The Vienna Historical Society will present humorous plays which portray the foibles and eccentricities of small town life. The performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, July 26 and 27; and at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at Vienna Union Hall, 5 Vienna Mount Road in Vienna.
As in past years, Brent Smith, of Farmington, will lead participants in old-time songs, and a dance or two. Ellie Andrews, of Fayette, will accompany on piano.
“Cheap Lodging Available,” by Beverly Wight Smith, takes place during the Depression when there are so many people out of work and desperate to generate a little income. This romp is filled with the usual oddball, eccentric and just plain good folk that regularly populate Smith’s plays, along with their assorted escapades, antics, shenanigans and affairs of the heart.
Susanna Chapman, a Vienna woman, has decided to take in boarders to help make ends meet. She is expecting guests for a family reunion, when two dodgy-looking strangers show up needing a room. Unbeknownst to Susanna, the visitors have had a small run-in with the law in Farmington, which leads to hilarious antics. Also, there is a raucous reaction concerning two of the reunion attendees when they discover they share a common upsetting event. In the end, all grievances are settled satisfactorily, and harmony reigns on the farm.
The play is directed by Carole O’Connell, and the cast includes Beverly Smith, Pam Bean, Dan Huettner, Steve Mallen, Matthew Dunn, Ellie Andrews, Megan Goucher, Clyde Dyar, Roger Reville, Barbara Gilman, Kitty Gee, Eileen Lord, Jim Wright and Allan Harville.
The second play of the evening, “Ghosts For Sale,” is set within Vienna’s Bradley family of living and deceased members, and is adapted by Cheryl Herr-Rains from a 1950s play by Foster and Shaw. The story revolves around LuLu Bradley, clairvoyant as a child and a future author, who sets out to sell the family home, which is attended to by Edna, a dedicated but long-suffering maid. However, LuLu’s ghostly pioneer Bradley ancestors, conspire to keep the house in the family, with a variety of antics. After a series of spooked buyers, a wealthy lady who actually wants a haunted house comes to see if her dreams can come true. “Ghosts For Sale” is a hilarious houseful of spooks and spoofs guaranteed to scare up some rolicking laughter.
The play is directed by Cheryl Herr-Rains and Don Petersen, with costumes by June Caldwell. The players include June Caldwell, Chris Crocker, Rocio Carey, Alex Kane, Janet Roderick, Delaney Crocker, Karla Arceneaux, Nate Kane and Don Petersen.
Admission will cost $6. Refreshments will be provided by the Mill Stream Grange. Come early for good seats.
For more information, contact Carole O’Connell at caroleo2443@yahoo.com or 293-4815.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
