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
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.
...
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