Lori Fischer

Barbara's Blue Kitchen Lori Fischer

Comedy with Music

Characters: 1 male, 1 or 2 female, flexible casting

Interior Set

Set in a small town just outside of Nashville, this slice-of-life comedic play with music is a genuine look into the hearts of everyday people. As the proprietor, Barbara Jean, tries to figure out "When is it courageous and when is it just plain crazy to hang on to love," her customers come in and take a load off by sharing their funny, heartbreaking humanity. There's Miss Morris a nurse who's planning a Pyramid prayer-time, Miss Tessie, a senior citizen who's gonna make you laugh and steal your heart, a Tupperware brandishing, plate-dropping waitress named Jeanette, Lombardo-a country-singing hairdresser, Tommy Lee, who is recovering from a dog-bite and Melissa a mixed-up Mother of three. Throughout it all, the wacky DJ from WATR, the local radio station, breaks in with local news, commercials about baldness and whole slew of quirky, unforgettable toe-tapping songs.

"In fact, it's a perfectly judged balance of flavors-exactly what you'd hope for in theatrical comfort food." -Time Out New York

"Winsome and winning...alive with homespun charm. In short, this countrified pocket musical is a little miracle of art and heart." -TheatreMania

"Funny stuff! Wonderful! You got to go see this show!" -WOR Radio

"A slice of theatre as tasty and tangy as a piece of peach pie... Barbara's Blue Kitchen: this is a place where people actually eat together in community, rather than in their own separate worlds." -Show Business

"Sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, it's a pleasure to spend time in Barbara's Blue Kitchen." -Traveler's USA Notebook

"It's a tasty down-home dish..." -BACKSTAGE.com

"The charismatic Lori Fischer serves up a sort of down-home Bridge and Tunnel with Barbara's Blue Kitchen..." -HX Magazine

"Like Greater Tuna and Steel Magnolias, Barbara's Blue Kitchen, a play with music by and starring Lori Fischer, echoes the eccentric humor and pathos of former explorations into the human and humorous southern gothic landscape...a lovely variety of moods ranging from rueful to toe-tapping..." -New York News

"Ms. Fischer has a lot of strengths, chief among them the truth that rings through ... her monologues ... She also has a sure ear for a down-home truism." -The Cincinnati Enquirer

"... Wonderful, reminiscent of Garrison Keillor's weekly monologue on 'A Prairie Home Companion.' It's tinged with gentle humor, affection and wisdom." -The Daily Gazette

"Perfection. ... Great theatre..." -East Side Life

"The playwright and actress herself is the intersection of seven memorable characters ...it's easy to see why people would want to hang out in her diner." -Cincinnati City Beat