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The Recipe Box show poster

The Recipe Box at Austin Rainbow Theatre

Dates: 9/4/2026 - 9/19/2026

📍 Theatre: Austin Rainbow Theatre

Austin Rainbow Theatre
979 Springdale Road suite 122
Austin, TX 78702

Phone: 5123872763

Tickets: $22.50–$60


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This fall, legendary playwright Del Shores—the brilliant mind behind the Sordid Lives
franchise—is adding another hilarious, bittersweet masterpiece to his iconic lexicon of Southern
queer theater with The Recipe Box at Austin Rainbow Theatre. This limited engagement marks
only the second time this incredible new script has ever been produced.


Set on a lush, plant-filled Louisiana porch, The Recipe Box kicks off with an explosive breakup
between a brilliant but emotionally walled-off math professor, Rick, and his cheating husband,
Joah. When Joah storms out, he leaves behind his eccentric, sharp-tongued, 70-something
mother, Lou Wanda, who has a gambling addiction and nowhere else to go. Armed with an old
recipe box belonging to Rick’s late mother, an unconventional, hilarious, and fiercely protective
chosen family begins to form. Infused with Shores’ trademark southern queer wit, this
production balances devastating heartbreaks with laugh-out-loud Southern eccentricities.

Cast: Emerson Collins (Rick), Cynthia Sanders (Lou Wanda), Chelsea Manasseri (Oona), and Chris Skinner (Joah).

Production Team: Del Shores (Director), Daniel Bergeron (Stage Manager), McKynzie Bartee (Asst. Stage Manager), Kevin Brown (Scenic Designer), Luis Sandoval (Lighting Designer), Nat Briceno (Sound Designer), MK Brown (Production Manager), and Max Stern (Production Assistant)

Cast and Creative Team for The Recipe Box at Austin Rainbow Theatre

Cast

Emerson Collins
Rick
Cynthia Sanders
Lou Wanda
Chelsea Manasseri
Oona
Chris Skinner
Joah

Creative Team

Del Shores
Director
Del Shores has built a career spanning film, television, and theatre. The Recipe Box marks his twelfth play. His work has been produced thousands of times worldwide, with four of his plays adapted for the screen, and is published by Samuel French/Concord Theatricals. Shores has directed his own plays, films, and television work since 1996, and in recent years has expanded his theatre directing to include Jiggs Burgess’ The Red Suitcase (The Broadwater, Los Angeles), Wounded (Off-Broadway, Soho Playhouse), and Patty Pell & Laurie Pell Grigsby’s Momma Won’t Die (Bryant Hall, Dallas). He is the writer, director, and producer of the films Sordid Lives, Blues for Willadean, Southern Baptist Sissies, and A Very Sordid Wedding. He also wrote and executive produced the MGM feature Daddy’s Dyin’…Who’s Got the Will? On television, Shores created, wrote, directed, and executive produced Sordid Lives: The Series for LOGO, served as writer and executive producer for the final three seasons of Showtime’s Queer as Folk, and wrote and produced for Dharma & Greg and Ned & Stacey. He has directed Octavia Spencer, Olivia Newton-John, Beau Bridges, Delta Burke, Leslie Jordan, Bonnie Bedelia, Rue McClanahan, Dale Dickey, Beth Grant, Emerson Collins, and comedy icons Whoopi Goldberg, Alec Mapa, Margaret Cho, and Caroline Rhea. Shores is co-founder and president of The Del Shores Foundation, championing new Southern LGBTQ+ storytellers. He is the proud father of Rebecca and Caroline, and Grandpa Del to Bear Alexander Thrush.

News About The Recipe Box at Austin Rainbow Theatre


We have no news on this show at the current time.

About the Theatre

Austin Rainbow Theatre

979 Springdale Road suite 122
Austin, TX 78702

Phone: 5123872763

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Austin Rainbow Theatre Frequently Asked QuestionsFAQ

Where is Austin Rainbow Theatre located?

Austin Rainbow Theatre is at 979 Springdale Road suite 122, Austin, TX.

What shows have played recently at Austin Rainbow Theatre?

Sagittarius Ponderosa (10/17/25-11/01/25)

What is the running time?

Performances are Thursday - Saturday @ 8 PM & Sundays @ 2 PM

Is there an intermission?

15 minute intermission

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