After She Died
by Tom Wawzenek
Three generations of the Malec family live in a three-flat in an old ethnic neighborhood that is quickly gentrifying. They defy upward mobility and the empty nest syndrome.
Their lives change when Jozefina, the matriarch, dies and the house has to be sold as stipulated in her will. Jozefina’s oldest grandson, Casey, a struggling rockabilly singer who has avoided responsibility all his life, is given charge of his grandmother’s funeral. In a tragic/comic manner, he organizes her funeral in the same haphazard way that he has led his life, creating conflict and tension between family members.
After She Died is set in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood and illustrates how the Malec family as well as other long-time residents become outcasts in a neighborhood that no longer feels like home.