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LarryParr.info
02/24/17
AWARDS:
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Florida Individual Artist Recipient
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Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater’s Annual Play Competition
1 set
2 Actors
2 Actresses
SYNOPSIS
Elizabeth Andrews owns a piece of land she believes is Eden, and she is determined to protect it from development. Her daughter, Alice, is determined to move away and go to nursing school with her fiancé, Tom Perkins.
Elizabeth thinks plants, such as the maroon-speckled sundew, and animals, such as the Carolina Parakeet, long extinct, have made a comeback on Eden, put there by the hand of God, restocking the earth. Most people think she is crazy, and Alice is faced with the problem of what to do with her mother when she and Tom leave. Tom, an orphan who has always wanted to be part of a family, understands Elizabeth's desire to be buried on her beloved Eden when she dies, so she can become a part of all that lives there.
An offer comes from United Mining to purchase Eden for a great deal of money. Elizabeth refuses. Long in her past, leading to her alcoholism, Elizabeth lost a baby and a husband as a direct result of United Mining's duplicity.
When Alice approaches her mother about moving into a retirement home, their argument escalates, and Alice finally reveals she feels her mother is mentally unstable. Elizabeth is shocked at this betrayal, and her weakened heart gives out.
After Elizabeth's death, Alice is puzzled to find that she willed Eden to Tom. Alice insists that Elizabeth be buried in a traditional cemetery, but Tom insists Elizabeth become a part of her beloved Eden. Alice says she is pregnant with Tom's child, and the only way she will stay with him is if he does as she says about her mother. Tom, desperate for a family, agrees.
But then he sees a Carolina Parakeet, a species that has long been extinct, and he realizes the land is really Eden. He understands the importance to Elizabeth that she be buried in her beloved Eden. He sends Alice away alone, sacrificing his family, determined that Eden is more important to Earth than his relationship to Alice.
SUNDEW is about the spiritual ramifications of ecology, and it is also about personal sacrifice for the protection of the gift of earth.
What The Critics Say
”It’s powerful. It’s poetic. Parr’s language alternates between the lyrical and the prophetic, expressed in a Southern idiom that doesn’t feel derivative. He takes you to the mountaintop with his words. Parr’s message is never lost. It shines as bright as the sun by the time the play ends.” Marty Fugate, The Observer.
“Parr’s drama has an elegiac mood, and Director Kate Alexander has staged a fine dramatic reverie of a fascinating and poetic play, with first-rate performances from the entire cast.” Karen Mamone.
“SUNDEW is brilliant. It is a powerful, touching story of an eccentric old woman, desperately clinging to wooded property she believes is the real, Biblical Eden. This is brilliant work, well written, acted, directed – one of the best shows staged in the mountains this summer. Larry Parr has crafted a thoughtful message about protecting the environment. It’s another solid hit for Parr, who also wrote MY CASTLE’S ROCKIN’.” Tony Kiss, Asheville Citizen Times.
“SUNDEW is an engaging story. It features some of Parr’s most poetic writing to date, particularly as Elizabeth recounts the glories of the Earth and the plants and animals that have sustained her. There’s tenderness, love and a real appreciation for the Earth in the play.” Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
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Revised: 02/24/17.