PORTSMOUTH- The Portsmouth Little Theatre (PLT) may be in between performance weekends of their current tragic comedy, August: Osage County, but they didn’t use that time idly. They started the week following opening weekend with auditions to determine who will take the stage in the production that will follow in coming months.

The next play is a strict comedy known as Honky Tonk Hissy Fit.

According to Dramatists, “In this rollicking, hilarious comedy, the Doublewide, Texas, gang is back and life in their tiny town has gotten crazier than ever. Just when things are looking up—the population has grown to seventeen mobile homes and a weekend farmers’ market—the rug is pulled out from under the residents yet again. It seems their vacation rental trailer has drawn unwanted attention from a mega-corporation in Austin. Suddenly, the corporation is interested in Doublewide.”

The play is being directed by acting veteran Eva Martin, who is taking on directing for the first time with this production, outside of her previously required assistant directing position, which she fulfilled earlier in the season.

The cast will consist of Kelli Riffe as Big Ethel Satterwhite, Kerri Davis as Georgia Dean Rudd, Eric Gray as Nash Sloggett, Whitney Maddix as Lark Barken, Erin Ballengee as Caprice Crumpler, Gary Mathews as Haywood Sloggett, Kayla Parker as Joveeta Crumpler, Brian Pierce as Wayne “Baby” Crumpler, Pam Klinepeter as Harper Channing, Lisa Montgomery as Unhappy Person and Harley Dobbs.

“We had a wonderful turn out for auditions and the talent was amazing. The cast chosen could not be a more perfect fit,” Martin claimed. “We have some new faces as well as some seasoned veterans, and when they ran lines as a group the chemistry and comedic timing was perfect!”

Adam Lucas is set to stage manage and Greg Bauer has agreed to run tech.

“I am so looking forward to getting started on rehearsals to start building on the excitement we have already going,” Martin said. “I am very excited to bring my ideas to life on stage. I’ve been acting for a long time and I love that you can get a group of people together with different ideas and create something the general public comes to enjoy and be entertained by.”

Martin has been studying the script while preparing for the production to start and believes the community will enjoy the story being brought to life.

“I think people are going to love the comedy of this show,” Martin claimed. “It is a fairly new production. It’s not been around for long, but people will love the characters and storyline, nonetheless. Be prepared to come to a show where you’ll be entertained.”

While the cast and director are all ready to begin pulling the next show together, they’ll have to wait for August: Osage County to close this weekend, which has dates planned for February 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m.

The show has been massively popular online following opening weekend.

“I was there,” PLT supporter Lynn Delaney wrote on the group’s Facebook page asking for reviews. “Wasn’t sure I was going to like it because after a stressful work week, I prefer plays that have lighter topics and a lot of comedy. I was pleasantly surprised. The play was great, fabulous acting, enough comedy throughout so I really enjoyed it.”

With August: Osage County having little fanbase in the local area, attendance has been slightly lower for this production, as opposed to the group regularly selling out.

One patron commented on this fact, “Great show,” Timothy Large said. “Really enjoy all the hard work the cast put into the show. A lot of amazing talent. Hated to see the show only half full. Hope more people come out to support our little hometown theater and cast!”

To buy tickets for August: Osage County or Honky Tonk Hissy Fit, visit www.pltlive.com or get to the theatre 30 minutes before the curtain opening on performances.

Honky Tonk Hissy Fit will run April 5, 6, 12, and 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Portsmouth Little Theatre, 1117 Lawson Street, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.