BWW Previews: A VERY SORDID WEDDING at Uptown Players

Uptown Players is proud to present the world premiere of A Very Sordid Wedding, based on Del Shores' 2017 hit film of the same name. A Very Sordid Wedding will be the final installment of the postponed Uptown Players 2020 season, and performances will run September 24th through October 3rd at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

A Very Sordid Wedding, written and developed by Del Shores, is the sequel to the hit play, movie, and later TV series, Sordid Lives, also written by Del Shores. The sequel, set in 2015, revisits the original characters and plotlines from the original play. A Very Sordid Wedding marks the fifth play produced by Uptown Players from the Del Shores library, and the second one to be directed by Del Shores himself.

Seventeen years after Peggy tripped over G.W. 's wooden legs and died in Sordid Lives, life has moved into the present for the residents of Winters, Texas. Based on the 2017 hit film of the same name, A Very Sordid Wedding explores the questions, bigotry and the fallout of what happens when the legalization of gay marriage by the Supreme Court comes to conservative communities and families that are not quite ready to accept it. Bigoted "religious freedom," marriage equality and cultural acceptance are all explored with Del Shores' trademark approach to using comedy and his much-beloved Sordid Lives characters to deal with these important current social issues and the very real process of accepting your family for who they are instead of who you want them to be.

A Very Sordid Wedding was released for film in 2017 and featured cast members from the original Sordid Lives film, such as Leslie Jordan and Bonnie Bedelia. The film this world premiere play is based on received the same praise and cult status as the original play Sordid Lives. The original Sordid Lives won fourteen DramaLogue Awards, including Best Production, when it premiered in 1996. Shores and Emerson Collins produced the film and will direct and assistant direct the play, respectively, with Collins returning to the Dallas stage to reprise his role from the film.

The world premiere cast includes Christopher Abraham, Brandon A. Bailey, Hunter Barnett, Bradley Campbell, Allyn Carrell, Mari Deese, Steve Golin, Kelly Groves, Isreal J. Henry, Dominic G. Jones, Shannon McGrann, Bruce Melena, Kevin Moore, Cassie Nova, Ivy Opdyke, Morgana Shaw, Sally Soldo, Paul J. Williams and Emerson Collins as Billy Joe Dobson.

A Very Sordid Wedding runs September 24th - October 3rd, with performances at 8 pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with a matinee at 2 pm on Sundays. Shows will take place at the Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd (at Blackburn). Tickets can be purchased at uptownplayers.org or by calling the box office at 214-219-2718, and prices range from $25 - $50.

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Uptown Players is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, presenting plays and musicals that challenge audiences artistically and create greater positive public awareness and acceptance through the performing arts. The 2022 season will be our twentieth season and our twelfth season at the Kalita Humphreys Theater. Uptown Players is one of the leading regional theaters in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and is providing an opportunity for a wide diversity of gender styles to come together and explore life choices through great theatre themes such as relationships, family, prejudice, and values. The response from the community and critics has been remarkable, including over 25 Leon Rabin Awards from the Dallas Theatre League, and over 30 Theater Critics Forum Awards. Uptown Players has also been named the best theatre company numerous times by the Dallas Voice Readers and by the Dallas Observer and has been featured in D Magazine and on WFAA's Daybreak and Good Morning Texas programs.

Uptown Players has presented several world premieres, including A Very Judy Christmas (2018), Gilligan's Fire Island (2015), Redesigning Women (2013), Crazy Just Like Me (2011), and the stage adaptation of The Valley of the Dolls (2007). In addition, Uptown Players has produced the United States premieres of the West End hit musical Soho Cinders (2014), and the Pet Shop Boys Musical Closer to Heaven (2010). Uptown Players was the first regional theater in the United States to present the Tony Award Winner The Boy from Oz and the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Next to Normal, following the closing of the Broadway productions. Each season, Uptown Players presents several regional premieres. Past premieres include productions of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; The Legend of Georgia McBride; It Shoulda Been You; End of the Rainbow; The Nance; Catch Me If You Can; Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; and The Producers.