Musical Comedy BAD GIRLS UPSET BY THE TRUTH Returns To Austin With Shows In March 2020

Bad Girls Upset by the Truth," a musical, comedic one-woman show originally by Austin Music Awards' "Songwriter of the Year" Jo Carol Pierce, returns to Texas stages for multiple dates in March of 2020. Celebrating 30 years since the creation of "Bad Girls Upset by the Truth," actor Lauren Meckel and director Marea Colombo are reviving this southwestern cult theatre hit at a time when outspoken female artists are reclaiming country music. Productions will take place on March 10, 2020 at Hyde Park Theatre (511 W. 43rd St., Austin, Texas 78751; doors at 7 p.m.; for tickets, see here), March 21 at Spider House Ballroom (2908 Fruth St., Austin, Texas 78705; doors at 6 p.m and 8 p.m.; for tickets, see here) and March 29 at The Continental Club (1315 S. Congress Ave, Austin, Texas 78704; doors at 2 p.m.; tickets will be sold at the door on the day of the show for $10), with more dates to be announced. For more information, see the show's Facebook page. i??

In 1989 at 45 years old, Jo Carol Pierce, a Texas-born social worker who had never performed her music outside her living room, stitched together songs she'd been writing for years with a series of monologues to tell a wild and surprising bildungsroman covering sex, spirituality and growing up in Texas. Part honky-tonk opera, part dark comedy, "Bad Girls Upset by the Truth" has Jo Carol seeking answers to life's burning questions like, "what are these boys for and what am I supposed to do with them?" She turns to Jesus for answers but rather than set her on a path of righteousness, the response from on high is a thrill of comedy for anyone who has ever disappointed those who love them just by being themselves.

Now 30 years after its initial production, "Bad Girls Upset by the Truth" was picked up by actor Lauren Meckel after she had come across a VHS recording of Jo Carol's original production which sparked a dream to perform the show some day. In March of 2019, for the Dunedin Fringe Festival in New Zealand, Meckel decided to put on the play, directing it and producing it herself.

"I wanted to bring Bad Girls back to the stage for modern audiences because Jo Carol was writing ahead of her time and now, in this #metoo moment, her honest words are more relevant than ever," said actor Lauren Meckel.

In August, Meckel connected with director Marea Colombo, whom she had previously acted for in Colombo's directorial debut of the Allen Hall Lunchtime Theatre Production, for an 11-day performance of "Bad Girls Upset by the Truth" for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. James Hanton of the Wee Review, a prominent arts and culture online magazine in Edinburgh, awarded the show "4 Stars," and called the play "incredibly funny" and "a hugely enjoyable one-woman music show."

"Lauren Meckel's 'Bad Girls Upset by the Truth' is the best thing that has happened in this last one-third of my life, second only to becoming a grandmother," said original playwright Jo Carol Pierce. "She does it so full out - she does the peewadding out of it. She cracks me up and makes me weep and tells the truth more bravely than I ever could."

After receiving this positive feedback and glowing reviews abroad, Meckel and Colombo are bringing "Bad Girls Upset By the Truth" back to its place of origin, Austin, Texas.

"Thirty years ago I wrote this play for others to do, but no others stepped forward so I did it and it took me many fine places," said Pierce. "I always hoped for a great actress, musician and comedienne to bring this material into now. Lauren is beyond my greatest hopes and wishes for that real Bad Girl!"

ABOUT Jo Carol Pierce:

Songwriter, actress and playwright Jo Carol Pierce grew up in Lubbock, Texas. In 1989, at 45 years old, Pierce performed "Bad Girls Upset by the Truth," for the first time. After the show became a smash hit, Jo Carol was awarded "Songwriter of the Year" at the 1993 Austin Music Awards and a tribute album called "Across the Great Divide: Songs of Jo Carol Pierce" won "Album of the Year." Jo Carol continued to write after the success of "Bad Girls," with some of her monologues being included in "In the West," which played at the Kennedy Center in 1991, and some of her songs appearing in "Chippy," produced at Lincoln Center in 1994. In 2008, she released her second full-length album, "Dog of Love," and today she continues to write stories, music and poetry at her home in Austin where she lives with her husband Guy Juke.

ABOUT LAUREN MECKEL:

Lauren Meckel is an actor, writer, and anthropologist living in San Marcos, Texas. As a scientist concerned with human rights, as well as an actress, Meckel explores creative ways to simulate alternative life experiences that generate empathy, understanding and encourage open-mindedness. Meckel began acting in theatre as a child and began telling stories through songwriting and poetry while in college studying to become a forensic anthropologist at Texas State University. After college, she worked for a human-rights organization in Mexico City and is now completing a PhD in Anatomy. Meckel has performed theatre in Texas, New Zealand, and Scotland, and hopes to continue entertaining audiences with stories that are surprising and thought-provoking while incorporating the arts into her career in science and education. Lauren enjoys consuming tacos and television and traveling around the world with her journalist husband, Christian.

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