The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
By Katherine Nettles
As we enter the final Christmas countdown, a little humor goes a long way for all the souls anxiously preparing for family showdowns, demanding visitors or those ready to hide under the nearest snowbank. Crested Butte Mountain Theatre goes the extra mile with its comedic holiday season production of Dashing Through the Snow by Jones Hope Wooten, directed by Mary Tuck.
Set at an inn in Tinsel, Texas, a few days before Christmas, an enthusiastic innkeeper, Trina (played by Christa Meilak) is trying to manage both a mooching guest Mr. Boykin (played by Frank Stern) who should have checked out days ago and a rather uncooperative cook. Meanwhile, the other guests who arrive create more mayhem, slowly bursting the inn at the seams with their antics and leading to Trina’s own meltdown.
There are a pair of long-feuding sisters, Aunt Ennis (played by Tracy Hastings) and Aunt Della (played by MJ Vosburg), whose naïve young niece Donna Jo (played by Maria Rognon) and nephew Hoyt (played by Loki Hastings) attempt to stage a peacemaking event for the stubborn grudge-holders. There is a role-playing couple, Binky (Pip Bailey) and Cuddles (Becca O’Donnell), taking the concept of “elfing around” to a new level.
There are the rogue actors Lanora (Regina Tafoya) and Ainsley (Michael Baim) from a Christmas Carol production down the street who sneak out during intermission, and provide a perfect synopsis of their own performance for the unravelling innkeeper. Finally, there are the Futrelle sisters, Honey Raye (Nancy Jones), Frankie (Janet Martin) and Paulette (Mandy Flick), who pivot from betrayal to betrothal at a startling rate and demonstrate that miracles really can come true.
The production began last weekend and runs three more nights this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you haven’t gotten in the holiday spirit yet, this two-act, family friendly slapstick performance will get you warmed up with plot twists, surprises, farcical buffoonery and of course, some good old fashioned Christmas vengeance. Costume design was done by Nel Burkett, Loki Hastings executed on lighting design and the colorful set and stage design is by Peggy Stenmark.
There are limited seats remaining for the final three nights with this beloved cast of CB thespians. Tickets and more information can be found at cbmountaintheatre.org.
CBMT also announced their shows for the 2024 season last weekend, which include continued improv all winter long, Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohlin in February and White Rabbit, Red Rabbit in March.
