T Bone N Weasel

by Jon Klein

Fun Guide!

Theatre Pro Rata

March 3-18, 2012

About the play

T Bone N Weasel is a tragic-comic tale of two recent parolees trying to put their lives backtogether as they travel through South Carolina. Their experiences with a range of charactersin the state (all played by one actor) reflect a microcosm of the United States—full of lifeand energy, but still confronting its racist past and present, its religious obsessions, and itsconsistent challenges to those on society’s margins.

T Bone N Weasel was developed at Midwest Playlabs, a program of The Playwrights’ Centerin Minneapolis. It was originally produced by Quicksilver Stage, Minneapolis, in December1986. The play’s professional premiere, under the direction of Steven Dietz, was at ActorsTheatre of Louisville where it was presented as part of the Eleventh Annual Humana Festivalof New American Play Mary 6-22, 1987. Subsequent productions include those at StudioArena Theatre in Buffalo, Victory Theatre in Los Angeles, Market Street Theatre inPhiladelphia, Pocket Sandwich Theatre in Dallas, and Fells Point Corner Theatre inBaltimore—it has been produced more than a hundred times in regional theatres. It was alsoadapted by the playwright for a TNT network film starring Gregory Hines and ChristopherLloyd. Theatre Pro Rata is delighted to bring the show back to its place of inception.

Klein includes the following poem as an epigraph in the printed version of the play. It is theGrade 1 class poem from Mossy Oaks Elementary (included in Growing up Southern, editedby Chris Mayfield. Copyright © 1981 by Institute for Southern Studies; publilshed byhPantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc.).

He swallows buildings, the universe, the whole planetHis mouth burns up when he drinks the sun like a CokeHe has three heads so he can see everywhere he goesHe has rubberband legs and one plastic legHe’s so round he can hardly hold himself to the groundGravity and ropes freeze him thereHe’s a good monster, for when someone robs the bankBefore the thief can get caught he swallows the robber,

the building and the money.

About Jon Klein

Jon Klein is the author of over twenty plays, produced Off-Broadway and at many prestigiousregional theatres, including Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage in D.C., Arden Theatrein Philadelphia, Center Stage in Baltimore, South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, AllianceTheatre in Atlanta, Alley Theatre in Houston, A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle, SeattleChildren's Theatre, and many others. Jon is also the author of the only authorized stageadaptation of the famous children's book Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe, which hasreceived over a hundred productions in the US and Canada, including a national tour. Hisother plays include

Dimly Perceived Threats to the System, Betty the Yeti, Suggestibility, Wishing Well,Octopus, Peoria, Southern Cross, The Einstein Project (with Paul D’Andrea), Four OurFathers, The Red and the Black, and Losing It. He is currently the head of the MFAPlaywriting Program at Catholic University of American in Washington, D.C.

Where you headed?

The Black River Penitentiary from which T-Bone and Weasel are released (which no longerexists, if it ever did by that name) is located somewhere in the north-central area of SouthCarolina. Their travels begin along U.S. Highway 21, which bisects the state from north tosouth, and in the first act they pass through Killian, Lugoff, and Pontiac. The second acttakes them to the south coast, including Edisto Beach and Frogmore. Weasel’s hometown ofGreenville is also mentioned in the play.

What car you drivin’?

1986 Buick

1986 Chevette

What are we drinkin’/eatin’?

Food plays a recurring role in the saga of T-Bone and Weasel. Here are some of thedelicacies they sample throughout the show.

Night Train“Don't let the 0.5% less alcohol by volume fool you, the Night Train is all businesswhen it pulls into the station.  All aboard to nowhere - woo wooo!  The night trainruns only one route: sober to stupid with no roundtrip tickets available, and a strongliklihood of a train wreck along the way.  This trainyard favorite is vinted and bottledby E&J Gallo Winery, in in Modesto, CA.  Don't bother looking on their web page,because they dare not mention it there.  As a clever disguise, the label says that it ismade by "Night Train Limited."  Some suspect that Night Train is really justThunderbird with some Kool-Aid-like substance added to try to mask the Cloroxflavor.  Some of our researchers indicated that it gave them a NyQuil-like drowsiness,and perhaps this is why they put "night" in the name.  The picture (above right) showsthat the subject that drank Night Train is down for the count, while the Cisco guzzlingsubject is ready to rock.  Guaranteed to tickle your innards.” --bumwine.com

Moon Pie“A moon pie…is a pastry which consists of two round graham cracker cookies, withmarshmallow filling in the center, dipped in chocolate or other flavors. Thetraditional pie is about four inches (76 mm) in diameter. A smaller version exists (miniMoonPie) that is about half the size, and a Double-Decker MoonPie of the traditionaldiameter features a third cookie and attendant layer of marshmallow. The four mainflavors are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and banana. Double Decker MoonPies alsocome in lemon and orange; MoonPie Crunch comes only in peanut butter or mint.” --wikipedia.com See also: http://moonpie.com/

Swiss Pear BrandyIt is what it is; brandy made of pears from Switzerland. You can find out about allkinds of brandy and cognac at this charming little site:http://www.misscharming.com/bartender/brandy.htm.

Mudflop Sandwich“A boiled pig's ear with barbecue sauce, served between slices of lightbread.” --YouAll Spoken Here by Roy Wilder

Chicken Bog

It's not much to look at, but grab the hot sauce and dig in.

Chicken Bog

Ingredients

1 (3-5 pound) chicken (cut into pieces)

1 pound smoked sausage

1/4 cup butter

2 teaspoons Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pinch of salt

Dash of garlic powder

3 bay leaves

8 cups water

3 cups raw white rice

Directions:

1. Cut the sausage into 1/2-inch pieces.

2. Combine the chicken, sausage, butter, seasonings and bay leaves in a large stockpot.

3. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 40 minutes at a low boil.

4. Remove the chicken. WARNING: VERY HOT

5. Remove the meat from the bones of the chicken. (Throw away the bones and skin.)

6. Add the rice to the pot with remaining chicken broth and seasonings.

7. Bring to a boil, stirring well.

8. Boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer, cover the pot and let cook for 10 moreminuets or until the rice is done.

9. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, return the chicken to the pot, mix well,and serve.

10. Pour your self a big glass of iced-tea and enjoy.

From http://www.home-ec101.com/chicken-bog-chicken-bog-chicken-bog-time/

Sing along with Creedence Clearwater Revival

http://www.creedence-online.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creedence_Clearwater_Revival

Fortunate Sonhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec0XKhAHR5I

Proud Maryhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ROalKnVZfU&feature=artist

Green Riverhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4-yugdZUt0&feature=artist

Keep on Chooglinhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azt-0StLZOk&feature=artist

Ramble Tamblehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYrS-xgLB-s&feature=artist

Ooby Doobyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toj31mvuTMQ&feature=artist

and many more:http://www.youtube.com/artist/Creedence_Clearwater_Revival

Some websites to check out

Jon Klein’s home page

http://jon-klein.com/

Reviews

Dallas Voice: http://www.pocketsandwich.com/press/dv_tbone.html

Chicago Reader: http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/t-bone-n-weasel/Content?oid=876400

Baltimore Sun: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-10-03/features/1991276222_1_weasel-t-bone-funny-play

Philadelphia Inquirer: http://articles.philly.com/1988-03-31/entertainment/26275152_1_t-bone-n-weasel-presentation-brandy

Television adaptation

IMDB entry: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105512/

LA Times review: http://articles.latimes.com/1992-11-02/entertainment/ca-1038_1_buddy-movie

Some issues and questions to consider

Although essentially a comedy, this is a play that deals with racism and classism.T Bone and Weasel come up against several instances of intolerance.How much does race play a factor in the way other characters react to T Bone? Arethere any characters that treat Weasel much differently than T Bone? Are therecharacters that discriminate against Weasel? How aware of the race issue is Weasel?

We learn that Weasel grew up in a very violent home and T Bone was the product ofan abusive foster care system. They have both served time in jail. Even though theycome from similar backgrounds, Weasel has come out of it as a cock-eyed optimist,while T Bone remains a realist and a cynic. What might be the contributing factors totheir default outlooks? What events help them to come to a compromise?

T Bone and Weasel have very different hopes and dreams for their futures, and oftenirritate each other. What is it then that supports their friendship? Why doesn’tT Bone just walk away? Why does Weasel insist on including T Bone in his goals ofbecoming an upright citizen?

Jon Klein suggests that one actor play the 9 characters that T Bone and Weaselencounter because, as he says, “injustice takes many forms but always has a familiarface.” However not all of these characters are unjust toward them. Which charactersare victims of injustice themselves? Which characters are unjust by default ofsituation and which by order of their personality? Which characters lead to anintolerant situation because of the attitude brought to them by T Bone or Weasel?

Who are all these folks? Some thoughts from actor Ben Tallen

We asked Ben Tallen to tell us a little about each of his characters. “Ben, what doyou think about…”

Mr Fergus is a kindly if somewhat unobservant man, one of the few decent charactersT Bone and Weasel interact with.

Happy Sam is the stereotypical used car salesman, a scoundrel. He's just a bit moreobvious in his scoundrelity. He also seems to be having a bad day and doesn't mindtaking it out on others.

Reverend Gluck is a lot of fun to play but it can be tiring to play someone thatunhinged.

Lemuel Clayborne is a lovable loser, someone that you want to see win but whousually doesn't.

Verna Mae Beaufort... vile in more ways than one.

Officer Klamp is the lord of his little corner of the world and quite happy to leteveryone know it. Keeping his town clean the only way he knows how.

Doc Tatum is genuinely interested in helping the public but probably more interestedin helping himself.

Brother Tim has a rich and fascinating backstory, filled with struggle and sacrifice.And I'm not going to tell you anything about it.

Raincoat is a drifter who has some mental issues but he's basically harmless; someonewho's fallen through the cracks.