For anybody who has ever pondered, “how good can it get”, take a closer look into the Ardmore Little Theatre. “The Buttermilk Conspiracy” on February 23, 2023, was yet another great performance by ALT. This play hits a little closer to home because it was directed by Carl Clark from Madill, Okla. Not only was it a spectacular performance, it was also held at the historic Ardmore Train Depot. Buttermilk may seem like an odd name for a town but rest assured, there is nothing sour in Buttermilk, Okla.
Thestagesetup wasunique because it was a challenge to find places for the props in the Train Depot. So, the cast and crew set the first scene at the south end of the building. When intermission time came, the actors asked the guests to pick up their chair and turn it around to see the next set at the north end of the Depot.
The first scene was Delphine’s Diner, and it was very similar to any hometown diner one would see in any small towninIndianTerritory.Being in the audience really gave the feeling of being a part of the diner it almost felt as if the waitress may take the audience’s order at any moment.
The next scene was a cemetery completewithheadstones, eerie smoke, and lighting. The show became seedy when ALT placed some factual Indian Territory town names in the skit. When the sheriff walked in the café and announced his position as sheriff of Love County, the crowd went ballistic. The town gossipers even mentioned the town of Gene Autry. Intermission hit and chairs turned to the graveyard for a spooky scene.
The “Buttermilk Conspiracy” revealed the most interesting unraveling, and the mystery was unclear until the very end. It was hard to miss the complaining about a rooster crowing during town meetings and a simple crack in the ceiling at the school gym turned into small town gossip.
Town gossip turned the crack in the gym ceiling into crack (the illegal drug) being sold in the town of Buttermilk. A well-dressed female stranger with a mysterious envelope cameintoDelphine’sCaféfrom Dallas and was looking for a local man named Horse who had been married to several women in town.
After the local folks met at the cemetery for a cleanup day the mysterious lady appeared atthecemeteryjustasduskhit. Suddenly darkness hit and the lady turned up dead behind a headstone - at least the folks thought her dead.
The envelope contained cash that turned out was the prize for a talent show in Dallas that Horse had won. A series of events and the temptation of keeping the cash led to a conclusion that really rocked the house.
The mysterious lady bumped her head and knocked herself out at the cemetery so she was in fact alive. In all the commotion that the prize moneycausedwiththewinners ex-wivesconcerningwhowould get the loot, the phone in the diner rang and low and behold it was prize winner Horse informing the town folks and his ex’s of his brand new bride.
This news didn’t set well with café owner and ex-wife Delphine, so she recruited help to get back at Horse with the prelude of doing something a little risqué. The conspiracy was to kill the crowing rooster.
The play was so well done, it seems as if the cast had performed it a thousand times. In spite of ALT having to use alternative venues due to the construction at the Goddard Center, the setting at Ardmore Train Depot turned out to be a perfect location as it fit the plot and setting to a tee.
For a complete list of cast and crew and upcoming performances please got to www. ardmorelittletheatre.com or call 580-223-6387