Winterport thespians to open 10th season with ‘Departed’

WINTERPORT – Winterport Open Stage will mark its 10th anniversary season with a revival of “Dearly Departed,” its first production. The play runs 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 14, 15, 21 and 22; and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 23, at Wagner Middle School, Mountainview Drive.

“Dearly Departed” by David Bottrell and Jessie Jones follows the backwoods antics of the Turpin family, who prove that living and dying in the South are seldom tidy and always hilarious. They’ve got a funeral to plan and, between feuds, marital flings and macaroni and ham loaf surprise, it may escalate into a multiple-coffin service.

Amidst the chaos, the Turpins turn for comfort to friends and neighbors, an eccentric community of misfits who just manage to pull together through their hours of need, and finally, the funeral.

Directed by Reed Farrar, the cast includes Martha MacLeod, Paul O’Reilly, Susan Carpenter, Joe Bearor, Jenny Hart, Don Sleight, Jim Tagenhorst, Sara J. Cline, Katherine Hall, Kurt Madden, Kate England, Cassandra Palmer, Jeff Tardiff, Erica Farrar, Tommy Farrar, Julia Ginn and Angela Kroll.

Tickets are $6, $3 for seniors and students, and are available at the door or at Rebecca’s in Bangor, Schacht’s True Value Hardware in Hampden or Molly’s in Winterport. For information, call 941-9151, or visit winterportopenstage.com.