MOMMA WON'T DIE to Make World Premiere in Dallas, Directed by Del Shores

Clark, Pell & King Productions will present the world premiere of MOMMA WON'T DIE, written by Patty Pell & Laurie Pell Grigsby and directed by Del Shores. MOMMA WON'T DIE will open on Friday, June 12 and run through Sunday, June 28 at Bryant Hall at Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd, Dallas, TX 75204.

MOMMA WON'T DIE is a dark comedy based on a true story about three generations of Southern women wrestling with death, dysfunction, and a century's worth of emotional clutter. Gigi Ralston, the 108-year-old matriarch of P-burg, West Virginia, announces she's finally ready to "give up the ghost,'' and the family is summoned to Gigi's once-grand Victorian home - where the porch still pretends everything's perfect while the inside tells the truth - old wounds come flooding back. Secrets surface, tempers flare, and a parade of quirky locals, nosy neighbors, and self-appointed helpers turn the house into a three-ring circus of caregiving and chaos. But y'all, Momma won't die! So while they wait, in this "Bless-Your-Heart West Virginia World," the knives are always there. It's just that with Southern families...you won't see 'em comin'. Somewhere under all the emotional wreckage, years of pride and good old-fashioned Southern spite, these women still manage to finally really see each other. It's not tidy, and it's definitely not genteel, but in that Southern Gothic, maddening, beautifully flawed way...family wins out.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

PATTY PELL (Playwright/Producer) Patty Pell, an established actress based in Dallas, is an 80 year old new playwright. She has written "snippets" all her life: poems, short stories, two children's theatre programs, sales training videos, radio spots, and the finest, most talked about obituary tribute that the P-burg Sentinel ever published. Patty and her daughter, Laurie, wrote Momma Won't Die based on the last weeks they spent with Gigi in the summer of 2021. Those days of living with three generations of Southern women became the most important time in Patty's life.

LAURIE PELL GRIGSBY (Playwright) lives in Saint Simon's Island, Georgia. She has a husband, two grown daughters and a bossy pup named Molly. She was a competitive cheerleading coach for 25 years and has lived all over the south these past 30 years. This wonderful play came out of two weeks where Laurie and her mom said goodbye to "Gram" on her terms. Every family has crazy. The lesson is embrace it, accept it and be proud of where you came from.

Del Shores (Director) is the writer/director/producer of the films Sordid Lives, Blues for Willadean, Southern Baptist Sissies and A Very Sordid Wedding. He wrote and executive produced the MGM feature Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got The Will? He has written eleven previous plays. His publisher is Samuel French/Concord and his plays have been produced thousands of times worldwide with four adapted for the screen. Southern Baptist Sissies, won the GLAAD Award, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife won the NAACP Theatre Award, and both Yellow and Trailer Trash won the LADCC Award for Best Original Play and Best Production. In television, Del wrote, directed, executive produced and created the LOGO series, Sordid Lives: The Series. He also wrote and executive produced on the last three seasons of Showtime's Queer As Folk, and wrote and produced for Dharma & Greg and Ned & Stacey. He directed the world premiere of Jiggs' Burgess The Red Suitcase, winning The Robby Best Director Award, and the Off-Broadway premiere of Wounded. Shores has performed in hundreds of standup gigs in three national tours, including several sold out shows at Terrific New Theatre all filmed for DVD. His one-man play Six Characters In Search Of A Play performed in 33 cities, seven film festivals and the film adaptation won three film festival awards. Shores was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from LA Weekly and is the President of the Del Shores Foundation.

KEVIN J. CLARK (Producer) is honored to have the opportunity to bring this World Premiere play to audiences in DFW metroplex. Momma Won't Die is based on a true story that explores relationships and challenges that we all face. This is his first venture into serving as a producer of a theatrical play and is thrilled to have a wonderful team of talented artists who are bringing it to life. Previously, Clark has been an executive producer and actor in the international award winning TV web series, LIFE Anthologies, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and other platforms. His day job is practicing Law in Ft. Worth at the Law Office of J Kevin Clark PC. Clark is theatrically represented by Jill Blalock of Broad Talent in Dallas, Texas.

KATIE KING ("Ruby"/Producer) is thrilled to be both producing and acting in Momma Won't Die as the beloved caregiver, Ruby! Growing up doing theater, and after a long hiatus, she dove back into acting after becoming an empty nester. In 2019, she appeared in Driving Miss Daisy and Over the River and Through the Woods at The Core Theatre in Richardson, TX. King is beyond excited to be directed by Del Shores, since he's been an incredible teacher and mentor to her. Besides theatre work, she spends every week honing my skills (and having a blast) at José Quinones' The Artists Playground, where the work focuses on scene study, improv, character development and even the creation of short films. This is her first time producing a play and it's been amazing to learn all that goes on behind the scenes. Looking forward to bringing more original works to the stage with these intrepid partners!

The cast of MOMMA WON'T DIE will feature (in alphabetical order): NANCY CHARTIER as "Libby," CATHY FITHIAN as "Marla," KATIE KING as "Ruby," BRUCE MELENA as "Richard," KISHOR RYAN as "Dr. Ziggy," CYNTHIA SANDERS as "Bootsie/Becky," MORGANA SHAW as "Jamie," Sally Soldo as "Miss Gigi," and BECCA SPENCER as "Sara/Dina."

MOMMA WON'T DIE has assembled an award-winning design team; The Scenic Design is by Kevin Brown. The Lighting Design is by Kyle Harris. The Sound Design is by Bri McKay. The Stage Manager is Chloe Vieth. MOMMA WON'T DIE is produced by Clark, Pell & King Productions with Mat Hayes and Emerson Collins.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

MOMMA WON'T DIE will open on Friday, June 12 at 7:30pm and run through Sunday, June 28 at 2:30pm at Bryant Hall at Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Drive, Dallas, TX 75204.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:30pm.

Ticket prices are $38.00 for all performances. Opening Night VIP tickets are sold out.

A talkback with director Del Shores and playwright Patty Pell will follow the matinee performance Sunday, June 14.

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