One of the two sets is shown for “A Country Bumpkin Christmas” at Willow Leaves of Hope.
When colorful Aunt Bertha bows her head with a few of her kinfolk at Christmastime for a possum stew meal blessing in her old Kentucky cabin, she ladles out a perspective as down-home as her very dwelling.
“Lord,” she implores, “I pray this stew makes us as strong as a Texas mule.”
That’s just one of the laughs delivered by actress Naomi Fleetwood-Pyle in Columbus resident Jason Bowser’s original comedy “A Country Bumpkin’s Christmas” continuing its dinner theater run Friday through Sunday at Willow Leaves of Hope.
Bowser directs a story that Fleetwood-Pyle ideally wanted for the holidays for Actors Studio of Hope.
“This time, instead of doing our more typical Christmas show like something with Scrooge, we decided to do something a little silly with a warm ending,” Fleetwood-Pyle said. “I wanted something entertaining, but I wanted it to have the Christmas spirit, the flavor of family and Jesus, and this does.”
Aunt Bertha’s three nieces come from the city to visit her at her rustic abode. But the show includes a surprise far more creative and meaty than Bertha’s culinary concoction when relatives convince the older woman to come to the city for Christmas.
“There’s definitely a twist to things,” Fleetwood-Pyle said.
The plot twist has required a bit more work behind the scenes. Set designer Falicia Whited, also a cast member, went beyond the norm in her role for the production.
“What an adventure in creativity this has been creating two sets in one show,” Whited said.
Another adventure in creativity was initiated by Bowser. As he wrote the script, he created characters that fit some of the specific cast members’ characteristics — though Fleetwood-Pyle, known for her wit, has never quite mentioned whether she is actually game for game in her real kitchen.
Nonetheless, Bowser has given her Bertha character a wit as dry as her cabin’s wood floor.
“Well,” Bertha quips at one point to a family member, “you’re about as useless as gum on a boot heel.”
Bowser’s last original script, “Broken,” earned substantial positive feedback from ticket buyers posting after the show on social media. He also has done a murder mystery.
About the show
What: Actors Theater of Hope dinner theater presents the original comedy, “A Country Bumpkin Christmas,” by Jason Bowser.
When: 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Willow Leaves of Hope, 326 Jackson St. in Hope.
Tickets: $35, includes show, meal, drink and dessert. Reservations: 812-341-7251.
