Theater troupe to present comedy in April

The Community Theater of Jacksonville will present Doublewide, Texas, by Jesse Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, on April 6-8. Cast members include, seated, Jay-Lynn Cunningham, left, who appears as Lark Barken, and Angelia Cunningham as Georgia Dean Rudd; and standing, from left, Marti Ullendorf as Big Ethel Satterwhite, Eddie Pennington as Haywood Sloggett, Stacey Moore as Caprice Crumpler, Leona Sanders as Starla Pudney and Shann Nobles as Joveeta Crumpler.
The Community Theater of Jacksonville will present Doublewide, Texas, by Jesse Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, on April 6-8. Cast members include, seated, Jay-Lynn Cunningham, left, who appears as Lark Barken, and Angelia Cunningham as Georgia Dean Rudd; and standing, from left, Marti Ullendorf as Big Ethel Satterwhite, Eddie Pennington as Haywood Sloggett, Stacey Moore as Caprice Crumpler, Leona Sanders as Starla Pudney and Shann Nobles as Joveeta Crumpler.

— EDITOR’S NOTE: The Community Theater of Jacksonville has postponed its presentation of Doublewide, Texas to July July 27-29, according to the group's Facebook page.

The Community Theater of Jacksonville will present Doublewide, Texas, by Jesse Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, on April 6-8 in partnership with the Jacksonville Community Center.

Showtimes are at 7 p.m. April 6 and 7 and at 2 p.m. April 8 at the Jacksonville Community Center, 5 Municipal Drive.

Tickets are $15 for adults; $13 for senior citizens 60 and older and active-duty military personnel; and $10 for children younger than 12. Admission includes dessert, which is Southern Style Dump Cake in a Jar, prepared and donated by chef Trace Munday, guest chef on Good Afternoon Arkansas on KATV Channel 7, and a beverage.

For reservations, call (501) 286-3638.

Shann Nobles of Cabot, president of the Community Theater of Jacksonville Board of Directors, said this comedy “follows the inhabitants of one of the smallest trailer parks in Texas, who get thrown for a loop when the nearby town of Tugaloo tries to annex them and threatens their way of life.”

Chip McAfee of Little Rock directs the play.

“This is a fun show with lots of laughs for everyone,” McAfee said. “It’s a crazy farce about a small community in Texas trying to save their home, but it’s also a story about coming together and learning to help each other, no matter what your differences are.”

McAfee also directed the July 2017 production of A Farce of Nature, written by these same authors. McAfee is assistant director of communications for the Arkansas Department of Career Education in Little Rock and has been involved in theater since he was in high school.

“This has been such a fun cast to work with,” McAfee said. “These shows are a lot of work, but we have a lot of fun while we do it. It’s so rewarding to have new people in the community come be a part of our productions and watch our group grow with each show we do.”

The cast for Doublewide, Texas, features several new faces and includes five members from the same family.

Eddie Pennington of Lonoke is joined on stage by his wife, Angelia Cunningham, and her daughter, Jay-Lyn Cunningham, both of Lonoke; his son, Brandon Pennington of Cabot; and sister, Stacey Moore of Lonoke.

Eddie Pennington, who made his debut with the Community Theater of Jacksonville in December in Joe Landry’s It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, plays Haywood Sloggett.

“Haywood is the grumpy old man who lives across the road from the Crumplers and is dealing with their ‘trailer-trash’ ways,” said Eddie Pennington, who is a mortician at a funeral home in Cabot. “I’m having fun with this character.”

Angelia Cunningham, who is also a mortician at a funeral home in Cabot, is making her debut in community theater.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been in a play,” she said, laughing. “It’s fun; it’s great. I got involved because of Eddie. I was trying to persuade him to audition for a part, and he said he would if I would. So I did and invited my daughter, Jay-Lyn, to audition as well.

“I play Georgia Dean Rudd, who owns the ‘buffeteria’ and is best friends with Joveeta Crumpler.”

Jay-Lynn Cunningham, 16 and a student at Lonoke High School, is also making her acting debut in Doublewide, Texas.

“I play Lark Barken, a pretend traveler in her third trimester of pregnancy,” Jay-Lynn said, smiling. “She is a 20-year-old widow who wants to find her family.”

Brandon Pennington plays Lomax Tanner, the city manager.

“Lomax is the sleazy heartthrob,” Nobles said, describing this character. “Every woman in town loves him, but he is underhanded and a double-crosser.”

Brandon, who works in information technology and is an Army veteran of Desert Storm, appeared with the local theater troupe in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

Stacey Moore also appeared in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

“I play Caprice Crumpler, the matriarch of the family, in this play, but I am not your typical mama. Caprice is what I call a ‘ringtail tooter.’ She’s a character,” Moore said.

“I enjoy working with these folks. My first time onstage was in the Christmas show. That was the first time I had ever had to memorize lines,” she said.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Moore, who is in the commercial real estate business. “It’s good for people to come and do this … experience live theater, either as an actor or in the audience. It’s good to get out of the rut and do something different.”

Rounding out the cast of Doublewide, Texas, are the following:

• Marti Ullendorf of Jacksonville plays Big Ethel Satterwhite.

“Big Ethel is best friends with Caprice,” said Ullendorf, who last participated with the Community Theater of Jacksonville in its production of Steel Magnolias, appearing as Ouiser.

“Big Ethel is a licensed vocational nurse who presents nutritional talks around the country and works at the Stairway to Heaven Retirement Village,” Ullendorf said. “She is married to O.C., who is the bane of her life.”

Ullendorf served in the Air Force and retired as a technical sergeant in 1992 after 21 1/2 years of service. She continues to work at the Little Rock Air Force Base, where she is the registrar for the C-130 training school, a position she has held for 17 years.

• Chris Miller-Marshall of Little Rock portrays Norwayne “Baby” Crumpler, Joveeta’s younger brother, who is participating in a womanless beauty pageant.

Miller-Marshall has been acting for several years and has appeared in local productions of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play and Steel Magnolias.

• Leona Sanders of Jacksonville appears as Starla Pudney.

This marks Sanders’ debut with community theater.

“I just wanted to do something different,” said Sanders, who teaches second grade at Sherwood Elementary School. “I am doing this for fun. I am enjoying it.

“My character, Starla, is the mayor’s wife. I do not like her at all. She is having an affair with Lomax Tanner.”

• Nobles plays Joveeta Crumpler.

“Joveeta has hit the glass ceiling,” Nobles said of her character. “She is in city government and wants to get out. She has been passed over for promotion. She wants to do more. … She wants adventure. She quit her job and was going to move away but realizes her family needs her to try to fight the annexation.”

Nobles said the authors of this play are well-known among community-theater groups, but perhaps not so well-known by members of the community.

“Doublewide, Texas, is a really funny play,” said Nobles, who is a news producer at KATV Channel 7 in Little Rock. “One of the writers, Jamie Wooten, wrote for The Golden Girls TV sit-com.

“They write funny, Southern farce plays. Even though you might not know their names, or the names of the plays, try something new. Open yourself up to new shows. You’ll be glad you did.”

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