THE RED VELVET CAKE WAR, Gaslight Baker Theatre, Lockhart, January 24 - February 16, 2013

[216 S. Main Street, Lockhart, TX - click for map]

presents
 

The Red Velvet Cake War

a slice of life comedy by Jones, Hope and Wooten

directed by David Schneider and John Lairsen

January 25 - February 16, 2013

"sneak peek" preview on Thursday, January 24; 2 p.m. matinees Sunday Feb 3 and Saturday, Feb 9

Are you ready to beat the post-holiday blues and the winter doldrums? Then attending the Gaslight Baker Theater’s production of The Red Velvet Cake War is a must. The GBT kicks off its 2013 season with this hilarious Jones, Wooten and Hope comedy. This trio of playwrights is currently the most widely produced playwrights in the country today. Co-Directed by David Schneider and John Lairsen, The Red Velvet Cake War’s Verdeen cousins, family and friends put the “fun” in dysfunctional!

The play opens with Gaynelle Verdeen , (hysterically played by Nina Bryant) who is watching her world unravel. She’s been acquitted of attempting to murder her ex-husband’s girlfriend and is appearing on Cee Cee Windham’s TV show “Hospitality House.” Cee Cee, played by Shaela Leggett-Wilson to syrupy perfection, is a vision of frothy pink, endowed with a perpetual “happy smile” and chirpy manner as long as the cameras are rolling.

Ellen Massey brings a sharp wit and equally sharp tongue to the Verdeen clan’s upper crust matriarch, LaMerle Verdeen Minishew. LaMerle feels that the younger,lesser Verdeen cousins are a blight on the Verdeen name so she is canceling the family reunion for this year to give the town folks time “to find another idiot to talk about”. Her older brother, the 90 year old, wisecracking Aubrey Verdeen, (David Young) is the perfect foil for fussy, self-righteous LaMerle.

Nina Bryant and Ellen Massey (photo: Jim Gillock)

Canceling the reunion is the last thing that the three cousins want to have happen. Rallying around Gaynelle is cousin Peaches Verdeen Belrose, a make-up artist to the newly and dearly departed. Peaches full of life herself. She’s sexy, saucy, recently widowed (maybe) and well done by Leigh Shelton, newcomer to the GBT, but a veteran of the Wimberley Players and a recent Texas State Theatre graduate. 

 The third cousin, Jimmy Wyvette Verdeen, played by another new face to the GBT stage Gina McClure, is a good old girl who manages Whatley’s Western Wear. She also has a deep throaty laugh that is absolutely contagious. Bolstered by her cousins and angry at the world, Gaynelle makes a wild bet during an argument with LaMerle as to who can whip up the best Red Velvet Cake for the reunion that WILL take place. The stakes are high since Gaynelle doesn’t bake and isn’t sure what is needed for a Red Velvet Cake. Thus the hilarious cake war is set in motion.

The show is rounded out with Tammy Francis as Bitsy Hargis who is competing with Jimmie Wyvette for the attentions of a recently widowed neighbor and Elsa Dowdall (played by comedic talent Candice Carr) who is in town to evaluate the sanity of Gaynelle. Newt Blaylock (Randall Ischy), Purvis Verdeen (Stephen Fleming) and Sheriff Grover Lout (Brent White) provide laughs as the “men of Sweetgum”. And lastly, making the most of her 15 seconds on stage, Susie Lay (Mama Doll Hargis) will bring the audience to their feet as she sashays with her walker across the stage teasing her love interest Aubrey Verdeen.

The fun starts Thursday, Jan 24 with the Sneak Peek and runs weekends through Feb 16. Two matinees: Sunday Feb 3 and Saturday, Feb 9 @ 2 pm. More info and ticket reservations at MyGBT.org.



(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Upcoming: Dearly Beloved by Jones, Hope and Wooten, Georgetown Palace Theatre, January 11 - Feburary 3, 2013

presents


DEARLY BELOVED
by Jones, Hope and Wooten
directed by Mary Ellen Butler
January 11 - February 3, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

To brighten the winter months, Georgetown’s Historic Palace Theatre presents on the Springer Memorial Stage the live production of Dearly Beloved. This rib-tickling Southern comedy is from Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, & Jamie Wooten, the writing team that brought you last season’s hit The Dixie Swim Club. Directed by the Palace’s Artistic Director, Mary Ellen Butler, Dearly Beloved is the hilarious story of yet another dysfunctional but lovable Texas family in a predicament of life-sized proportions! The Futrelle sisters of Fayro, Texas, are caught up in one sister’s quest to plan her daughter’s antebellum-inspired wedding. Will the wedding be free from scandal, gossip, and skin-tight gold lamé? You will have to see it to believe it!

Dearly Beloved plays at the Palace on weekends from January 11 through February 3, 2013. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday shows are at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $24 General Admission, $22 Seniors (55+), $14 Students (10-22) and Active Military, and $10 Children (9 and younger). Rated for General Audiences

The Palace seats about 295, with reserved seating paid for in the ticket price. The Palace office in the lobby of the theatre is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. (except for some holiday dates). Purchase tickets and select seating on-line at www.georgetownpalace.com or by calling (512) 869-7469 or (512) 869-5081. (Please call ahead regarding special needs seating.) Visa, Master Card, and Discover Card are accepted.

The Historic Palace Theatre is located at 810 South Austin Avenue in downtown Georgetown (click for map)and is part of the most beautiful Town Square in Texas!

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Video: Dashing through the Snow by Jones, Hope and Wooten at Gaslight Baker Theatre, Lockhart, November 30 - December 15

presents
Dashing through the Snow
November 30 - December 15



The Gaslight Baker Theatre in Lockhart, Texas presents the Christmas comedy Dashing through the Snow by Jones, Hope and Wooten . Shows are weekends Nov 30 - Dec 15, 2012 on Fri. and Sat. at 8 pm and 2 pm matinees on Sun. 11/09 and Sat. 12/15. For tickets and information see www.MyGBT.org or call 512-376-5653

Auditions in Lockhart for The Red Velvet Cake Wars, Gaslight Baker Theatre, December 2 and 3

Do you entertain your family by imitating your wacky relatives? Then come on down and auditon for the Gaslight-Baker Theatre's next play The Red Velvet Cake Wars by the Texas comedy team Jones,Hope, and Wooten. Auditions are Sunday Dec 2 at 2 pm and Monday, Dec 3 @ 7 pm at the Gaslight-Baker Theatre, 216 S Main St,Lockhart, Tx. Cast includes 7 women and 3 men. Show dates are Jan 24 - Feb 16.

A Southern fried Texas hootenanny ensues in Sweetgum, TX when the Verdeen family comes together in this hilarious comedy. The Verdeen cousins insist on hosting the yearly family reunion even though they are all the topic of scandalous town gossip. Mayhem follows as a bet is made between the cousins and their aunt on who can make the best red velvet cake which will ensure the hosting of the reunion or will cause one cousin to lose her house. On the day of the reunion and the big taste off, it seems that cousin is as sure to lose her house as she is to be committed - but the reunion isn’t over yet!

For more information, leave a message at 512-376-5653 or go to http://www.mygbt.org/.

Auditions in Georgetown for Dearly Beloved, Georgetown Palace, October 27

Auditions! From the writing team of last year’s hit “The Dixie Swim Club” comes the hilarious “Dearly Beloved!” Written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten, it's a story of a completely dysfunctional but loveable Texas family in the throes of a series of life-changing events

Auditions will be held Saturday, October 27th from 1pm – 5pm at the Georgetown Palace Theatre. Callbacks will be held Sunday, October 28th from 6pm-9pm.

To request an audition time slot please email gpalaceproductions@gmail.com

No monologue will be required for this audition, we will be reading directly from the script. However, please note that the Futrelle sisters sing a gospel song within the play, if you are considering auditioning for one of these 3 sisters, then consider preparing a 1 minute excerpt from a gospel song, it is not required but would be appreciated.

Performances will begin January 11th, and close February 3rd. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30pm, and Sunday at 2pm. All Auditions, Rehearsals, and Performances will be held at the Palace Theatre.

The Story The time is now and the Futrelle Sisters, Frankie, Honey Raye and Twink, are throwing a wedding. Frankie has almost made herself sick with elaborate preparations for her daughter Tina Jo’s antebellum-inspired wedding, and the rumor mill in their small town of Fayro, Texas, is working overtime. No surprise there, the Futrelle Sisters have never been strangers to gossip. After all, they did survive the scandalous break-up of their almost-famous gospel singing trio, The Sermonettes. But Twink’s desperate attempts to get her boyfriend of 15½ years down the aisle, Frankie’s ongoing conversations with their dead mother, and Honey Raye’s tendency to race to the altar at every opportunity have kept tongues wagging for years.

In spite of her own marital problems, Frankie has held steadfastly to the hope that she can pull off one "final Futrelle occasion" with elegance and style with the help of the cantankerous wedding coordinator, Miss Geneva, who runs the local floral shop/bus depot. But on the day of the nuptials, Frankie's hope begins to dim when she discovers Twink's alternative solution to an expensive catered wedding dinner. When the prodigal Honey Raye arrives at the church, consumed by hot flashes and a steely determination to right old family wrongs, Frankie's hope is shaken. It is lost completely when word reaches the church that Tina Jo and her fiancé have fled Fayro and eloped. The sisters ultimately pull together to find ways to keep the unsuspecting guests in the pews while a highway patrolman races off to track down the runaway bride and groom. As a last resort, and to the delight of the citizens of Fayro, Texas, The Sermonettes reunite and sing again.

Click to read cast list and descriptions at AustinLiveTheatre.com