Dearly Beloved

Directed by Teresa Ragland
Produced by Amy McCalister

Dearly Beloved by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten is a story of a completely dysfunctional but loveable Texas family in the throes of another series of life-changing events.

The Futrelle Sisters, Frankie, Honey Raye and Twink, are throwing a wedding. Frankie has almost made herself sick with elaborate preparations for her daughter Tina Jo's antebellum-inspired wedding, and the rumor mill in their small town of Fayro, Texas, is working overtime. No surprise there, the Futrelle Sisters have never been strangers to gossip. After all, they did survive the scandalous breakup of their almost-famous gospel singing trio, The Sermonettes. But Twink's desperate attempts to get her boyfriend of 15 years down the aisle, Frankie's ongoing conversations with their dead mother, and Honey Raye's tendency to race to the altar at every opportunity have kept tongues wagging for years.

In spite of her own marital problems, Frankie has held steadfastly to the hope that she can pull off one "final Futrelle occasion" with elegance and style with the help of the cantankerous wedding coordinator, Miss Geneva, who runs the local floral shop/bus depot. But on the day of the nuptials, Frankie's hope begins to dim when she discovers Twink's alternative solution to an expensive catered wedding dinner is a potluck supper sponsored by Clovis Sanford's House of Meat.

When the prodigal Honey Raye arrives at the church in skintight gold lame, consumed by hot flashes and a steely determination to right old family wrongs, Frankie's hope is shaken. It is lost completely when word reaches the church that Tina Jo and her fiance have fled Fayro and eloped.

The sisters ultimately pull together to find ways to keep the unsuspecting guests in the pews while a highway patrolman races off to track down the runaway bride and groom. As a last resort, and to the delight of the citizenry of Fayro, Texas, The Sermonettes reunite and sing again.

Production dates were: May 17, 18, 19, 24, & 25th at the historic Cherokee Civic Theatre, 157 W. 5th Street in Rusk.
All Show Times were 7:30pm, Except for the Sunday Matinee, Which Was Held at 2:00pm