Entertainment : Tickets now available for ACT 1\'s \'Red Velvet Cake War\'

ACT 1 performers and director Doug Martens have begun rehearsal for the comedy "The Red Velvet Cake War," scheduled to open March 6.

To get advanced ticket please visit our website at www.act1.org and click on the buy tickets link. Dates are March 6 ,7 8 at 7pm and March 9th at 2pm. Get your tickets early.

"As director of 'The Red Velvet Cake War,' I want to say that I have the best cast any director could ever ask for. Our rehearsal today was exciting and fun," said Martens of Sunday's effort.

The play tells the story of the Verdeen family reunion, and the unique disruptions that occur during the event.

Cast members include:

Cee Cee Windham………………… Melody Spence

Gaynelle Verdeen Bodeen…….. Bonnie Beyer

La Merle Verdeen Minshew….. Caroline Dick

Aubrey Verdeen……………………. Jim Hilliard

Jimmie Wyvette Verdeen………. Allison Watkins

Peaches Verdeen Belrose………. Mandy Barker

Bitsy Hargis………………………….. Amber Bonlander

Newt Blaylock………………………. Rich Hainstock

Sheriff Grover Lout………………. Mitch Mensen

Elsa Dowdall…………………………. Mary Jo Hainstock

Mama Doll Hargi…………………… April Seitz

Purvis Verdeen……………………… Alex Vasquez

About the play

In this riotously funny Southern-fried comedy, the three Verdeen cousins—Gaynelle, Peaches and Jimmie Wyvette—could not have picked a worse time to throw their family reunion.

Their outrageous antics have delighted local gossips in the small town of Sweetgum (just down the road from Fayro) and the eyes of Texas are upon them, as their self-righteous Aunt LaMerle is quick to point out. Having “accidentally” crashed her minivan through the bedroom wall of her husband’s girlfriend’s doublewide, Gaynelle is one frazzled nerve away from a spectacular meltdown.

Peaches, a saucy firebrand and the number one mortuarial cosmetologist in the tri-county area, is struggling to decide if it’s time to have her long-absent trucker husband declared dead. And Jimmie Wyvette, the rough-around-the-edges store manager of Whatley’s Western Wear, is resorting to extreme measures to outmaneuver a priss-pot neighbor for the affections of Sweetgum’s newest widower.

But the cousins can’t back out of the reunion now. It’s on and Gaynelle’s hosting it; Peaches and Jimmie Wyvette have decided its success is the perfect way to prove Gaynelle’s sanity to a skeptical court-appointed psychologist.

Unfortunately, they face an uphill battle as a parade of wildly eccentric Verdeens gathers on the hottest day of July, smack-dab in the middle of Texas tornado season.

Things spin hilariously out of control when a neighbor’s pet devours everything edible, a one-eyed suitor shows up to declare his love and a jaw-dropping high-stakes wager is made on who bakes the best red velvet cake.

As this fast-paced romp barrels toward its uproarious climax, you’ll wish your own family reunions were this much fun!