Popular sitcom actress returns to the stage after 32 years in a groundbreaking play at The Hudson Backstage Theatre.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Alretha Thomas, who portrays Anastasia Devereaux on Tyler Perry's Assisted Living, a sitcom on BET, will grace the stage after thirty-two years, in the original stage play, A Girl's Guilt Trip. The play centers around lifelong friends, Yolanda Banks, portrayed by Thomas, and Roberta Jackson, portrayed by Marlynne Frierson-Cooley, who are destitute and homeless but determined to visit the pyramids in Egypt. In order to fulfill their lifelong dream, they must not only overcome financial obstacles but face the ghosts of their past.
A Girl's Guilt Trip, written by Thomas, is produced and directed by Thomas and her husband, Roy Thomas. The play, also featuring Heather Daughtry as Amy Banks and Al LaFleur as Jeff Minton, will run from October 10th to October 26th, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite.com and OnStage411.com.
Thomas, who graduated from USC with a degree in journalism, made her foray into acting in the mid-80s, after she realized that acting, and not journalism, was her true passion. She says her long-term absence from theater was a result of her leaving acting in 1993, shortly after being nominated for a NAACP Theatre Award for best actress for her role as Reecey in the stage play, A Grinning Piece of Lighting. Around this time, Thomas says she was battling with emotional fallout from her dysfunctional childhood, wherein she had experienced several harrowing events, including, but not limited to, physical and sexual abuse, and the death of her 36-year-old mother when Thomas was only fourteen. Thomas said she needed to step away from Hollywood to get her mental and spiritual health back on track. During her 23-year hiatus, not only did Thomas get well, but she also penned more than a dozen books and wrote, produced, and directed numerous plays, all while holding down a fulltime job.
In 2016, she asked her husband if he would be okay with her returning to acting. He agreed and Thomas took a leap of faith, leaving her corporate job to write and act full-time. She reactivated her SAG membership, put some footage together, and secured an agent. All was going well until Covid hit in 2020. However, unbeknownst to Thomas at the time, in October of 2020, she would be cast in Tyler Perry's Assisted Living. "It was a miracle and a dream come true," she said.
Last year (2024), Thomas had the honor of writing, producing, and directing a play for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) Program at Cal State Dominguez Hills. It was during that time that she reconnected with her friend, Frierson-Cooley, who she had first met more than thirty years ago, when Frierson-Cooley was acting in the play Omalingwo at the Inglewood Playhouse. Thomas brought Frierson-Cooley on as assistant director. "That's when I came up with the idea for A Girl's Guilt Trip. I wanted to do a female buddy play that dealt with friendship and forgiveness, and I knew Marlynne would be perfect for the role of Roberta." Frierson-Cooley has appeared in numerous films and series, including Double Cross as Valerie, Daddy Stop Embarrassing Me as Melba, and Trade as Chelle.
Thomas says she's excited to return to theater and can't wait to introduce the world to A Girl's Guilt Trip. She believes the message of friendship, love, and forgiveness is going to inspire and resonate with theatregoers. "The play is going to make you laugh, cry, scream, and shout out loud. I thank God for blessing me with this play," Thomas added.
EVENT DETAILS:
STAGEPLAY: A Girl's Guilt Trip
DATES: Oct 10,11,12,17,18,19, 24,25,26 (SUN OCT 19TH IS THE UNDERSTUDIES' PERFORMANCE).
SHOW TIME: 8pm Fridays & Saturdays and 3pm on Sundays
LOCATION: HUDSON BACKSTAGE THEATRE, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038
TICKET PRICE: $35.00
Purchase Tickets from https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-girls-guilt-trip-tickets-1596597248349?aff=oddtdtcreator
and
https://www.onstage411.com/girlguilt
GUILT. One of the most expensive TRIPS you'll ever take
ABOUT A GIRL'S GUILT TRIP: A dramedy about friendship, family, and forgiveness, A Girl's Guilt Trip tells the story of Yolanda and Roberta, childhood friends who grow up to live identical idyllic existences until tragedy brings their worlds crashing down. Haunted by unresolved hurt and anger, the women, who are determined to fulfill their lifelong dream of visiting the Pyramids in Egypt, are forced to face the ghosts of the past in order to move forward with their futures.
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Media Contact
Alretha Thomas, Diverse Arts Collective, 1 3104294981, [email protected]
SOURCE Diverse Arts Collective
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