Meet the Browns (play)

Meet the Browns is a play written by Tyler Perry in 2004. In it, Cora (Madea's daughter) and Mr. Brown (Madea's neighbor) are headed to Brown's side of the family. In Madea's Class Reunion, it is revealed that Brown is actually Cora's father, so he is taking his new daughter to his family. This play is a spin-off from the play Madea's Class Reunion.

Plot

The play begins with Brown's (David Mann) brother, L.B., and his wife, Sarah, in their house very early in the morning. Their daughter, Milay (whose real name is Millie Jean), soon comes in after being awakened at her own house by her parents. She soon learns that her grandfather (Brown and L.B.'s father) had died, and they need help preparing for the funeral. After a little convincing, Milay decides to help with funeral arrangements.

The next morning, Sarah and Milay are talking together while L.B. is upstairs crying. We soon learn that Milay was divorced and had a son who died. But before more can be learned, Mr. Brown and Cora come in and get acquainted with everyone. Everyone is surprised to learn that Brown is Cora's father and that Madea is her mother. Soon after, Will and his wife, Kim, come in. Will's overly drunk mother, Vera (singer Nicci Gilbert) comes in after them crying hysterically. She jumps upon seeing Brown, believing it was he that had died. When she is told it is her father that has died, she nearly collapses, and begins to cry again. Vera begins to insult Cora about her weight, and Cora starts yelling and pulls out a gun, and begins to act like her mother Madea, very crazy.

Meanwhile, the ladies are at the church when Tracey Stevens walks in. She tells them that she is pregnant and the father is a married man. Sarah gives Tracey her number and address and tells her to stop by any time. Soon only Cora is left in the church when Rev. Henry Oliver walks in. Cora soon takes a liking to the reverend as the two develop a romance.

Later, Tracey comes to the house and goes off with Sarah. Milay's ex-husband, Gerald shows up, giving his sympathy and planning to come to the funeral. Milay is outraged, mainly because Gerald didn't have the decency to come to their own son's funeral. Once Gerald leaves, Tracey then comes back and sees Will, stating that he is her baby's father. The revelation startles everyone, especially Kim, who storms out in tears.

Sarah, in a musical number, prays to God and hopes her family will be healed. After continuing to angrily reject Will's apologies, Sarah speaks to Kim, who tells her to make a list with every good thing Will had ever done for her along with every bad one. She continues, saying that if the bad outweighed the good, then she was free to let Will go. But if the good were to outweigh the bad, then she should fight completely for her marriage. Later, Tracy reveals that she is not pregnant and reveals her intentions, and Will and Kim finally reconcile. Gerald and Milay also reconcile. In a special feature on the DVD while Brown is teaching the guys how to play golf Madea calls "The Brown's House" looking for Cora and Brown telling them that she is in jail and she will tell them what she did in the next play called Madea Goes to Jail.

Cast

• David Mann as Leroy Brown
• Tamela J. Mann as Cora Jean Simmons
• Kendrick Mays as Larry Brown (L.B.) Fort Worth Texas November 7
• Joyce Williams as Sarah Brown Greenville South Carolina October 13
• Terrell Phillips as Gerald
• Terrell Carter as Will Brown
• Tamika Scott as Milay Brown

College Park Georgia November 19

• Demetria McKinney as Kim Brown Albuquerque New Mexico August 27
• Nicci Gilbert as Vera Brown Detroit Michigan June 8
• Euclid Gray as Rev. Henry Oliver Chicago Illinois April 2
• Trina Braxton as Tracey Stevens Serven Maryland December 3

Musical numbers

• "Find A Good Woman, You'll Find A Good Thing"-Performed by David Mann,Terrell Carter,and Kendrick Mays
• "Ain't Nothing Like A Good Man"-Performed by Nicci Gilbert,Demetria Mckinney,and Trina E. Braxton
• "Heart to Heart"-Performed by Tamela Mann
• "Give It to Jesus"-Performed by Joyce Williams
• "Don't Give Up On Me"-Performed by Terrell Carter
• "I'll Fly Away"-Performed by Joyce Williams and Tamela Mann
• "In the Morning"-Performed by Kendrick Mays,David Mann,and Euclid Gray
• "What Happen to the Man"-Performed by Terrell Phillips and Tamika Scott
• "Ain't Nothing Like Family"-Performed by Joyce Williams,Terrell Phillips,Terrell Carter,David Mann,and Tamela Mann

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of the play was released on March 21, 2008. The film altered almost all the plot details found in the play. Comingsoon.net talked to Tyler Perry and Lionsgate who shed light on the plot of the film adaptation.

Differences from the stage play

• The film's plot mainly comes from another Tyler Perry production called What's Done in the Dark. The plot for Meet the Browns is barely used.
• Despite being the title characters, the Browns are only supporting characters and are only included in the story's subplot. In addition to this, they are only seen near the beginning of the film and near the end.
• The only characters that appear in the film are Mr. Brown, Cora, LB, Sarah, Will, and Vera.
• LB is more laid-back and friendlier than he is in the play
• Mr. Brown is not the central character or protagonist. He is only comic relief.
• Madea only appears in the film, as she did not appear in the stage play. (Although she did appear in a flashback in the very beginning.)

TV series

The TV series is based on the play and the film of the same name by Tyler Perry. The TV series involves several main characters from the film including, Mr. Brown, Cora Simmons, and Vera Brown, and David Mann, Tamela Mann and Jenifer Lewis all respectively reprise their characters from the film.

Trivia

• This is the very first Tyler Perry stage play that everyone in the play does a musical number.
• Terrell Carter has worked with Tyler Perry three times in plays such as Madea's Class Reunion, Meet the Browns and What's Done in the Dark.
• Demetria McKinney stars in Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Why Did I Get Married the play.
• David Mann and Tamela Mann, stars in the stage play's spin-off Meet the Browns, where Brown opens up his father's home and turn it into a retirement home with Cora, Will and his wife, Sasha (Kim in the play).
• David Mann and Tamela Mann, who play father and daughter on stage (Leroy and Cora), are actually husband and wife.