional and amateur actors. Osborne keeps the play's action moving at an excellent pace, propelled along its way by the genuinely funny situations in which the characters find themselves.

David Compton supplies the production's superb set design-the Frye living room has the air of refined small-town respectability, accented by the comforts of middle-class prosperity-while Katie Gant provides the lighting design.

In Southern Fried Nuptials, it's a year after the action ended in the original play, and the newly widowed Dorothy Frye is adapting to her new life-rather tentatively-while preparing for the pending wedding of her oldest daughter, Harline (the one with the jaded past, who like the prodigal son of yore returned with enough emotional baggage to keep Louis Vuitton in business for decades), to her childhood sweetheart (and local attorney) Atticus Van Leer. There's all manner of hilarity that ensues during the play's two acts, what with Dorothy's other daughter, Sammi Jo, working hard to keep her own baggage neatly stored out of sight and sound, and wacky young son Dewey Jr. riding herd over the passel of wedding gifts that are arriving daily at the Fryes' front door.

Add to that basic family unit, the members of the extended family-Martha Ann and Fairy June-local church busybody and wedding coordinator Ozella Meeks and a local businessman named Vester Pickens (he's the owner of the alliteratively named Pickens Pickles) who has obvious romantic designs on the Widow Frye.

When Carter Canfield, an Old Acquaintance of Harline's shows up, he arrives just in time to inject some much-needed conflict into the pre-wedding prep. As a result, the simmering argument between Harline and Atticus that opens the show escalates into a full-fledged, tulle-wrapped, fondant-covered, lavender and pink kerfuffle.

It's all in good fun, of course, and with the sparkling wit on display, thanks to the playwrights' easy turn of phrase, the comedy will make you chuckle, laugh, chortle and maybe even guffaw once or twice. But there is something about Southern Fried Nuptials that renders it just not as funny as the play that birthed it (speaking of which: can Southern Fried Pregnancy be far behind?). I'll gladly ascribe that to my aforementioned theory that funerals are inherently funnier and weddings more heartfelt-and I could leave it at that.

However (and this is a pretty big "however," actually), if you have seen the original Southern Fried Funeral, there's a very good chance that you'll find what transpires onstage in Southern Fried Nuptials to be-there's just no other way to put it-predictable. By the end of Act One, Scene One, I had turned to my friend and said, "Okay, so this is what's going to happen..." and that's exactly what played out in the intervening scenes. Granted, I didn't have time in the half-a-minute between scenes to flesh out the plot completely, but I knew what was going to happen and I suspect others in the audience had the same experience.

Debbie Robinson returns to the role of Dorothy with added confidence that helps her create a portrayal that's very real and very genuine; she wear the role like a comfortable sweater and presides over the onstage hijinks with grace, class and a healthy dose of maternal patience.

Kandace Williams and Johnny Peppers-who, in real life, will be married next month-manage to marry their offstage lives to their onstage characters with charm, trust and complete believability. Williams' Harline is spirited and tough-talking, masking her generous spirit and warm heart with the bravado of the town's golden girl. Peppers, as Harline's long-suffering fiancé Atticus, brings a natural strength to his performance, providing the perfect counterpoint to Williams' sometimes flighty persona. It's obvious that theirs is a match made in heaven, both onstage and off.

Returning as the fiery Sammi Jo and her slightly bemused husband Beecham are Lisha Nicholson Pope and Flynt Foster, whose shared onstage experiences give their characters the feeling of truth. Pope is delightfully bombastic (give her a few years and she'll be giving Ozella Meeks a run for her money) and Foster plays her long-suffering husband with a healthy sense of humor and excellent comic timing.

Will Butler takes on the role of Dewey Jr.-or "Dewdrop," as his loving mama often calls him, who is kind of a good-humored, non-threatening Boo Radley-with ease, sailing through the performance with an adolescent sensibility that gives him solid footing among director Osborne's talented ensemble of actors.

As church busybody Ozella Meeks, Tammie Whited gives the role her own personal twist, delivering Ozella's zippiest one-liners with pinpoint accuracy, ensuring that Ozella remains the Southern church lady you love to hate while earning the heartiest laughter among the whole dang bunch.

Chad Ray, as Harline's old pal Carter Canfield, acquits himself admirably with his laconic Texas cowboy who's come to Mississippi to upset the pre-nuptial applecart. Ginny Welles is spot-on as Dorothy's business partner, creating the very picture of the small-town dress shop owner in the process, and Janie Varn is ideally wacky and off-kilter as the somewhat daft Fairy June. Jim Maden is terrific as Vester Pickens, even if his character seems too much of a pushover to finagle entrance into the tight-knit family of strong women-and the men who love them.

- Southern Fried Nuptials. By Osborne and Eppler. Directed by J. Dietz Osborne. Presented by the Bethlehem Players at Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Franklin. Through April 28. For details, go to www.bethlehemumc.com. 

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