It looks like I'm going to propose a Christopher Durang play that's funny because it is grotesque, but disturbing because it is funny. The Marriage of Bette and Boo has missed opportunities, misogyny, anti-Church tendencies, intellectual witticisms, and a running gag of throwing dead babies on the ground. Betty's Summer Vacation has a laugh track, a serial killer, two gruesome murders that involve disconnected penises and heads, and the feeling that modern entertainment has desensitized us towards violence and depravity. I still have a few more one-acts to read, but those look like the best options for full-length plays.
If I did either, I could easily send squeamish audience members running for the door. I'd like that as long as I was laughing. I want to make people uncomfortable. I'm not sure which I like better. I found the humor in Betty's more accessible (and more outrageous), but I think I might like the underlying theme of Marriage better. This is a conundrum indeed.
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