BREAKING NEWS…While the sun rose faithfully this morning at 6:32 a.m., reports arrived that the end of the world will occur in 24 hours. The weather has been inexplicably frigid, causing a giant iceberg to float freely and wreak havoc as it travels.

Through all this impending doom, the family of George Antrobus attempts to survive certain destruction … by the skin of their teeth.

Every year the youth of Jefferson Street United Methodist Church choose a play for our annual dinner theater that will not only entertain but present a message of enduring truth and tell the stories of men and women of faith and their personal sacrifice.

This year’s production, Pulitzer Prize-winning, “The Skin of our Teeth” by Thornton Wilder, is no exception. The 29th annual presentation follows a tradition of fantastic dinner theater productions, including “The Scarlet Letter,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “The Outsiders.” “The Skin of Our Teeth” is about family, good and evil, the cycles of history and the values and spirit that help humanity survive.

Meet George and Maggie Antrobus, of Excelsior, N.J. They are a suburban couple (married for 5,000 years), who bear more than a casual resemblance to that first husband and wife, Adam and Eve. The two Antrobus children are Gladys and Henry; and the family includes their talkative, sometimes annoying, maid, Sabina.

Whether he is inventing the alphabet or merely saving the world from apocalypse, George and his family somehow manage to survive.

For several weeks our youth have been building sets, staging, memorizing lines, holding late-night rehearsals and getting ready to take the stage.

Trey Hand plays the part of George Antrobus. Senior performers Rachel Benoit and Clara Wimberly share the role of his wife and majestic matron of the family, of Mrs. Antrobus.

Their children are: Henry, played by James Coley; and Gladys, played by Anna Rodriguez. Maggie Kelly and senior performer Sarah Rodriguez share the role of Lily Sabina. More than 25 other actors, including senior Amelia Conn, weave in and out of the presentation as refugees from the encroaching Ice Age to frolicking conventioneers in Atlantic City before the flood.

Please join us for this production. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. today and 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for students and $5 for children.

You may reserve your tickets by calling the church office at 601-442-3795 or by purchasing a ticket from a member of our youth group; also, you may purchase tickets at the door.

Along with the performance, you will enjoy a delicious dinner and dessert. Nursery care will be provided each night.

Money raised from the dinner theater will go toward the many mission projects and retreats our youth participate in throughout the year.

 

Emily Carpenter is a member of Jefferson Street United Methodist Church.