Celebration Theatre presents in association with Billy Miller the second show of its 2011-2012 Season, Leslie Jordan starring in the World Premiere of FRUIT FLY, written and performed by Leslie Jordan and directed by David Galligan. FRUIT FLY will preview on Thursday, January 5 open on Friday, January 6 and will perform through Sunday, February 18 at Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood.
Do gay men become their mothers? That is the question asked in Leslie Jordan's hilarious and touching new romp, FRUIT FLY. Mr. Jordan travels back in time using show-and-tell to take the audience on the ride of a lifetime. Childhood recollections combine with perilous teenage shenanigans. From the day a teenage Leslie sits down with his poor, clueless mother to inform her that he has decided to forego college to become a female impersonator, all the way to a Gay Alaskan Cruise on which a 53-year-old Mr. Jordan witnesses his aging mother's astounding metamorphosis (and whose only real concern about a gay cruise to Alaska is that she doesn't want to go ice fishing), Mr. Jordan is in his element. His storytelling skills abound and will make for an evening of fun and thought-provoking theater.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
Leslie Jordan stepped off a Greyhound bus in 1982 from the hills of Tennessee, said “hello” to Hollywood and has never looked back. With hundreds of television shows, films and commercials to his credit, he has become a familiar face on the entertainment scene. Leslie is the 2006 Emmy Award Winner for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his delicious portrayal of “Beverley Leslie” on “Will and Grace.” Television audiences will also remember him for his recurring roles on “Boston Legal,” “Ugly Betty,” and “Reba.” Feature film audiences will recognize Leslie from his performance as “Brother Boy” in Del Shores’ adaptation of his play “Sordid Lives’” with Olivia Newton-John, Delta Burke and Beau Bridges. He continued the role in “Sordid Lives… the Series” for the cable network Logo, which starred Rue McClanahan, Caroline Rhea and Bonnie Bedelia among others. On stage, Mr. Jordan won the Ovation Award, The Garland Award and The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his portrayal of “Preston Leroy,” the aging, sodden barfly in Del Shores hit play Southern Baptist Sissies. In addition to acting, Mr. Jordan is also an author and writer. His book “My Trip Down the Pink Carpet” for Simon and Schuster formed the basis of a 90-minute one-man show, which had a 45 city book-signing performance tour and a successful twelve-week Off-Broadway run in 2010. A DVD of the show shot during performances in Atlanta is now available. . In addition to My Trip Down the Pink Carpet, Leslie’s autobiographical one-man shows Like a Dog on Linoleum, Full of Gin and Regret and From Whence I Came have been performed to audiences across the country. Mr. Jordan’s play Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far ran to sold-out houses in Los Angeles and had a successful seven month run Off-Broadway at The Playhouse on Van Dam in New York City. His screenplay Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel won the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival’s Production Grant Award, winning the competition from over 600 other scripts. Subsequently, it was made into an independent feature film distributed by Northern Arts Entertainment.
