West Stanly Players prepare for Christmas comedy

Published 6:57 pm Tuesday, December 3, 2019

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The West Stanly Players’ upcoming Christmas play is a “Southern-Fried Yuletide comedy.” 

The play, “Christmas Belles,” written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, centers around the misadventures of the Funtrelle sisters — Frankie, Twink and Honey Raye — as they try to put on the annual Christmas play at their church in their small Texas town despite the chaos (kidney stones, arson, vengeful sheep, food poisoning and sabotage) that exists around them.

As they are putting on the play, “everything that can go wrong goes wrong,” WSP director Wes Tucker said. 

In the midst of the craziness, Tucker said both Kings — baby Jesus and Elvis Presley — will make appearances. 

“It’s very, very funny,”  Tucker said. “It gives people something to laugh about and then get in the mood for the holidays.”

He said the dysfunctional nature of the Funtrelle sisters “makes you appreciate your family more.”

The group has been rehearsing four to five days a week since October. There are 24 actors in the play along with about 10 students helping behind the scenes. The students also build and paint the sets. 

This is the West Stanly Players’ 49th season and Tucker’s 23rd as director. 

The main cast includes senior Anna Marks as Honey Raye, senior Ella Moore as Frankie, junior Shelby Hinson as Twink, senior Lawson Costner as Dub, senior Landon Peeler as Justin, senior Chaz Thompson as John Curtis, sophomore Sophie Tucker as Gina Jo, junior Trinity Donahue as Geneva, junior Brittney Caldwell as Rhonda Lynn, senior Elisa Avila as Patsy Price and junior Daniel Vargas as Raynerd Chisum.

The play will run at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 

Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. For tickets, people can contact the school, members of the West Stanly Players or call 704-791-3200. 

 

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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