11/9/2026 Preview: THE BLACK-AND-WHITE WIDOW (Synchronicity Served Solo Series)
THE GOOD. THE BAD. THE UGLY
(Preview Alert: This commentary is based on Laura King’s script and is about the play itself. Since I will be unable to see the actual performance, I cannot comment on actor/director/technical choices made, though suggestions may be in order.)
Grief.
Is there a “correct” way to grieve? The sad fact is that grief is personal, private. We all mourn in our ways. Plays have been written about grief disconnects in marriage (Rabbit Hole), about keeping the loss alive in the mind (To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday), about strangers intruding on your grief (Burn This, The Young Man From Atlanta). And there may be hundreds of movies, classic black-and-white weepies, about widowhood, about choosing to (not) move on from a loss. Could those old movies be study guides for a new widow, a what-do-I-do-now? primer, a guide to answering that irritating question “How are you holding up?”
Such is the premise of Laura King’s exquisite one-act one-woman play, The Black-and-White Widow. We are in a (seemingly) empty room at a funeral parlor, into which the Widow (never named) escapes to compose herself and rehearse answers to the concerned queries of friends (and strangers). She finds us (the audience) there and uses us as a sounding board for her confusion, her insecurities, and maybe just to show off a little with her recreation of scenes from “all those widow movies” (and about twenty are title-dropped – keep a notepad handy for streaming ideas).
She obviously wants a role model, a template for how to behave, an itinerary for the rest of her life. Or maybe she just likes old movies. This script is so precise and textured, either interpretation works. We get to see her re-enact cinematic widows of virtue, of ambivalence, of derangement. But, it soon becomes clear that, as entertaining as these characters can be “in the moment,” they won’t be much help in choosing a path forward.
Along the way, she gets to vent about her husband and feel guilt about her anger, questioning her role in his death. She gets to rehearse answers to that barrage of well-meaning (but clueless) “How are you holding up?” queries. She fantasizes about being on trial for getting widowhood wrong and about using Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth to examine her own feelings. She shows us the recipe for baking a “Widow Cake.” She even gets to flirt with a male audience member just to see what the dating pool is like for women of her age.
I’ve always found plays about grief compelling and I’ve always loved weepy tearjerker movies from the thirties and forties, so, to be honest, I was predisposed to like this script. And I loved it. The widow is such a compelling character, a creation of sarcasm and wit and sadness that she can’t fail to resonate. And, to be sure, her recreations of classic movie-widow scenes are a joyful wallow for this movie-geek. A black veil is scripted to do yeoman duty to become different costume (and prop) pieces – a scarf, an apron, a cloak, a sash, a cake – to help her “become” our favorite screen icons – Hepburn, Russell, Davis, and (of course) Stanwyck. And a projection screen is scripted to recreate the scenes she is quoting.
So, what will make this production soar? Obviously a good synchronicity between the projections and Ms. King’s performance (yes, the playwright will be playing the role herself). Her ability to recreate very familiar screen personalities will be critical. But, more than that, her ability to connect with the audience from her first entrance will seal the deal, as it were. That her writing made that connection to this reader is a promising omen.
The Black-and-White Widow is a well-written monologue that is a great choice to open Synchronicity Theatre’s new Served Solo Series. The play explores many aspects of grief, moving the reader even as it entertains. It creates a character I won’t soon forget. And I truly envy all of you who get to see this. It opens on Thursday (11/12) and runs one weekend only (through 11/15). For more information and access to tickets, go to https://synchrotheatre.com/plays-events/season/served-solo-black-white-widow/
And, for a list of the movies the Widow references -- well, I noted all of them my second trip through the script and will share my list next week. Good streaming ideas all!
-- Brad Rudy (BKRudy@aol.com #BlackAndWhiteWidow #ServedSoloSeries #SynchronicityTheatre)