About the Play:

Cabin Fever: A Texas Tragicomedy is a full-length dramatic comedy by Mark Dunn. The action happens on one disastrous Memorial Day weekend at the Beckle cabin in the Texas hill country. The widower Aubry Beckle, his four daughters and their Great Aunt Tammy gather at the family cabin for the first time since Mrs. Beckle's death. Nothing goes right. The Beckles must all pull together or the family will surely self destruct.

Cabin Fever: A Texas Tragicomedy is best described as "Several Horton Foote characters in search of an exit from a Sam Shepard play." The action of this "Texas tragicomedy" whirls around one disastrous Memorial Day weekend at the Beckle cabin in the Texas hill country. Aubrey, his four daughters, and Great Aunt Tammy gather there for the first time since Mrs. Beckle's death. Nothing goes right. Aunt Tammy is trapped in the bathroom. Daughter Cesca arrives bearing scars from a new round with her abusive husband. Her sister Pidge, on sudden leave from the group home for the emotionally disturbed where she lives, shows up in Cesca's car with Cesca's chloroformed husband locked in the trunk. The Beckles must pull together or the family will self- destruct. When all is said and done, it is the Beckle family's most alienated member who proves to be the one most invested in her family's happiness.

Cabin Fever: A Texas Tragicomedy (under its previous title North Fork) premiered in 1998 at Theatre Works in Memphis, Tennessee, as winner of the annual Playhouse on the Square Playwriting Competition. The play received its east coast premiere in 1999 at the New Jersey Repertory Company and has been performed in regional, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 2 female, 5 male

What people say:

"Successfully juxtaposes the comical with the tragic." — Atlanticville

"Witty and wise. Dunn showed promise with Belles; he makes his mark and fulfills the promise with [Cabin Fever]." — Two River Times

About the Playwright:

Mark Dunn is an American author and playwright. He is the author of more than thirty full-length plays appropriate for the high school, college, and community theatre markets, with emphasis on plays about southern women. He is also the author of several books, including the award-winning novel Ella Minnow Pea. His most popular plays, Belles and Five Tellers Dancing in the Rain, have received over 200 productions throughout the world, with translations into several languages. He is currently emeritus playwright-in-residence with the New Jersey Repertory Company and the Community Theatre League in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where many of his full-length plays have received their premiere productions. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.