‘Momma’s Boy” The Play With All-Star Cast Coming To Raleigh!
What happens when a mother holds on to her son too long? That’s precisely what we learn as this all-star cast unites on Duke Energy Center’s stage on October 3rd to tell the story of a young man who takes pride in being macho but really is a “Momma’s Boy”.
Set in the inner city, Aaron and Autumn join forces as police officers in a town plagued by violence. Autumn is then forced to move into Aaron’s home with her sons. Autumn has spoiled and catered to her sons every need which has earned them the title of being Momma’s Boys. This is where Aaron’s plight begins to turn these boys to men. In an awkward turn of events, Autumn decides to confront Aaron about his own relationship with his mother. Aaron’s mother, who has resided with him for the past 10 years, feels that no woman can take care of her son like she can. She has run away potential prospects in the past and intends to do same with Autumn.
The big question that remains is how can Aaron turn Autumn’s boys into men when he is a “Momma’s Boy” himself? The cast includes Robin Givens, Columbus Short, Jackee Harry, Nephew Tommy, Shirley Murdock and more!
“Momma’s Boy” is written by Priest Tyaire who was inspired to start writing at a time when most would have withdrawn into bitterness and resentment. His beloved mother, Cynthia Cephas, was diagnosed with cancer in the early part of 2006. Priest wanted to honor his mother and pondered different ways to achieve this task. The Lord spoke very loud and clear, “Write a play.” His desire to tell his mother’s story was so strong, that neither his lack of experience, nor the financial challenge would deter him. Armed with the payout from selling his SUV, he was able to finance his first stage play, The Tears of A Teenage Mother.
As an inexperienced writer and director, Priest purchased every Tyler Perry and David Talbert DVD on the shelf and began studying. Thanks to Google, he quickly figured out theater terminology. August 12-13, 2007, The Tears of A Teenage Mother debuted to two sold out audiences, but the most important person of all was not in the building. She was in a comfortable seat in heaven.
The standing ovation that Priest received after each show was confirmation that he was finally operating in the gift that God gave him. From that moment on, Priest has yet to put down the wood grain ink pen his mother gave him.
As he began honing his craft, he wrote, directed, and acted in another hit stage play, Why Black Men Cheat. While receiving accolades on another successful show, he lost another parent to cancer. On May 20, 2009, his father, Henry Byrd joined his mother in heaven.
Despite wanting to give up on his gift and even on life, he continued on his journey to become a successful playwright. He wrote and produced 5 additional plays including: Why Women Cheat, Why Men Cheat: A Married Man’s Story, The Wrong Shade of Black, Torn Between 2 Fathers, and Mrs. Independent. After a yearlong national tour with Mrs. Independent, Priest took a short break to listen to what the Lord wanted him to do next.
In the back of his mind, he remembered the promise he made to his father that he would not quit. In the fall of 2015 he got the inspiration to write his 8th play, “Momma’s Boy”. As with most of his productions, this production was also derived from personal experience.
For more information, click here. For tickets, click here