By Rob Beck, Southern Voice
THERE’S TRUTH IN THE old adage that there’s never too much of a good thing. Note the Process Theatre's presentation of the local return run of Del Shores’ “Southern Baptist Sissies,” in repertory with Shores’ cult classic “Sordid Lives,” less than six months after “Sissies” concluded its initial Atlanta run in May.The shows kick off on Oct. 3 at Whole World Theater’s Third Space.The overlapping casts feature most of the original “Sissies” cast, with “Sordid Lives” director and “Sissies” co-director DeWayne Morgan stepping in to fill the role of the Preacher. “Sissies,” co-directed by Morgan and Barbara Cole Uterhardt, tells the story of four boys growing up in a small southern town and coming to terms with their sexual orientation. “Sordid Lives” recounts a Texas family’s misguided but hilarious efforts to get through the funeral of its recently deceased matriarch.
Morgan says both “Sissies” and “Sordid Lives” are such hits with gay audiences — as indicated by the sold-out final three weeks of the initial run of “Sissies” in Atlanta — because Shores’ work resonates with experiences and people familiar to Southern gay men and lesbians.
“Del wrote about who he was growing up in Texas, and Atlanta, while not Texas, is Southern. A lot of the stigmas that he experienced there, gay people experience here,” Morgan says. “Plus, he writes Southern so well, in terms of the comedy and the characters and people. Some of the characters you see in ‘Sordid Lives,’ like Sissy, Latrelle, and Lavonda, are women that you know. When they walk in and start talking, you realize you knew them growing up or you had an aunt who was like that. He captures them so well.”
Topher Payne, who reprises his “Sissies” role as Mark Fuller, concurs that audiences relate to the stories on a personal level, which keeps them coming back for more.“Atlanta is made up so much of a community of transplants,” he says. “You think of all the people that moved to Atlanta from smaller towns throughout the South, and that’s why the experience of seeing the show for so many people speaks to their personal history. It validates the choices that we made, and kind of honors that that sense of community happens a lot earlier in life than we’re often willing to admit.”For his part as the playwright, Shores is thrilled to hear about the return of his plays to Atlanta, though he admits to surprise at the impact of “Sissies,” the tear-jerking and personal, yet still funny, cousin of the raucous “Sordid Lives.”
“I felt like I was just telling my story,” he says. “I soon found out that I was telling a lot of gay men’s stories, as well as those of gay women and beyond. My producing partner, Sharon Lane, who is no longer with us, always said it was about anybody that felt different, and I think that’s why it really resonated with so many people.”
Payne looks forward to the chance to allow more people to see “Sissies,” which was hard to get into at the end of its run. “We were hoping to provide an opportunity for anybody who wants to see the show,” he says. “Well, dammit, we’ll let you see it.”
FANS OF BOTH PLAYS can look forward to the same trademark heart and humor of previous runs, but with marked improvements, according to cast and crew. Most notable is the addition of Juanita, the wisecracking barfly who was created for the “Sordid Lives” film in 2000 and was much missed by audiences during the play’s 2004 Atlanta production.
“This version has Juanita in it,” Morgan says. “That’s the one thing that is going to delight the audiences, actually getting to see that character.”
Payne is excited about the chance for the cast and crew to refine the production as a whole.
“To be able to come back and say, ‘Okay, let’s try it again,’ is exciting,” he says. “So much of the rehearsal process is taken up by the business of doing theater: learning the blocking, learning the lines, getting to know the cast. We already have that. We have been able to delve deeper into the characters and what the playwright wanted to express, so that’s been a really unique experience.”
Morgan says that at first, the prospect of taking on both plays at the same time was daunting. But the fact that “Sissies” was done so recently, combined with the efforts of Uterhardt as co-director, made the process smoother than expected.
“We’ve saved everything,” he says. “It’s going to be a little different, because we’ve kept the same blocking, and Barbara’s just tweaking the show, making any changes from last year.”
Payne welcomes the infusion of new blood to the production.“[Morgan and Uterhardt] are kind of taking what DeWayne originally did with the show and honoring that, but having a fresh set of eyes on it has kind of challenged us all,” he says. “A different director will say, ‘Let’s look at it this way,’ and then you suddenly explode with ideas.”FANS OF THE shows tend to overlap, but comes with its own distinct feel. “Sordid Lives” tends towards non-stop “rip-roaring” humor, according to Morgan, and “Sissies,” while not without its funny moments, leans to the introspective.
“The thing about ‘Sissies’ is it makes you think about how you feel about yourself and accepting yourself for who you are,” Morgan says.
Shores says that “Sissies” is ultimately about the various paths in life he ended up taking along with his characters.
“There’s a scene [in ‘Sissies’] where Mark’s talking to TJ, who was once the love of his life, and he says, ‘I'm going on a journey. A quest,’” Shores says. “That’s what happened with me writing it: I went on a journey to try and find some answers for me, and they’re not all there yet. That’s the way life is. It’s about a journey.”
