The award-winning Southern Baptist Sissies, the fifth installment of Del Shores' Texas-based comedies, closes June 24 at Los Angeles' Zephyr Theatre; the closing date is June 24. But Shores' latest exploration into the lives of four gay men raised in a strict Dallas church will move on to the city in which the play is set, opening at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary July 26 for a run through Aug. 19.

Sissies is narrated by Mark, who wants to try and change the world, but how? He is conflicted because he knows that hate, preached in the name of the Lord, is sometimes spread by good people who mistakenly think they are doing the right thing. The other "sissies" also seek to resolve internal and external conflicts within the arena of their Baptist church, which is led by a rambunctious preacher. While in Los Angeles, Southern Baptist Sissies garnered 19 awards including GLAAD's Media Award for Best Los Angeles Theatre Production and ran 150 performances.

Shores directs the play, whose musical director is Joe Patrick Ward. The cast members are Leslie Jordan, Ann Walker, Rosemary Alexander, Newell Alexander, Sam A. McConkey, Tate Taylor, Michael Taylor Gray 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 his play Sordid Lives.

The Zephyr Theatre is located at 7456 Melrose Ave. For tickets and information call (310) 289-2999 or visit www.southernbaptistsissies.com — by Christine Ehren
and Ernio Hernandez and Willard Manus