Freddy and Tonya visit The Fenton Village Players (FVP), Part 2 of a 3 part mini-series. Well, not a mini-series, let’s call it a night out in Fenton. Dinner, play and wine and entertainment! The couple visited the Fenton House in part one.
Here is Part 2
"Wow Freddy, I am stuffed from that great dinner at The Fenton House."
"Yeah Tonya, we just made it to the playhouse in time. The show is about to begin."
We are seeing Escanaba in Love, it is Jeff Daniels' 11th play which brings a touching, romantic comedy element to the rugged hunter-humor of Michigan's favorite yooper family, the Saody’s. As deer hunting season arrives, the Soady men meet their biggest challenge; not a great buck, or a hunter's dream, but the camp's first female visitor, young Albert Soady Jr's impromptu bride Big Betty Balou. Humor kicks into high gear when the Soady men make their best attempts to grapple with their newest family member.
"Hmmm, this is a small cast Freddy."
"Shhh, Tonya, this is about to begin."
The play starts as the cast of four do a fantastic job of keeping the crowd laughing out loud. The yooper dialect was done well by the cast. You actually felt like you were up in da U.P., eh. The set was designed like a small log cabin. Although space is limited on stage, the FVP’s do a great job on set design and implementation.
The Soady’s played by Bill Thompson, Patrick Powell and Steve Shelton were your typical yooper hunters camping out in their log cabin. They had an odd way of collecting quarters though. There was a jar labeled “Gas $” on the kitchen table. We wondered if that was a collection jar for gas money to get to town. Noooooo, it was a jar for anyone that passed gas had to donate to the “Gas $” jar. That was hilarious. You know how drinkin, beef jerky and hunters can create a certain pungent odor?
And then the female visitor arrives, Big Betty played by one of our best, Carla Feamster. Whatta hoot Carla was. She played the part to a tee.
A job well done for the Fenton Village Players at their newly acquired theater on Torrey Rd. Check them out at www.fentonvillageplayers.org.
“Hey Tonya, after your mom and dad go home and go to bed, how about you and I go over to the Fenton Winery & Brewery to see what is going on there?”, Freddy exclaims. “Sure Freddy, let’s go check it out.”
We’ll tell ya all about it in part 3, stay tuned eh.
Look to the Fenton Patch for all of our dining adventures. We could be visiting a restaurant, bar, or dive in your neck of the woods next.
