Download History Of The Play

50 WORDS ABOUT THE PRODUCTION OF “SORDID
LIVES”
How do you get your critically acclaimed play made into a movie? You get Beau
Bridges to wear a black lacy brassiere and wooden legs, Olivia Newton-John to
play a white-trash ex-con singing lesbian, Delta Burke to portray a pissed-off
housewife under the influence of Valium and Vodka…with a gun….and Bonnie
Bedelia to play a Southern Baptist mother with control issues who has a gay son
and a Tammy Wynette-obsessed transvestite brother. Then you beg all your
friends for money! Now you know why it’s called “Sordid Lives!”
Del Shores
Writer and Producer
History Of The Play
Sordid Lives opened at Theater/Theater on May 11, 1996. Immediately, audiences
were on their feet and the critics were raving. Lightning had struck twice for playwright
Del Shores, whose award-winning Daddy’s Dyin’ . . . Who’s Got The Will? opened at the
same theatre almost ten years earlier and ran for a remarkable two years, giving it a
place in LA theatre history.
The LA Times’ F. Kathleen Foley christened Shores, “the master of Texas comedy,”
saying Sordid Lives was “maybe funnier than Daddy’s Dyin’ . . . his colorful eccentrics
are dead on, teetering on a Bowie knife’s edge between the hilarious improbable and the
achingly commonplace.” Drama-Logue said, “Run. Don’t walk to see Del Shores’ new
play!” LA Weekly proclaimed it Pick of the Week, calling Shores, “one of LA’s most
original theatrical voices,” ultimately honoring him (who directed for the first time) with a
Best Direction nomination, along with a Best Ensemble nomination for the cast.
When the dust settled, Sordid Lives had racked up 14 Critic’s Choices, ultimately being
nominated for over 30 local theatre awards, which included 14 wins from Drama-Logue –
Best Production, Best Direction, Best Writing and 11 special Outstanding Performance
awards for every actor in the play!
The play continued to run for over a year to sold-out houses. The theme of
unconditional love, acceptance and “coming out,” along with the wicked comedy hit a
nerve with LA’s traditional mainstream audiences as well as the gay community (GLAAD
nominated Sordid Lives for Best Play).
Shores himself “came out” in the LA Times Sunday Calendar, sitting down with reporter
Don Shirley, along with his ex-wife, Kelley Alexander, and ex-in-laws Newell and
Rosemary Alexander (who were starring in the play), admitting the play was semiautobiographical. The article was an honest tale of a journey for this non-traditional
family, all working together to prove that love does indeed conquer all.
Sordid Lives also had a run at the Circle Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas – home to
Shores and the Southern Baptists. The play broke all house records and once again,
audiences were on their feet and the reviews were love letters – the Ft. Worth StarTelegram christening Shores this time, “The Eugene O’Neil of Texas dysfunctional
families.” It was voted Best Play of the Year by the Fort Worth Weekly.
SYNOPSIS
Sometimes it takes a death to bring a family together. In the film Sordid Lives, the allstar cast puts a comedic twist on a story of unconditional love, acceptance and “coming
out” in a Texas family.
The colorful cast of characters in Sordid Lives come together when their lives intertwine
in preparation for the funeral of Peggy, the family matriarch. Now Peggy was not your
average grandmother, no, she was carrying out an illicit affair with a married man (G.W.
Nethercott, BEAU BRIDGES) in a seedy motel when she took her last breath. No, it
wasn’t the sex that got her; it was her lover’s wooden legs lying in the middle of the floor.
Ya see, she got up to use the bathroom, tripped on the legs, hit her head on the sink and
well you guessed it – her brain hemorrhaged and she died right there on the spot!
As all good southern daughters do, her daughters La Vonda (ANN WALKER) and
Latrelle (BONNIE BEDELIA) naturally began fighting. It wasn’t over what they would
get, but whether or not mamma was gonna wear a mink stole in her coffin, you know,
one of those with the head still on it (did we mention it was 100 degrees and in the
middle of summer?). This isn’t Latrelle’s only problem, she has a few more to work out.
She’s simply in denial about a few things, one, how her mamma died and two, about her
son being gay. La Vonda has her troubles too . . . she wants to get their brother out of
the mental institution he’s been in for over 20 years and she’s best friends with her
mother’s illicit lover’s wife Noleta Nethercott (DELTA BURKE).
Now Noleta is a woman scorned, and out for revenge. She goes a tad over the edge the
night before the funeral and tries her hand at a bit of revenge therapy inspired by
“Thelma & Louise.” Don’t worry, she wasn’t alone, La Vonda serves as her partner in
crime!
The sisters’ brother, appropriately called “Brother Boy” (LESLIE JORDAN) is away in
that institution to “recover” from a bad case of homosexualism with a touch of
transvestitism. OK, perhaps it is a bad case . . . he’s lived his life dressed as Tammy
Wynette (in the early years)!
The glue that holds this family together is Sissy (BETH GRANT), the deceased’s sister.
Aside from refereeing the acts of her two nieces and their battle over the mink stole, she
picks this of all weeks to quit smoking . . . but after a failed attempt with some second
hand behavior modification advice using a rubber band, she promptly begins smoking
again!
The last of our stories comes from an ex-con turned barfly/singer named Bitsy Mae
Harling (OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN). Aside from comforting everyone at Bubba’s Beer
Joint with her guitar and song, it turns out that she too had a “deep,” meaningful
relationship with the deceased!
Through it all, the family members and friends are able to accept each other, or at least
join together for the funeral, which of course has a few last minute surprises.
About The Filmmakers
DEL SHORES (Writer/Director)
Writer/producer/playwright Del Shores makes his directorial debut with Sordid Lives.
The critically acclaimed stage production garnered Shores three DramaLogue Theatre
Awards for writing, directing and producing, with the play going on to win a total of
fourteen. Shores’ other long time running production Daddy’s Dyin’ . . . Who’s Got The
Will?, which has been produced in over 800 theatres worldwide, was adapted in 1990 for
the big screen with stars Beau Bridges, Tess Harper, Judge Reinhold, Keith Carradine
and Beverly D’Angelo and was released by MGM and Propaganda Films. His other
notable plays include the award-winning Cheatin’ and Daughters of the Lone Star State.
All are published by Samuel French. In addition, Shores has written pilots for every
major network and written and produced such notable television programs as Mr. and
Mrs. Smith, Live Shot, Touched By An Angel, and Ned and Stacey.
SHARYN LANE (Producer)
Producer Sharyn Lane produced the independent film Just Desserts for Artist
Entertainment Group. She owns Zamalama Publishing Company in Nashville and has
written and produced several country songs. She was also the managing editor for Fade
In Magazine in addition to being a contributing editor and columnist for Valley Magazine.
Her television credits include Unleashed, a pilot co-written with Del Shores for Mandalay
Television and The Sweet Steens, a pilot for CBS and Disney Television.
VICTORIA ALONSO (Producer)
Producer Victoria Alonso has just recently wrapped production with producer Bonnie
Curtis on Brace Face Brandy, a short film for Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks, SKG, by
director/writer Brandy Menefee. Prior to this project she worked at the studio in
development and pre-production on Shrek (Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Linda Hunt,
John Lithgow and Cameron Diaz), a fully CG animated motion picture with executive
producer, Jeffrey Katzenberg. Alonso has also produced the highly acclaimed visual
effects-driven film Recon (Peter Gabriel, Elizabeth Pena and Charles Durning) for
director Breck Eisner. As a visual-effects producer for Jim Cameron’s Digital Domain,
Alonso worked on numerous high-end commercials, music videos and shorts for
directors such as David Kellogg, Simon West, David Fincher, Sam Bayer, Marcus Nispel
and Kinka Usher.
MAX CIVON (Producer)
Producer Max CiVon is a leading expert in the “Video Shot as Film” movement, having
lectured around the country on Digital Cinema for many years. His Electronic
Cinematography workshops broke new ground in the early 90’s when he taught them on
the campus of the American Film Institute. His current work is in association with Sony
Pictures, High Definition production. Max has also written a book for Sony on shooting
video in a film application.
-moreMAX CIVON (Producer), cont.
Through testing and experimental projects he has evolved with Sony Pictures, the list of
Do’s and Don’ts which Sony Pictures, High Definition hands out today to it’s customers.
His deep knowledge of this burgeoning new technology has made him one of the most
sought after digital photographers in the independent motion picture industry.
J. TODD HARRIS (Producer)
Producer J. Todd Harris is president of Davis Entertainment Classics and is partnered
with Tim Daly in Daly-Harris Productions. Producing ten independent features in the
past four years, Harris’ credits include the Sony Pictures Classics release, Denise Calls
Up (special mention for the Camera D’Or, at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival). Cadillac
Ranch and Lewis & Clark & George (official selection of the 1997 Sundance Film
Festival) were both released by BMG Independents, Bad Manners, along with Digging to
China and Dinner at Fred’s which have all been released in the last year. He recently
produced Dudley Do-Right for Universal Pictures.
GEORGE S. CLINTON (Composer)
George S. Clinton was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and began his professional
career in Nashville, where he wrote songs and did session work while earning degrees
in both music and drama from Middle Tennessee State University. After graduation, he
moved to Los Angeles, formed the acclaimed but short-lived George Clinton Band, and
signed a songwriter deal at Warner Bros. Music. At Warner, Clinton had songs recorded
by Michael Jackson, Joe Cocker, Diana Ross, Johnny Mathis, The Four Tops, Smokey
Robinson, The Jackson Five, Bobby Darin and others. He also studied acting and
appeared in the Broadway production of Pump Boys and Dinettes with Maria Muldaur,
Shawn Colvin, and Tom Chapin.
Clinton's recent film scores include the hit comedy Austin Powers: International Man of
Mystery and its blockbuster sequel, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. His first
film scores were for the Cheech and Chong movies, Still Smokin’ and The Corsican
Brothers, but he first entered public consciousness in 1992 as the result of his
association with Zalman King on the features Wild Orchid 2 and Delta of Venus, as well
as the Showtime TV anthology, The Red Shoe Diaries, narrated by David Duchovny.
Since then, Clinton has composed music for a number of successful films, including
Mortal Kombat, The Viking Sagas, Beyond the Call, Beverly Hills Ninja, the action thriller
Black Dog and the thriller Wild Things. He most recently composed the score for the
thriller, The Astronaut's Wife, the acclaimed tele-film Lansky, and the comedy hit, Ready
To Rumble. Other works include two musicals for theatre, Family Love and Spirit of the
Mountain, both of which were commissioned by the Cumberland County Playhouse near
his hometown.
About The Cast
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (Bitsy Mae Harling)
Olivia Newton-John wrote and performed an original song, in addition to arranging and
performing five songs for Sordid Lives. With a career that spans 25 years, she has sold
over 50 million records worldwide, produced five #1 pop hits and fifteen Top 10 singles,
received four Grammys, numerous CMA, AMA and People’s Choice Awards, and a 1999
Daytime Emmy Award for penning the song “This Is Our Moment,” for the popular
daytime drama As The World Turns. Her film credits include Grease, Xanadu, Two of a
Kind and It’s My Party.
BEAU BRIDGES (G.W. Nethercott)
Beau Bridges’ portrayal of “G.W. Nethercott” in Sordid Lives marks his second feature
production with writer/director Del Shores. The pair first worked together in 1990 on
Shores’ comedy/drama Daddy’s Dyin . . . Who’s Got The Will? Bridges is a three-time
Emmy award-winning actor who has portrayed a myriad of characters during his
successful career spanning more than three decades. Among his many credits, he has
appeared in over 80 television series, numerous television films and specials, and has
appeared on Broadway in Where’s Daddy? He also starred as the legendary showman
Phineas Taylor Barnum, in the A&E original, P.T. Barnum. His other recent cable
projects include Inherit the Wind, The Defenders, and Hidden in America, all for
Showtime, as well as TNT’s Kissinger & Nixon. Some of his many film credits include
The Fabulous Baker Boys, Rocket Man, Married to It, Night Crossing, The Other Side of
the Mountain and Norma Rae.
DELTA BURKE (Noleta Nethercott)
Delta Burke can currently be seen in the NBC sitcom DAG, as “First Lady Judith
Whitman”. She created the adored character of “Suzanne Sugarbaker” on the hit
television series Designing Women, a role which garnered her two Emmy nominations.
A former model, Burke began her acting career in the television movie Charleston, which
quickly led to a starring role in the miniseries The Seekers, and her first co-starring role
in the series The Chisholms. Her other television credits include Filthy Rich, HBO’s First
and Ten, and a recurring role on Lifetime’s Any Day Now, as the sister to former
Designing Women co-star Annie Potts.
BONNIE BEDELIA (Latrelle Williamson)
Bonnie Bedelia is best known for her roles in Heart Like a Wheel, Presumed Innocent
and Die Hard 2. In addition to her high profile feature film work, she has graced the
small screen with projects such as the TV series Partners, two TV movies - A Mother’s
Right: The Elizabeth Morgan Story and Switched at Birth, in addition to numerous
television guest appearances. She recently appeared in the feature film, Anywhere But
Here, with co-stars Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman.
LESLIE JORDAN (Brother Boy)
Veteran actor Leslie Jordan has appeared in numerous theatre productions, television
series, and feature films. An accomplished writer, Jordan adapted his play, Lost in the
Pershing Point Hotel, into a feature film which he also produced and starred in. For
Sordid Lives he reprises his role of “Brother Boy” from the original play production. A
fixture in L.A. Theatre, Jordan received a DramaLogue Award for his work in Sordid
Lives. His play Hysterical Blindness also garnered him a DramaLogue Award while his
other play Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel received a DramaLogue Award for writing
and acting. His film credits include John John in the Sky, Goodbye Lover, Eat Your
Heart Out, Ski Patrol, and Shoot The Moon. Some of his notable television appearances
include Martial Law, Dharma & Greg, Caroline in the City, Ellen, The Pretender, Wings,
and Lois & Clark. Jordan can currently be seen as “Peanut” in Southern Baptist Sissies,
another Del Shores original stage production.
ANN WALKER (La Vonda Dupree)
A native of Houston, Texas, Walker traveled to Los Angeles in 1974 and began teaching
acting, guesting on television, and appearing in films and numerous plays. L.A. theatergoers have enjoyed her in such award-winning productions as Rain, Best Wishes, How
the Other Half Loves, Hysterical Blindness, and the 14 month run of Sordid Lives, in
which she played La Vonda Dupree, a role Del Shores created for her and that she
reprises in the film version. In addition, Walker co-produced and starred in an exciting
new play, Ballad, last summer for the Southern PlayWorks Theatre Festival in
Birmingham, Alabama. Walker has received six DramaLogue Awards as well as L.A.
Drama Critics and several Robby nominations for her stage work. Some of her feature
film credits include Father of the Bride II, The Fanatics, It Takes Two, and Soulman. Her
recent television credits include appearances on Providence, The Hughleys, Two Guys
& A Girl, Arliss, and JAG. She is currently in the role of “Odette Annette Barnett” in Del
Shores’ new theatre play, Southern Baptist Sissies.
ROSEMARY ALEXANDER (Dr. Eve Bolinger)
Like her co-stars, Leslie Jordan and Ann Walker, Rosemary Alexander has currently reteamed with Del Shores to play the roles of three mothers in his new original play,
Southern Baptist Sissies. Interestingly enough, in Sordid Lives she too reprises a role
which she created in the original play and received a DramaLogue Award for.
Alexander created the role of “Evalita” in Del Shores' hit Texas Comedy, Daddy's
Dyin'…Who's Got The Will?, for which she received an LA Weekly Theater Critic's
Award. In addition, Alexander is a busy voice-over actress for radio, TV, and film, with
the LAMad Dogs, one of the industry’s busiest "loop groups." Some of her film credits
include Whispers, Titanic, The Insider, Jerry Maguire, My Dog Skip, Erin Brockovich,
and Jumanji. She recently starred in Leslie Jordan's Lost In The Pershing Point Hotel
and in Gregory Webb's experimental short film, Hamburger Helper. Her recent television
appearances include The Pretender and Martial Law.
BETH GRANT (Sissy Hickey)
Beth Grant is best known for her roles as "Helen,” the hysterical bus passenger who is
blown up in Speed, "Loretta" the town drunk in To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything,
Julie Newmar, and as “Eve,” the classic farm wife in the Academy Award-Winning, Rain
Man. Recently she played the invincible, "Mrs. Helman," in Sandra Bullock’s Making
Sandwiches, which premiered at the Sundance Shorts Festival. Grant’s most recent
feature film work included roles in The Rising Place, Pearl Harbor, and Desert Saints.
She also has an extensive list of television credits including appearances on Malcolm in
the Middle, Angel, Providence, The X Files, and voice-over work for King of the Hill.
KIRK GEIGER (Ty Williamson)
Kirk Geiger was cast as “Ty Williamson” in Del Shores’ hit play Sordid Lives. After 152
performances he was asked to reprise his role for the screen. Kirk is also best known
for his performance as “Kevin Buchanan” on ABC’s One Life To Life. He has also
appeared on CBS’ JAG, NBC’s Days of Our Lives and FOX’s Get A Life. Currently he is
working on several short film projects for the festival circuit.