Millbrook: "The Chicken-Fried-Fabulous Spa-Dee-Dah Sisterhood"

With the death this month of actress-playwright Jessie Jones, the decades-long collaboration of Jones-Hope-Wooten has come to a close, though their many popular Southern female centered comedies will no doubt continue to be performed.

One of them -- The Chicken-Fried-Fabulous Spa-Dee-Dah Sisterhood -- concludes its two weekend run by the Millbrook Community Players this weekend. And from the audience laughter and applause, and Millbrook's commitment to producing their plays, they've clearly hit the funny-bone of the River Region. 

Sure, they're formulaic; sure, the jokes are familiar one-liners; sure, the endings are predictable -- but, "So, what?!" -- they're entertaining and an excellent antidote to the serious issues surrounding us every day.

Director Cheryll Phillips has conscripted a fine ensemble of neophyte and veteran actors for her production, some of them reprising roles from other shows in the Jones-Hope Wooten repertoire. And they deliver.

This time, vindictive Glorietta DeWitt [Amanda Ledbetter] contrives to commandeer a cookie recipe and the attendant business though whatever means she chooses. And the combined efforts of Carlene [Vicki Moses], Nita [Angie Head], Mavis [Karla McGhee], and Sugar Lee [Blair Berry], together with Bobby Dwayne [Bill Rauch] and surprise twist by Hardy [Steve Phillips] put an end to Glorietta's scheming. A lot goes wrong along the way, and a lot of silliness occurs, but the resolution is satisfying, so audiences can lap it up gleefully.

WOBT--Prattville: "Twelve Angry Jurors"

From Perry Mason to Law and Order, from Anatomy of a Murder to My Cousin Vinny, courtroom drama remains a popular entertainment in American households; but, while we eagerly watch the proceedings in the court, we are rarely invited into the Jury Room where life-and-death decisions are often made.

Reginald Rose's compelling Twelve Angry Men [television, film, and stage versions] takes a different stance; the entirety of it is located in the Jury Room, where twelve men from an assortment of backgrounds, races, and ages convene to deliberate what went on at the trial, and must decide the fate of a 19-year-old reform school suspect accused of murdering his father. -- An updated version by Sherman L. Sergel, now entitled Twelve Angry Jurors to accommodate female jurors and their enhanced perspectives, is currently on offer in director Alex Rikerd's compelling production at the Way Off Broadway Theatre in Prattville.

At the outset, we hear a judge's "charge" to the jurors that their decision must be unanimous, that the decision must be made "beyond reasonable doubt", and that a guilty verdict will result in the death penalty.

So the drama begins: it's a hot day, only one window is open, the fan doesn't work, and the jurors are hot, tired, impatient, and short-tempered. To most of them it's an open-and-shut case, but one of them has doubts; and it will take a lot of sifting through the details of the evidence, and questioning the validity of some witnesses' testimonies in order to get unanimous agreement. At a time when there were no cellphones, internet, or AI, they must deliberate on their own.

Ms. Rikerd has a tight ensemble of actors at her disposal; though they are identified only by their Juror Number and not by name, their backgrounds, biases, and personalities become abundantly clear as the tensions rise moment by moment. -- The main contenders are Juror #8 [Scott Rouse] who first admits he has doubts about the perpetrator's guilt, and Juror #3 [Matthew Givens] who is adamant on both the guilt and for the jury to reach a quick unanimous verdict.

As their arguments heat up, evidence is re-considered, and several other jurors change their minds, audiences too might well change their own opinions. -- And while this creates a good deal of frustration, the play is not only about their ultimate verdict. In fact, perhaps the more interesting elements of Twelve Angry Jurors are about the jury process itself, a deliberation on what constitutes "reasonable doubt" and "justice", and a challenge to audiences to recognize their own beliefs.

Theatre AUM: "Fool for Love"

Actor, director, multi-award winning playwright Sam Shepard was in the 1970s and 1980s the most fashionable playwright in the USA and abroad, his edgy, surrealistic plays dissecting some very uncomfortable social and family issues in bare-bones naturalistic dialogue. -- Alas, none of his plays have been performed in the River Region for decades: our loss.

But now, Theatre AUM [true-to-form in producing plays from across a wide international and stylistic spectrum] is bringing Shepard's compact Fool for Love to their stage. In a seedy Mojave desert motel, we meet May [Sam Crevensten], and Eddie [Samuel "Goose" Alford]; they are half-siblings and on-and-off lovers for about fifteen years, and while Eddie obsesses their relationship can be resumed, May wants nothing to do with him; in fact, she's expecting her date Martin [Nicholas Hall] any minute.

The fourth character is The Old Man [Jay Walker Russell] who fathered both May and Eddie with two different women, and who had abandoned them some time ago; he serves as a kind of narrator-conscience as he sits outside the action though he "communicates" with his children individually as his attempts to assuage his building guilt consumes him. The past haunts the present.

Eddie is also being stalked by his most recent lover, the unseen "Countess', who wreaks havoc on Eddie's truck in the parking lot.

There's a lot of tension in the one-hour stage time, and the actors give credible renderings of their roles. Ms. Crevensten -- a late addition to the cast -- gave an admirably intelligent interpretation on opening night, despite reading from the script she held in her hands. [While this has been done before, there is no doubt that holding a script inhibits physical movement and eye-to-eye contact with scene partners, and hence the rhythms and intensity of the dialogue, as well as the emotional impact on the audience.] -- Expectations are high that she will be off-book soon to ensure her talents are better displayed for future performances.

ASF: "Much Ado About Nothing"

During the opening night of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival director Bruce Longworth's merry production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, spontaneous laughs, sighs, and applause punctuated its two-and-a-half hours, and testified to local audiences' appreciation of the Bard -- if only there were more productions from the Classic repertoire at ASF. One need not be afraid of understanding a 400-year-old text when it is delivered with such clarity and assurance.

ASF is publicizing Much Ado as a "rom-com", a term unknown in Elizabethan England, but familiar in our contemporary jargon; so we can anticipate a story focused on romance, replete with lovers whose relationships are tested, along with conventional misunderstandings, deceptions, mishaps, clever dialogue, a duplicitous villain who interferes with wedding plans, and a bumbling policeman who accidentally uncovers the culprit to ensure a happy ending with dancing.

It's the Summer of 1919, some months after the end of World War I, and Don Pedro [Chauncy Thomas] and his retinue of soldiers arrive for a month's stay at Leonato's [J. D. Webster] in Sicily. Young soldier Claudio [Felix Torrez-Ponce] falls in love with Leonato's daughter Hero [Sigrid Wise]; they're a lovely couple we root for immediately.

And sparks fly between affirmed bachelor soldier Benedick [Christopher Gerson] and Hero's cousin Beatrice [Tarah Flanagan] whose long-term spat is carried out with entertaining witty dialogue...to everyone within earshot they're obviously made for each other, though neither of them admit it. They too earn every bit of our admiration, even as we witness their potential embarrassment.

Spoiler alert: With a Claudio-Hero wedding about to transpire, Don Jon [Patrick Halley] plots to stop the celebration by ruining Hero's reputation; and though successful at first, his ploy is discovered by a clownish policeman named Dogberry [French Stewart -- best known for tv's Third Rock from the Sun], whose Act II antics elicit well-earned laughter.

Mr. Longworth's creative team enhance every moment, from Josh Smith's detailed set, to Dottie Marshall Englis's attentive costumes [check the color-coded women's dresses, and her masterfully distinct costumes for actors playing multiple roles], to Nathan W Scheuer's evocative lighting, to Melanie Chen Cole's rich soundscape, and period-sounding music from composers Brien Style and Matt Pace...and of course the ensemble actors bringing Shakespeare's words and characters to life. 

Performances end on April 5th, so there's still time to welcome Spring at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's offering of Much Ado About Nothing; it's well worth the effort.

Wetumpka Depot: "Pump Boys and Dinettes"

If memory serves, the only other time Pump Boys and Dinettes was performed in the River Region was an Alabama Shakespeare Festival production a few decades ago; having ended its three-weekend run at the Wetumpka Depot last Saturday, it played to a sometimes raucously over-enthusiastic audience. 

Set at a rural North Carolina Highway 57 "roadstop" gas station [the Pump Boys] and its next door neighbor Double-Cupp Diner [the Dinettes], the multitalented guys and gals showcase a host of toe-tapping high-octane songs through a slim plot that does little other than delineate character and relationships while stringing the songs together.

Never mind -- the whole point is to entertain, and director Kristy Meanor's ensemble cast come through in spades. Kaylee Baker, Mike Higgins, Sarah Kay, William Moncrief, Matthew Mitchell, Lloyd Strickland, and David Whitfield accompany themselves on a variety of musical instruments, and dance to Daniel Grant Harms's clever choreography for a rousing 90-minutes.

Whether they're singing country-rock or pop songs about fishing, working for tips, childhood nostalgia, female independence, or sibling relationships, the charisma they establish with one another and with the audience is never questioned. They're a likable group whose good-nature interacts with audiences.

There's a lot of talent on the Depot stage that brings Pump Boys and Dinettes back to vibrant life at a time when we need to enjoy one another's company, even for just a short time.

Millbrook: "Dearly Beloved"

Whenever a production penned by the Jones-Hope-Wooten franchise is on the boards [and it happens often; they're popular and very widely produced], you know what you're in for: lots of laughs from the most improbable of situations and wildly eccentric characters.

So, the current production of Dearly Beloved by the Millbrook Community Players fits the bill as it is performed with gusto by many of this Company's regular veteran actors and lesser-known ones.

We're in Fayro, TX, population 3003 as preparations for an upcoming wedding take place. One of Frankie Dubberly's [B. J. Alringer] twin daughters Tina Jo [Paula Roberts, who also plays the other twin Gina Jo] is about to tie the knot; Frankie's sisters Twink [Vicki Moses] and Honey Ray [Karla McGhee] are there to "help", but leave each other and wedding planner Geneva [Laura Smith] having to improvise when an inevitable disarray happens, and the groom's mother Patsy [Catherine Barlow] tries to throw a monkey-wrench into the proceedings.

The men-folk [Josh Register and Bill Rauch] try to stay out of their way by the barbecue pit; or comment on the action with charming weirdness [Michael Snead]; or remain near comatose by a combination of medicines and booze [Mark McGuire]; or get reluctantly conscripted to be the substitute preacher/minister for the ceremony [Brady Walker]. 

Director Stephanie McGuire tells its  convoluted story in a series of short scenes early on to provide a lot of expository information and establish character quirks and relationships. And the action takes several twists and turns until its resolution. -- No spoilers here; just relax into it and enjoy the ride.

It's all in good fun, after all, and a welcome antidote to our everyday concerns.

Way Off Broadway Theatre: "Rumors"

Setting: Snedan's Landing, a secluded exclusive community along the Hudson River a short distance from New York City; the home of New York's Deputy Mayor Charlie Brock and his wife Myra, who are hosting  a dinner party for their 10th Anniversary, and have invited four other successful couples. 

At the start of Neil Simon's comedy Rumors, their first guests find that Charlie has shot himself [a flesh-wound in his ear] and is recuperating in his bedroom, Myra is missing, and while there is food and drink available, the servants are nowhere to be found.

So, questions and "rumors" begin: Why did Charlie shoot himself? Where is Myra? Is their marriage on the rocks? How will the guests manage on their own without the house staff? And how can they diffuse the situation to avoid scandal?

Complications abound to dizzying effect with the arrivals of each of the three other couples who have issues of their own, and the improvised sharing and invention of selective details about Charlie and Myra that get more confused by the moment. 

Arguably one of Simon's most accomplished farces, its success depends on split-second timing, sharply witty dialogue and action, occasional gunshots, and a careful building of the frenzy that impacts each character individually. 

Prattville's Way Off Broadway Theatre ensemble actors, under Jessica Scott's direction, take audiences on an unrelentingly improbable ride for two hilarious hours. -- Don't try to figure it out; just go along for the ride and enjoy.

The four couples are played by Lily Farnsworth and Evan Scott, Amy Medeiros and Mark Sanders, Janie Allred and Rodney Winter, and Blair Berry and Gage Parr...each with their own quirks that entertain effectively. And though some of them hit their emotional peaks a bit too soon, leaving them nowhere to go by the end, and others occasionally play the same energy as their on-stage partners rather than contrasting them, it's all in good fun.

Two police officers played by Jeremy Berry and Michael Moseley arrive near the end of Act I investigating an automobile accident, and things get even more complicated as the four couples invent an even more preposterous explanation of what has been going on at their party.

With surprises at every corner that create havoc for the characters and delight for audiences, this version of Rumors lets us all take a break from the day-to-day concerns of the world around us. Thanks for the laughs.