Drop Dead Gorgeous
by Marcy Kahan
BBC World Service: Play of the Week
Broadcast: Sunday 2nd February 2003 @ 8:00 p.m.
As part of BBC World Service's continuing Globalisation season, this week's Play of the Week, "Drop Dead Gorgeous", is a comedy with a
conscience about the global fashion industry.
J. C. McMaster, the Editor-in Chief of 'Here, There and Everywhere' magazine, and Lala Thropmorton, the Commisioning Editor, have the
most scathingly brilliant idea. They want Richard Veeblen, a freelance journalist for the magazine, to do a story on 'Gorgeous' Atwater, a
woman of a certain age who is obscenely rich, a socialite, and a fashion icon.
With his best articles being 'The Search for the Perfect Won-Ton' and 'Bus Drivers With Unusual Hobbies', Richard doesn't seem the obvious
choice to run a story on the glamorous Socialite and ex-supermodel. He is the kind of man who if you asked him what people were wearing
this season would answer: clothes.
Richard is concerned that J.C. is removing his right to write about whatever intrigues him so he decides to write the definitive profile on
'Gorgeous' Attwater. It would be so unassailably witty and so subversively satiric he'd shame J.C. into giving him his freedom back. But
when Richard tries to set up an appointment to meet with 'Gorgeous' Attwater, he finds that she has mysteriously disappeared. As he delves
further in his search, quite a few things are beginning to seem mysterious to Richard....
'Drop Dead Gorgeous' was winner of the Bronze Medal for Best Play at the New York Radio Festival in 2003.
With Rolf Saxon [Richard Veeblen, a Freelance Journalist], Elaine Stritch [Tamara Zoda, the Über Fashion Editor of Astonish Magazine],
Lia Williams [Lala Thropmorton, the Commisioning Editor of 'Here, There and Everywhere' Magazine / Attwater Charitable Trust Phone
Receptionist], Adam Godley [Cosmo Copeland, Famous London Clothes Designer], Martin Hyder [Hector De Vinier, the Head of Creative
Conceptualisation at RKP Attwater], Ajay Chaudbra [Harry Starman, Sweatshop Factory Owner in Jaipur, Rajasthan], Alex Belcourt
[Erica Garofalo, Editor at Worthwhile Local Radio / Attwater Press Office Phone Receptionist / Voice of Interviewer in Visioning Room at
the International Headquarters of RKP Attwater / The Bazar Hotel de Ville Receptionist in Paris / Zoda's Assistant], and Archie Panjabi
[Hestor Morgenthal, New York Realty Agent and Richard's Former Fiancée / Hotel Receptionist in Jaipur, Rajasthan].
Other parts were played by members of the cast.
Technical Presentation by Mark Wilcox who also played the piano.
Directed by Marion Nancarrow for BBC World Service.
60 minutes.
Jim
