About the Play:

Be A Good Little Widow is a full-length dramatic comedy by Bekah Brunstetter. Life can be messy. A newlywed woman thought being a young wife was hard, until she became a widow. As she contemplates the proper way to grieve, her mother-in-law is by her side with expert, never-ending, yet well-meaning, advice. Be A Good Little Widow looks at the messy, funny and sad stages of dealing with the death of someone dear to us.

Be A Good Little Widow is about a young woman who, after her husband tragically dies, is mentored by her seasoned mother-in-law on how to be a perfect widow. Young newlywed Melody is a stranded-in-suburbia housewife, whose husband Craig globe-trots for work, leaving Melody at home to struggle to win the approval of her supercilious mother-in-law, Hope. But Melody can't figure out the rules of being a good little wife, so when her husband dies in a plane crash she is at a loss to live up to Hope's standards of grieving. Melody has never been to a funeral. Expected to instantly assume proper widowhood, Melody is left to wonder, what's the right way to grieve? Fortunately, her mother-in-law is a professional. Widow, that is. Under her guidance, Melody must try her best to be a good little widow. An emotional comedy about loss and longing by Bekah Brunstetter, the Emmy Award-winning writer/producer of the hit TV series This is Us.

Be A Good Little Widow premiered in 2011 at Ars Nova in New York City had coast-to-coast stagings, including at San Diego's Old Globe and North Hollywood's NoHo Arts Center. The play has been performed in regional theatre productions.

Cast: 2 female, 2 male

What people say:

"[Brunstetter] writes fresh, unfussy dialogue and characters who earn their laughs and emotional moments by honest means. It's evident that she feels a generous affection for all four people onstage…." — The New York Times

"Brunsetter's script tackles the themes of grief and death in a nuanced, authentic way, focusing on the smaller moments rather than overly dramatic tear-filled ones." — Theatre is Easy

About the Playwright:

Bekah Brunstetter is an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and educated at UNC Chapel Hill (BA) and the New School for Drama (MFA in Dramatic Writing), she currently lives in Los Angeles. Her plays have been performed Off-Broadway in New York and leading regional theatres in the US. As a TV writer and producer, she has written for Switched at Birth, American Gods, This is Us, and Maid.