The Southern Fried Chicks, starring Etta May, Sonya White, Karen Mills and Style Network’s Trish Suhr, have burst out of the hen house for a night on the town with their new show, the “Cage-Free Comedy Tour.”
Join them for a night of free-range comedy when they perform at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Grainger Hill Performing Arts Center, 300 Park Ave., Kinston. The show is the second of GHPAC’s four-part Performing Arts Series 2013-14.
The new Cage-Free Comedy Tour features new stories, music, audience participation, singing, dancing and a multimedia show audiences will enjoy. Since the debut of their one-hour comedy special on CMT, this top-grossing all female comedy tour has played to venues packed with people and laughter.
Life and love in the USA has never been funnier as when these top headliners take the stage. It’s a Blue Collar comedy tour with better hair and bigger attitude.
Etta May
Winner of the prestigious American Comedy Award’s “Comic of the Year,” this Kentucky woman is a comedy icon, described as “Minnie Pearl with a migraine.” May has been seen on “Oprah,” CMT, Showtime, “Comic Strip Live,” “Comedy Stage” and others.
May is an audience favorite of XM/Sirius Radio comedy channels and on the syndicated radio show “The Bob and Tom Show.” She’s a regular on CMT countdown shows and featured programming. CMT’s Documentary Series that featured the “Blue Collar” boys and “Etta May” places her as one of the top southern comics in the business.
Sonya White
Originally from Virginia, Sonya White now calls Chicago home. She combines her southern charm with big city street smarts. Her comedy and dead on impersonations make her show unique and funny. She’s appeared on HBO, E! and Comedy Central. She’s also a favorite on “Girls Behaving Badly,” “Comedy Spotlight” and “The U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.”
White’s sitcom credits include “Nightshift” on Fox, “Big Brother Jake” on The Family Channel and MTV’s “Spring Break.” When you top that off with her cartoon voices for the Cartoon Network, she’s one funny versatile lady.
Karen Mills
Mills’ style of comedy is clean, clever and easy to relate to – she finds the funny in everyday life. A Tennessee native, she is a regular on Sirius / XM Blue Collar Radio and Laugh USA. She has a one-hour special on Blue Collar Radio. Her new “Menopause Rap” song is a top download on iTunes and the music video “Hot Flash Mob” is a favorite on YouTube.
The top headliner has toured with Joan Rivers, Ron White and Jon Stewart. She was a writer on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” and most recently appeared on “The Henry Cho Show.”
Trish Suhr
What do you get when you take a girl from Middlesboro, KY, and drop her in the middle of Los Angeles? You get the Emmy winning co-host and “Yard Sale Diva” from Style Network’s long running series “Clean House.” Suhr’s expert advice and wit make her a favorite on “Good Morning America,” “Good Day LA” and “The Marie Show.”
She is a regular lifestyle contributor for Woman’s Day, Real Simple magazines and more. Her down to earth country style has made her the perfect host on Lifetime, WE, CMT, E! and VH1. She is a smokey voiced comic with material to which everyone can relate.
Comments from other venues
“The Southern Fried Chicks were the biggest success we have presented in programming since opening our doors,” said Tony Ballard, director, Hoover Opera House, Junction City, KS. “They were professional, businesslike and personable with the crowd . They waited around after the show until everyone in attendance got an autograph or a picture that they wanted. This was a great show for the whole family.”
“The audience loved the show from the moment it opened until it closed,” said Cynthia Allen, director, Potter Center Jackson, MI.” I sat in the back of the theater and kept watching all the body movement as people were laughing non-stop. The show was side-splitting funny from the moment the show opened until it closed. If the audience needed anything, it was a moment to recompose themselves and wipe away tears of laughter before hearing the next line.”
The Firelake Casino in Shawnee, OK, said it this way: “On a scale from 1-10 it, would be a 10! We definitely got our money’s worth.”
Additional Series Shows
Other shows in GHPAC’s inaugural Performing Arts Series include: Sandra Fisher and Company in “Bringing Down the House,”(Motown, gospel and old school favorites) at 7 p.m., Feb. 1, 2014; and Franco D’Ambrosio, who played the Phantom in “The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway, singing Broadway tunes at 7 p.m., March 29.
Obie award winner Jason Petty and Grammy nominee Carolyn Martin paid tribute to Hank Williams and Patsy Cline in the opening show Sept. 27.
All concerts will be at the Grainger Hill Performing Arts Center, 300 Park Avenue, Kinston. Series tickets (four concerts) are $85, general admission; $130, reserved patron seating; $25 per ticket per concert (general admission); or $40 per concert (reserved seating).
For information and/or tickets, call Barbara Smith, (252) 521-4513; Alison Merritt, (252) 560-8515; or check Grainger Hill’s Web site at www.ghpac.com.