Playgoers of Lethbridge explores keeping a happy marriage in farce ’Til Beth Do Us Part

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 Playgoers of Lethbridge is excited to bring the farce “ Til Beth Do us Part to Country Kitchen, Oct. 23-27.John Ford and Christina Peterson rehearse a scene from ’Til Beth Do us part’ running at Country Kitchen, Oct. 23-27. photo by Richard Amery
While they have done several plays penned by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, who among other things , have written for the Golden Girls, for this production Playgoers welcomes aboard new director Lori Garner, who has  a long history working with the Raymond Playhouse.


 “The first show I did with Raymond was Anne of Green Gables about 35 years ago and I played Anne, so that shows how far I go back,” Garner chuckled, adding she is excited to work with Playgoers of Lethbridge for the first time.
“I always wanted to work with Playgoers, so I offered my services as a director to the board so myself, Linda Johnson and Rita Peterson read some scripts. I’ve seen many of their shows, so I knew what to expect. I know they like to do something lighter for their dinner theatres,” she said.


’Til Beth Does Us Part is the tale of career-driven Suzannah Hayden who needs a lot more help on the home front than she's getting from her husband, Gibby.


“Lately, nurturing his marriage of 27 years hasn't been the highest priority for Gibby, but pretty soon he'll wish it had been. Enter Beth Bailey, Suzannah's newly-hired assistant, a gregarious, highly-motivated daughter of the South. To Suzannah's delight, Beth explodes into the Hayden household and whips it into an organized, well-run machine. This couldn't have happened at a better time for Suzannah, since her boss, Celia Carmichael, the C.E.O. of Carmichael's Chocolates, is flying in soon for an important make-or-break business dinner. Gibby grows increasingly wary as Beth insinuates herself into more and more aspects of their lives. In no time, she exceeds her duties as a household assistant and interjects herself into Suzannah's career. As Suzannah's dependence on Beth grows and Gibby's dislike of the woman deepens, Suzannah gives Beth carte blanche to change anything in the household that ‘will make it run more efficiently.’ And the change Beth makes is convincing Suzannah that Gibby must go. When he realizes it's Suzannah's career Beth is really after, a newly-determined Gibby sets out to save his marriage aided by Suzannah's best friend, Margo, a wisecracking and self-deprecating divorcee and her ex-husband, Hank, who is in the midst of his own mid-life crisis. Their effort to stop Beth at any cost sets up the wildly funny climax in which things go uproariously awry just as Suzannah's boss arrives for that all-important dinner,” according to the official synopsis.
“He needs to help out more around the house. So basically Suzannah hires Beth to help out and she helps Gibby right out of the house,” Garner chuckled.


“ It’s only after he’s living in a broken down apartment with his best friend, that he realizes how important it is for him to work on his marriage and help his wife,” she continued.


“It’s been a blast. The cast are a lot of fun and it’s always exciting to work with new people,” she said.


“ It’s a little scary not having an actual theatre and only being able to get in two days before. In Raymond, we have a theatre and we can build the sets in advance. But we’ve got cast here who have done this before,” she said.


 The cast includes some familiar faces who have performed with Playgoers of Lethbridge and Hatrix Theatre including Marci Stork playing Celia Carmichael, owner of Carmichael’s chocolates and Suzannah’s boss, Shelly David playing Beth, Kirk Boehmer as Hank and Jocelyn Steinborn as Suzannah. It also includes new faces including Jack Ford as weatherman  Gibby and Christina Peterson as Celia.
 John Ford is excited to make his Playgoers of Lethbridge debut as Gibby, who wasn’t expecting  to get the lead role.

“ I came in to audition for the smaller role but ended up getting the bigger role, said John Ford, noting he is enjoying playing Gibby.

 
“He’s a weatherman. He’s a nice guy but a little lazy and misguided about his relationship. But he wins her back,” he said.
“The cast are really nice and supportive. They’re a lot of fun to be with,” he said.

John Ford and Kirk Boehmer rehearse a scene from ’Til Beth Do Us Part’ running at Country Kitchen, Oct. 23-27. photo by Richard Amery
“I’m just enjoying seeing everything come together,” he said.
Shelly David is back as Beth.
“ It‘s my fourth southern woman in five years,” she drawled, adding playing a southern belle is coming naturally.
“Just ask my students,” said David, who teaches at Gilbert Patterson School during the day.


“ I’ll slip into the accent and they’ll ask me what’s wrong with my voice,” she laughed.
“Beth has a pretty outgoing personality. She’s helpful, almost too helpful, but it works out eventually,” she said.


“You don’t know a lot about Beth to begin with. The other characters I’ve played, you know their back stories because they have been somebody’s best friend or have gone through a couple of marriages. The audience learns about Beth as she appears,” David said.


“ It’s been great working with a new director and watching her process. And it’s been fun getting to know the new cast members. It’s been great,” David said.
Jocelyn Steinborn returns to Playgoers for ’Til Beth Does Us Part’ as Suzannah.


“ It‘s been fun. It feels good. I get to play the straight woman. She’s a driven career woman who hopes her husband will be a little more helpful around the house. When I tell my kids about the play, they say, so you’re just playing you,” Steinborn chuckled.


“I’m enjoying working with the cast. They’re a great group of people. It’s going to be a great play for everyone, especially if they’re married,” she continued.


“ I hope the audience laughs their faces off and if they are married, maybe not take it for granted,” Garner said.
‘Til Beth Do us part runs at the Country Kitchen Catering beneath the Keg on Mayor Magrath Drive. Cocktails are at 6, dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. and the play will follow. Tickets are $55 available from Casa.

 A version of this story appears in the Oct. 10, 2018 edition of the Lethbridge Sun Times
— by Richard Amery, La. beat Editor
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