A Coquitlam community theatre troupe opens its new season on Thursday with a comedy about a road trip from hell.
Award-winning director Dale Kelly leads a cast of 10 for Stage 43 Theatre Society's production of Mama Won't Fly, with Jean Kosar taking on the role of Mama Norleen Sprunt.
"It's a lot of fun," said Kelly of the play, which will be his 83rd show to direct. "There are lots of twists and turns in the plot. When I was reading it for the first time, I didn't know where it was going, which always keeps me interested."
Kelly, who has also directed for other Lower Mainland theatre companies such as Vagabond and White Rock Players, praised the leads Kosar and Colleen Bignell - who portrays the daughter, Savannah Honeycutt - for their high energy and fine acting skills.
Last year, Kosar won the outstanding actress award at the Fraser Valley Zone Festival for Stage 43's Woman in Mind.
Kelly has worked with Kosar and Bignell for past shows as well as Sarien Slabbert (the bride-to-be Hayley Quinn in Mama Won't Fly). Kelly directed her last year in Dearly Departed for Stage 43.
The other actors in Mama Won't Fly are: Michelle Berg, Helen Volkow, Tiffany Markwart, Ryan Johnson, Richard Pare and Roger Meloche.
Kelly said the plays picked this season were chosen by Stage 43 for two reasons: Their strong scripts and light sets. That's been helpful as the company is currently without a permanent home and doesn't have the capacity to store or put up full sets for rehearsals. As a result, Steel Magnolias (in January) will revolve around a beauty parlour set while Secrets of a Soccer Mom (next spring) will centre on a field.
Mama Won't Fly runs Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam); Oct. 19 at 2 p.m., and Oct. 22 to 25 at 8 p.m. Tickets at $22/$18 are available at the box office by calling 604-927-6555 or visiting evergreenculturalcentre.ca. An opening night gala will be held on Oct. 16 with sponsors the Saint St. Grill and Blue Heron Fruit Winery.
