Tamara Tunie Tapped To Direct New York-Bound Musical LOVE & SOUTHERN D!SCOMFORT

Patton Daye Slater Productions announced today that Tony Award-winning producer, Obie Award-winning actor and renowned director Tamara Tunie (Julius Caesar on Broadway with Denzel Washington, "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit') has signed on to direct the company's New York-bound musical drama Love & Southern D!scomfort. With a book and lyrics by Monica L. Patton and music and lyrics by Robert "Bobby" Daye, the musical is set in present-day Louisiana and weaves a captivating tale about the Dejoies, an old-money family torn apart by greed, addiction, undiagnosed mental illness, and a long-buried family secret.

"Ms. Tunie's attachment to Love & Southern D!scomfort is kismet," said book writer and co-lyricist Monica L. Patton. "Bobby (Robert Daye) and I solicited her directorial talent early in the developmental process, but circumstances prevented her participation. Three years later when the search for a director reopened, Tamara was still at the top of our list. And fortunately for us, she was available and said, 'Yes.'

"I am delighted to be helming Love & Southern D!scomfort," said Tamara Tunie. "This beautiful story, set in the sultry south, about family dysfunction, skeletons in closets, and ultimately, UNDERSTANDING, LOVE, FORGIVENESS, and REDEMPTION, is timeless. And Bobby Daye's MUSIC! It just makes you "feel things"!!! I look forward to this journey."

Patton Daye Slater Productions plan a showcase of Love & Southern D!scomfort in the spring of 2021. Tony Award winner Ken Davenport (Once On This Island) will serve as the executive producer of the project. In addition to the showcase, a concept album and the launch of a single through New York Theatre Barn's 'New Work Series' are planned The production will also mark the return of Tony nominee Felicia P. Fields (The Color Purple, 2006) to the New York stage.

For more information about Love & Southern D!scomfort visit www.lsadmusical.com. Additional details about Patton Daye Slater Productions can be found at www.pdsproductions.net.

Tamara Tunie (Director)

TONY AWARD winner Tamara Tunie starred for 21 seasons as Medical Examiner Dr. Melinda Warner in Wolf Films/Universal Media Studio's top-rated series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." She starred as Marie Van Der Veen, the matriarch and the "moral fiber" of a Native American tribe, on Sundance TV's THE RED ROAD. The role is a marked departure from the sophisticated and powerful woman she is known for portraying. Ms. Tunie, also, starred in AMC's series DIETLAND and the BBC/Netflix political drama "Black Earth Rising." Ms. Tunie's first "role" as Broadway producer, was on the team responsible for the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening. She also produced August Wilson's Tony Award-nominated Radio Golf, and Magic vs Bird Off-Broadway, Ms. Tunie produced The Dutchman at The Cherry Lane Theater and the world premiere of FROG KISS at Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk Virginia. Ms. Tunie produced and directed the feature film "See You in September," starring Justin Kirk and Estella Warren. She also directed and co-wrote the world premiere of JAZZLAND at THE HARLEM SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, and is directing the new musical DOROTHY DANDRIDGE, about the life of the legendary Hollywood movie star.

She starred on Broadway with Denzel Washington in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, and also shared the Broadway stage with the legendary Lena Horne in the Broadway musical Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. She starred in David Merrick's revival of Oh Kay! with Brian Stokes Mitchell. Ms. Tunie portrayed Helen of Troy in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Troilus and Cressida in Central Park. She starred as "Maggie" in the FIRST all African American production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Theatre Virginia in Richmond. After September 11th, she co-starred with many veterans of Broadway, including Audra Mc Donald and Lillias White, in the 20th-anniversary benefit concert of Dreamgirls. Most recently, Ms. Tunie starred as Dorothy Brock in the re-imagined 42nd STREET at the Ordway Theater, and as Prospero in the Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of The Tempest, making her the FIRST African American woman to play the part. Immediately following, she joined City Theater's production of The Roommate. She also starred in Robert Shenkkan's New York premiere of Building the Wall Off-Broadway.

She was honored with an OBIE AWARD for her performance in Danai Gurira's Familiar, at Playwright's Horizons, and the BERKSHIRE THEATRE AWARD for originating the role of "Brenda" in the critically acclaimed drama, American Son, at Barrington Stage Company. Ms. Tunie starred as Rose in Fences in "August Wilson's 20th Century Cycle" at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C. She received rave reviews for her turn in the lead role of Madame de Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuse, and Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey. She also starred in All's Well That Ends Well at the STNJ, playing THREE roles, while simultaneously producing the musical FROG KISS part of the New York Musical Theater Festival. In 2005, Mayor Bloomberg awarded Ms. Tunie the "Made in New York Award" from the City of New York for her support and commitment to Film, Television, and Theater in Manhattan. Ms. Tunie is a Carnegie-Mellon University Alumna and was honored to recently be elected to its Board of Trustees.

Monica L. Patton (Book and Lyrics)

Ms. Patton is the author of Love & Southern D!scomfort (formerly known as "The Inheritance: Love, Drugs & Southern Discomfort"). She toured with The Book of Mormon Second National Tour since its inception in 2012 (She was the only cast member to be in the company from day one until it closed in 2020). She has worked with such luminaries as Jesse Norman, Diahann Carroll, and Freda Payne. She covered Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella and sang opposite Jon Secada as the Narrator in the National Tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Her other credits include; Broadway: Finian's Rainbow, Abby's Song, and Ragtime. Off-Broadway: Little Ham. National Tours: Disney's The Lion King, Annie 30th Anniversary.

Bobby Daye (Music and Lyrics)

Mr. Daye wrote the music and lyrics for and is a producer of, Love & Southern D!scomfort. Bobby has a career that has crossed into stage, film, television. and radio. He most recently toured with Aladdin. His Broadway credits include Shrek the Musical, The Color Purple, The Lion King, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Dreamgirls, The Wiz, and The Book of Mormon. He is also a recipient of an Outstanding Individual Performance Award for his work in the 2010 NYMF production of The Great Unknown. As a songwriter, he penned the theme song to the ABC-TV soap "Loving," which was performed by Johnny Mathis. He was a 9-time male vocalist winner on "Ed McMahon's Star Search" and has appeared on television in "Law and Order" and "ED" (among others).