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A DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE TITLE
Full-Length Play, Comedy / 5w, 3m
Douglas Lyons
Full of Black joy, grief and healing, Chicken & Biscuits contains an extended family who is brought back to St. Luke’s Church to inter their patriarch, Bernard. Told with warmth and delicacy, the play is a touching and hilarious ode to the people in our lives we don’t choose.
Image: 2021 Broadway Production (Emilio Madrid)
Can sisters Baneatta and Beverly bury their father without killing each other? In this celebration of Black joy, grief and healing, an extended family is brought back to St. Luke’s Church to inter their patriarch, Bernard Jenkins. Family stressors abound as Beverly shows up to the chapel with her “blessings” on display, Baneatta’s son brings his neurotic Jewish boyfriend along and Beverly’s nosy daughter keeps asking questions no one wants to answer. Meanwhile, Baneatta’s husband Reginald tries to keep the peace, but when a shocking family secret reveals itself at the pulpit, the two sisters are faced with a truth that could either heal or break them.
Told with warmth and delicacy, Chicken & Biscuits is a touching and often hilarious ode to the people in our lives we don’t choose. Full of down-to-earth wisdom and laugh-out-loud family squabbles, Douglas Lyons’ work is a crowd-favorite, no matter what relationship you might have with your siblings.
Chicken & Biscuits premiered off-Broadway at the Queens Theatre on 28 February 2020. It then transferred to Broadway, debuting at Circle in the Square on 10 October 2021 in a production starring Cleo King and Norm Lewis.
BANEATTA MABRY – An upstanding and stern Christian woman. Mother to Kenny and Simone, and wife to Reginald. She’s overbearingly full of love, but quite uptight and stubborn in her religious ways. Late 40s to mid 50s, African American.REGINALD MABRY – Baneatta’s faithful husband and the new pastor of their home church. He’s the peacemaker of the family. Reginald is a ball of love with a side of corny dad jokes. 50s, African American.KENNY MABRY – Baneatta and Reginald’s youngest child. He’s proudly queer, but cowers in the presence of his mother. Kenny bites when he needs to, but at the end of the day he just wants to beloved. Mid to late 20s, African American.LOGAN LEIBOWITZ – Kenny’s neurotic and dramatic Jewish boyfriend of four years. He often spins himself into a tizzy, but always wants to be there for Kenny. Logan’s weed pen is his crutch for tough times. Mid to late 20s, white.BEVERLY JENKINS – Baneatta’s younger sister. The “fun aunt” who’s always in a push-up bra. But don’t mistake her vibrance for incompetence. She’s a savage, “classy,” not so boujee, but definitely ratchet when necessary. Early 40s to 50s, African American.LA’TRICE FRANKLIN – Beverly’s daughter. She’s nosy, loud, and in everyone’s business but her own. When not on her phone, she shows love – but in her own Gen Z way. Sarcasm is her love language. 15, African American.SIMONE MABRY – Kenny’s older sister and Baneatta’s favorite. She followed the “right path.” Though pulled, she can be shady. While fierce on the exterior, Simone is internally wounded from a recent failed engagement. 30s, African American.BRIANNA JENKINS – Baneatta and Beverly’s half sister through an affair. She didn’t know her father, but has come to his funeral to gather more details on him. She’s sweet, vulnerable, and collected. Early 40s to 50s, African American.
Chicken & Biscuits works when eight vibrant personalities collectively create a family unit before our very eyes. The play lands best when the audience can feel the love that was created in the rehearsal room, so have fun! All gender identities should always be considered to be a part of the family.
Now. St. Luke’s Church. New Haven, CT. Bernard Jenkins’ funeral.
“A brilliant script that’s fresh, relatable and laugh-out-loud funny.” – Variety
“Chicken & Biscuits is feel-good theatre... This warm-hearted play welcomes folks into its church with arms upraised.” – Exeunt NYC
“A brilliant script that’s fresh, relatable and laugh-out-loud funny…Chicken & Biscuits is more than just a church service, it is a much-needed therapy session, a portrait of Black joy, love and laughter. This play is both a Hallelujah and an A-men.” – Variety
“Chicken & Biscuits serves up roaring comedy. The play provides audiences with the blessed release of almost continual laughter” – Broadway News
Queer Late Night – Interview with Douglas Lyons
The Sermon – Chicken & Biscuits at the Bristol Riverside Theatre
Douglas Lyons wrote the 2021 GLAAD-nominated Broadway comedy Chicken & Biscuits. As an actor his Broadway/NYC credits include: Beautiful (Original Cast), The Book of Mormon and Parade (NY City Center). Tours: Dreamgirls, Rent and The Book of Mormon First National Tour. Region ...