New West Theatre is winding down their season by cooking up a delicious recipe of a cup of laughs, a couple heaping tablespoons of giggles with just a dash of of audience participation garnished with improv with Caroline Smith’s “The Kitchen Witches.” 
The production, about two laid off and very different cooking show TV hosts forced to work together and engage each other in a constant battle of one upmanship, runs March 8-17 in the Sterndale Bennett Theatre.
“ It’s going to be our funniest play in five years. We haven’t done an outright comedy in a while,” said New West Theatre general manager Jeremy Mason, who plays Stephen Bittle, for his first role in an adult production since 2007 He plays the producer of Baking with Babcha and is the son of the host, Dolly.
“It’s an homage to cable access television shows,” described Karen Johnson-Diamond who plays Dolly Bittle.
“I’m the only certified chef. She’s very serious about it cooking, but my show is cancelled,” described Erica Hunt, of her character Isabelle Lomax.
“ So I come down and ruin Dolly’s show, ‘Baking with Babcha,’ ” she said.
Johnson-Diamond noted her character is the complete opposite.
“She’s more interested in the audience and fashion than being a successful chef,” she said.
While the show is about cooking, the actresses note they have nothing in common with their characters.
“We can’t cook,” Hunt laughed.
They are looking forward to the audience participation aspect of the play, particularly seeing what recipes result.
New West decided on a novel idea for the audience participation improv— sell $200 packages to the show including four tickets to the show, a $100 tax receipt and a bit part on sta
ge as a cooking contest judge each night, during which the two “chefs” actually prepare something on stage.
“They get to play the Iron Chef and work with three different ingredients,” Johnson-Diamond said.
“There’s a little bit of everything from a food fight …,” said Hunt.
“… to cabbage,” laughed Johnson-Diamond.
While most of the audience participation spots are filled, there is still room for a few more according to Mason.
“There’s several ways to do it in the script. We thought this would be fun way to do it. So part of it is a fundraiser and it’s a way to get some control over that part of the showWe always get a lot of calls and e-mails from people who want to be on stage. This is a way to get your 15 minutes of fame on stage and support a charity,” he continued.
“We‘re really excited about the audience part of it,” he said.
The play also features the New West Theatre debut of Kelly Malcolm, who last played Ophelia in the University of Lethbridge production of Hamlet.
People interested in being part of the show can e-mail
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or call (403)381-9378.
The shop runs at 8 p.m. each night, March 8-10 and 13-17 with matinees at 1 pm. on March 10 and 17.
