You Better Call Your Mother, the one-man show first performed by Atlanta restaurateur Mitchell Anderson in a limited run in November 2021, is back for another limited run, this time benefiting Out Front Theatre Company, July 29 and 30. Tickets are $25, with all proceeds going to Out Front.

“I’m thrilled,” says Anderson, the chef-owner of MetroFresh, “Performing the original run of my show in 2021 was the highlight of my artistic life. Having the opportunity to remount it to benefit this small-but-mighty theatre company that represents the voices of our community is an honor. I’m excited to tell my story to new audiences, maybe inspiring them to tell theirs.”

 He notes that, if initial ticket sales are strong the Theatre will add a third show on Fri., July 28. You Better Call Your Mother reflects on the actor-restaurateur’s extraordinary life and was initially written as a sort of therapy during COVID. 

Since its Nov. 2021 debut, the show was an "Official Selection" at the United Solo Theatre Festival on 42^nd Street in New York in March. For that turn, Anderson won Best Actor at the Festival. United Solo is dedicated to one-person performance and is the world’s largest solo theatre festival. He also will be performing the show in Jamestown, NY – his hometown – Sept. 15-16. 

You Better Call Your Mother is a collection of monologues and songs examining Anderson’s journey and how he eventually discovered the only way to a full, happy and productive life was to claim and celebrate all of who he is. The show’s title references what someone said to Anderson immediately after he walked off stage at the 1996 GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles, where he had gone off script and spontaneously come out. 

Thus, 20-plus years later, the now-61-year-old Anderson shares with audiences how an over-achieving little boy who spent his school years trying to not disappoint his parents comes to terms with being gay. Many first knew the actor from Doogie Howser MD, Party of Five, The Karen Carpenter Story and Relax, It’s Just Sex.

Written and performed by Anderson, You Better Call Your Mother is directed by Atlanta theatre favorite Courtenay Collins, with musical direction by theatre veteran Bill Newberry. The 90-minute show is in two acts with a brief intermission. 

Tickets for the Out Front Theatre Company performances of You Better Call Your Mother are available here.