Dashing to the Snowflake Inn | PHOTO GALLERY

ALBANY — Snow’s pretty rare in Southwest Georgia, but even folks here know that if you run on snow and ice, you’re liable to trip up.

And that’s what the cast of Theatre Albany’s holiday production will do — in a farcical sense, at least — when they go “Dashing Through the Snow” in a Christmastime comedy written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten.

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The works of Jones, Hope and Wooten, whose comedies have a Southern flair and are set in Texas, are likely familiar to many Theatre Albany patrons. Previous plays by the trio that have been performed on the Theatre Albany stage include “Dixie Swim Club,” “‘Til Beth Do Us Part,” “Mama Won’t Fly” and another Christmas-themed play, “Christmas Belles.”

WHAT: Jones, Hope and Wooten Christmas comedy

WHO: Theatre Albany

WHEN: 8 p.m. Dec. 5 and 11-13; 2:30 p.m. Dec. 7 and 14

WHERE: Theatre Albany, 514 Pine Ave.

CAST: Kathleen Stroup, Suzanne Unger, Gary Unger, Kevin Armstrong, Vickie Lewis, Kate Funk, Joy Johnson, Doug Lorber, Jennifer Kirk Bowers, Flo Reneau, Leigh Anne Young and Sara Mackenzie

DIRECTOR: Mark Costello

CAROLERS: Lauren Anglin, Leah Anglin, Donna Dereus, Natalie Etheridge, Lily Ingle, Sandy Hardy Meadows, Madalyn Reed, Jessica Tabarrok and Emily Young

TICKETS: $20, adults; $15, seniors; $10, students and active military

BOX OFFICE: (229) 439-7141

In fact, “Dashing” pulls characters from “Christmas Belles,” which is part of a trilogy that focuses on the Futrelle sisters. “The four sisters from that show figure into one of the scenes in this show,” Theatre Albany Director Mark Costello said.

For “Dashing Through the Snow,” the curtain will rise at 8 p.m. Friday at a small bed-and-breakfast in Texas where some eccentric guests come to stay with — and complicate the life of — harried innkeeper Trina Walcott (Kathleen Stroup) during the four days leading up to Christmas. The play is structured similarly to shows like “Love, American Style,” “Fantasy Island” and “The Love Boat,”with self-contained scenes within the play.

“It’s a cute little piece,” Costello said. “It takes place in the Snowflake Inn in Tinsel, Texas. It’s run by a lady named Trina (Stroup). And she’s the only character in the play who’s in all four scenes.

“She’s dealing with several things. First, there’s this off-stage voice — you never see this person — and he’s supposed to be a critic for a magazine that reviews bed-and-breakfasts, which is what Trina has, but he’s really demanding and he’s running her ragged. And the other character that’s not seen but heard is Lou Ida, her cook.

“This same critic is driving her crazy with his demands for food,” Costello said. “He’s upset one time because she gave him a BLT with the bacon cooked on both sides and he wanted the bacon cook done just one side.”

The problems of the oddball guests pile on the stress for Walcott. The first occurs on Dec. 21 and involves an ill-advised romantic rendez-woo between Santa’s wife, who checked in under the pseudonym “Cuddles” (played by Suzanne Unger), and an elf named Binkie (played by her husband, Gary Unger). “They come to the inn to have a little fling because the old man is busy. He’s never around,” Costello said.

The second half of the act takes place on Dec. 22, when Hoyt Ledford (Kevin Armstrong) and his sister, Donna Jo Austin (Kate Funk), to try to end a feud that has gone on for three decades between their aunts, Ennis Puckett (Vickie Lewis) and Della Crowder (Joy Johnson).

“Hoyt has invited these two aunts to come to the inn, but they’ve hated each other for 35 years,” Costello said. “He’s hoping that by bringing them to this Snowflake Inn at Christmastime, he’ll be able to get them to reconcile and end the family feud so they can have a harmonious holidays.”

Donna Jo, who drives one of the sisters to the inn, thinks her brother is “absolutely crackers” for trying to bring the pair together, he said.

After arguing and even tussling, the aunts are surprised to discover the real cause of their longstanding disagreement.

“In Act 2, we encounter two actors who are performing ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the local firehouse to a total of 16 people,” Costello said. “They’re these old, old acting-types who are real hams and the reason the actor is coming to the inn is he has the ashes of a former colleague or mentor who’s last wish was that his ashes be scattered in the pecan grove that is behind his ancestral home, which happens to be where the inn is now.

“They can’t come through the back gate, so they have to try to come through the inn to do that. Of course, they encounter Trina and they do a 12-line version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ quickly. They have to hurry because they came over during intermission.”

Ainsley Danforth (Doug Lorber) and Lenore Benedict (Jennifer Kirk Bowers) leave comedy chaos in their wake as they try to fulfill Danforth’s promise. Flo Reneau portrays Paulette Coogan, the stage manager who tries to get them back to the firehouse in time for the second act.

The play wraps up with an impromptu Christmas Eve wedding that, as one might imagine, has some unexpected complications.

The wedding brings together the Futrelle sisters — Honey Raye Futrelle (Leigh Anne Young), Twink Furtelle Buntner (Suzanne Unger), Frankie Futrelle Dubberly (Sara Mackenzie) and Rhonda Lynn Lampley (Kate Funk) — and their best friend Reynerd Chisum (Kevin Armstrong) for a side-splitting climax to the evening. Unger reprises the character she played in the theater’s “Christmas Belles” performances several seasons ago.

“Honey Raye has to get married real quick because she got a coupon,” Costello said. “She’s marrying Rabbit Pooler, who’s an ex-husband that she’s marrying again. So they’re trying to get ready.”

By now, the inn critic has caused Ida Lou to quit, so wedding food is a problem. “Rhonda Lynn is in there cooking chili-cheese fries for the wedding,’ Costello said. “They have to put on god-awful bridesmaid dresses because it’s all at the last minute. Reynerd (who’s a bit slow-witted) is just walking around oblivious because he just loves Christmas.”

No recipe for a wedding disaster is complete, however, without some accusations of cheating thrown in.

“It’s a light little piece and hopefully they (the audience) will have lots of fun,” Costello said.

Originally, the theater had planned to present a Christmas musical, “Haul Out the Holly,” but plans were changed because not enough people came out to audition for the musical.

“It wasn’t enough to do the show,” Costello said. “But rather than saying, ‘We’re not doing the show. Thank you for auditioning,’ I have incorporated them as Christmas carolers.

“They’ll perform prior to the show and then at intermission they’ll sing Christmas carols on the stage. I kind of blended everything together.”

Carolers who will perform include Lauren Anglin, Leah Anglin, Donna DeReus, Natalie Etheridge, Lily Ingle, Sandy Hardy Meadows, Madalyn Reed, Jessica Tabarrok and Emily Young.

“It’ll be a full Christmas evening,” Costello said.

“Dashing Through the Snow” opens at 8 p.m. Friday, takes Saturday off for the downtown Albany Celebration of Lights Christmas parade, then follows with a 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinee on Dec. 7. The second week has 8 p.m. performances Dec. 11-13 with a closing Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 14.

The theater is located at 514 Pine Ave. The box office is open noon-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, noon-2 p.m. performance Saturdays and one hour before curtain on all performance dates. Tickets are $20, adults; $15, senior citizens; $10, students and active military personnel. The box office phone number is (229) 439-7141.