Mimi Ralston is always the life of the party. The much-married socialite loves to host extravagant cocktail parties, but there is always a twist. Last year’s soiree included a well-dressed peanut-spitting chimpanzee on a tricycle. This year, Mimi hopes to play a trick on her stuffier guests by employing a bumbling, rude waiter-actor. Things go awry when the focus of her practical joke shifts to her in-laws-to-be.
The Azle Arts Association concluded its March 30 final run of “Cocktails with Mimi” to a sold-out show at Popcorn Players theater. The play was written by Mary Chase and directed by Scott Nurmela. The 1960s-chic production balanced comedy, drama and earnest struggles that come with family. Gwen Gibbons and Emily Ball as the titular character and her daughter, Edie, were both outrageously funny and genuinely heartfelt in showcasing how an oddball mother and her more conventionally minded adult child might struggle to understand and get along with each other. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as both characters try to outwit, out-plot and out-ruse one another toward conflicting goals. The supporting cast wore many hats as actors played actors eating up the high-society scenery and pitting nouveau riche against pomp and circumstance. Fab, “ferb,” a word for when all other words fail, and everything in-between could be found in this performance.
The Popcorn Players will return May 9 with “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” directed by Joshia Holden Jr. Popcorn Players Theater is located at 1012 Southeast Parkway in Azle, and tickets will be available in-person, online at www.azlearts.org, or by phone at 817-238-PLAY. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and students.
