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)