TMZ.com reports a scheduled appearance by Southern Baptist Sissies actors Delta Burke and Leslie Jordan on a Nashville TV talk show was cancelled due to a producer's concerns over the play's content. In an email sent to Burke and Jordan, an unnamed producer of the show, Talk of the Town, wrote:
"Sorry, but after closely reviewing the subject matter of the two plays written and directed by Del Shores, I have decided that it would not be in the best interest of Talk of the Town to [have] an actor come on the show to discuss the plays....We are dealing with a very conservative viewership who I feel would be offended by the show's titles and their topics."
The email was obtained by TMZ.com from a press release for the A Season of Shores tour.
Writer/producer/director of Southern Baptist Del Shores, told TMZ.com, "Somehow I think that the people of Nashville are a little more diverse and open-minded than the producers of Talk of the Town are giving them credit for -- at least that's been my experience in one of my favorite cities."
Emmy winner and Tennessee native Jordan called the cancellation a "major slap in the face." He and Burke were slated to appear on the show Nov. 10 to promote the run of the show and Shores' Sordid Lives at Nashville's Polk Theatre.
Southern Baptist, which follows the lives of four gay men raised in the church, opened at Los Angeles' Zephyr Theatre in 2000 and returned to L.A. in 2006 for a revival of all six Shores play. The longest running show at the Zephyr, it has received awards from GLAAD, L.A.'s Ovation Awards, and Back Stage's Garlands. A film version Southern Baptist and a TV series based on Sordid Lives are currently in development. Both plays are current playing at the Parker Playhouse in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
For more information, visit theofficialtour.com.