BWW Previews: THE LAST ROUNDUP OF THE GUACAMOLE QUEENS at Old Opera House
By: Johnna Leary Mar. 07, 2018
Get ready for the return of some hysterical Southern fried comedy this weekend as The Last Roundup of the Guacamole Queens debuts at the Old Opera House in Charles Town!
In The Last Roundup of the Guacamole Queens, the three Verdeen cousins, Gaynelle, Peaches, and Jimmie Wyvette, are racing against the clock to hold the perfect high school reunion before their old high school is demolished. While facing various heartbreaking, yet pretty hysterical personal problems, the cousins must throw the perfect reunion to impress the governor's aide and snag the high profile job of planning the governor's birthday party in order to keep their family business running. While the cousins need a perfect evening to occur, various other family members unexpectedly show up, bringing all forms of chaos with them and causing the most entertaining high school reunion to occur!
The Last Roundup of the Guacamole Queens is actually the third play in a trilogy of plays about the Verdeen cousins and the Old Opera House company members have performed all of the series' comedies in recent years.
"This is the third in a trilogy that began with The Red Velvet Cake War in 2014. Several of the actors have been in all three shows, so it's kind of been like coming home to the family. This has been a special show for me because not only do I have my onstage family with me, but also my real family. My husband Lee and my mother Mary Alice are both joining me for my final journey to Sweetgum, Texas. It has made this a very special show even more special" said Amy Hebb, who plays Jimmie Wyvette Verdeen.
"The most enjoyable part of this was getting to work with friends that have been part of this trilogy before. This the third in the series, and I am playing a character I am now really familiar with. Many of the cast has been in the other parts of the trilogy, so it is fun to relive some of the old stories. It's been fun to find the bits of humor that are repeated in all three shows and play with it. Since some of us have been together through all three shows, we already had some good chemistry going. But the third cousin, a character called Peaches, has been played by a different actress each time. We have another wonderful actress playing her this time, and she fit right in. Some actors are playing different characters than they did in the previous stories, so that took some getting used to" said Christine Brewer, who plays Gaynelle Verdeen.
"I am the third actress to portray Peaches Belrose Verdeen at the Old Opera House. I am very fortunate to share this role with my predecessors. I consider myself to be in very good company of outstanding actresses and spending time with the other members of the cast and crew. I have made some terrific friends at the Old Opera House over the years and they are all amazing, talented people" said Tia DeMedici on playing Peaches Verdeen.
The southern fried comedy features plenty of crazy characters and situations that the actors had a great time exploring.
"I really enjoyed watching my fellow actors dealing with the crazy characters they are playing, making them more crazy and at the same time, keeping them as real as possible" said Ellen Nichols, who plays Cee Cee Windham.
"Portraying a character I've played before in a different play at a different venue, I wasn't sure if the director had a different vision for the character. So I was concerned I might have had to make some adjustments, but the director has been very open to my interpretation" said Jeff Wine, who plays Raynerd Chisum.
"It's enjoyable watching each of us grow our roles and discover so many things to incorporate into the action to bring the characters to life and laughter" said Gail Farmer, who plays LaMerle Verdeen Minshew.
"The Last Roundup of the Guacamole Queens has been so much fun to work on. The challenge for me is making my character, Dixie, larger than life, yet keeping her real at the same time" said Krista Hoffman on playing Dixie Davenport.
The cast hopes that audiences can experience lots of laughter this weekend watching the kooky family antics of the Verdeens.
"This is a hysterical comedy and family friendly. The writers have written for The Golden Girls series. Who doesn't like The Golden Girls? This show is pure fun with no agenda, no politics and no lectures, just a lot of laughs" said Farmer.
" It's a Jones-Hope-Wooten comedy! Can't go wrong with this writing team. They're brilliant at writing witty dialogue (with a specialty for Southern comedies), fleshing out some memorable characters and putting them in some hilarious situations. It's a great way to enjoy some laughs for two hours!" said Wine.
"This show is very funny and is a perfect escape from your own troubles while giving you the opportunity to laugh at the outrageous situations the Verdeen cousins always seem to find themselves in" said DeMedici.
"It is so very funny! The audience will really enjoy the non stop hi-jinx and watching as "anything that can go wrong will go wrong" feel of the show. The audience will be asking themselves, "Okay, THAT just happened; How are they going to handle this?!" said Hebb.
The Last Roundup of the Guacamole Queens also features David Lusk as Aubrey Verdeen, Mary Alice Thoma as Ennis Crowder Puckett, Linda Romero as Della Crowder, Lee Hebb as Grover Lout, Charlie Perkins as Dewey Davenport and Elizabeth Egan as Tanzie Lockhart. The Last Roundup of the Guacamole Queens runs Friday, March 9 at 8:00 PM, Saturday, March 10 at 8:00 PM, Sunday, March 11 at 2:30 PM, Friday, March 16 at 8:00 PM, Saturday, March 17 at 8:00 PM and Sunday, March 18 at 2:30 PM at the Old Opera House, 204 North George Street in Charles Town, West Virginia. Tickets are $22.00 for adults and $19.00 for students and seniors. For more info please visit http://www.oldoperahouse.org/
Photo Credit: Old Opera House
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