Catch ‘Always a Bridesmaid’ for Southern-style humor

CROWLEY - The Acadia Players have once again taken the stage with a delightfully Southern comedy - “Always a Bridesmaid,” written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten and presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
The two-act play is about four women who promised each other on the night of their senior prom that they would be in each other’s weddings, no matter what. Now, more than thirty years later, the women - Libby Ruth, Monette, Charlie and Deedra - are still taking turns walking down the aisle.
The story is told via a series of flashbacks during the present-day wedding of Libby Ruth’s daughter Kari and set in the Laurelton Oaks Wedding Venue in Virginia.
The first wedding is Monette’s third, for which she has given her friends less than 24-hours notice, and she is marrying a much younger man she has known for two weeks. And of course there’s trouble when Charlie turns up sick as a dog and Deedra has her bridesmaid’s dress stolen from her car.
The audience next finds itself at tomboy Charlie’s wedding two years later. The pressure is on as a big storm is threatening to wash out the roads, but Charlie is having an extreme case of cold feet. Will she or won’t she make it down the aisle.
A couple of years later, Deedra, who has divorced her husband, is re-marrying. She has exacted a little “bridesmaid’s revenge” by requiring the women to wear the dresses she had to wear in each of their weddings. A twist comes in the form of her ex-husband who shows up to win her back. Who will she choose?
Finally, the audience watches as three of the women, all hungover from the night before, are once again united to stand at Kari’s present-day wedding. Monette, however is missing. Will she show up?
This play is filled with funny moments as the women navigate the trials and tribulations that accompany any wedding. As Kari notes, “They say that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans, and if you want to make Him really laugh, tell him your wedding plans.”
And, undoubtedly, many women will appreciate the array of crazy bridesmaids’ dresses featured in the play. The dresses alone are a hoot.
Ashley Turner is perfectly cast in the role of Monette. She does a phenomenal job as the free-wheeling, outspoken and over-the-top Southern woman who dispenses such wedding-night advice as, “Have fun, go wild, but never do anything you’ll be embarrassed to tell the paramedics.”
Jennifer Mire also does a great job playing Sedalia, the wedding venue manager who will solve a problem with an ax if she needs to.
Additionally, Amanda Caldwell gives her usual solid performance as Libby Ruth, as does Lily Mire as Charlie.
Deedra is played by Kathryn Stanford, and audiences will see either Brianna Comeaux or Samantha Leger as Kari, depending on which showing they see.
The production, dedicated to the memory of the late Carolyn Patrick, is directed by P.E. Ronkartz, with Desirée Doucet as assistant director.
Behind the scenes are Tori Bourque, who handles the lights and sound, and the backstage crew comprised of Sawyer Bourque, Charlotte Doucet and Corinne Doucet.
There will be four more showings of the play, which opened this weekend, including one tonight at 7 p.m. The next showing will be on Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m., with the final two shows on Saturday, May, 9, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
All showings will be at the Acadia Parish Center for the Arts and Culture, 530 W. Mill St. in Crowley.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students with ID’s. Tickets are available at http://www.theacadiaplayers.com and at the door.