Southern Discomfort Show Poster

Southern Discomfort Critics’ Reviews

Based on real people Gray met growing up in the South, Southern Discomfort is a comedic exploration of loneliness and the drastic measures people take to overcome it. The play brings a collection of idiosyncratic characters to life: Ranging from a one-armed teenage boy selling Civil War re-enactment weaponry at his father’s gun stall, to a former beauty queen in a plastic surgeon’s office obsessed with facial symmetry, to a forlorn tow truck driver in love with an African-American-Mormon stripper.

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About Southern Discomfort

What Is the Story of Southern Discomfort?
Elisabeth Gray brings a taste of her North Carolina roots to the off-Broadway stage in Southern Discomfort. Inspired by real southerners Gray met while growing up, the intimate show is a series of short monologues. The versatile actress switches effortlessly between six zany characters from ages 16 to 92: Julia Hanover, an aspiring actress obsessed with facial symmetry; William Ernest Fells, a highly organized widower delivering his wife’s eulogy on color-coded business cards; Josh Robinson Riddle, a one-armed boy with a passion for Civil War weaponry; and more. In each short piece, Gray reveals the haunting, inner loneliness each character faces while simultaneously keeping the audience in stitches.

Reviews

critics reviews Critics’ Reviews (2)
A collection of our favorite reviews from professional news sources.

"Gray conveys [these characters] naturally and with sensitivity, making a wide array of personalities poignant and humorous."

Show Business Magazine

Dana Kitchens

Backstage

"Gray’s performance is unfailingly intelligent, and she differentiates her personages well."

Backstage

Erik Haagensen

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