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Packing Up Polly

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  4w

Leslie Kimbell

In this funny and poignant play, four friends in their 40s come together to laugh, drink, cry and scream as they pack up the cluttered home of Caroline’s late mother, gospel singer Polly Porter.

Packing Up Polly

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 2021 Broadway World Award for Best Play Production (Non-Professional)

Details

Summary

Polly Porter, famous 1970s gospel singer of the group Polly Porter & the Praise His Name Singers, has gone on up to heaven. Her daughter, Caroline, has come home to Savannah, Georgia, to pack up Miss Polly’s house, but there is just one little problem (or two or three): Miss Polly was an extreme hoarder of epic proportions, Caroline’s useless siblings are totally MIA, and her three best friends from high school, former co-cheerleaders, have all shown up... unannounced! Lizzy now owns the Miss Georgia Belle Pageantry system, Donna Jo is the local community theatre diva, and Becca is having a late-in-life geriatric pregnancy with baby girl number five. The gospel music plays and the margaritas pour as the four ladies laugh, cry, scream and come together to pack up Miss Polly’s house, heal old wounds, and make new plans for their future.

With humor, wit and vulnerability, Packing Up Polly delves into themes of forgiveness, acceptance and the transformative power of letting go... unpacking the layers of our own lives to find healing and redemption.

History
Packing Up Polly made its world premiere at OnStage Atlanta in Scottdale, Georgia on 9 April 2021. Directed by Barry West, the production featured Marita McKee, Irene Polk, Cat Rondeau and Kelley Gray.
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
CAROLINE PORTER COOK – 40s, Polly’s daughter, former head cheerleader, homecoming queen, prom queen and all that goes with it.
ELIZABETH “LIZZY” JENNINGS – 40s, Caroline’s high school best “frenemy.” Owner of the Miss Georgia Belle pageantry system.
DONNA JO MARTIN – 40s, drama queen, local theatre diva and one-time off-off-Broadway actor. Married eight times.
REBECCA “BECCA” BAILEY – 40s, frumpy mother of four… currently expecting number five any minute… and soon to be single.
  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting Polly’s cluttered home in Savannah, Georgia. Spring 2015.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol

Media

“Reminds you to go home and straighten things up a bit!” – Atlanta Arts Scene
“Leslie Kimbell, who penned the Four Old Broads play, now has turned our attention to some younger broads who come together in some weird circumstances at the home of the late Polly Porter in Savannah... each of the ladies has her own agenda and history to deal with.” – Atlanta Arts Scene

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Leslie Kimbell

Leslie Kimbell

Leslie Kimbell (writer, actor, director) is based in Northeast Georgia. She gained the majority of her life experience and salty sense of humor from 18 years traveling the world as a burlesque headliner. Her Four Old Broads series is inspired by memories of her Nannie DeVries ...

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