| | Author: | Patricia R. Corbett | | EMail: | prcorbett66@yahoo.com | | ICWP Member?: | No | | Nearest Large City: | Washington, D.C. | | Country: | USA | | Play Title: | Fall of the House of Snow | | Runtime: | 91-120 minutes | | Synopsis: | Fall of the House of Snow* is a tragic comedy set in a small metropolitan city during the late 1980s. Essentially, the ‘House of Snow’ is a family of African American gay men who have joined together for security and support. The ‘house’ not only bears the name of Snow, each of its members has adopted Snow as their last name. References to the ‘house’ are both literal and figurative.
The house is under the constant watchful eye of apparition, Miss Satin Snow alias Satchel Williams. In her prime, she purchased the House of Snow so that other men, who struggled with their sexuality or who were otherwise rejected from their loved ones, could live comfortably in their skin.
Unfortunately, Satin doesn’t live to see her dream of the House of Snow becoming a haven for female impersonators. However, she does meet her young protégé, Ronald Eastman, alias Easter Snow. In her dotage, just before her death, Satin bequeaths the house to Easter who becomes its matriarch. She invites April, Autumn, Christmas and Kenny to share the house with her. Easter adores each of them and feels a maternal attachment to them.
Easter is a make up artist who vacillates by day between being a male and female at a department store make-up counter and mortuary. Kenny is a male nurse. April is a semi-professional boxer. Autumn is a massage therapist/prostitute. Christmas is an advice columnist for a small underground newspaper. They live comfortably as gay men who enjoy and respect the power of femininity.
With all their human frailties and complexities, the Snows become the hottest drag queens around town, particularly at the popular Revelations night club. Unfortunately, at the height of their popularity, with the exception of Easter and Kenny, each of them dies a tragic death.
The play picks up with Easter’s return from Las Vegas. She has been magically summoned by Satin. Kenny has become ill. Fearing he may be on his deathbed, Easter returns to Kenny’s aid, hoping to revive him. Kenny is heavily medicated and has begun to have recurring dreams of being a drag queen. Ironically, he is the only member of the House of Snow who didn’t dress in drag.
The play opens with Miss Satin telling the story of the members of the House of Snow. Most of the story is told through flashbacks. The audience gets glimpses of the house in its hey day, when there was much happiness and frolicking among them. At this point of the story, the only two surviving characters are Easter and Kenny.
| | Male: | 6 | | Female: | 1 | | Max. Cast: | 7 | | Min. Cast: | 6 | | Media: | Stage | | Genre: | Comic/Drama | | Theme: | Gay/Transgender | | Web Page: | | | First Name: | Patricia | | Last Name: | Corbett | | Notes: | |
|
|
