Review: ‘Red Velvet Cake’ scrumptious

STAN SHEEHAN/special to The Van Wert independent

The Red Velvet Cake War opened Thursday May 10 and continues its run through May 20 with performances Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8 pm. In deference to Mother’s Day there will not be a Sunday matinee on May 13, but the show will conclude with a Sunday afternoon performance on the 20th.

Recipe for comedy: take a history of family tensions, add a bitter divorce scenario, mix with several romantic aspirations, bake in the triple digit Texas heat, and serve to the audience.

The titular Red Velvet Cake is the signature dessert of the matriarch of the Verdeen clan, La Merle, played by Linda McClure with the haughty, condescending nature of the true upholder of the family’s good name. The “war” is a contest for “best cake” with her niece, Gaynelle, played by Amber Evans. Gaynelle is portrayed as an endearing woman going through a rough patch in her life following a ruinous midlife divorce from her cheating spouse. She is helped through this patch by her loving cousins, Jimmy Wyvette, played by Lisa Eichler, and Peaches Verdeen, played by Monica Campbell. The three cousins have a long history of supporting each other and they need all the loving help they can muster to get through a family reunion.

The title cake is the floury base of it all: Gaynelle, the center of the story, is a woman who decides in spite of her other issues that it is time to stand up to her vinegary aunt, La Merle. Peaches is the egg that gives the cake body, a body that has gone unappreciated in the seven-year absence of her disappeared husband. Jimmie Wyvette supplies the sweetener, a woman who is interested in a new widower next door after years of concentrating on moving up the ladder of her western wear employer. The leavening is supplied by neighbor Bitsy Hargis, played by Terri Stevens, who agitates the mix by marking off the widower for herself. The oil in the cake is supplied by Newt Blaylock, played by Chris Burkheimer. Newt is an eligible man thrown into the mix who is chasing Gaynelle, is chased by two of the other women, and is caught by one, though on advice he did not run too hard.

The sour cream in the cake to smooth out the edges is Dan Schott, playing a dual role as Sheriff Lout and Cousin Purvis. He pushes the batter to the edges and fills the gap. To bake a cake one needs heat, which is supplied by the Austrian psychologist Elsa Dowdall, played by Mary Yackey. She is there to perform a psychological examination of Gaynelle, and this turns up the heat on the cousins as they try to explain away some bizarre occurrences as the skirmishes of the cake war play out.

In a departure from a standard cake recipe, there are a couple of nuts that are past the “sell by” date: Aubrey Verdeen, played by Burdette Bolenbaugh, and Mama Doll Hargis, played by Betty Miller. These two nonagenarians believe that romance is not only for the three cousins, but for them as well.  And of course there must be frosting to confuse and hide any imperfections in the cake proper. This is supplied by TV host “Cee Cee” Windham, played by Jewell Kurtz. Windham is there to rehabilitate and advise, all with a winning Texas smile and twinkle.

The set is rather spare in beiges and browns, with dried vine wreaths and dried flower hangings, reflective of the hot Texas setting of the play. The lights bounce from place to place on the set, through quick scene changes that go from TV studio and from house to house in the blink of an eye. The background music is a mix of bluegrass, ballad, and rockabilly to again highlight the Texas connection.

It is a fun production, with word play, character sketches, and some physical comedy. The situations are occasionally outlandish but the message of family bonding, even in the face of family tension, is a universal one. Warning: Red dye No. 2 in Red Velvet Cake may cause excessive laughter.