Original Works Series Readings: Tennessee Wet Rub by Kim Ruyle

Tennessee Wet Rub

by Kim E. Ruyle

Performed by Upright Theatre Company (March 23)

It’s January 30, 1951, and the worst winter storm in Tennessee’s recorded history is burying the state under snow and ice. Roads have been shut down, and people are without power. As the storm rages, Hank and Bertha, an older white couple, huddle in their shuttered barbecue restaurant around a kerosene lantern. Suddenly, a 16-year-old white girl, Arleta, and a 20-year-old black male, Dunk, burst into the restaurant seeking shelter. They are shaking and nearly frozen. This eloping couple is breaking the law, and their presence taunts Hank and Bertha and tests their values and compassion. Just by being there, Dunk and Arleta are putting the older couple in peril. While Bertha tries to come to terms with Arleta, Hank begins to bond with Dunk in the unlikeliest of ways and finds his worldview transformed. Over a dinner of ribs, just as the two couples are finding a sense of peace and order, turmoil erupts with the arrival of Vern, a deputy sheriff. The conflict escalates and rises to a crescendo when Vern attempts to arrest Dunk for kidnapping Arleta.