‘Mama Won’t Fly’ lands - with laughs - this weekend in Fairfield

Audiences may go on a hilarious cross-country road trip as Fairfield Footlighters presents “Mama Won’t Fly” at Fairfield Community Arts Center starting Friday.

“I hope our audiences enjoy the show just as much as we have,” said Kevin Noll, the show’s director. “We are really looking forward to bringing the production to the stage.”

The show was initially planned for May of 2020 and had to be rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Noll said that he, the production team and the cast have had a lot of fun creating a vision for the show and it’s been a joy seeing that vision come to life on stage.

A hilarious race against the clock begins when Savannah Honeycutt agrees to get her mother, Norleen Sprunt, from Alabama to California in time for her brother’s wedding.

“The main thrust of the show is Savannah has to get her mother to her brother’s wedding in California and they are in Birmingham, Alabama. But Mama won’t fly. She doesn’t like to fly. So, they are going to drive cross-country,” Noll said.

With four days to get there, he said, it’s a race against the clock and a mad dash to get there. Plus, they run into all kinds of crazy situations and people.

This family-friendly, southern comedy presents another unexpected turn when the bride-to-be, Hayley Quinn, arrives unannounced and convinces everyone that traveling to the wedding together is the perfect way to bond.

The show’s cast is comprised of Cindy Wilmes, Lyndall Murray, Denise Schneider, Teresa Bayer-Iltzsch, Cathy Woodruff, Nan Bongiani, John Vanderplough, Kevin Roach and Darren Lee.

“The characters are so much fun, and I’ve been having such a blast working with the cast, and seeing these characters develop, especially the more outrageous ones. They stop at a town in Texas to meet some extended family members, and they are so far out there,” Noll said. “The cast has been having an absolute blast creating these characters.”

The Fairfield Footlighters is a local community theater group that annually produces a season of musicals and plays, including new works by area playwrights. Members of the group are volunteers.

“I have been involved in community theater for a long time and this is a community thing. It’s the people that come out and support us that make it possible for us to keep going and doing this, year after year. It’s my personal belief that the level of talent in community theater here in Hamilton, Fairfield and Greater Cincinnati, in general, is comparable to anything you’d see on a professional stage and I really think that shines through in our productions,” Noll said.


How to go

What: “Mama Won’t Fly”

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: Fairfield Community Arts Center, 411 Wessel Drive, Fairfield

Admission: $15 plus a transaction fee

More info: (513) 867-5348, fairfield-city.org/tickets, fairfieldfootlighters.org

About the Author