Southern Baptist Sissies has been extended again. Del Shores' comic coming-of-age story about four gay young men raised in the Baptist church has been a commercial and critical hit ever since it opened back in September 2000 at the Zephyr Theatre. The show's run has been extended several times, with the latest extension reaching Feb. 25.

Written and directed by Shores, the play reunites several cast members from his soon-to-be released feature film, Sordid Lives, which was also an Equity-waiver hit in Los Angeles in 1996. The cast members are Leslie Jordan, Ann Walker, Rosemary Alexander, Newell Alexander and Robert Lewis Stephenson.

Shores' other plays include Daughters of the Long Star State, Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got the Will? and Cheatin'. He is currently writing (and attached to direct) a movie for Showtime starring Olivia Newton-John, the star of the movie version of Sordid Lives.

Zephyr Theatre is located at 7456 Melrose Ave. For tickets and information call (310) 289- 2999 or visit www.southernbaptistsissies.com

— By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent