By Tim Kelly
in association with Pioneer Drama
Directed by Sue Klassen
Get set for a wild romp suggested by one of the greatest farces ever written. This cockeyed version takes us to Arizona Territory in the 1880s and the dusty town of Tumbleweed. The pompous Mayor Oates has been hired by a Boston businessman to build a town that one day will be the Territory’s capital. To fill the local positions — sheriff, schoolmarm, doctor — he hires his incompetent relatives (kickbacks included, of course!). The news that a Pinkerton detective is coming from Boston to inspect the town’s development throws the whole family into a panic. Since they’ve been pocketing the businessman’s money, the town hall is nothing but a hole in the ground and the schoolhouse has no roof. A Medicine Show huckster, Professor Burns, is stranded in town because his dancing bear has tangoed away. The relatives assume the professor is the detective and he is only too happy to take advantage of their mistake. Together with the glamorous cardsharp, Lily de Lilac, he has the relatives tripping over one another in hysterical attempts to bribe him. Just when you think the dust is settling, who should turn up but the real detective. The hilarious twists and turns in the plot will have you holding onto your hat (and your sides)!!
Ann Karako - Doc Snipes
Jane Willis - Gilroy Cavender
Andy Miller - Harry Dobbs
Maddye Soward - Victoria Dobbs
Janel Riley - Opal Crabtree
Micah Keeton - Mrs Baywater
Cade Keeton - Luther
London Herbert - Otille Dobbs
Ella Wheeler - Antoinette
Lynn Atkinson - Widder Haskins
Cliff Przybyl - Lawyer Maxwell
JJ Hight - Miranda Oates
Floyd Stewart - Gus
Amanda Chamberland - Electra
Renae Neill - Lily De Lilac
Anne Hoffman - Professor Tom Burns
Ellie Good - Julie Oates
Don Herbert - Mayor Oates
Craig Burford - Sheriff Plunkett
Marja Fletchall - Almira Sessions
SKITS is proud to bring the arts to our community by featuring an artisan during each performance. For our Fall 2023 western comedy, Trouble in Tumbleweed, we are fortunate to have professional sculptor Lew Aytes displaying his pieces, many of which are western themed. So a perfect fit!
Lew has been a sculptor for over 30 years and a musician nearly all his life. He creates historical art exhibits for museums and often joins with artists in other mediums to present different perspectives on a subject. Museums often provide items from their archives to add historical accuracy and interest to their installations.
His exhibit, Woody is just Woody ~ Steinbeck, premiered at the 25th anniversary of Woodyfest in Okemah, OK, and since has been featured in the National Steinbeck Center, the Steinbeck Research Center, and other museums. He’s currently working with a team both in the U.S. and Europe on Calling Back the Spirits. This project is being created in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution and the Peabody Museum at Harvard.
Social Justice is often the underlying theme in Lew’s work, as evident in From Hunger to Hope, created for the Irish Cultural Museum in New Orleans, and Steinbeck: The Art of Fiction, created for the National Steinbeck Center. At a time when abstract and experimental art is the trend, he sculpts historical characters as accurately as possible with the hope these will live far into the future.
Welcome to SKITS (Shell Knob in the Spotlight), where the magic of live theater comes alive in the heart of our vibrant community.