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  • Olivia Donnel, Lauden Baker, Shelley Wilson and Bill Welsh rehearse a scene in “Saving Grace.” The production runs until Aug. 26 at Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre. Courtesy | Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre

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August 17, 2012

Mistakes multiply in 'Saving Grace,' on tap at Stone's Throw

By Joe Hadsall Globe Staff Writer

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Director JP Dickey first saw “Saving Grace” in Oklahoma City about 30 years ago, and thought it made a great dinner theater play. So when he signed on to direct a play at Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre, it was the first one that came to mind.

“Saving Grace” will be performed through Sunday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Stone’s Throw.

“A part of it always stuck with me,” he said. “It was such a fun, fast-paced show (with) all these crazy things happening.”

The premise of the play revolves around a comedy of errors, Dickey said.

Grace, played by Olivia Donnel, invites her boss, Walter, played by Bill Welsh, to her apartment. Walter has hopes of wooing Grace over dinner. In the meantime, Grace calls a telephone repairman, Alex,  played by Lauden Baker, who enters the apartment while she is offstage.

When she sees him, she mistakes him for a burglar, and the plot just gets messier from there, Dickey said. She tries to “save” the misidentified burglar from his criminal ways, until another twist is thrown into the plot.

Once her straight-laced sister, Harriet, played by Shelley Wilson, enters into the mix, Grace must pretend Alex, the supposed burglar, is her husband.

It’s all centered around one big mistake, Dickey said.

Dickey described “Saving Grace” as a “no-thinking-involved” kind of play. Audiences can sit back and relax and enjoy the pure entertainment value of the play, Dickey said.

“It’s too much fun to care,” he said.

This will be Dickey’s first time directing a play at the Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre, and he gets to do it with a veteran cast. With all of his actors having a multitude of experience and honed skills, it made his first directing gig at the theater more smooth, he said.

“Everyone has worked hard and made sacrifices,” he said. “We’re a fun group to work with.”

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