Theater review: Southern Hospitality

by Lyle Huchton of John Garcia's The Column

Anyone who has grown up in a small Texas town can relate to stories about hometown folks and their eccentricities. What makes these stories funny and endearing to us Texans is that we know these people. They are our relatives and neighbors. As it has been said here in the South we are proud of our crazy people. We don't hide them away, we take them out and parade them around. And it can't get much crazier than the trouble that the Futuelle Sisters of Fayro, Texas can muster up. Not only can they brew trouble, they will serve it to you with a slice of lemon and a piece of pecan pie.

Southern Hospitality (now playing at Runway Theatre in Grapevine) is the third play in a trilogy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten that also include Dearly Beloved and Christmas Belles. All of the plots center around Frankie, Twink, Honey Raye, and Rhonda Lynn Futuelle and their mishaps. We find out that they are in trouble once again. With the recent closing of the Super SmartMart and other local establishments, the town of Fayro is facing certain doom. If Honey Raye can't convince a salsa producing plant to relocate to Faryo, it will become extinct and the sisters will have to disband. Hoping to impress the salsa company owner, they devise a plan to throw their biggest celebration of the year, "Fayro Days" which will include a petting zoo, a beauty pageant, and a Civil War reenactment. Adding to the confusion, Twink has decided that there is no time like the present to drag her longtime boyfriend to the altar.

Right out if the starting block, we have a problem. After a very cleaver and funny curtain speech, the stage goes dark and we sit through ... a scene change. Then after the scene is played we have another ... scene change and the scene is played to yet again another ... scene change. All three of these changes could have been pre-set to allow the action to flow smoothly from one transition to another. This causes the pacing to go out of whack for the whole first act. Luckily, this is resolved in the second act. I would suggest that the transition music be something other that Dueling Banjos. I still can't get that tune out of my head. A little more creativity with the selection of music could have helped move along the action and add to the flavor of the show.

Every character in Southern Hospitality has a story to tell. Each actor commits themselves fully into telling their story. Although there are various degrees of acting skills apparent, each character is fleshed out and believable. Sue Ellen Love as Rhonda Lynn Lampley and Lana K. Hoover as Frankie Futrelle Dubberly are lovable as two of the four Futrelle sisters. Judy Bauman Blalock's portrayal of Twink, the third sister, brings a quieter note to her performance until people start messing with her wedding day; then all hell breaks loose. Patsy Daussat's performance as the fourth sister, Honey Raye, is equal to her over-the-top clothing. Amber Sebastian as Gino Jo Dubberly comes alive in the second with the help of a cow costume. Rose Anne Holman is spot on as the "I'll die trying and kill you in the process" Geneve Musgrave. A woman this gruff who is also the town florist is funny all by itself.

The men in turn give a good showing. Mark Ammann is competent as the laid-back Dub Dubberly. John Grissom as John Curtis Bunter and Russell Sebastian as Justin Waverly commit fully to their roles. Greg Kozakis as the town simpleton, Raynerd Chisum, never crosses over to caricature.

I was a bit confused by the costume design credited to Patsy Daussat and Amber Sebastian. There was a broad line walked between what were "real" clothes and what was to be a "costume." The Civil War reenactment costumes where appropriate with just the right elements to make them "costumes." However, when the clothing was meant not to be costumes, they pushed the character over into stereotype. The script was already leaning heavily toward stereotype. It would have been nice to see fresher choices. If you are going to tell me, don't show me. If you are going to show me, don't tell me.

Southern Hospitality reminded me of a combination of Greater Tuna and Waiting for Guffman with a little Designing Women thrown in the mix. All of the memorable characters and situations we have come to know and love can be found here, with just as much dysfunction and humor.