OKEECHOBEE – The Freshman Campus Auditorium was filled with laughter Friday evening with the opening night of Okeechobee Community Theatre’s production of “The Radio Play Disaster.”

The comedy, written by Don Zolidis, runs through Feb. 21.  On opening night, the ensemble cast kept the audience laughing with verbal and physical comedy.

The show opens with writer/director/announcer Harlan Bean dreaming of producing a play that will rival “War of the Worlds” and fool gullible listeners into believing fictional radio reports of an alien invasion are real.

Instead of producing panic in the streets, the play devolves into chaos in the studio.

Before the radio program even starts, some actors have quit or been fired so those remaining have been assigned additional roles at the last minute. Then Harlan announces he has rewritten part of the script overnight – the part assigned to an actor who had previously memorized her lines, who keeps trying to tell him she can’t simply read the new script he has handed her on air. (Dog help us!)

A female actor, disgusted with the fact all the good parts have been given to the men, goes rogue and starts making up her own lines and storyline.

An overly enthusiastic fan who has won a part in the play in a contest decides to make the most of his big chance -- making up his own lines as well.

A British actor, a last-minute loan from Cambridge, find himself playing both a rural farmer and his wife, resulting in some interesting accents.

Harlan also antagonizes the sound engineer who decides to get even with him -- resulting in some hilarious sound effects the actors must try to incorporate into the script.

The play is directed by Josh Van Wormer (who also filled in for an absent actor on opening night.)

The cast includes:

• Jonathan Bean as Harlan Bean
• Ethan Thompson as Max
• Emily Hilderbrand as Trixie Flanders
• Christofer Bullock as Otis Sheridan
• Reyna Reynoso as Larissa Jacks
• Judy Brady as Samantha Powers
• Joshua Boon as Sir Brinsley Catamount
• Tina Welborn as Josie O’Connor
• Laurie Garner as Adrienne Lucas
• Kendra Henderson as Tonya Bristow
• Zachary Evans as Branford Bristow
• Ashtynn Montgomery as Maria Spumante
• Jack Boon as Furious Hamster

Remaining show dates and times are:

• Saturday, Feb. 14 — 2 p.m. (Doors open at 1:30 p.m.)
• Friday, Feb. 20 — 7:30 p.m.(Doors open at 7 p.m.)
• Saturday, Feb. 21 — 2 p.m. (Doors open at 1:30 p.m.)

Okeechobee Community Theatre  uses the Freshman Campus Auditorium, 610 SW 2nd Ave, Okeechobee, FL 34974, (across the street from Golden Corral Restaurant).

Tickets are available online at www.OkeechobeeCommunityTheatre.com or at the box office an hour prior to showtime.