Once again, it's all about the all-gay all-the-time Uptown Players. With this summer's sold-out run of Del Shores' Southern Baptist Sissies, this theater group earned enough money (and a little more) to pay off its debts and fund the rest of its season. That's how strong the following has become for this troupe, whose mission is to do theater that reflects "contemporary and alternative lifestyle themes." Attracting the top actors and directors in town, Uptown has such a good reputation that out-of-town playwrights often fly in to see productions of their plays--and end up telling Uptown producers Jeff Rane and Craig Lynch that their little company has outdone the New York or L.A. versions. Andrew Lippa came in to check out The Wild Party. Playwright Shores was so impressed with their staging of Sissies that he promptly hired one of the actors, Emerson Collins, to take over a main role in the Los Angeles revival in 2006. Founded in 2001, Uptown Players get more ambitious every season.

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Uptown Players