The Baptist Witches of Shelbyville is not about casting supernatural spells or solving any specific plot-driven conflict, but more of a snapshot into the life of the five Moon women – six if you include the infamous Granny, whom we never fully meet. This show confirms that your history and where you come from largely impacts the person you grow in to. As each of the women face the unique ways in which their roots affect who they are now, they each must decide to either push their past down and hide it or embrace their flaws and choose to grow from them.

We follow the Moon family, which consists of a Southern, strong-willed and God-fearing mother, played by the commanding Gigi Bermingham, her three passionate and spitfire daughters, Lucinda, Birdie, and Kitty, and Birdie’s flibberty-gibbet daughter, Lottie. Over the course of a weekend celebrating the Fourth of July, we get an inside look at the vulnerable conversations and heated arguments that occur while the oldest sister, Lucinda, is visiting home from California.

Lucinda, who is embodied by a vulnerable Mamie Gummer, steps into family drama surrounding a severe health diagnosis for her sister Birdie, messy marriages, and facing her own trauma of the past while embracing the weight of being the only sister who moved away from family. Gummer brings her intimate film training to the stage with a remarkable performance of both strength and deep-rooted pain as the eldest sister of the group.

Most of the show follows the three Moon sisters, which means the show is full of hilariously brutal honesty, spitfire comebacks, and honest sibling heart-to-hearts. Such is especially true when Julie Shavers, who plays the boldly passionate Birdie, steps onto the stage. In my theatrical experience, I have heard that there is always one character that is driving a scene, and most of the time in this show, it is Julie Shavers. While I would have loved to see even more emotional layers from the character, Shavers brings the energy as Birdie so that, from the most comedic moments to the most intimate conversations, the audience can’t help but feel hooked on her.

The sisters try to soak up their time together through activities like boating days and holiday cookouts, but no one can ignore Birdie’s health or stop themselves from giving their opinion on what she should be doing or how she is self-sabotaging. Meanwhile, Birdie takes every opportunity to deflect the topic and tries to take control of her life back into her own hands, even when it feels like the universe has other plans. It is a very tricky back and forth of verbal jabs and trying to see eye to eye, which inevitably leads us nowhere but stuck in the limbo of “What should Birdie do with herself?” After tension builds through the first act and secrets are pushed into the dark, the truth finally erupts that both Lucinda and Birdie were assaulted as young girls by the same man who happens to now have religious authority in the town. With the truth exposed, all the facades that the girls have been putting up start to shatter, and the truth runs wild.

Lucinda even opens up about her agitation with her mother’s dependence on her faith. Bermingham as Mama Moon is a force on stage, from the way she walks and sits as the character to her conviction for faith and her truth. Mama Moon has a strong outlook on life and is the kind of lady whose answer to everything is “I’m praying about it.” But when the truth comes out about her daughters’ assault by a religious figure, Mama Moon begins having a crisis. Lucinda thanks her mother for teaching them faith and shares that she still believes in God, but clearly wants to take some matters into her own hands and not sit on the side and wait for God to intervene. It forces the audience to question: Where do we put our faith? Can we face our eyes to heaven while keeping our feet on the ground?

When the plot finally starts to take shape in the show, the audience can’t help but feel confused that the house lights are coming up, and that’s it – no answers to questions, no resolved conflicts. Just some dramatic truth bombs and spirited monologues. Many small plot points in this show don’t seem to lead the story anywhere, such as the boating day or opening the top of act two in a meaningless graveyard. This show is a culmination of snapshots into the lives of these five women over the course of a weekend. And while the scenes were very long and conversational, I would like to highlight the superb direction of Daniel O’Brien and the energy of the cast, who kept a great pace in these drawn-out scenes.

Overall, I think what made this show worthwhile were the incredibly grounded and authentic performances from the cast. From the small movements of playing with their hair or sitting a certain way, you could tell these ladies were comfortable in their space and had a sense of home on stage. They brought professionalism and honesty to their individual characters which had the audience on the edge of their seats and fully invested in the lives of the Moon women.

If you are looking for a night out at the theatre to experience witchy spells and supernatural drama, this show will leave you disappointed. However, if you want a theatrical experience that portrays the subtle beauty and duality of human connection, The Baptist Witches of Shelbyville is the show for you.

WHERE: The Whitefire Theatre 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91243WHEN: 8:00 pm Friday & Saturday; Closing on Friday May 01, 2026HOW: General Seating Reservations Purchased Online. HOW MUCH: $40.00 BUY TICKETS HERE.