Dallas Theater Center Finely Combs Through The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead

Supported by funds from the city's Office of Cultural Affairs, Opal's Husband is the second in a series by One Thirty, which targets theatergoers who can't or prefer not to go out at night. That's mostly an older crowd. This is the only theater company in town preceding each performance not just with a plea to turn off cell phones but with a reminder to turn up hearing aids.

 At the performance I reviewed, the house was packed with older patrons, many in wheelchairs or using walkers. They'd arrived in groups on buses from senior centers, assisted living facilities and churches. They were an enthusiastic crowd, roaring at the show's corny jokes and sight gags and applauding mightily at the curtain call for the cast's fine comedic work.

 I won't argue with their critical assessment. This is fun stuff, performed lovingly by professional actors, and directed by Marty van Kleeck who has real respect for the target audience.

 Opal's Husband is a silly old play by John Patrick, who won a Pulitzer for Teahouse of the August Moon and then in the 1960s churned out a bunch of comedies about Opal Kronkie, a junk-collecting small-town lady with a knack for getting her knickers into farcical twists. In the first of the series, Opal, played at the Bath House by puddin'-faced Gene Raye Price, tries to snag a husband for her best friend, fortuneteller Rosita (Carmela Lamberti), by answering a personal ad placed by "Mr. Handsome."

 He turns out to be the prune-y Captain Mooney (delightfully codger-esque Larry Randolph). He's 95 if he's a day and on the lam from a nursing home in an attempt to outrun his avaricious daughter (Mary Lang) and her goon of a husband (Stan Graner). Opal takes the old guy in and marries him to keep him out of trouble. No hanky much less panky ensues, but there are scads of mild jokes about the outhouse and how often the old sea cap'n needs to set sail for it.

 Opal often chats with the audience in casual asides, both between and during scenes. "The blessing to being homely like I am is you can never lose your looks," she says. She chortles gruffly like Mortimer Snerd. (If you're too young for that reference, you probably won't like this show).

 Over two quick hours, Opal and the captain outsmart the greedy kids, get their marriage annulled and make nice-nice again with Rosita, who is peeved when her pen pal fiancé turns out to be a geezer. By comparison, any half-hour spent in Mayberry with Andy and Aunt Bee would seem positively Chekhovian. But there's something gen-you-wine, as Opal would pronounce it, and rather touching about Patrick's people and his message that love conquers all or there's no place like homemade biscuits or something along those lines.

 Opal's Husband is light, clean fun. Best of all, if you go, you'll be home well before dark.