The Starkville Community Theatre will be presenting the play “Marriage to an Older Woman” this weekend. Thursday, Feb. 6; Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8, the show will begin at 7:30 p.m. There will be a matinee showing on Sunday at 2 p.m. There will also be another showing on Thursday, Feb. 13, because of the demand for tickets from last weekend and this weekend.
“Marriage to an Older Woman,” written by John Fritz, is a comedy about an older lady that goes on a cruise. Upon the cruise ship, she finds a younger man and they decide to get married three days later. When the new couple comes back, they find that some people have questions about the nuptials, like the woman’s daughter. The play shows the course of newlyweds finding out many things they did not previously know about each other.
Those starring in “Marriage to an Older Woman” are Marsha Williams playing Babs, the older woman; Edwin Ellis, playing the younger man; Debbie Dunaway as Babs’ daughter, Freddie, and Jay Cooper as Freddie’s boyfriend, Howard.
Bob Anderson is directing the play. Anderson has been directing plays for the Starkville Community Theatre since their beginning. Their first play, “6 Rooms River View,” was even directed by Anderson.
“This year is our 25th anniversary season, but 18 years were spent traveling place to place,” Starkville Community Theatre president and actress Marsha Williams said.
Established in 1978, the Starkville Community Theatre began and still remains as an outlet for creativity. Original president of the Starkville Community Theatre, Jan Zepplin, put an add in the paper for people interested in theatre for the Starkville community, and about 50 people began the Starkville Community Theatre. However, they did not have a building to perform in. Their first performance took place in the Ramada Inn. They also used many other buildings such as the old Fred’s building, the Greensboro Center and McComas Hall.
Finally, in 1995, the Starkville Community Theatre bought the building at 108 East Main Street as a permanent place to perform. The building, now called Playhouse on Main, is where “Marriage to an Older Woman” will be showing.
Also, the Starkville Community Theatre will be putting on a dinner theater at the International Bistro in honor of Valentines Day. The show, named “Love Letters,” will take place on Friday, Feb. 14, and the following Friday, Feb. 21. Bob Anderson and Marsha Williams will be the two-character cast of the play.
“It is about old lovers. It’s a funny, sad play,” Williams said.
To make reservations for the dinner theater on the 14th or 21st, call the International Bistro at 323-5056 or 323-2591.
Tickets for ‘Marriage’ are available by phone reservation only. To reserve tickets, call the Starkville Community Theatre office at 323-6855. The theater is located at 108 E. Main Street. The ticket prices for “Marriage to an Older Woman” are $12 for a regular ticket, $10 for a senior ticket and $7 for students. Doors open half an hour before the show starts.