FATHER OF THE BRIDE OPENS ON MARCH 4, 2016 It starts as a small event- a minister, the groom, the bride, and two witnesses. But the bride’s mother wants to have her daughter wear a wedding gown and have at least two attendants stand with her. Nothing big, nothing fancy and the father of the bride sighs in relief. That is until the families decide that a long lost aunt and a distant cousin need to be invited even though the bride and the groom have never met the relatives. And if they are invited, all the other relatives must be invited. Then, the fathers decide that there has to be an invitation to all of the important clients of their businesses. The problem is all the clients are important. Mothers get into action by inviting the entire garden clubs of their communities. Problem is that everyone has a green thumb and must be invited. Siblings of the bride and groom feel that they have to have a few friends to be with them. The number is inconsequential until you find that a teen party has been invited. Then, to the horror of the father of the bride, the groom and the bride decide that they have to invite certain friends from high school and college. Problem is the groom and the bride were voted as “Most Popular.” Then, the mother of the bride feels overwhelmed so she has to get the wedding planner who has several employees who look like they are off the road gangs. As things progress, the wedding is on and then wedding is off. The maid is upset. The father’s secretary is upset. The youngest child decides that she has a career in sports casting and uses the wedding as the first wedding to appear coast to coast on national television with color commentary. And it only costs…. “well, it’s that amount if you buy American champagne. It’s higher if you buy the French,” says the wedding planner. “And it all comes together like “magic.” The Caroline Francke comedy, Father of the Bride, will be presented by the Canal Fulton Players on March 4-6, 11-13, 2016 at the SALT Box Ministries, 408 West Market Street, Canal Fulton, Ohio. The Dramatist Play Service production has been made into two movies. The first one, starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Leo G. Carroll, and Billie Burke was a huge critical success. The second one, starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short, and Kimberly Williams, was a huge financial success as many people loved Short’s portrayal of Franck. (Note- The name is a shortened version of the playwright’s last name). Starring as Stanley Banks is Charles Haywood, who was last seen as the King of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Shelly Rayborn is Ellie Banks. Shelly has been in the Players’ last five productions. Hunter Rapp portrays Kay Banks, the bride in this play. She was last seen as Alice in Alice in Wonderland. The rest of the cast consists of Josh Rowe, Jake Sustersic, Madison Witte, Laura Haines, Maya McCoy, Jennifer Neal, Geri Marken in two roles, Drew Hutchinson, Mike Pfiffner, Sean Wirfel, and Matt Farkas as Mr. Massoula, the wedding planner. The performances for Fridays and Saturdays will be at 7:30 pm. Sunday performances will be at 3:00 pm. On March 12, there will be a dinner theatre which will start at 6:00 pm. The menu is lasagna, Italian bread, salad with your choice of dressing, dessert, and a beverage. The cost of admission for all non-dinner theatre performances is $10.00 for adults and $8.00 for seniors and children under the age of 12. The cost of admission for the dinner theatre is $18.00 for adults and $16.00 for seniors and children under the age of 12. For information or reservations, call David Van Gaasbeek at 330-494-1022 and 330-854-4387.