Old Dykes (It Ain’t Over)

Shelby (45), a moody, gifted, immensely cool playwright, is 30 years younger than the great love of her life Helene, an irreverent, smack-talking poet (think Sarah Paulson & Holland Taylor). Their relationship has not been embraced by Helene’s lesbian posse – an older gang of misfits who are suspicious of Shelby and fiercely protective of their matriarch. When Helene receives a diagnosis of ALS, she convinces Shelby to secretly assist in her death before she begins to deteriorate even more. (What’s that old saying: If you want to hear God laugh, tell her your plans.) The meticulously plotted suicide attempt, on Helene’s 75 birthday, goes belly-up. An epic failure. On top of it, the queer posse shows up uninvited to throw a surprise birthday party. It says a lot about Helene that she can be as extraordinarily present to her death as she is to blowing out birthday candles. Maybe it isn’t over after all. Shelby, though, is hurled into an emotional tailspin. Set in Pittsburgh, our family of characters are middle-class. They live messy lives. Along with their older queer brothers, they support each other when times are tough and are as uniquely dysfunctional and relatable as any family.