by Debra Garske & Micheal Barker

Kings Players’ second play of the season continues their Family Friendly Entertainment with The Widow in Mink. Margaret Osgood finds herself a recent widow and quite wealthy. She adjusts to her new life by buying herself a mink coat and joining the Wandering Widows’ Club where she creates a new social life. She soon finds herself pursued by her late husband’s business partner who questions her desire to donate much of her money to charity. Is he concerned about her financial future or is he more interested in his own? Margaret’s worried niece Julie seeks to protect her aunt while dealing with her exasperating boyfriend Roger. Roger is a rich and seemingly idle young man who keeps proposing to Julie but may have secrets of his own. Meanwhile, Margaret’s new friends enjoy all the drama with a few tart quips and a bit of flirtation thrown in. Will true love prevail?

The main character, Widow Margaret Osgood, is played by Viki Ralston. Vicki admitted to have graced the stage at the Temple Theatre back in the 80s, but later moved to Austin, Texas, where she was involved in the ‘improv scene’. She just recently moved back into the area and decided to reconnect with the theater. She is doing an amazing job, and we are glad to have her back.

One of the widows in Margaret’s newfound club, “Diane Yates”, is steamily played by Annie McGrath, who has been involved in many creative aspects of our productions, and was most recently seen on stage in Merry Christmas, Dear Grandpa. The other members in the widow’s club are played by delightful newcomers Susan Alcala as “Jane Hazelman” and Elena Monte Anzoleaga as “Betsy Shaeffer”. This was the first time on stage “ever” for both ladies, and each said they wanted to thank their family members for their support and encouragement in taking this leap out of their comfort zone into show business. We are excited to have them and hope they will return for future productions.

Casts of “The Widow in Mink”

Other key cast members include Amanda Braden as “Julie Mayfield”, an investigative reporter and Widow Osgood’s concerned niece. Jared Kirk plays “Roger Colfax”, Julie’s rich but seemingly indolent boyfriend bent on matrimony, and John Rabe as “Charlie Pruett”, the business partner of Margaret’s deceased husband and whose recently increased interest in Margaret gives her family and friends cause for speculation. Amanda has been involved in local improv productions, and both she and Jared also most recently appeared charmingly on stage in Merry Christmas, Dear Grandpa. John has been with Kings Players for many years, and although he has graced the Temple Theater stages a number of times over the years, he has always been the genius and rock when it comes to building our sets. He is a valuable man of many talents.

Cast of “The Widow in Mink”

Co-Directors Debra Garske and Micheal Barker are first-time directors with experience in assisting theater productions. They are excited to be working together as first-time Co-Directors of this community theater production. Debra is a retired school teacher who minored in theater arts at Fresno State and has been involved with the King’s Players for a number of years on and off stage. She is grateful for the opportunity to try her hand at directing community theater and working with Micheal whose creativity, insight, humility, and good humor make the experience an enjoyable one for everyone. Micheal has been part of community theater since 2007 when he played “Tin Woodsman” in Tim Kelly’s Oz!. It was all forward after that. Micheal is blessed to have Debra for balance and order in what some could say is a wild environment. Micheal says he’s happy to see what’s behind the curtain of directing. It gave him an appreciation for all the directors before him. What a learning experience.

The Temple Theatre is located at 514 Visalia Street, Hanford, California.

Performance dates are: May 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29. June 3, 4, 5.

Performance times are: 7:30 p.m. on Friday & Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m. – except for Saturday June 4 which will be a 2 p.m. matinee.

For tickets and information, to kingsplayers.org or call (559) 524-7241 for assistance.

If you love local theatre, be sure to check out Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, which features mysteries read by local actors. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and also on podbean.

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