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About Etta Mae
& Southern Fried Chicken --
The Southern Fried Chicks
Comedy Tour starring Etta May and featuring Trish Suhr, Beth Donahue and Sonya White is the top-grossing all female comedy tour on the road today. The Southern Fried Chicks is the story of four different women, all from the South, and their hilarious take on life, love and the pursuit of happiness. It is where the Old South, the New South, and the Deep South come together for an evening of clean, clever story-telling for every generation. Life and love in the USA has never been funnier as when the original “desperate housewives” give their points of view. You’ll leave the theatre wiping your eyes, holding your sides and waiting for your next helping of the Southern Fried Chicks.
What’s the best way to describe Etta May? “Minnie Pearl with a migraine.” To put it simply, when Etta May takes the stage, she is the reigning Queen of Southern Sass. She reflects “You realize you’re getting fat when you sit in the bathtub and the water in the toilet rises!”
Born and raised in Bald Knob, Arkansas, Etta May grew up alongside nine older brothers, who referred to their baby sister as “the human sacrifice.” In fact, Etta May’s parents - her father, a potpourri farmer, and her mother, bedridden by constant childbearing, - did not realize Etta May was a girl until she required a training bra.
Etta May met her husband, Delbert, an aspiring truck driver, at a friend’s kegger. From across the yard their eyes locked in a love look. Nine months later, she was blessed with a boy, followed by a girl and two more boys. “That’s where my comedy comes from. I just wait for my husband or kids to do something stupid, and then I write it down.”
Through the years, Etta May had a string of dead end jobs. She faithfully drove a school bus for over 10 years. She says she learned how to handle unruly kids by Armor All-ing the seats, and touching the brakes, all the way home. One night, while volunteering as a BINGO caller, she recalls, “the ball sucker got stuck, and I was forced to entertain a room full of angry Catholics. It was then I realized I could make people laugh.” Etta May will take you on a redneck ride through the Deep South.
Etta May won the prestigious American Comedy Awards: “Stand-Up Comic of the Year,” and has appeared on Oprah, Comic Strip Live, MTV, and as a guest commentator on “CBS Sunday Morning.”
May is also a headline comic on CMT’s “CMT Comedy Stage” which is the second highest rated show in CMT history. The success of the Comedy Stage franchise led to the production of the Southern Fried Chicks Comedy Tour special as the first comedy concert series for the national cable network. Additionally, Etta May appeared on two more CMT show, “KARAOKE-DOKEY” where she lent her unique perspective as a guest judge on the show where four contestants compete in a battle for the best impersonation of country great, Shania Twain. She was also the subject and first female comic ever on the biography show, “Comedy Club.” She joins the elite comedy company of Ron White, Larry the Cable Guy and Jeff Foxworthy, who are also featured in this series. In addition to television, Etta May is a regular on the syndicated Bob & Tom radio show and XM Radio’s comedy channels.
Trish Suhr began her stand-up career in Los Angeles after leaving the family funeral business in her hometown in Middlesboro, Kentucky. Since her arrival, she has become a regular performer on the longest running, all-female comedy show, “Pretty Funny Women” and is also featured on the “The Southern Belles of Comedy DVD, starring Brett Butler. Television credits include “Girl's Behaving Badly” and her regular gig as co-host of The Style Channel’s “Clean House.” Trish has also been to Afghanistan several times to perform for our troops. Trish is a borderline-yuppie, but don’t call her that to her face, or she just might knock you out!
Sonya White, originally from Virginia, combines her Southern charm with big city smarts. She has national television credits such as Oxygen’s “Girls Behaving Badly,” CBS’s “Star Search,” Fox Network’s “Nightshift”, Family Channel’s “Big Brother Jake”, and has done colorful national promos for that “Dancing With the Stars” alumn, Jerry Springer and his infamous show “The Jerry Springer Show”. She is also known for her dead-on impersonations and sound effects. Sonya is truly an urban lady as she has been a featured comedienne for Verizon Wireless on their “Fun and Games” mobile accessory option. Nothing says “city girl” quite like that.
Beth Donahue is the typical working woman of the twenty-first century. Hailing from Nashville, Beth is a self proclaimed “recovering everything.” Her material is brutally funny, incredibly honest and she doesn’t joke about anything that everyone hasn’t done, thought about doing or wish they could still do. Her “pull no punches” style has made her a hit with audiences on the over 600 radio shows across the country where Beth continues to be a regular call-in guest. Some of her television gigs include appearances on “VH-1 Stand Up Spotlight with Rosie O’Donnell”, “Evening at the Improv”, and Showtime’s “Comedy Club Network”. After almost 20 years of performing, Beth took a job as a secretary in 2003, and was ready to give up the comic life until the Southern Fried Chicks came calling. As she says, “I’m so ill-suited for real work it’s ridiculous.” Beth will give you a cynical, but working to be better adjusted, look at life in the big city.
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