The script writing trio of Jones, Hope and Wooten has more than once placed a phone call to the Lyric Theater in Harrison. They keep up with the schedule of their productions going on around the country, says director Mary Bishop, and one often buzzes in with a short "break a leg" message of encouragement to the local actors before the start of the show.
The call Bishop took from Jessie Jones last April was different. The writer or cowriter of several works, including the Off Broadway comedy "Dearly Departed," Jones wanted to know if Bishop and her cast would like to debut the next Jones, Hope, Wooten show, something called "Doublewide, Texas."
FAQ
‘Doublewide, Texas’
WHEN — 7:30 p.m. June 13, June 19 & June 20; 2 p.m. June 14 & June 21
WHERE — Lyric Theater in Harrison
COST — $8-$12
INFO — 870-391-3504 or thelyricharrison.com
"We just jumped all over it. It's a big honor for us," says Bishop, who has directed seven other plays by the trio for the Ozark Arts Council and The Theatre Co.
Bishop received a manuscript -- the play isn't even published yet -- in February. Like all of the trio's shows she's worked with, "Doublewide, Texas" is a Southern-fried send-up of dysfunctional families.
"They can tear each other down, but, boy, you better not let anyone else do it," Bishop says.
In "Doublewide, Texas," the inhabitants of a Tugaloo, Texas, trailer park band together when they learn of the city's plan to annex their park and build a prison on the site.
"It's just such good comedy," Bishop says. "You're laughing all the time. There are no long pauses." And it's clean comedy too, she adds.
The trio of playwrights responsible for "Doublewide, Texas" have collectively written for the Disney and CBS networks and also for the big screen. Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, with some 3,500 productions of their plays between them, will all visit Harrison for the debut performance.
They will greet patrons in the lobby on opening night, Bishop says.
-- Kevin Kinder
NAN What's Up on 06/05/2015