BWW Previews: DOUBLEWIDE, TEXAS at Rialto Theatre takes you to the trailerpark

It's always fun and nostalgic when I go back to my "home" theatre, which is what I did to preview the Rialto Theater's performance of DOUBLEWIDE, TEXAS. From the writers of the Golden Girls, The Five Mrs. Buchanans, and Teacher's Pet, Jones Hope Wooten is a comedy team that can't be beat! "(The authors) put at least one character out of the Golden Girls in every play," Assistant Director Amanda Autrey said. "It's gonna be a grand old time full of trailer redneck humor and, you know, just a little bit everything for everyone."

The play takes place in and around the living room of Georgia Dean's Mobile home in the trailer park just outside of Tugaloo, Texas. Georgia Dean (Katie Hoyt) takes in a very pregnant Larken Barken (Irene Taylor), who has a secret she keeps until the end of the show. Also in the neighborhood is Big Ethel Satterwhite (Roxianna Anderson) and her husband (James Anderson), who does security and teaches a nutrition class, and Caprice Crumpler (Jenny Jones), mother to Joveeta Crumpler (Emily Fawbush) and Norwayne "Baby" Crumpler (Zachary Taylor). Next to the trailer park is Haygood Sloggett's house. Sloggett (David Garrett) does not like the trailer park next to his house and comes up with a plan to get rid of it. In comes Lomax Tanner (John Hopkins) who works for the city and has ulterior motives for helping Sloggett. In the end the mayor's wife Starley Putney (Scarlett Bass) foils Tanner's plans and all is well for the residents in Doublewide, Texas.

According to Director Casey Myers, the community has been very supportive of the re-opening of the Rialto after the COVID shutdown, and the cast has been adjusting to the new normal. "(The cast has) really worked well together," Myers said. "It's been a very nice time, except that we've had COVID and we've had stomach flus and we've had mental health days that needed to happen." Myers went on to say that "not everybody really got here until the very end of this, so it's a little nerve wracking to put a show together like that."

The Rialto is located at 215 East Broadway Street in Morrilton. Showtimes are today and tomorrow, September, 24 & 25, and Friday and Saturday, October 1 & 2. You can purchase tickets at the door or at rialtomorrilton.weebly.com.

Coming up after that is the Murder Mystery Dinner Theater at the end of October. Written by Rialto Veteran playwright Jesse Burgener, Ghoulfellas will undoubtedly make you die with laughter.

S0, things seem to be moving along in my hometown. The Rialto will compete with a Homecoming football parade and game next weekend, which proves that things are going back to a somewhat normal way of small-town life.

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