Belles

by:     Mark Dunn

“Belles” is a comedic drama in two acts and 45 phone calls.  The six Walker sisters grew up in a dysfunctional Southern family with an alcoholic father and a mother who covered for him.  Momma (who is neither seen nor heard) is experiencing another of her “medical crises,” and widowed sister Peggy, who resides with and cares for Momma, is determined to let her sisters know what is going on.  During the course of one weekend, the sisters, who are all grown women living scattered across the country, communicate as best they can — by telephone.  As the phone calls circulate among the sisters, we learn more and more about each of the women, who are trying to cope with their own lives and their own problems.  The show runs the full spectrum of emotions.  With humor, anger, compassion, and finally love, they help each other through the emotional highs and lows of their lives as they deal with both the present and the past.