Southwestern College Horsefeathers and Applesauce Summer Dinner Theatre

Scene from I DO! I D0! performed by the members of Horsefeathers and Applesauce Summer Dinner Theatre.

"I do."

Two words that, when said to one's lover, seal an agreement, solidify a commitment, satisfy a hope for love and happiness, have come to epitomize that time-honored institution: marriage.

Horsefeathers and Applesauce Summer Dinner Theatre, in its 20th anniversary season of unions and reunions, presents husband-and-wife team Mike and Cindy Marion in a musical salute to the union of marriage.

"The Fourposter," by Jan de Hartog, is the straight play on which "I Do! I Do!" is based. It featured real life married couple Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn in the Broadway production and Lilli Palmer and Rex Harrison in the movie version. Mike and Cindy Marion continue that tradition in this musical written by Tom Jones (story and lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt (music).

The story follows the lives of Michael and Agnes, beginning on their wedding day. Over a period of 50 years—until the day they leave their house to the next pair of newlyweds—the couple raise a family, negotiate mid-life crises, quarrel, separate, reconcile, and grow old together.

Interspersed throughout their story, tunes including "My Cup Runneth Over," "Nobody's Perfect," and "Flaming Agnes" fill in the tale.

Scene from Charlie's Aunt performed by the members of Horsefeathers and Applesauce Summer Dinner Theatre.

Picture an Oxford gentleman dressed as his roommate's wealthy auntie, a farcical mix-up of imposter and the real McCoy, and no less than four simultaneous love stories, and you have "Charley's Aunt."

The Brandon Thomas comedy is the second seasonal production for the Southwestern College Horsefeathers and Applesauce Summer Dinner Theatre. It opens Thursday, July 1, with performances Friday, July 2, and again Thursday through Sunday, July 8-11. Show time is 8 p.m. in Messenger Recital Hall on the campus of Southwestern College. Dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. in Darbeth Fine Arts Center.

In its motion picture version, Jack Benny lent his comedic aptitude to the story of two Oxford undergraduates scheming to propose to their young loves. Without a proper chaperone, though, the girls cannot meet the gentlemen. A millionaire aunt from Brazil is coming, and, with her supervision, the guys are sure their sweethearts will be wowed, setting up the perfect conditions for them to declare their affection. When the aunt's plans change, their prospects dim. They dim, that is, until their gullible roommate steps in donning a black satin skirt, a lace fichu, a pair of mitts, and an old-fashioned cap and wig.

This old frump is introduced to the sweethearts and others, and the deception might be plausible—except that the real auntie turns up too. Somehow, in the farcical confusion that ensues, four sweethearts are paired up with four beaus, a father is appeased, and a fortune is won.

Scene from The King and I performed by the members of Horsefeathers and Applesauce Summer Dinner Theatre.

Corralling and training 34 youngsters is no less challenging for the Horsefeathers and Applesauce Summer Dinner Theatre company than it was for Anna in the palace of the King of Siam.

This is the daunting task for director Roger Moon, though, as nearly three dozen area youth (ages 4 to 16) join the H & A company for the first regular dinner presentation of the summer.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I" will open Thursday, June 17. It continues Friday through Sunday, June 18-20, and again Wednesday through Sunday, June 23-27. Show time is 8 p.m. in the Darbeth Fine Arts Center. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. with seating beginning at 6:15.

"There is such a unique contrast between working with children and then working with adults," says Moon. "The children bring spontaneity to the atmosphere, the cast members model professionalism for the children. They complement each other nicely."

Set in the 1860s, "The King and I" is about the clashing and the making of peace between two cultures. When the King of Siam summons an English widow, Anna Leonowens, to his royal palace in Bangkok to teach his wives and children, she and her young son go. The king is largely considered to be a barbarian by those in the West and he seeks Anna's assistance in changing his image.

Keeping a firm grip on the traditions of his country, he is often irritated with the ideas Anna teaches his royal family. Her growing appreciation for the customs of Siam, though, and his gradual acceptance of the traditions of the West meld the two together in a love story of understanding and respect.