COEUR d'ALENE - They say laughter is the best medicine, so if you're feeling blue, the place to go is the Lake City Playhouse.

The comedy "Dearly Departed" by David Bottrell and Jesse Jones opens at 7:30 tonight. It tells the tale of a dysfunctional group of Southerners who gather when the patriarch of the Turpin family kicks the bucket. The struggle to get him buried stirs up some hilarious mayhem.

"This show is a light hearted and clever take on a family's way of coping with death," said George Green, Playhouse artistic director. "It has many over the top moments to make you laugh with just the right amount of sincerity to help you reflect and think about those you love. We placed this show into our season to give us all a break from the seriousness of our everyday lives."

Director Katrina Heath said the show looks great and with an outstanding cast, she can't wait to put it in front of an audience.

And yes, you will laugh out loud.

"It is hilarious," she said. "It is a farce but there are moments of unexpected sweetness. It takes some of the most tragic things that can happen to a family, such as death, miscarriages, and infidelity, and turns them on their heads. I truly believe that the only way we can heal through these events is through laughter."

As director, Heath said she wanted to keep the characters grounded in the real world.

"In other words, they may be caricatures to some people, but to me they are the people I grew up with in Oklahoma," she said. "And I love them."

Cast members include Sarah Miller as Lucille; Willy Dowling as Ray-Bud, Nadine Carr as Suzanne, Bryan Durbin as Junior, Gail Cory-Betz as Marguerite and Mark Pleasant as the Rev. B. H. Hooker.

Heath said directing "Dearly Departed" was also a very "cathartic experience." She and her husband lost three close family members between October 2009 and March 2010, including suddenly losing Heath's mother.

"It was great to be able to share those stories with my actors and tell of my own experiences of laughing at funerals," she said. "Sometimes when things get so sad, stressful and awful, the only way to cope is through laughter."

Health graduated with a bachelor's in arts in theater and English from Eastern Washington University. She has worked at Theater Arts for Children in the Spokane Valley as a director, actor, and teacher for the past six years. She came to the Playhouse last fall for Evita where she played "The Mistress" and over the past theater season Lake City Playhouse has become an "incredible home" for her.

Heath hopes for a full house to see "Dearly Departed." They will see "fantastic, hardworking actors, an incredible set, and story that everyone can relate to.

"We have all lost someone suddenly and had to face the stress and emotion that comes with a funeral," she said. "This is a chance to be entertained be that whole awful process, from picking out the overpriced casket to arranging the flowers around it at the funeral home, and of course the awkward conversations with friends and family members who just don't know what to say."

See 'Dearly Departed'

The comedy "Dearly Departed," directed by Katrina Heath, runs April 22-24, April 28-30, and May 1, 5-8, at the Lake City Playhouse, 1320 E. Garden Ave. Tickets are $17 for adults, $15 for veterans and students, $13 for seniors and $9 for children. Thursday to Saturday curtain times are 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinee curtain times are 2 p.m. Tickets: 667-1323.