Kitchen Witches opens tomorrow

Amana - The Iowa Theatre Artists Company (ITAC) will present Caroline Smith’s comedy, The Kitchen Witches, from October 14 through November 6 on the ITAC stage in Amana. This popular new script will feature two performers from the Cedar Rapids area, Lynne Rothrock and Eddie Skaggs in addition to ITAC co-founder, Meg Merckens of South Amana, Marshall Nielsen of Cedar Falls and Kimberly Braun of Mankato, Minnesota. The show is directed by Thomas P. Johnson.

Written in 2003, the play premiered in Ontario, Canada and has quickly become a laugh-filled favorite across Canada and the U.S. This fast-paced comedy casts two rival cooking show hostesses who are pressured to appear together on a single show when audience response to their on-camera antics and sparring relationship creates a crowd-loving recipe for disaster. The cooking divas have been at odds with each other ever since one dated the man that the other eventually married. Food, fun and banter abound in this fall comedy, with Johnson remarking, “…that having Lynne and Meg on stage together is as much fun as watching Lucy and Ethel in the old “I Love Lucy” series. It’s a first stage match-up for these two performers and they make a wonderful comic team.”

In Amana, performances are: Fridays at 1:30 pm and 7:30 pm, Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 1:30 pm. The show opens on Friday, October 14 and runs through Sunday, November 6. Reservations are strongly recommended. City Revealed Magazine is the Media Sponsor of ITAC's production of The Kitchen Witches.

On Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30, the cast and crew of The Kitchen Witches will travel to Dysart to do two performances at the Union Middle School Auditorium as a fundraiser for the Garrison and Dysart Lions Clubs. The Saturday performance is scheduled at 7:30 pm and the Sunday matinee is at 2 pm. For more information about those two shows, please call: Dwayne Luze in Dysart at 319-476-4949 or Dick Flickinger in Garrison at 319-477-8423. Tickets can also be ordered through the ITAC Box Office, 319-622-3222.

While ITAC travels out of Amana, “The Red Hot Rhythm Rustlers” from Palm Desert, California make their Iowa premiere with two concerts on the ITAC stage on Saturday, October 29 and two “Silver Screen Cowboy Concerts” on Sunday, October 30. Each day the shows are scheduled for 1:30 pm and 7 pm. Seating is limited, and co-producer, Meg Merckens urges interested patrons “…to call early to see this award-winning group make a very unique stop in Iowa with their Western swing and toe-tappin’ music, including a very special tribute to Roy Rogers’ 100th Birthday!” To read more about this group and their shows, visit this website.

For more information and reservations about The Kitchen Witches and upcoming ITAC shows, call: 319-622-3222 or go here.