Masquers: a return to roots with 'The Trip to Bountiful'
Award-winning play opens June 12 for three-weekend run.
SOAP LAKE — Returning to its roots, the Masquers Theater will conclude its 2025-26 season with an encore of the first full play staged by the Masquers when their current theater initially opened 22 years ago.
Directed by Jesse Huntwork, “The Trip to Bountiful” opens this Friday, June 12, and continues with weekend performances through Sunday, June 28. Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees beginning at 2 p.m.
Visit the Masquers website for ticket information.
“’The Trip to Bountiful’ has stood the test of time, showcasing the story of love, family, nostalgia and remembrances of the roots we are all born with,” the theater notes of the upcoming production.
Written by Horton Foote, the award-winning play initially debuted on Broadway in 1954, was adapted into a motion picture in 1985, and enjoyed a Broadway revival in 2013.
It tells the story of Carrie Watts, an elderly woman confined to a cramped Houston apartment with her overprotective son, Ludie, and his authoritarian wife, Jessie Mae. Carrie wants to return to her beloved hometown of Bountiful, Texas, one final time before she dies.
No longer able to drive, Carrie begs her son to take her there, but Ludie refuses. So, while Ludie is at work and Jessie Mae is out of the apartment, an undeterred Carrie makes her escape to the local bus station. There, she befriends a young woman, Thelma, who is also “traveling home.”
When Ludie and Jessie Mae discover Carrie is gone, they notify law enforcement. A sheriff locates the missing Mrs. Watts, who persuades him to help in her journey. But when she arrives, Carrie learns that Bountiful has changed, too.
The Masquers’ cast features Rosalee Chamberlain as Carrie Watts, Jason Noble as Ludie, Machelle Miller as Jessie Mae, Natalie Vieira as Thelma, Miles Plagerman as Ticket Man No. 1, Virginia Sterns as Ticket Man No. 2, Justice Duran as Roy, and Darryl Pheasant as the sheriff.
Season ticket holders and comp ticket recipients are asked to contact the box office to make reservations for their seats (call 509-246-2611). The theater is located at 322 E. Main Ave. in Soap Lake.
