Review: CHRISTMAS BELLES at The Wimberley Playhouse

From November 24 to December 7, The Wimberley Players present Jones Hope Wooten’s CHRISTMAS BELLES at The Wimberley Playhouse as part of their 2025 season. CHRISTMAS BELLES is a southern holiday farce full of miscommunication, mayhem, and merry dysfunction. Set in the small town of Fayro, Texas, the play centers on the Futrelle sisters, Honey Raye, Frankie, and Twink, as they attempt to pull together the town’s annual Christmas program despite a tangle of personal drama, romantic chaos, and small-town gossip. Between a wayward Christmas pageant, a dizzying array of family antics, and a healthy dose of Texas humor, this laugh-out-loud production captures the spirit of community, chaos, and Christmas in equal measure.

Director Melinda Ellisor has gathered an exceptional cast that delivers a wonderfully cohesive and high-energy performance. Ellisor’s leadership shows in the pace, clarity, and comic rhythm of the production. Rodger Marion serves as Dramaturg, offering thoughtful insights that help shape the show’s smart humor and emotional truth.

Whitney Marlett (Geneva Musgrave) is an absolute delight (!) and one of the funniest, cleverest actors I’ve ever seen on stage. From the moment she enters, she commands the audience’s attention with a twinkle in her eye that promises mischief and delivers it tenfold. Her comic timing is impeccable. Every punchline lands with effortless precision, and even her pauses are laugh-worthy. Marlett doesn’t just say her lines; she throws them like darts, each one hitting exactly where it should. She brings to Geneva the perfect blend of small-town sass and grandmotherly warmth, making her at once the sharpest tongue and the softest heart in the room. Whether she’s rolling her eyes, delivering a deadpan quip, or cutting through chaos with a bullhorn and a withering glance, Marlett turns every moment into comedic gold. Her performance is truly worth the price of admission all on its own.

Molly Poorboy (Honey Raye Futrelle) turns in a performance as over-the-top as her character, and it works beautifully. Her slightly exaggerated delivery perfectly captures Honey Raye’s desperate attempts to hold everything (and everyone) together as she works to overcome a checkered past with a newly-reorganized Christmas production. Poorboy leans into the chaos with boldness and energy that never wavers. Her physical comedy and expressive face make every meltdown, outburst, and heartfelt moment both hilarious and completely believable.

Dawn Wright Calvert (Twink Futrelle) is always a delight to see on stage, and her portrayal of Twink is fearless. She throws herself into the role with total abandon, capturing Twink’s emotional roller coaster in all its manic glory. Calvert navigates the character’s wild swings—from fiery temper to tender affection—with remarkable control and empathy, suggesting that Twink might just be a little crazy in her moods and motives. Her performance walks that fine line between comedy and chaos, making Twink both unpredictable and oddly endearing. Calvert’s wild energy fuels some of the play’s biggest laughs, but it’s her ability to show the heart underneath the hysteria that truly makes her performance shine.

Danny Mosier (Dub Dubberly) and Emily Villareal (Frankie Futrelle Dubberly) make a wonderfully believable, and hilariously chaotic, pair. Mosier shines with natural comedic instinct and warmth, his timing spot-on as he embraces Dub’s kidney-stone-induced misery and slapstick antics (including a truly memorable stinky Santa get-up) with fearless authenticity. Villareal, equally funny and a tiny bit snarky, brings both heart and humor to the stage. Her expressive face and sharp wit balance Frankie’s patience with her family’s antics and her own very pregnant absurdities, delivering moments that are as touching as they are ridiculous. Together, they create a comedic chemistry that feels effortless, rooted in genuine affection, tinged with exasperation, and overflowing with laughter and love.

Mark Webster (Raynerd Chisum) is an absolute gem, delivering a memorable performance. With his simple, wide-eyed sincerity and endearing awkwardness, Webster turns what could have been a background role into a highlight of the show. His constant refrain, “I just love Christmas!”, never grows old; instead, it becomes funnier and more heartfelt each time, perfectly capturing Raynerd’s childlike wonder and sweet eccentricity. And just when the audience thinks they’ve got him pegged as comic relief, he delivers a reading of Luke’s nativity story that hushes the room; a moment so pure, sincere, and reverent that it anchors the entire play and reminds us that amid all the chaos and laughter, Christmas still holds a quiet, sacred center.

Austin Strobel (Gina Jo “G.J.” Dubberly) and Samuel Ellisor (Justin Waverly) share a wonderfully awkward fledgling romance that adds sweetness and heart to the show’s whirlwind of comedy. Strobel brings youthful sincerity and wide-eyed optimism to G.J., perfectly capturing the innocence and naïve warmth of a young woman caught between faith, family, and first love. Ellisor, as the earnest interim bi-vocational pastor who knows more scripture than social cues, plays beautifully off Strobel’s openness. His flustered affection and nervous charm make their scenes together both tender and hilariously relatable. Together, they embody that perfect small-town mix of bashful flirting and heartfelt sincerity; a love story that makes the audience smile (or wince) every time they appear.

The rest of the supporting cast adds depth, warmth, and plenty of laughs to the world of Fayro. Dana Williams (Rhonda Lynn Lampley) offers an understated performance that grows richer as the play unfolds; her shift from subdued outsider to beloved family feels genuine and heartfelt, and her subtle humor gives the ensemble balance. John Blythe (John Curtis Buntner) is equally charming as the bumbling but big-hearted sheriff, blending tenderness and goofiness in just the right proportions. His turn as Elvis is just right, but it’s his awkward sincerity that makes the character so endearing. Roxanne Strobel (Patsy Price) rounds out the trio with sharp comedic instincts and a delicious touch of spite, lighting up the stage in every scene she’s in. Her “accidentally drugged” moment is one of the night’s funniest, showcasing Strobel’s impeccable timing and fearless commitment to the bit. Together, these performers give the play its heartbeat, steady, strong, and joyfully offbeat.

As always, the production elements at The Wimberley Playhouse are exceptional. The technical team deserves high praise: Todd Allen Martin (Technical Director) and Carter Holland (Technical Assistant) lead a talented crew (Carroll Dolezal, Carter Holland, Scott McBride, Nancy Martin, and Robert Martin) in creating a flexible and festive set that transitions seamlessly between scenes. Todd Allen Martin’s lighting design is wonderful, with Christmas icicle lights for the “church production” and a hilarious disco ball to accompany the birth of the Christ child. Dylan Byrnes (Sound Designer) enhances the holiday mood with a charming pre-show playlist and mostly subtle (hilarious cacophony of animal sounds whenever the door opens) sound cues that never distract but always enrich. Costumes by Melinda Ellisor capture small-town Texas with humor and holiday flair, and a lot of Christmas jewelry bling. And behind the scenes, Stage Manager Dorianne Marlbrough and crew (Joshua Davis, Renee Skoog, Dexter Shedrock-Rangel) keep this whirlwind of a show running smoothly, a true feat of coordination.

If you’re looking for a night of laughter, heart, and holiday cheer, CHRISTMAS BELLES at The Wimberley Players is your ticket. Bring the whole family, make a day of it with some Christmas shopping in Wimberley’s charming downtown, and then settle in for an evening of full-on belly laughs and Christmas delight.

CHRISTMAS BELLES

By Jones Hope Wooten

Theater Company: The Wimberley Players

Venue: The Wimberley Playhouse, 450 Old Kyle Rd, Wimberley, TX 78676

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

Running Time: 2 hours, one 15-minute intermission 

Tickets: $20-30

Austin Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. MATILDA: THE MUSICAL (Gaslight-Baker Theatre)

16.7% of votes

2. SISTER ACT (Bastrop Opera House)

6.1% of votes

3. SHREK (Broke Thespians Theatre Company)

5.9% of votes

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