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Clash & Comfort

April 17, 2025

With two-character comedy, Tin Building Theatre presents four performances of their 2025 spring play “A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking”

CLIFTON – A spirited over the top, loud Texas woman Hannah Mae Bindler has just moved to the suburbs of Westchester County, NY and wants to be friends so badly. Her meticulous, cookie-baking, somewhat uptight WASP (as in White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) neighbor, Maude Mix is far from welcoming. In an opposites attract, clash and comfort action, Hannah Mae finally badgers Maude into friendship over the course of a week, and the two eventually join forces against their errant and erring husbands.

This is the premise of John Ford Noonan’s two-character comedy “A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking” the Bosque Arts Center’s Tin Building Theatre brings to the stage for four performances.

A dinner show Sat. May 3 starts at 6:30 p.m. kicks off the series, followed by a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sun. May 4, a regular performance Fri. May 9 at 7 p.m. and a closing dinner show on Sat. May 10 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at http://www.bosqueartscenter.org or by calling 254-675-3724.

The two-act play, written by American actor, playwright, and screenwriter John Ford Noonan – produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. – was first presented at the Astor Place Theatre in 1980. Dorothy Lyman directed Susan Sarandon and Eileen Brennan as Maude and Hannah Mae. This Off-Broadway two-hander comedy “A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking” became Noonan's biggest hit, running for over a year.

“Mr. Noonan is quite a skillful jokesmith,” New York Times critic Frank Rich said in his review. “He has a fine ear for language, a knack for the throwaway line and a sense of timing that is pretty much faultless.” Time Magazine called the tour de talk play “A lighter than air comedy.”

Over the years, the play with its long, juicy scenes between two women has become a staple in scene study classes.

“Well, this particular play, in my opinion, is a fun watch not just due to its numerous comedic elements but that it intermingles a fair amount of the serious and in many cases relatable subject of philandering and infidelity,” Director Michael Richardson said. “And it all comes together to show the forging of a new unshakable friendship.”

No stranger to the TBT stage Connie Terry takes on the role of Hannah Mae, stage newbie Rebecca Hardee cuts her acting teeth as Maude. Tasked with bringing the best out of the two actors are Director Richardson and co-director Don Boysen.

During a rehearsal last week, the directors discussed and fine-tuned details of emotion, placement, blocking, tweaking action and use of props. Having directed commercials and music videos back in his college days, this is Richardson’s first in the TBT director role. Backstage crew include Charles McCloud, Debbi Rollins and JoAnn Grelle.

“Watching the chemistry between Connie and Rebecca develop has been an experience,” Richardson said. “They started out as total strangers and today you might assume them lifelong friends. And Rebecca, though this is all new to her, has shown a focus and drive I feel any director would want to see from their cast.”

Since every scene is on a different day, the actors have different outfits, which keeps the stage action visually interesting.

Born in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1941, Noonan, received both a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Masters in theatre arts from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He taught high school Latin in Long Island while writing “The Year Boston Won the Pennant.”

Noonan also utilized the two-actor format, which had been so successful for “A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking,” in “Talking Things Over with Chekhov.” The playwright also enjoyed success on screen, sharing a 1984 Emmy Award with Tom Fontana and John Masius for an episode of St. Elsewhere.

As an actor, he was seen in “Adventures in Babysitting,” “Flirting With Disaster,” and “My Divorce.” Noonan died in 2018 of a heart failure at 77.