'Christmas Belles' Cast Announced

Veteran director Cindy Matteson has announced the 11-member cast of both new and familiar actors for “Christmas Belles,” the Bradford Little Theatre’s holiday comedy in December.

“This is the most delightful cast to work with, and wow, do they bring a lot of talent and energy to every rehearsal. I am so very excited for this show to hit the stage because, if our practices are any indication, this is going to be one of the highlights of the holiday season in our area,” said Matteson, BLT secretary.

The two-act comedy about a church Christmas pageant gone haywire in the small town of Fayro, Texas, will be presented at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Bromeley Family Theatre in Blaisdell Hall. The 500-seat venue will host the show at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 18 and 19 and at 2 p.m. Dec. 20.

The show is written by the same trio who penned BLT’s opening comedy, “The Dixie Swim Club,” which recently sold out all three performances. The award-winning writers are Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, who spent many seasons as writer/producer of television’s classic “The Golden Girls.”

Matteson, who previously directed BLT’s “The Diary of Anne Frank,” announced the cast as follows:

Carrie Russell of Smethport as Honey Raye Futrelle, oldest Futrelle sister and new director of the Christmas pageant;

Rick Frederick of Bradford as Dub Dubberly, Frankie’s husband moonlighting as Santa and passing a kidney stone;

Kristin Asinger of Bradford as Frankie Futrelle Dubberly, cranky and overdue with her twins;

Lori Powers of Bradford as Twink Futrelle, serving time for arson in her attempted revenge on her ex-boyfriend;

Amanda Uhl of Bradford as Gina Jo “GJ” Dubberly, Frankie and Dub’s daughter;

Tim Asinger of Bradford as Justin Waverly, young interim pastor at the Tabernacle of the Lamb who is in love with Gina Jo;

Marcia McAndrew of Bradford as Geneva Musgrave, town florist and past Christmas program director;

Tomas James of Bradford as Raynerd Chisum, idiot savant and part-time employee at the Dairy Dog;

Dani Brien of Smethport as Rhonda Lynn Lampley, manager of the Dairy Dog;

Martha Madden as Patsy Price, town heiress and snob, who buys her way into the pageant with surprising results; and

Travis Cowburn of Bradford as John Curtis Buntner, deputy sheriff pressed into performing while guarding Twink.

Only Frederick, Brien and Madden have performed with BLT before.

Tickets are available through the BLT Web site www.bradfordlittletheatre.org at a cost of $7 each in advance or $8 at the door. They will also be available at BLT’s regular outlets: Tina’s Hallmark, Ott & McHenry Pharmacy, Graham’s Florist and Smith’s. Discounts are available for groups of ten or more by contacting BLT.