Meg Merckens (left), Eddie Skaggs and Lynne Rothrock in a scene from the Iowa Theatre Artists Company’s production of “The Kitchen Witches” on stage in Amana through November 6, with a two day tour to Dysart on October 29 and 30 as a fundraiser for the Garrison and Dysart Lions Clubs. For more information and reservations, visit: www. iowatheatreartists.org or call 319-622-3222.

The Iowa Theatre Artists Company (ITAC) will present Caroline Smith’s comedy, The Kitchen Witches, on Saturday and Sunday, October 29 and 30 on the Dysart Union Middle School stage as a fundraiser for the Dysart and Garrison Lions Clubs. This will mark the fourth production that these two clubs and ITAC will have produced as a joint venture to raise funds for the Lions. This popular new script will feature two performers from the Cedar Rapids area, Lynne Rothrock and Eddie Skaggs in addition to ITAC co-founder, Meg Merckens of South Amana, Marshall Nielsen of Cedar Falls and Kimberly Braun of Mankato, Minn. The show is directed by Thomas P. Johnson.

Written in 2003, the play premiered in Ontario, Canada and has quickly become a laugh-filled favorite across Canada and the U.S. This fast-paced comedy casts two rival cooking show hostesses who are pressured to appear together on a single show when audience response to their on-camera antics and sparring relationship creates a crowd-loving recipe for disaster. The cooking divas have been at odds with each other ever since one dated the man that the other eventually married. Food, fun and banter abound in this fall comedy, with Johnson remarking, “that having Lynne and Meg on stage together is as much fun as watching Lucy and Ethel in the old “I Love Lucy” series. It’s a first stage match-up for these two performers and they make a wonderful comic team.”

The performances are Saturday, October 29 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 30 at 2:00 p.m.. Purchasing tickets from Lions Club members is strongly recommended as there is limited seating for the two show run. City Revealed Magazine is the Media Sponsor of ITAC’s production of The Kitchen Witches. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call: Dwayne Luze in Dysart at 319-476-4949 or Dick Flickinger in Garrison at 319-477-8423. Tickets can also be ordered through the ITAC Box Office, 319-622-3222.

While ITAC travels out of Amana, “The Red Hot Rhythm Rustlers” from Palm Desert, Calif. make their Iowa premiere when they travel into Amana with two concerts on the ITAC stage, Saturday, October 29 and two “Silver Screen Cowboy Concerts” on Sunday, October 30. Each day the shows are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Seating is limited, and co-producer, Meg Merckens urges interested patrons “to call early to see this award-winning group make a very unique stop in Iowa with their Western swing and toe-tappin’ music, including a very special tribute to Roy Rogers’ 100th Birthday! We hope people will see The Kitchen Witches in Dysart and catch a cowboy show the next day.” To read more about this group and their shows, visit: www.musikode.com

For more information and reservations in regards to The Kitchen Witches and upcoming ITAC shows, call: 319-622-3222. or email: itac@southslope.net ITAC’s website can be found at: www.iowatheatreartists.org The Iowa Theatre Artists Company is a small, professional not-for-profit theatre company located in the village of Amana in what was once the Amana Barn Restaurant. It was co-founded by Tom Johnson and Meg Merckens in 2008.