Workshop Players present 'Christmas Belles' comedy

Workshop Players Theatre-in-the-Round will present "Christmas Belles," a comedy about a squabbling family at Christmas time.

The story is by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten and directed by Dave MacKeigan.

The play is the story of a church Christmas program that gets out of control with squabbling sisters, family secrets, a surly Santa, a vengeful sheep and a reluctant Elvis impersonator.

It is Christmas-time in the small town of Fayro, Texas, and the Futrelle Sisters -- Frankie, Twink and Honey Raye -- are not exactly in a festive mood. A cranky Frankie is weeks overdue with her second set of twins. Twink, recently jilted and bitter, is in jail for inadvertently burning down half the town. And hot-flash-suffering Honey Raye is desperately trying to keep the Tabernacle of the Lamb's Christmas Program from spiraling into chaos.

But things are not looking too promising: Miss Geneva, the ousted director of the previous 27 productions, is ruthless in her attempts to take over the show. The celebrity guest Santa Claus -- Frankie's long-suffering husband, Dub -- is passing a kidney stone. One of the shepherds refuses to watch over his flock by night without pulling his little red wagon behind him. And the entire cast is dropping like flies due to food poisoning from the Band Boosters' Pancake Supper.

And when Frankie lets slip a family secret that has been carefully guarded for decades, all hope for a successful Christmas program seems lost, even with an Elvis impersonator at the manger. But in true Futrelle fashion, the feuding sisters find a way to pull together to present a Christmas program the citizens of Fayro will never forget. Their holiday journey through a misadventure-filled Christmas Eve is guaranteed to bring joy to the audience.

The cast includes Honey Raye Futrelle - Nicole LaMarr; Frankie Futrelle Dubberly - Deb Burrow; Twink Futrelle - Melissa Lyle; Miss Geneva Musgrave - Dorothy Greenholtz; Rhonda Lynn Lampley - Carol Krause; Raynerd Chisum - Jacob Wachholz; Gina Jo Dubberly - Julie Marchand; Dub Dubberly - Regan Krause; Justin Waverly - Shane Clark; John Curtis Buntner - Greg Lavelle; and Patsy Price - Pat Price.

Performance dates are Nov. 20, 21, 22, 28, and 29; Dec. 5, 6, 12, and 13 at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees on Nov. 23 and 30, and December 7 and 14 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12 each or $10 each for groups of 15 or more and may be reserved by calling the box office at 988-5613.

Workshop Players Theatre-in-the-Round is located at 44820 Middle Ridge Road, and the mezzanine area is now wheelchair accessible. Check out the website at www.workshopplayers.com.