Marriage. Divorce. Alcoholism. Stillbirths. Illness. Bacon. The Marriage of Bette and Boo follows the zany, turbulent, heartbreaking marriage of Bette Brennan and Boo Hudlocke. Bette and Boo marry and set about having the large, happy family that Bette always dreamed of. The arrival of their first son, Matt, is soon overshadowed by a succession of stillborns. Bette is heartbroken. Boo starts to drink; Bette starts to nag. Amongst the chaos fighting, both must deal with their wacky families: Bette’s mother and father, who suffered a stroke and now speaks in unintelligible gibberish; Boo’s sadistic father, fond of calling his long-suffering wife “the dumbest woman in the world”; Bette’s sister, ridden with anxiety and constantly apologizing for everything; the family priest, fond of impersonating bacon. Playwright Christopher Durang’s most autobiographical work, The Marriage of Bette and Boo finds humor and compassion in unhappiness, as Matt comes to terms with the love⏤and pain⏤that families are made of.
The Marriage of Bette and Boo guide sections
