Interview: Timothy McCuen Piggee Opens Up About APPROPRIATE

When the Lafayettes descend upon their late father’s crumbling plantation home for an estate sale, they unearth an appalling secret that pits them against one another. Through a cascading series of revelations, biting humor boils over into bruising conflict, and no one will escape this family gathering unscathed. Smart, incendiary, and never before produced in Seattle, this 2024 Tony Award winner by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Everybody, An Octoroon) depicts a Southern family wrestling with a destructive inheritance as they consider the legacy they want to leave for the next generation.

Seattle Rep: What first drew you to this play? What made this an exciting choice for you to direct?   

Timothy McCuen Piggee: I was approached about potentially directing [Appropriate] last spring. I have been extremely fortunate to enjoy a wonderful collaborative relationship with the Rep for many years, so it didn’t take much convincing. The fact that [playwright] Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is one of the most dynamic voices in contemporary American theater made the prospect of working on Appropriate even more enticing.  

SR: Seattle and the Pacific Northwest can feel so removed from Southern culture. What do audiences here stand to gain from this specific show and its themes?  

TMP: Easy. Families and their inherent dynamics are universal. It is virtually impossible not to experience great joy and excruciating grief within the family structure. Most of us will at some point know what it is to lose a parent or someone who has nurtured and guided us.  

Those who have been tasked with the intimate job of sorting through a loved one’s personal effects are sometimes reintroduced to the deceased party in surprising ways. Our parents had lives and dreams before we entered their world. Learning the personal details of their lives and experiences can at times be sobering.   

Metaphorically, the same can be said with America and the world of Appropriate. Where does accountability begin or end when it comes to how we choose to reckon with our past? 

SR: How do you tailor your directorial approach to balance a show like this that is at once a dark comedy and, at times, an intense and disturbing drama?  

 TMP: I’m a believer that comedy is truth in pain. That the tension between comedy and drama is not as wide as we’re sometimes led to believe. My hope is that whatever questions the playwright is asking us, our answers are rooted in truth. However complicated or extreme that may be.  

SR: What has surprised you the most while working on this production so far? How has it differed from other plays that you have directed?  

TMP: I’d have to say the sheer scope and scale of the piece. Emotionally and technically, this play should not be underestimated.   

SR: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' work is some of the most influential in the theater world today. Why do you think his plays are resonating with audiences so deeply right now?  

TMP: I think he possesses a unique talent for dialogue that is at once hilarious and biting at the same time.  The themes he chooses to engage with address the ones we’d most want to avoid. His use of what I call “American Metaphor” is fresh and engaging. His plays seldom adhere to limits. He is sometimes compared to Hansberry, Miller, and O’Neill—and I don’t disagree.  

SR: Is there anything else you would like audiences to know before seeing Appropriate? 

TMP: I suspect that our current political and societal predicament will have prepared audiences enough. Show up with an open mind and a willingness to “take the ride!”  

SR: You've directed standout productions at Seattle Rep over the last decade, all built in-house by Seattle Rep's backstage shops. What about Appropriate makes you excited to work with the Rep again?  

TMP: Our community is extremely fortunate to have some of the most accomplished and talented artisans working today. Seattle Rep is no exception. The collaborative spirit I’ve enjoyed at the Rep has been instrumental in my development as an artist. To feel so wonderfully welcomed and supported by such an organization is a remarkable gift. One I don’t take for granted.

Don’t miss this Tony Award–winning play this spring. Catch Appropriate beginning April 9 at Seattle Rep.