Tastes like Chicken

by Joe Barnes

“Tastes like Chicken” is a blackly comic exploration of the fragility at the heart of the modern family, the perils of self-fulfillment, and the power of the past to shape the present in unexpected, sometimes terrifying ways.

At the beginning of the play, the Lloyds are a not very happy bunch. The father, Fred, is facing competition from a younger colleague at work. The son, Sawyer, has dropped out of...

“Tastes like Chicken” is a blackly comic exploration of the fragility at the heart of the modern family, the perils of self-fulfillment, and the power of the past to shape the present in unexpected, sometimes terrifying ways.

At the beginning of the play, the Lloyds are a not very happy bunch. The father, Fred, is facing competition from a younger colleague at work. The son, Sawyer, has dropped out of music school because of depression. The daughter, Brittany, is a frustrated animal rights activist. But the mother, Marcia, keeps everyone together through a relentless optimism encouraged (off-stage) by Dr. Silverstein, a specialist in “serenity studies.”

This uneasy equilibrium is destroyed one Thanksgiving with the appearance of Marcia’s brother, Todd Blunt, with an iguana (Stan) in tow. Todd proceeds to ingratiate himself with every member of the Lloyd family, except Marcia, who is soon an outcast in her own home. Todd – whose secret only his sister knows – propels the family towards destruction as Marcia watches helplessly. The comedy – and the horror – climax with Todd’s complete victory over his sister and her murderous effort to set things right.

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Tastes like Chicken

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  • David Hansen: Tastes like Chicken by Joe Barnes
    “

    An hilarious and intentionally politically-incorrect burlesque, Barnes has created a dysfunctional family satire about the abdication of personal responsibility, and how easy it is become a complete sociopath when there is someone there to reassure you that it is all right. The social contract is flimsy and fragile, and also flammable. Love it!

    An hilarious and intentionally politically-incorrect burlesque, Barnes has created a dysfunctional family satire about the abdication of personal responsibility, and how easy it is become a complete sociopath when there is someone there to reassure you that it is all right. The social contract is flimsy and fragile, and also flammable. Love it!

    ”
  • Rand Higbee: Tastes like Chicken by Joe Barnes
    “

    As I write this, "Tastes Like Chicken" is the only play Joe Barnes has on the NPX, and that's too bad. He is a smart, talented, funny playwright whose plays can be completely off the rails and out in left field...and yet remain relevant, wise and witty as well.

    Read this play, which is truly one of his best, and then clamor for Joe to post more.

    As I write this, "Tastes Like Chicken" is the only play Joe Barnes has on the NPX, and that's too bad. He is a smart, talented, funny playwright whose plays can be completely off the rails and out in left field...and yet remain relevant, wise and witty as well.

    Read this play, which is truly one of his best, and then clamor for Joe to post more.

    ”
  • Tom Moran: Tastes like Chicken by Joe Barnes
    “

    I've been going to the Last Frontier Theater Conference for 8 years now, and "Tastes Like Chicken" remains probably the funniest piece I've seen there. The story of a psychotic brother who arrives to wreak havoc on his sister and her family, "Chicken" benefits from continuously hilarious dialogue and a crisp construction of interrelated subplots that keep topping themselves in ludicrousness. Barnes does a masterful job of delineating characters, continuously upping the stakes throughout, and delivering so many laugh lines it's easy to forget that we're actually watching a descent into madness...

    I've been going to the Last Frontier Theater Conference for 8 years now, and "Tastes Like Chicken" remains probably the funniest piece I've seen there. The story of a psychotic brother who arrives to wreak havoc on his sister and her family, "Chicken" benefits from continuously hilarious dialogue and a crisp construction of interrelated subplots that keep topping themselves in ludicrousness. Barnes does a masterful job of delineating characters, continuously upping the stakes throughout, and delivering so many laugh lines it's easy to forget that we're actually watching a descent into madness. Highly recommended.

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    ”