Island Players in Anna Maria stage ‘Red Velvet Cake War’

They call themselves “America’s playwrights” and they promise “hit comedies from coast to coast.” They’re certainly favorites of Anna Maria Island audiences.

They’re Jesse Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, collectively called Jones Hope Wooten, and they’re known for very amiable, audience-pleasing (and often very funny) comedies. In recent seasons, Island Players have staged Jones Hope Wooten’s “Mama Won’t Fly,” “ ’Til Beth Do Us Part.” and “Dearly Beloved.”

Now Island Players is kicking off its 2016-17 season with another Jones Hope Wooten opus, “The Red Velvet Cake War.”

Like many of the trio’s comedies, it has a Southern flavor to it. The Verdeen cousins (Gaynelle, Peaches and Jimmie Wyvette) throw a family reunion in Sweetgum, Texas. Gaynelle “accidentally” crashes her minivan through the bedroom wall of her husband’s girlfriend’s double wide trailer. Peaches, tthe best mortuarial cosmetologist in the tri-county area, is struggling to decide if it’s time to have her long-absent trucker husband declared dead. Store manager Jimmie Wyvette is resorting to extreme measures in vying for the affections of Sweetgum’s newest widower. They’re the talk of Sweetgum, and things gets worse when their eccentric relatives start piling into town and a shocking high-stakes wager is made on who bakes the best red velvet cake.

It’s also the hottest day in July, in the middle of hurricane season.

Mike Luck directs the Island Players production. The cast includes Laura Morales, Judi King, Cathy Hansel-Edgerton, Jim Faltot, Joanie Anton, Sadie Palmer, Judy Keenan, Rick Kopp, Vinnie Conte, Robin Rhodes and Miriam Ring.

Details: Sept. 29-Oct. 9, Island Players, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria. Show times: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $20. Information: 941-778-5755, theislandplayers.org.

This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Island Players in Anna Maria stage ‘Red Velvet Cake War’."