Mimi Ralston is always the life of the party. The muchmarried socialite loves to host extravagant cocktail parties, but there is always a twist. Last year’s soiree included a well-dressed peanut-spitting chimpanzee on a tricycle. This year, Mimi hopes to play a trick on her stuffier guests by employing a bumbling, rude waiteractor. Things go awry when the focus of her practical joke shifts to her in-laws-to-be.
The Azle Arts Association concluded its March 30 final run of “Cocktails with Mimi” to a sold-out show at Popcorn Players theater. The play was written by Mary Chase and directed by Scott Nurmela.
The 1960s-chic production balanced comedy, drama and earnest struggles that come with family. Gwen Gibbons and Emily Ball as the titular character and her daughter, Edie, were both outrageously funny and genuinely heartfelt in showcasing how an oddball mother and her more conventionally minded adult child might struggle to understand and get along with each other. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as both characters try to outwit, outplot and out-ruse one another toward conflicting goals. The supporting cast wore many
