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Play featuring loss, guilt debuts at Ritz

By Kris Harrell

A new play, “Grief, Grudges and Guilt,” is coming to the Ritz Theatre in Greenville, showcasing the importance of family, friendship and forgiveness. 

The show highlights familial loss, secrets taken to the grave and self-reflection as the audience explores the relationships of the central characters and their choices to forgive and push through challenges. 

Playwright, producer and director Makelia LaRee, draws inspiration and motivation from her lived experiences dealing with others’ guilt, grief and held grudges. 

“A lot of these subjects we don’t like to talk about,” LaRee said. “That’s been one of my main things since I started in 2012: to make shows that address certain issues in communities that we hate to talk about, to bring awareness to those situations and to try and help come up with some kind of resolution for those situations.”  

LaRee draws upon losses in her own life, like the loss of her last grandparent and her second cousin. In the play, Jackie, played by Stephanie Moorer, learns secrets about her mother from a visitor after her mother’s funeral. During a funeral scene, an empty casket is brought out onto the stage. 

“The funeral scene was really hard, because the opening scene is the funeral scene,” LaRee said. “I had the song sung during the scene [be] my grandmother’s favorite gospel song; so writing that detail and being detailed about it how I wanted it to be for it being personal. That was the hardest thing, fighting back emotions while writing a lot of that play.” 

Additionally, the relationship between Jackie and her best friend Brian, played by Montrelle Coleman, has grown strained after Brian became a successful actor in Atlanta, Georgia.

The play premiered in Troy at the Troy University Claudia Crosby Theatre on Nov. 14, 2024.

Now, “Grief, Grudges, and Guilt” kicks off its multi-state tour in Greenville, with future dates in Montgomery, Birmingham, Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Illinois and Dothan. 

“A lot of people get excited when I say Chicago and Atlanta, but for me [playing in] Montgomery at the Davis Theatre has been a goal of mine since 2012,” LaRee said. “That Montgomery debut on March 15 is very personal, and to me that’s bigger than Chicago or Atlanta because I’ve been trying to do it. I’ve seen tickets have already been moving, so to see the feedback and the support of it now is just confirmation that this is my season to go and to show that we are opening the door for me to get to a higher platform.” 

Most of the actors featured in the play have worked with LaRee on previous projects and shows. 

This includes Coleman, who takes on the comedic role of Brian. In the show, Brian has been Jackie’s best friend for 25 years. However, according to Coleman, Brian tends to forget that he would not be where he is today if not for Jackie and her husband. 

“Brian brings the laughter, the comedian side to the play,” Coleman said. “I feel great [about the role]. It’s basically second nature to me. Some of those traits I portray already, and it was just so easy to just step into character and take heed to what he was doing.” 

Additionally, Coleman notes that working on and acting in the show has provided a sense of closure on his own grief. 

“It’s the story about the death of Jackie’s mother, and it’s kind of good for me because the same day we have the show in Greenville, it would be one year since my mom passed away,” Coleman said. “It’s kind of hard to think about it, but it’ll help bring a little closure to me because the play is about the death of someone’s mother and I’m dealing with the death of my mother and it’s just so unique, those two things together.” 

“Grief, Grudges, and Guilt” open at the Ritz Theatre in Greenville on Feb 8 and Feb. 9. On Feb. 8, doors open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 6 p.m. On Feb. 9, doors open at 2 p.m. and the show starts at 3 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online on Eventbrite.com or in person at Hudson Funeral Home in Greenville and Mary Ruth’s Restaurant in Georgiana.