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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Chick Chat


Erica Curnutte, left, plays Hannah Mae and Karen Nelsen plays Maude in

The 1980s are all the rage these days – after all, Duran Duran and Motley Crue are back on the road.

So it makes sense for the Interplayers Ensemble to revive John Ford Noonan’s “A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking.” This oddly titled 1980 comedy hit a cultural nerve, tapping into the decade’s thirst for depictions of empowered and uninhibited women.

This two-woman play is best described as a kind of wacky, two-woman “Odd Couple.” It’s about Maude, a strait-laced suburban WASP, and her new neighbor, the loud and raunchy Hannah Mae, who moves in next door from Texas.

Their husbands are away – in an emotional sense – and these women soon develop an unlikely friendship.

“Along the way, you can be certain that the life-embracing Hannah Mae indoctrinates the uptight Maude on the pleasures of carnal abandon,” wrote the New York Time’s Frank Rich in his review of the 1980 New York debut.

Rich’s verdict was that “A Coupla White Chicks” was “very slight but often very funny.”

“Mr. Noonan is quite a skillful jokesmith,” wrote Rich. “He has a fine ear for language, a knack for the throwaway line, and a sense of timing that is pretty much faultless.”

It’s a talent that he later used as a writer for another ‘80s cultural landmark, “St. Elsewhere.”

“A Coupla White Chicks” went on to have a long run with Susan Sarandon and Eileen Brennan in the leads. Then it became a staple of small and regional theaters, partly because it was such a good acting vehicle for women.

The Interplayers production features Erica Curnutte and Karen Nelsen in the leads. The director is Troy Nickerson, one of Spokane’s top directors. This is his first directing job at Interplayers.

By the way, Interplayers is promoting this show in an especially creative way. A window display on Post Street near Main in the old Burlington Coat Factory building will feature “a coupla chicks,” sitting around talking.

And not mannequins, either. Interplayers is recruiting women to sit at a table in the window and just … talk. Think of it as window performance art.

Hours for the window display are from 3 to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays. Volunteers will receive free tickets to the play and refreshments from Ben & Jerry’s. Call 455-PLAY if you and a friend want to enjoy an hour of uninterrupted talk in a public setting.