←Recommendations of Tennessee Wet Rub

A gorgeous play that ticks all the boxes: suspense, humor, pathos and heart! Sure to delight!

'Tennessee Wet Rub ' takes place during a winter storm when Hank and Bertha are trying to keep the doors to their restaurant open. In come a couple of strangers, a mixed race couple who are trying to make it to a better life in the North. The black man, Dunk, has some experience of his own with barbecuing meat and shares his wisdom. The girl, Arleta, is totally in love and is somewhat blinded by that love. This is a funny play with a lot of heart, and never stoops to cliche or stereotype.

Kim E. Ruyle certainly has found the secret sauce! This is a tight, gripping, tender and beautifully universal play designers, actors and audiences will love. Bravo! (Oct 24, 2024)

"Tennessee Wet Rub" is a play about a group of people in a restaurant in the 1950s. They face tough times because of their different backgrounds. The story shows how they deal with problems and understand each other better. It's a strong story that makes you think about fairness and how we treat others. I found it very enjoyable read.

This play is just gorgeous. It has a suspenseful narrative that had me on the edge of my seat the whole way. It also contains five richly developed and complex characters and spot on social commentary. But there is an artistic alchemy at work here that melds all these compelling parts into a richer, more moving whole.

This play held me in tense suspense from the very first page, but the true beauty of the script is the way it unfolds the characters into fully realized people. Ruyle’s attention to detail and language is on full display. Timely and timeless, this play is sure to be a crowd-pleaser and spark many a post-show discussion. Highly recommended!

A well-told tale of race and recipes, “Tennessee Wet Rub” is intriguing, insightful, and mysterious. Ruyle skillfully plays with regional dialects, and the play features rich characters that actors will joyously sink their teeth into.

How much nicer the world would have been without the rules and restrictions of religion and just let food bring people together. It’s something everyone has in common that brings all people together and can overcome a lot of baggage and fixed conceptions and upbringing faster than most any other thing. Ruyle presents a wonderful tale of an age which used to be and should have never been in the first place and yet we are still fighting the same batter today as we once did in 1951 which proves Tennessee Web Rub a play for all ages.

Very gripping narrative with strong and distinct characters. I loved watching the characters evolve over the course of the play, and the ending was very satisfying. Absolutely loved this!

I am not a director, and yet Kim E. Ruyle creates such vivid images in Tennessee Wet Rub I felt as if I were watching the story unfold in front of me. Ruyle subtly draws on our expectations of a time and place to create tension. But rather than present characters that neatly meet those expectations, he has crafted characters of flesh and blood, heart and soul, and brains. And even a few poets among them. An exquisite play that should be staged often!