With apologies to Beyonce, the nagging character of Aunt Martha is a tad overzealous about finding someone to put a ring on it for her sweet, single niece Sara in the latest local dinner theater comedy.
If matrimonial mapping were a thing, then this wingnut character portrayed by a breezy Naomi Fleetwood-Pyle would be the bridal busybody of the year.
Listen to this exchange early in the Actors Studio On Stage production of “Getting Sara Married,” playing this weekend and next at Willow Leaves of Hope, 326 Jackson St. in Hope. Aunt Martha is having a phone chat with Sara, played by Faith Talkington, who is on her computer at work as an attorney prepping a case.
But her aunt believes she should be prepping for something else.
“What you should be doing with that dopey computer is checking all those internet dating services for a soul mate,” the relative tells Sara. “Your cousin Jennifer found herself a husband that way, and what a lovely man he is.”
“Yes,” Sara responds. “But before him, she found four serial killers.”
The zip and zing of writer Sam Bobrick is what attracted director and producer Fleetwood-Pyle to the script. She knows how to sell out community theater comedy perhaps as well as anyone who has ever tickled a funnybone around here. One run of her presentation of “Church Basement Ladies” in 2019 became a nearly spiritual experience for her audiences, selling 900 tickets in a hailstorm of hallelujahs, if you will.
“I want people to feel good and to laugh,” Fleetwood-Pyle has said repeatedly about such productions.
Talkington can relate to that — and to the rapid-fire, funny dialogue of this latest work.
“I was super excited about the script’s comedy,” she said, adding that learning polished, humorous timing is a challenge. “I know that you have to learn to deliver your lines a certain way to keep them comedic.
“I’ve had to figure out how to be properly emotional and balance that with the comedy.”
Talkington acknowledged she’s also had to learn “a little bit of sass” for this role, to accompany the sweetness of a character married to her job.
“I’ve definitely had to work a little but to develop a little more of the sarcasm,” said the actress who last played a princess in a local Fairy Tale Musical Theatre show in November.
Fleetwood-Pyle is happy to have found Talkington via a video clip of that show that local resident David Webster shared with the director.
“I realized that she was quite a good actress,” Fleetwood-Pyle said. “She’s doing incredibly well in this role.”
Adding in a new performer such as Talkington is good for the troupe, the director pointed out.
“I sometimes like to mix things up a little,” Fleetwood-Pyle said.
About the play
What: Actors Studio On Stage’s dinner theater presentation if the comedy “Getting Sara Married,” about a overbearing aunt willing to try anything to get her young niece married.
When: Friday through SundayFeb. 9-11 and Feb. 16-18.
Where: Willow Leaves of Hope, 326 Jackson St. in Hope.
Tickets and reservations: $35 at 812-341-7251.
About the play
What: Actors Studio On Stage’s dinner theater presentation if the comedy “Getting Sara Married,” about a overbearing aunt willing to try anything to get her young niece married.
When: Friday through Sunday and Feb. 16-18.
Where: Willow Leaves of Hope, 326 Jackson St. in Hope.
Tickets and reservations: $35 at 812-341-7251.
