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Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  4w, 2m

"Screamingly funny fun.... Tasca, who is listed as the author of this madness, may be the same gifted lunatic who wrote Diller's old night club material." - Chicago Tribune.

"Audiences complain happily about sore stomachs, all from laughing…

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 2m

Details

Summary
First produced at the Pheasant Run Playhouse in Chicago, with Phyllis Diller featured as Madeline Basset. The action takes place in a two story residence in suburban New York. The play concerns the two Bassett sisters. Gertrude is prudish, capable and hardworking, and says only “Oh, fudge,” when she’s upset. Madeline is completely dependent on her. Madeline is sloppy, fat, cunning, and sounds like a plumber who has lost his number four wrench. When Gertrude decides to marry, leaving Madeline to fend for herself, the situation becomes traumatic. In an attempt to break up Gertrude’s romance, Madeline runs the gamut, making obscene telephone calls to the bridegroom’s 80 year old lush of a mother, outrageously insulting the groom to be, sneaking off to New York to trip on LSD, and finally sneaking back home to live in the attic and sulk. When all efforts fail, she feigns a stroke.

  • Cautions
    • Drugs
    • Intense Adult Themes

Media

"Screamingly funny fun.... Tasca, who is listed as the author of this madness, may be the same gifted lunatic who wrote Diller's old night club material." - Chicago Tribune.

"Audiences complain happily about sore stomachs, all from laughing." - Daily Journal.

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

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Authors

Jules Tasca

Through I.U.P., Jules Tasca has taught playwrighting at Oxford University in England and he has performed with a commedia dell’arte group in Central Italy. He is the author of over 125 (full-length and one-act) published plays that have been produced in numerous national thea ...

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