The Lake Country Players, originally founded as the Greene County Players in 2011 by the late John Copelan, prepare to open their tenth season March 26 with an homage to their past successes. “Southern Fried Funeral” by Osborne & Eppler is a big-hearted comedy about family … Southern style, of course. 

Giving a nod to past successes like “The Dixie Swim Club,” “Smoke on the Mountain,” “Honky Tonk Angels” and “Drinking Habits”the troupe is continuing their mission of creating productions that bring people together to experience the magic of theater. 

To further this mission the group is expanding its collaborative efforts and is excited to announce that Dennis McClain and Sarah Daly Weir will be directing “Southern Fried Funeral”. Mr McClain and Mrs Daly Weir are well known to PAPA and the Eatonton Arts community for many successful productions at the Plaza Arts Center. 

“We are so excited to be working with Dennis and Sarah,” said Mo Brower LCP’s board chairwoman. “This is a great step towards building relationships that strengthen the area’s theater network for our audiences, performers, directors and the arts community at large.” 

Dennis McClain expanded on this sentiment adding, “it is important that we look for ways to expand opportunities for local performers to act, sing, or dance and continue to develop their passions and talents. Theater is not only for the audience’s entertainment, but it is also about furthering the skill sets, gifts and comraderie of the cast and crew.” 

This expansion certainly seems to be happening for the organization as they saw 25 local performers audition for the eleven roles in “Southern Fried Funeral.” This allowed the directors to cast the show fully and have an understudy cast as well. The cast will again include a number of fresh faces as well as local favorites honing and displaying their comedic best. 

“Southern Fried Funeral” is described as a big-hearted comedy about family — Southern-style. 

The plot revolves around the fact that Dewey Frye is dead and the rest of his family is left to pick up the pieces — that is if they don’t kill each other first. Not only does matriarch Dorothy have to contend with sudden widowhood, but she’s also faced with church-committee harpy Ozella Meeks sticking her nose in the family business, Dewey’s snake-in-the-grass brother making a grab for her house, and two grown daughters reliving their childhood rivalry. Funerals bring out the worst, the best, and the funniest in people, and the Fryes are no exception. 

Performances will be 7 p.m. on March 26, 27 and 28, and 2:30 p.m. on March 29 at Festival Hall in downtown Greensboro. Tickets go on sale to the public on Feb. 26 through the website at lakecountryplayers.org. Online sales are an exciting update to LCP’s ticketing system and are available for the first time in the organization’s history. 

LCP sponsors and patrons are able to purchase tickets prior to the public sales date.