The Clinton County Civic Theatre is gearing up for its production of “Lickety Split: Women and Men in Outrageous Shorts” opening tomorrow, Thursday, May 2. Also, the playwrights/authors of the production will be in audience for Saturday night’s performance in Frankfort.
The Civic Theatre production will open Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Frankfort Community Public Library Skanta Theatre and will continue on Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m. with tickets available for $12.
“Lickety Split” captures the hilarity of everyday life in a series of skits that are intended to leave the audience in stitches, and the show marks an exciting opportunity for the Civic Theatre as two of the playwrights of Jones Hope Wooten will be in attendance during one of the shows.
The production surrounds a multitude of everyday characters ranging from the zany tour guides who kick off the show to the southern men who divulge their deepest secrets amongst many others. The show consists of numerous disconnected skits that explore the quasi-loss of a loved one, the ambitions of a disconnected social media influencer, the horrors and blessings of traveling back in time, the shenanigans between parents and their children as the parents swear to leave the dating scene, the difficulties of staying active as people grow older, the dynamics between two southern men who lay out their darkest secrets and the struggles of actresses as they see their dearest friend, who may also be a rival, in a heartbreaking condition. According to Director Pamela Adams, the show is set to entertain audiences from every background as they may see themselves or friends within the characters.
“They call it outrageous shorts, which means it’s just a bunch of short little skits and mini plays about different men and women that you might even be able to see in real life or maybe a caricature actually of some of the folks you might know,” Adams said. “It ranges anywhere from people in Maine all the way down to Texas. There’s a lot of variety in the show. It’s always silly. We want to make people laugh.”
Adams expressed her appreciation and adoration for the works of Jones Hope Wooten, stating that her engagement with the material was a driving force behind her pitch to perform the show during the season as one of the few performances of the piece nationwide since its release.
“I really love Jones Hope Wooten,” Adams said. “I’ve been a fan of theirs for a very long time. As I was reading with the script committee potential scripts of us to put on and produce here, this one came up and I just thought it was fresh, it was really current and they just wrote it around two years ago, and it really hasn’t been done in very many places.”
The cast of the show presents new dynamics to the stage as veteran actors are joined by newcomers to bring the show to new heights and levels of hilarity throughout the different skits. According to Adams, the production hosts 21 different characters, which allowed for her to cast 16 actors to broaden the variation between the scenes.
“We’ve got some people that have been around since the very first show and then we have some people who are brand new to the stage,” Adams said. “We have 16 actors on stage in total, and that’s a lot.”
Adams expressed that her dreams of directing a production at the Civic Theatre have finally been granted with a show she is passionate about due to her appreciation of Jones Hope Wooten, but transitioning from her role in the previous production of “Reading Between The Lies” to standing behind the curtain and directing the show has been an experience of excitement paired with pressure.
“My experience on stage and backstage has been very helpful, and I’ve been describing it as having your first child,” Adams said. “When you have kids, you know that it’s going to be hard work, but you just don’t know how hard it is until it’s two in the morning and they’re screaming and you can’t help them, and you just don’t realize the magnitude until you’re in the thick of it.”
Adams teased the appearance of two of the authors of the production at one of the shows, stating that the writers whom she has grown to appreciate for their hilarity and wit being in attendance is cause for exhilaration alongside bouts of anxiety. Civic theatre has confirmed the authors will attend Saturday’s performance in Frankfort.
“They’ve never seen it done,” Adams said. “They’ve written it, but they’ve never seen it brought to life. They actually called me about a month or so ago and said, ‘we’re not just going to jump in and pop in. We want to ask your permission to come to see the show,’ and that’s kind of terrifying. We’re not talking just a local person who’s done a few plays or something. These people have written in Hollywood, so it is a little intense to think that they want to come see our show.”
Adams continued to comment that the actors are likely not aware of when the authors will make their appearance as an additional surprise for the night they will attend, and she hopes that the cast will perfectly be able to capture the wit of the script every night to ensure that every audience member leaves the theater with a smile, which she believes will be accomplished as a result of the jokes written by one of the playwrights who has accolades of being within the writer’s room for “Golden Girls.”
“Come and just check out for a little bit and laugh–just laugh, have a good time with your friends and escape reality for a little bit, and sometimes laugh at reality,” Adams said. “Come on out and have a good time.”
The Clinton County Civic Theatre production of “Lickety Split: Women and Men in Outrageous Shorts” will debut tomorrow, Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. The shows will continue on Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m. in the Frankfort Community Public Library Skanta Theatre. Tickets are available online at ccctonline.org for $12.
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