IF YOU GOWhat: "Belles."When: 7 p.m. today, Thursday and May 18; 8 p.m. Saturday and May 19, 2 p.m. Sunday.Where: Dalton Little Theatre, 210 N. Pentz St., Dalton, Ga.Admission: $15 adults, $12 seniors, $10 students, $5 children under 12.Phone: 706-226-6618.Website: www.daltonlittletheatre.com.
It's all in what you put in the tuna.
That's what started the whole problem in "Belles," the comedy by Mark Dunn that continues this weekend and next at Dalton Little Theatre.
The play was the winner of the 1986-87 Margo Jones Playwriting Award Competition.
The action opens when Peggy, who stayed in Memphis to care for her mama, calls her five sisters to inform them the family matriarch is in the hospital after eating a bad tuna sandwich. That's when the trouble begins.
"It's typical of families in that, yes, they laugh, they cry, they fuss, they say, 'Let's have a family reunion,'" said Joey Parrott, co-director with Jim Kirk.
The Walker sisters, other than loyal Peggy, have scattered with the winds. They include Roseanne, the minister's wife whose husband has left her; Sherry, the outrageous, promiscuous sister whose latest moniker is Dust; Audrey, a ventriloquist who thinks of her dummy as a child; Aneece, an alcoholic loner; and Paige, a college student with dating issues.
"[The production is] about sisterhood, how they relate to each other and how they relate to Mama," Parrott said.
The character-driven comedy is played out through nearly 50 telephone conversations among the sisters. As such, each one has a mini-set on the stage, relative to her respective location and situation.
"It makes it very interesting," said Parrott, "and [the sets are] all different."
Audiences should consider the play PG-13, he said.