Tattoos and Tater – S.O.P.S. Full Length Winner

Shawnee Playhouse, New York

WORLD PREMIER play and winner of the 2022/2023 Full Length S.0.P.S. Play Festival.

Opal Jones, convinced her only son, Duane, will become an old bachelor without her help, decides that Charley, a soon to be “old maid” stock clerk in her store and the daughter of an old friend, Lily, is the perfect candidate. Opal, unaccustomed to being denied any request, unleashes her vengeance on Charley and her family. Opal’s world unravels as Charley endures and Duane’s elopes with his secret girlfriend. Determined to have the last word, Opal arrives at the tattoo shop to confront all who crossed her, only to be stopped dead in her tracks.

Gwen Flager is a storyteller, who grew up in Louisiana and Alabama. Most of her stories have a Southern flavor and embrace strong unconventional and often cantankerous women of this region. Her full length plays as well as her one-act plays have been produced and or/presented in reading festivals in Texas, California, Kansas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. Gwen is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. For more information see gwenflager.com.

Tattoos and Tater was written in response to a comment by George Van Os, a dear man in my life, who was a commercial real estate attorney in Houston, Texas, handling the purchase and sale of multi-million dollar real estate holdings for his clients. I asked George what he liked to see on stage. He said he simply wanted to be entertained after a demanding week at the office. He didn’t want to have to think about the meaning or symbolism of a play. I think George preferred a sweet and funny story to whisk him away to another place and time for a few hours – a momentary cessation of one’s concerns and struggles. I offer Tattoos and Tater for that momentary relief.