SOUTHERN FRIED NUPTIALS Begins 6/4 at Barter Theatre

"Southern Fried Nuptials," a hysterical family comedy, comes to Barter Theatre beginning June 4, under the direction of Mary Lucy Bivins, a patrons' favorite of the Barter Resident Acting Company.

In this Southern play, the Frye family prepares for the wedding of Atticus Van Leer and Harline Frye. With an on-again and off-again relationship, Atticus and Harline leave the audience to question whether the wedding will happen or not.

"Southern Fried Nuptials" is written by Osborne and Eppler, the playwrights of "Southern Fried Funeral," which played at Barter Theatre in 2013. Both plays feature the Frye family and the same zany sense of humor, but each work has an independent storyline.

Director Mary Lucy Bivins says, "In approaching this new play from the authors of 'Southern Fried Funeral,' it has been important not to pick up where the previous play left off, but rather to examine what might have changed in the lives of these characters over the last two years." Bivins, who also directed "Southern Fried Funeral," has found that "letting go of one's past is not always easy." Full of surprises, the Southern Fried family will bring audiences to laughter yet again.

Harline Frye and Atticus Van Leer will be played by Carrie Smith Lewis and Justin Tyler Lewis, both members of the Barter Resident Acting Company, who happen to be a married couple in real life. Carrie Smith Lewis says, "Acting alongside your spouse creates an interesting kind of chemistry that I think the audience will be able to feel as they watch the production."

Other actors who will be featured in "Southern Fried Nuptials" include: Tricia Matthews, Zacchaeus Kimbrell, Paris Bradstreet, Kate Denson, Andrew Hampton Livingston, Holly Williams, Sean Maximo Campos, Michael Poisson and even director Mary Lucy Bivins. Many of the actors in "Southern Fried Nuptials" will reprise their roles from "Southern Fried Funeral."

"Southern Fried Nuptials" is made possible by corporate sponsor Food City. Barter Theatre is funded in part by The Virginia Commission for the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts.