Larry the Cable Guy has met his match in a busty, blond Tupelo, Mississippi princess. In her entertaining one-woman show Southern Fried Chickie, Christy McBrayer proves that she’s become everything her daddy wanted her to be: a strong, beautiful woman who knows as much as any man and can still drink him under the table.
She’s even got the unholy white trash &ndash excuse me, debris blanc &ndash trio of Jim Beam, PBR, and a Tab chaser ready to go.
Transforming with ease into 10 different Southern chickies before a delighted audience, McBrayer narrates funny, poignant, and sometimes unsettling conversations with family and friends during a rare visit to her trailer park homeland. Among the host of quirky relations are chain-smokers, convicts, bitches, and alcoholics, women with big hearts and bigger hair who smoke Virginia Slims Menthol Lights and sip Rosé while quoting the Bible.
Though Southern Fried Chickie might ring true for Southerners, Yanks may wrinkle their noses at its playful treatment of domestic abuse and racism. But to lighten things up, a charming “redneck Greek chorus” accompanies McBrayer, strumming everything from Johnny Cash to Alison Krauss to Poison. The only thing missing is “Freebird.”
Saturday, Feb. 4, 4:45pm, Salvage Vanguard Theater. Running time: 1 hr., 15 min. For more information, visit www.hydeparktheatre.org.
This article appears in January 27 • 2012.