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Simply Divided was written by Jeffrey Lovett in 2010 when a group of actors who had worked with Jeffrey in his previous play, The Papers, asked him to write them a play in the style of Steel Magnolias.  The five main characters of the play are all based on actual people who sat around the theater's dressing room after a show and told Jeffrey what kind of character they would like to protray in his next play.  

Little Known Fact: There is no Simply, Alabama and it certainly isn't located 'south of Mobile' as stated in the play because Mobile is on the coast of Alabama.  Jeffrey chose to use the city name of Mobile because he likes the way it has a unique 'southern' sound when spoken.  

Simply Divided

  Ever since the Toyota truck plant opened in Mobile, the men of Simply, Alabama have been packing up and moving away by the hundreds.  No one is more alarmed by this trend than the women who spend their days at the Simply Delicious Diner.  Owner Sissy Mae Montgomery struggles to keep the doors of the diner open as the town dies around her.  She counts on the daily support and camaraderie of her friends, D’Ellen Chambers, the four times divorced town ‘cougar’;  Trish Ann Blackwood, a one-time tennis star who has moved back to Simply to care for her ailing grandfather;  and Charity Collins, a freelance hairstylist who carries an entire beauty salon in her huge hand bag.  The four friends spend much of their time in the diner complaining about their failed love lives, past and present,  and how the quaint little town of Simply, where all the streets are named for Confederate Generals, will be able to survive without good ‘breeding stock.’  One day, a handsome young stranger named Gabe wanders into the diner and announces that he is the new teacher at the high school. Desperate for affection, the four women begin to compete for his attention.  In the midst of the battle, Sissy Mae’s marriage breaks up and her grown daughter returns to work at the diner, becoming her biggest competitor for Gabe’s affection. 

       Set entirely in the diner, Simply Divided is the story of how easily friendships can be torn apart by loneliness and jealousy.  With plenty of verbal jousting, surprising plot twists and a sprinkling of quirky supporting characters, Simply Divided feels like spending an evening with old friends.  Just old friends that want to kill each other.  

 

Length:  120 minutes

Genre:  Comedy

Cast Requirements:

            6 Females

            3 Males

Set Requirements:

            Single Set

 

Read the Script Here