Pop Smart - Sordid Lives’ Del Shores speaks up at Whole World
On Thursday, July 3, The Process Theatre, Whole World Theatre and Outwrite Books present an evening dedicated to the work of popular playwright Del Shores (pictured). The program features theatrical scenes from Southern Baptist Sissies and Sordid Lives as well as a talk-back session with Shores himself.
The timing couldn’t be better. “Sordid Lives,” Shores’ TV series adaptation of his sleeper hit movie and stage play, debuts on July 23 on Logo. I interviewed Shores last year and he talked about the first time he realized that “Sordid Lives” had a runaway cult following:
The phenomenon started in Palm Springs, where it showed at a movie theater for two years, and people were saying favorite lines or showing up in costume. It was shocking to me! It has been such a wild ride, and I feel blessed for it. I don’t think we really realized how popular it was until we took the play on a national tour with some of the film cast last year. The play usually lasts for two hours and 20 minutes, with the intermission, but opening night in Florida went on for three hours, with people laughing and shouting out lines. I told the actors “You better get your lines right, because they know them, and they’ll correct you!”
The event takes place at Whole World Theatre’s main stage, 1226 Spring Street, and tickets are $35. Here’s a little video fun from the 2000 film, featuring Atlanta’s own Leslie Jordan as “Brother Boy.”
(Photo courtesy Del Shores)