By Beth James

The three-playwright team of Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten are well known in the Triad for their humorous plays about Southern families and the shenanigans in which they become involved. While some may find their comedy geographically biased, most still admit that it is funny. Kernersville Little Theatre will be producing their “Mama Won’t Fly” this fall. And they dare you to attend a performance and not laugh out loud and leave smiling.

A cast of fourteen gifted actors and actresses will be portraying a show of approximately twenty-four diverse characters. The story dictates a wide variety of locations, as the tale is told. Savannah Honeycutt, a business owner and daughter, is charged with getting her opinionated mother, Norleen Sprunt, to her brother’s wedding. The trip involves getting dear old mom from Alabama to California, and when she arrives to go with her mother to the airport, she finds out that “Mama Won’t Fly”! To make the trip even more challenging is that this trip of over two-thousand miles has to happen in four days in order for them to get to the wedding on time. If that is not enough, the bride-to-be, unmet by her future sister-in-law and mother-in-law until then, shows up to join them on the trip.

A series of catastrophes begin almost immediately, not the least of which is car problems. Mother and daughter have a long history of arguing and disagreeing. New almost-family-member, Hayley Quinn, has the self-described “worst luck in the world” and not many would disagree with her. Savannah is determined to have some fun on the drive, and Norleen wants to make a stop in west Texas to visit some family. If the names Cousin Ferd and Cousin Chicken do not make you laugh just hearing them, witnessing the family hijinks certainly will. The extended family is just part of the various other characters this trio will meet on their road trip, which includes a stop at a brassiere museum and at least one stop by local law enforcement!

“Mama Won’t Fly” opens on Friday, November 17, and runs through Sunday, November 19 (the week prior to Thanksgiving weekend), and again the weekend of December 1 through 3. Note – there are no shows the weekend of Thanksgiving.  Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 PM, and the Sunday shows start at 2:00 PM. All ages are welcome to this show, although under 8 years old may not find the story-line interesting. 

Kernersville Little Theatre is an all-volunteer organization that has been in the Triad since the late 1970s. Most of their performances are held in the Fitzpatrick Auditorium of Kernersville Elementary School, which is at 512 West Mountain Street. Tickets can be purchased at the door ($20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students, $8 for children under 12), but $2 can be saved with pre-purchase via Thundertix.com.

If you need a night or afternoon out, filled with laughter and fun, be sure to join Kernersville Little Theatre’s upcoming production of “Mama Won’t Fly” by Jones-Hope-Wooten. Again, the dates are November 17 through 19 and December 1 through 3. And if you need more information or would like to volunteer in any capacity, see the KLT website, KLTheatre.com, or their Facebook page. KLT always invites people to “Come play with us!”