Del Shores bringing his one-man show to CTC

Playwright, producer, actor and activist Del Shores will be in Chattanooga on Thursday to do his new one-man show in a benefit for Chattanooga CARES.

“Del Shores — One Night Only” will be presented in the Chattanooga Theatre Centre with general-admission seating for $25. For an additional $25, ticketholders may meet Shores at a reception after the performance.

Sarah Spencer, CARES community relations manager, said a lunch with Shores on May 8 will be auctioned at the event. There also will be signed copies of his plays and signed DVDs of “Sordid Lives” up for bids.

Shores is the creative force behind such comedies as “Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got the Will?),” “Southern Baptist Sissies” and “Sordid Lives.” He wrote the iconic role of Brother Boy in “Sordid Lives” for his good friend, and former Chattanoogan, Leslie Jordan.

And, yes, he plans to dish on Jordan during Thursday’s two-hour show.

“The show is comprised of stories behind the stories I used in the plays and in the ‘Sordid Lives’ series — and a few additional stories that haven’t made it yet into my work,” he said. “I talk a lot about the celebrities I’ve worked with. I’ve got a great Rue McClanahan story and great Leslie Jordan stories. We go way back, and he has given me a lot of material over the years. People think of him as this funny little man, but he is also an incredible dramatic actor.”

Shores said his family has been such an inspiration for his work “that I’ve had family members not speak to me for several years at a time,” he said, chuckling. “I always say I’m a thief, not a writer.”

IF YOU GO

What: “Del Shores — One Night Only.” When: 8 p.m. Thursday. n Where: Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 400 River St. Admission: $25 show only, $50 show and reception afterward. Phone: 267-8534