When I read the story of this play, my first thought was Blanche Taylor Moore. Now you may be asking yourself “who’s that?” Read this. As a kid, I remember hearing about her. I guess that’s because her trial took place in my hometown. She committed quite similar crimes to our main character Nanny Doss. While Nanny opted to stick to husbands, Blanche Taylor Moore is accused of stretching it a bit further. You can read her story at your leisure since this is Nanny’s show.
Nanny Doss is a woman from Alabama who possesses Southern charm as well as good old Southern moxie while waiting for the leukemia to take her as she sits in jail. The audience is party to her conversation with a Life magazine reporter who is covering her tale. Maybe the term “confessional” is more appropriate.
Nanny admits that she is completely sane and has zero regrets. She tells us about the men she is said to have killed including her fifth husband “Deacon” who wasn’t an actual deacon, Frank the rapist and Sam the sadist. Marilyn Chris is a treat to watch in this role as she brings Nanny to life and as you hear her story, you can’t help but appreciate her humor, her refusal to be pushed around and her candor. Nothing gets past her and Nanny don’t play.
The set is minimal with Nanny’s charm and wit taking center stage. I couldn’t help but think of that song “Cell Block Tango” from the show “Chicago” since her story of most of these husbands definitely made you think “He had it coming. He only had himself to blame…” Go see the show or watch the movie if you want to know what I’m referring to. Or you can see it on YouTube but that song may inspire you to see the movie or the show. The visual effect of Nanny having a headache was also well done.
When Nanny is discussing her daughter, you have to wonder what her grandkids think of her and how he daughter discusses her. Is she one of the “crazy relatives” who’s proudly displayed in the family or is she the tragic tale of squandered potential? Maybe she’s the relative everyone feels got a bad rap or the crazy woman that even other women wonder about? Or maybe she’s the folk hero or some positive form of feminism?
One thing that’s said of Southern families is that all of them are screwed up. In my case, that’s definitely true. I can tell you if I had a grandmother like Nanny, no one would be all that shocked and might fear me, my mother and my sister a little more.
You have to wonder if Nanny or Blanche Taylor Moore (who’s apparently still alive and fighting to get free) had younger people who wanted to be their adopted grandchildren. Not per se because they’d want to condone their actions but maybe because they could understand their motivations for doing what they were accused of and figured if they were in the same boat, they might have done the very same things.
Posts
