Dearly Departed Comedy Comes to Riverwood

In its first performance since acquiring charter school status, Riverwood International Charter School presents Dearly Departed on October 16-18, 2008 at 7 .m and October 19, 2008 at 3 pm at the charter high school located at 5900 Heards Drive, NW in Sandy Springs.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and are available at the door prior to each performance.  Advance tickets can be purchased at the Riverwood Box Office on October 13-17, 2008 from 11:15 am to 2:00 pm in the front atrium.

The farcical comedy by David Bottrell and Jessie Jones is “drop dead funny,” according to the New York Daily News, while the New York Post compares it to Greater Tuna and adds it could be “just your dish of cola.”  Set in the deep woods Bible Belt, the play shows that living and dying in the South can be fraught with mishap.  While widow Turpin tries to inscribe her departed husband’s headstone with “mean and surly,” the rest of the Turpin family try valiantly to pull themselves together for the funeral despite mounting funeral bills, eminent financial ruin, struggles with no-neck, redneck children, junk food binging and marital flings.

Directed by Mary Beth van der Hoek, Riverwood’s drama teacher, the play showcases the talent of 40 students, who sing and act their way through two hilarious acts, bringing Southern-fried wit and humor to this eclectic, eccentric cast of misfits.  “Every page of this script is laugh-out-loud funny, and Riverwood’s comedic talent brings it to life,” van der Hoek said.  “It’s irreverent, funny, poignant and highly entertaining. You won’t want to miss it.”

For information, call 404-847-1980 or visit www.riverwoodhs.org.