Meet the Browns is a 2004 American stage play written, produced and directed by Tyler Perry. It stars David & Tamela Mann as Mr. Brown & Cora, as they head off to see Brown's side of the family. The play is a spin off of 2003's Madea's Class Reunion, where it's revealed at the ending that Brown is Cora's long-lost father. The live performance released on VHS and DVD on October 27, 2004 was recorded live in Cleveland at the Palace Theatre in October 2004.

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, Madea Goes to Jail.

Musical Numbers All songs written and/or produced by Tyler Perry and Elvin D. Ross. "Find A Good Woman (You'll Find a Good Thing") – Will, Brown and L.B. "Ain't Nothing Like a Good Man" – Vera, Kim and Tracy "Heart to Heart" – Cora "Give It to Jesus" – Sarah "Don't Give Up on Me" – Will "I'll Fly Away" - Sarah and Cora "In The Morning (When I Rise)"- L.B., Brown, Henry "What Happened to The Man"- Milay and Gerald "Silent Night" (ad-lib) - Brown "This Is Your Grandaddy" (ad-lib) - Brown "Ain't Nothing Like Family" - Sarah, Gerald, Will, Brown, Cora and Company

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 with most of its storyline coming from the 2006 play, What's Done in the Dark.

Differences from the stage play 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 & in a recorded phone call towards the middle of the play.)

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, Will Brown, and features Vera Brown in a recurring role. David Mann, Tamela Mann, Lamman Rucker, and Jenifer Lewis all respectively reprise their characters from the film. L.B. does not make an appearance at any point in the series, although he is mentioned once in an episode of House of Payne.

2004/2005 Tour Dates +Scheduled shows Date City VenueAugust 31, 2004New OrleansSaenger TheatreSeptember 1, 2004September 2, 2004September 3, 2004September 4, 2004September 5, 2004September 7, 2004PhiladelphiaMerriam TheaterSeptember 8, 2004September 9, 2004September 10, 2004September 11, 2004September 12, 2004September 15, 2004Washington, D.C.Warner TheatreSeptember 16, 2004September 17, 2004September 18, 2004September 19, 2004September 21, 2004September 22, 2004September 23, 2004September 24, 2004September 25, 2004September 26, 2004September 28, 2004PhiladelphiaMerriam TheaterSeptember 29, 2004September 30, 2004October 1, 2004October 2, 2004October 3, 2004October 5, 2004ColumbusPalace TheatreOctober 6, 2004October 7, 2004ClevelandPalace TheatreOctober 8, 2004October 9, 2004October 10, 2004October 12, 2004HoustonVerizon Wireless TheaterOctober 13, 2004October 14, 2004October 15, 2004October 16, 2004October 17, 2004October 26, 2004BaltimoreMorgan State UniversityOctober 27, 2004October 28, 2004October 29, 2004 October 30, 2004October 31, 2004 November 2, 2004 New YorkBeacon Theatre November 3, 2004 November 4, 2004 November 5, 2004 November 6, 2004 November 7, 2004 November 9, 2004ChicagoArie Crown TheaterNovember 10, 2004November 11, 2004November 12, 2004November 13, 2004November 14, 2004November 16, 2004NewarkNewark Symphony HallNovember 17, 2004November 18, 2004November 19, 2004November 20, 2004November 21, 2004November 23, 2004AtlantaAtlanta Civic CenterNovember 24, 2004 November 25, 2004 November 26, 2004 November 27, 2004 November 28, 2004 January 4, 2005 Washington, D.C.Warner TheatreJanuary 5, 2005 January 6, 2005 January 7, 2005 January 8, 2005January 9, 2005 January 11, 2005AkronAkron Civic CenterJanuary 12, 2005ColumbusVeterans Memorial AuditoriumJanuary 13, 2005St. LouisFox TheatreJanuary 14, 2005January 15, 2005January 16, 2005January 18, 2005New YorkBeacon TheatreJanuary 19, 2005 January 20, 2005January 21, 2005January 22, 2005January 23, 2005January 26, 2005MiamiJames L. Knight CenterJanuary 27, 2005 January 28, 2005January 29, 2005January 30, 2005February 1, 2005GreenvillePeace Center for the Performing ArtsFebruary 2, 2005February 4, 2005HamptonHampton ColiseumFebruary 5, 2005February 6, 2005February 10, 2005JacksonvilleTimes-Union Center for the Performing ArtsFebruary 11, 2005February 12, 2005February 13, 2005 February 17, 2005Kansas CityKansas City Music HallFebruary 18, 2005February 19, 2005February 20, 2005February 22, 2005DetroitFox TheatreFebruary 23, 2005February 24, 2005February 25, 2005February 26, 2005February 27, 2005March 8, 2005TampaTampa Bay Performing Arts CenterMarch 9, 2005March 10, 2005March 11, 2005OrlandoOrange County Convention Center March 12, 2005March 13, 2005TallahasseeTallahassee-Leon County Civic CenterMarch 15, 2005DallasBruton TheatreMarch 16, 2005March 17, 2005March 18, 2005March 19, 2005March 20, 2005March 29, 2005BeaumontBeaumont Civic CenterMarch 30, 2005March 31, 2005San AntonioSan Antonio Municipal AuditoriumApril 1, 2005April 2, 2005AustinFrank Erwin CenterApril 3, 2005April 7, 2005MemphisOrpheum TheatreApril 8, 2005 April 9, 2005April 10, 2005April 12, 2005MontgomeryJoe L. Reed Acadome April 13, 2005April 19, 2005PhoenixDodge TheatreApril 20, 2005April 21, 2005HollywoodKodak TheatreApril 22, 2005April 23, 2005April 24, 2005April 26, 2005SacramentoSacramento Memorial AuditoriumApril 27, 2005April 28, 2005OaklandParamount TheatreApril 29, 2005April 30, 2005May 1, 2005May 3, 2005Las VegasAladdin Resort and CasinoMay 4, 2005May 5, 2005

2004 Live Cast David Mann as Leroy Brown Tamela Mann as Cora Jean Simmons Kendrick Mays as Larry Brown (L.B.) Joyce Williams as Sarah Brown Tamika Scott as Milay Brown Terrell Carter as Will Brown Demetria McKinney as Kim Brown Nicci Gilbert as Vera Brown Terrell Phillips as Gerald Euclid Gray as Rev. Henry Oliver Trina Braxton as Tracey Stevens

2004 Film Cast David Mann as Leroy Brown Tamela Mann as Cora Jean Simmons Kendrick Mays as Larry Brown (L.B.) Joyce Williams as Sarah Brown Tamika Scott as Milay Brown Terrell Carter as Will Brown Demetria McKinney as Kim Brown Nicci Gilbert as Vera Brown Terrell Phillips as Gerald Euclid Gray as Rev. Henry Oliver Trina Braxton as Tracey Stevens

After Tamika Scott left production, Trina Braxton assumed her role.

2005 Tour Cast David Mann as Leroy Brown Tamela Mann as Cora Jean Simmons Kendrick Mays as Larry Brown (L.B.) Di'ta Monique as Sarah Brown Tamika Scott as Milay Brown Terrell Carter as Will Brown Demetria McKinney as Kim Brown Nicci Gilbert as Vera Brown Terrell Phillips as Gerald Euclid Gray as Rev. Henry Oliver Trina Braxton as Tracey Stevens

2004 Band Mike Frazier - Musical Director / Bass Guitar Erick Morgan - Drums Donnie "D-Major" Boynton - Keyboards Clarence Hill - Keyboards

2005 Band

Mike Frazier - Musical Director / Bass Guitar Erick Morgan - Drums Clarence Hill - Keyboards Denise White - Keyboards

References