Carolina Moon Theater to present 'Momma Won't Fly'

The Albemarle’s only active community live theater company will present the comedy “Momma Won’t Fly” at the Carolina Moon Theater in Hertford. Performances begin today and continue Sunday and next weekend.

Lynn Raymond, president of the Carolina Moon Theater Company and producer of the play, said almost all of the company’s productions sell out quickly and filling the little 90-seat theater, which occupies the old Perquimans County Library building on Academy Drive, has never been a problem. She said the intimate feel of the little theater has always been one of the theater troupe’s greatest draws.

Raymond said “Momma Won’t Fly,” written by Jamie Wooten, Jessie Jones and Nicholas Hope, is a comedy about family dynamics and conflicts that are stretched when the matriarch won’t fly to a wedding on the West Coast, forcing the family to drive across the country together.

“It’s a story about a mother, a daughter, and the fiancée of the mother’s son going across the country because momma won’t fly — even though they have plane tickets,” Raymond said. “There are mishaps that happen along the way when they’re going out to California.”

Cindy Cheamitru directs the play, her first time directing a production. This play presents a challenge in that several of the 13 cast members have multiple parts, something the playwrights wrote into the script.

“She’s doing a fabulous job. It’s quite a complicated play with minimal scenery but numerous scene changes,” Raymond said of Cheamitru.

Cast members with multiple parts will have frequent costume and makeup changes, but the effect will be visually important for the play, which uses minimal scenery. Raymond was reluctant to offer spoilers, but she said all the effort will be worth it.

“We have a wonderful cast,” she said. “We have some newcomers and we also have may who are coming back for the second and third time.”

The cast includes Amy Kermitz, Nancy Motycka, Reagan Elkins, Michael Pierson, Kaylee Anderson, Lois Saunders, Linda Kruegel, Robin Modlin, Justin Merritt, Eric Weber, Dana Nicholas, Mary Sue Rieger and Lee Wilber.

Raymond said tickets for Carolina Moon Theater’s productions usually sell out close to the performance dates.

“We encourage people to support the live theater. We are the only live theater other than the colleges in the area,” she said.

The play premiers today at 7 pm. Other showings are Sunday at 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 20, at 3 pm. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased at www.carolinamoontheater.org.