Contributed Photo-- The cast of "First Baptist of Ivy Gap" at the Gem Theater includes, from left, Jessica Edwards, Heather Standridge, Joan Tonehy, Leneda Laing, Virginia Orr and Candice Bales.

If theatergoers don’t recognize at least one of the women in “First Baptist of Ivy Gap,” which opens today at the Gem Theater in Etowah, Tenn., they probably haven’t been to church in a while.

The part comedy, part drama play, which opens the theater’s 15th season, was written by Ron Osborne and is set first during World War II and later during the Vietnam War.

“It’s one of those plays that makes you laugh and makes you cry, not necessarily in that order,” said director Rick Parker.

“First Baptist of Ivy Gap” revolves around six women who gather in the fellowship hall of a Tennessee church to roll bandages and plan the church’s 75th anniversary during World War II. While some things have changed through the years and some remain the same, the women reunite for the church’s 100th anniversary 25 years later during the Vietnam War.

The women include Luby, a distraught mother of a WWII soldier; Edith, the minister’s wife who sees through her congregation members’ faults and accepts them as family; Vera, a pillar of the church with a secret; Olene, who has dreams of becoming a Hollywood star; Mae Ellen, the church’s free-spirited organist who has dreams of her own; and Sammy, a newcomer to the church with a secret.

Parker said he has “an exceptionally fine cast” that includes a mix of newcomers and theater veterans.

“In these kind of times,” he said, “people are looking for entertainment. I feel confident if they come to this show, they will be entertained.”

IF YOU GO

What: “First Baptist of Ivy Gap”

When: 7:30 p.m. today, Saturday, Oct. 9-11 and Oct. 16-18; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12 and Oct. 19.

Where: Gem Theater, Highway 411, Etowah, Tenn.

Admission: $10 adults, $8 children.

Phone: 263-3270.

Web site: www.gemplayers.com

CAST MEMBERS

Joan Toney — Luby

Leneda Laing — Edith

Virginia Orr — Vera

Jessica Edwards — Olene

Heather Standridge — Mae Ellen

Candice Bales — Sammy

HISTORY

“First Baptist of Ivy Gap” was selected as the 2002 winner of the Barter Theater’s Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights and was originally produced as a Stage II mini-production at the theater in Abingdon, Va., on July 28, 2003. It was subsequently produced on the main stage of the theater on June 9, 2004. An early version of the play was selected as the winning entry in the 2001 Backdoor Theatre New Play Project Competition and was produced by that Wichita Falls, Texas, theater in September 2002.