Hillbillies make Creston debut

“The Beverly Hillbillies” is a show five years in the making for Crest Area Theater, and the cast is excited to open the curtain for this hilarious summer production.

The community is invited to attend the show, with performances at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Southwestern Community College Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

Director Jerry Huffman explained CAT originally planned to do “The Beverly Hillbillies” in 2020. However, just as it came time to audition, everything shut down.

“We had to cancel out on that, and we’ve sort of been waiting on the right time since then,” Huffman said. “We have a cast of just over 20, I believe. It keeps a lot of people involved in community theater. This seemed to be the year to do it, so we did it five years later.”

The production is based on the popular CBS TV series of the same title, which ran from 1962 to 1971. While “The Beverly Hillbillies” was ranked the number one series of the year during its first two season, the younger generations aren’t as familiar with show.

“I know about the last two generations have never heard of ”The Beverly Hillbillies" and then people of the older generations all know it,” Huffman said.

With a script based on the first few episodes of the show, the production follows the Clampetts, a poor family living in the Ozark Mountains who make millions after finding oil on their property. Eventually convinced to move to the ritzy Beverly Hills, the hillbilly family find themselves in comedic situations as they attempt to make themselves at home in California.

“It’s a fish-out-of-water story,” Huffman said. “Someone who’s comfortable in their environment and you put them in a completely different environment and funny things happen.”

CAT invites community members of all ages to enjoy this year’s show.

“It’s completely family friendly,” Huffman said. “I don’t believe there’s a cuss word in it. And I don’t think there are any situations that are bad in any way, shape or form.”

Tickets can be purchased for $12 at the door, cash or check only. There are no advance sales.

Cast members as their roles are:

Fred Stewart as Jed Clampett

Julie Moreland as Granny

Drake Wilson as Jethro Bodine

Abbigail Hood as Elly Mae Clampett

Nick Pauly as Milburn Drysdale

Ahdri Evans as Margaret Drysdale

Renae Fowler as Miss Jane Hathaway

Supporting cast members are: Aaron Aldapa as George Turner, Cynthia M. Blakely as Mrs. Stokely-Smythe, Halle Burgmaier as Frederika Collins, Sam Duncan as Detective Richards, Stella Girard as Groovy Monahan, Laura Granger as Mrs. Pennyweather, Christian White as Percy Pennyweather, Linda Huffman as Cousin Pearl, Justin Kendrick as Colonel Foxhall, Jim Mossman as Mr. Brewster, Isaac Ralston as Mr. Oglethorpe, Linda Stewart at Mrs. Oglethorpe, Brittany Seals as Gloria Mundy, and Sasha Smith as Emaline Fetty.