Next of Kin

A family reunion is difficult enough when everyone is alive.In this full-length dark comedy for the stage, estranged siblings Don, Karen, and Joey return home to celebrate their mother's birthday-only to discover that she has been dead for three years. As guilt, blame, and long-buried resentments erupt, their absentee father unexpectedly arrives, determined to reclaim both his family and the woman he abandoned.With a bewilderingly candid funeral director's daughter attempting to guide them through the arrangements, the family must confront what they did, what they failed to do, and whether people this damaged can ever truly become whole again.Darkly comic, startling, and unexpectedly moving, Next of Kin is an irreverent exploration of grief, forgiveness, and the strange ways families survive one another.This publication contains the complete stage play by award-winning playwright Ron Simonian.