Hannibal Community Theatre dons holiday spirit

Expect some surprises - and a lot of laughs - when you attend the Hannibal Community Theatre’s current comedy, “Christmas Belles,” which opened Friday at the HCT’s theater at Sixth and Lyon streets. You have three more chances to attend.
The three remaining play dates are 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, and Saturday Nov. 22, and a 2 a.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 23.
The plot features three sisters who have a variety of problems. This may not appear to lend itself to laughter, but it’s in the script - each person’s lines tell their tales of woe in ways that encourage chuckles.
One sister, Honey Raye (Cathy Williams) is trying to overcome her shady reputation by directing her first Christmas pageant. This is complicated by a variety of funny situations, none of which is the least bit funny to Honey.
Another sister, Twink (Linda Hayden), is in jail, after accidentally setting a fire that destroyed 19 trailers in this small town of 3,301 called Fayro, Texas. Twink’s main goal in life is revenge against her ex-boyfriend. This means her jailor, Deputy Joanna (Samantha Walker) has her hands full, trying to keep Twink away from her ex after releasing her from jail to attend the Christmas pageant.
The third sister, Frankie (Sherry Lunneborg) is not only carrying overdue twins, her husband (Steve Boltinghouse) has a painful condition that he tries to ignore until after their twin sons are born. He is trying to work as a department store Santa, and his costume is so in need of a good washing that he says the children don’t linger in his lap.
One sub-plot features their teen-aged daughter, G.J. (Kalynn Smith) whose suitor is a preacher portrayed by Jamie Rosenburg. His prayers are entertaining as he seeks divine inspiration in his marriage proposals.
All these characters are involved in trying to put together the Christmas pageant, with additional complications from the former play director, Miss Geneva Musgrave (Cheryl Shadensack) who is bitter about losing her role as director and gloats with each misfortune to befall Honey Raye.
Although the play focuses on the original Christmas story, one extra character is added when Elvis (another type of “king”) agrees to perform.
Three more characters add entertaining aspects to “Christmas Belles” - Raynerd (Douglas Coleman), Rhonda (Dakeeta Planty) and Patsy (Shelley Smith) - as they complicate the plot in ways that come to light during the second act.
The play is being directed by Jamie Grady and Heidi Pfeifer.
Crew members are Bill (the builder) Bergman, Ileen Levy, Sean Major, Tina Boltinghouse, Sheila Dennehy, Dorothy Calvo, Peggy Northcraft, Dereck Salin and Samantha Walker.
During intermission some members of the audience explained they try to attend all the community theater’s plays.
Anna Birkhead, with her husband, George, said the play was very enjoyable, explaining, “we come to them all.”
Someone who wanted to remain anonymous said she was enjoying this “adult humor.”
Pat Yount described the current play as cute, adding she thinks people should attend these local productions. She has a season ticket for the community theater and also the Hannibal Concert Association.