'Weekend Comedy' opens next week at Masquers

SOAP LAKE — The tale of a double-booked vacation getaway and its effect on two couples will come to the Masquers stage, beginning next Friday. The curtain goes up on “Weekend Comedy” at 7:30 p.m. June 16 at the theater, 322 East Main Ave. in Soap Lake.

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. next Friday and Saturday, as well as June 23 and 24 and June 30 and July 1. Matinees are scheduled for 2 p.m. on June 18, June 25 and July 2.

Tickets are $14 per person for general admission, $10 per person for seniors and students. They can be purchased at the Masquers website, www.masquers.com, or reserved by calling the box office, 509-246-2611.

“Weekend Comedy” takes place in the cute little cabin in the woods that Frank (Patrick Rosman in the Masquers production) and Peggy (Kathleen Stahl) have rented for Memorial Day weekend to get away from the kids.

But their weekend is rudely interrupted when Jill (Shaina Longstreet) and her boyfriend Tony (Chris Longstreet) crash the party. They too have rented the cabin. But it could get a little crowded in there with two couples.

Rosman called the play “a comedy about youth and age, jealousy, love and romance.” Director Cheri Barbre said it's about the difference between generations – Frank and Peggy are marriage veterans, more than two decades together, while Tony and Jill are still trying to decide whether or not to take the plunge. “And it's also about marriage, and what commitment really means,” Barbre said.

The play was written in 1985 – Frank owns an office supply company and sells typewriters, among other things. But many of the themes it explores are timeless, Barbre said. “People will see themselves in these characters.”

Barbre said she chose it because of those timeless themes. Longtime Masquers actor (and playwright) Andrew Covarrubias is the assistant director.

The run-up to opening night had some drama of its own. A sink run amok flooded the set during the troupe's production of “Steel Magnolias” in late April, and left the stage in need of repairs. As a result the relatively elaborate “Weekend Comedy” set went up in a week. In the meantime “we've been rehearsing out in the lobby,” Barbre said.

‘Weekend Comedy” is the 2016-17 season finale for Masquers. But the stage won't go dark for long. The 2017-18 season premiere opens Sept. 15. “Dinner Before Dawn” is an original work by Covarrubias and Theresa Freeman, a comedy about mysterious happenings at a 24-hour diner. Auditions for “Dinner Before Dawn” are scheduled for 7 p.m. June 18 and 19 at the theater.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.