River City Players close season with variety show

The River City Players' last production of the season opens Thursday.

The variety-style show titled "Follies!" will feature 10 acts, each with different entertainment and different players.

The show promises to be different, said director Debbie Barnhouse.

"This isn't one of our normal productions," she said. "We have everything from singers to guitar players to poetry reading."

Some of the participants include Kristy Lawniczab, a newcomer to River City Players, who will perform a lounge-type singing act.

Kathy Waggoner sings "Queen of the House" during a rehearsal Monday of The River City Players' "Follies!" in the Yacht Club of Port Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

"She's got a gorgeous costume," Barnhouse said.

Don Greenwood will play guitar during one act, and Jeannie Hinck will play guitar and read poetry during her performance.

Christina Cody will perform a modern dance.

"We get all kinds of talent," Barnhouse said.

"Follies!" will have as master of ceremonies Mark Twain, or at least by a Mark Twain impersonator, portrayed by Lester Goodin.

"We are so excited about him," Barnhouse said. "He has something to say after every act. He pulls the whole show together."

There also will be skits between acts.

The skits are modeled after the characters of Bert and Molly, originally played by Harvey Korman and Vicki Lawrence on television's "The Carol Burnett Show."

Barnhouse calls the segments "Old Folks skits," and each of the three skits will each be acted by different River City Players participants.

Randy Barnhouse, the director's husband, plays Bert in one skit, opposite Tana Howard's Molly.

Christina Cody interprets "I Hope You Dance" during a rehearsal Monday of The River City Players' "Follies!" in the Yacht Club of Port Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

The actors who play Bert and Molly in the other two skits are real-life couples, Patrick and Tina Abbott, owners of Cup 'n' Cork restaurant, and Don and Roseanna Greenwood.

Barnhouse said the River City Players do not have a variety show during every season.

"Every once in a while, we decide that we'd like to give other people in the community, who either think they don't have the ability to act or are just not interested in acting in a full production, the opportunity to participate with River City Players," Barnhouse said. "It's a lot of fun."

Another aspect that makes participating in a variety show appealing is it requires less of a time commitment.

"For a full production, after auditions you're talking anywhere from two to three months of rehearsals, which takes up every night," Barnhouse said. "When you do something like this, where you do two weeks of rehearsals, it gives more people the ability to be a part of a show."

She said the diversity of the acts and the players adds to the fun for the audience and the actors.

Each performance includes dessert or dinner.

Thursday's performance includes dessert, which is served at 6:30 p.m., with the show beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20.

The shows Friday and Saturday begin with a buffet-style dinner at 7 p.m., and performances begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35.

A Sunday matinee that closes out the run begins with dessert at 1:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. curtain time. Tickets are $20.

The performances will take place in the Yacht Club, upstairs at Port Cape Girardeau Restaurant, 19 N. Water St. in Cape Girardeau, which provides the food.

Pertinent address:

19 N. Water St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.