Today's Feature

Jake’s Women at Stone’s Throw.

Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre announces its upcoming production of Neil Simon’s Jake’s Women. Jake’s Women is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon, to be presented by Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre of Carthage, Missouri this coming September. Additional funding assistance is provided by the Missouri Arts Council and Schmidt & Associates.

Show dates are September 4, 5, & 6, and Sept. 12 & 13, with a Sunday matinee on Sept. 14. Doors open at 6:00 pm, with dinner served at 6:30 pm and show starting at 7:30 pm. Sunday matinee opens at 12:30 pm, with lunch served at 1:00 pm and show starting at 2:00 pm.

Ticket prices are $20.00 for adults, $19.00 for Seniors over 55, $17.00 for youth under 16, and children under five admitted free.

Reservations may be made by calling the theatre at 417-358-9665 or Betty Bell at 417-358-7268, online at bbell23@ecarthage.com or by visiting the Stone’s Throw website at www.stonesthrowdinnertheatre.org

Directed by Doug Dickey, Jake’s Women stars Kevin Provins in the title role, with Shana Kleinhans, Shanti Navarre, Morgan Sneed, Cheyla Navarre, Linda Bailey, Lyn Whyte, and Amber Norton as Jake’s Women.

Poor Jake. A very successful novelist, his marriage is not so successful. In fact, his wife wants to leave him. So in an effort to help him through this crisis, the women in his life come to his rescue. Sort of. There’s his boisterous sister who bosses him around, his sardonic analyst who seems to enjoy taunting him, his grown daughter who’s wise beyond her years, and his revered first wife who is clueless but with good reason. But here’s the problem – the conversations are in his imagination. He even talks with his daughter when she was just a child, and has poignant dialogs with his first wife who, by the way, is dead. Imagination invades the reality, especially when struggling to discuss the marriage with his estranged wife, or trying to decide on his future with his new girlfriend. The result is a moving romantic comedy with laughter and tears as only Neil Simon can craft a story.

Mornin'

It’s always odd to run into folks ya know in a place ya didn’t expect to see ‘em..

I happened upon several at a bluegrass music festival a while back. Some of ‘em didn’t surprise me that they were attendin’ the even, just didn’t expect to see ‘em. Others I had no idea they had an interest in suck things. Some were folks I hadn’t seen for several years, others I see ever now and then around these parts.

Then there were those that I was wantin’ to run into that I never found. I know they were there, just didn’t make contact.

There were also the three or four folks I didn’t know, but kept seein’ ‘em at various times. I wasn’t following’ them around, but I wonder if they don’t think I was. Or maybe they were keepin’ an eye on me.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

CLICK and CLACK

TALK CARS

by Tom & Ray Magliozzi

My wife wants to buy a Honda Fit, but now she is worried about the gas tank. It is located under the front seat rather than under the trunk. Is this dangerous?---Prentiss.

RAY: You’re not trying to knock her off, are you, Prentiss? If we tell you it’s dangerous, you’re not going to buy her the car, then take out a large life insurance policy on her, are you?

TOM: It’s not dangerous, as far as wee can tell, Prentiss. We don’t know definitively, because the Fit has only been out for a few years, and it’s possible that a problem could come to light later. But from what we can tell, it’s not an issue.

RAY: Most cars have their gas tank right behind the back seat, conveniently enough, where the mother-in-law usually rides. You’ll notice no one’s ever written to us to complain about that!

TOM: Honda moved the gas tank in the Fit under the driver’s seat to create ore room in the back to fold the seats flat. An it is a very nice, functional design, from the point of view of usable interior space.

RAY: When we looked underneath, a Fit, we noticed that the tank doesn’t extend right to the outside edge of the vehicle. It’s at least somewhat protected behind a side structural member.

TOM: Here’s what we do know. When the Fit was crash-tested, it got top ratings for both frontal crashes and driver’s side impacts.

RAY: These days, gas tanks are made of plastic, and they’re pretty hard to puncture. They’re actually very resilient, in our experience.

TOM: We have no evidence that suggests it’s a problem and think it’s an excellent little car.