MLT offers angelic comedy "Heaven Can Wait"

Feb. 7—Aundre Parish finds his character inhabiting three different bodies in Muskogee Little Theatre's production of "Heaven Can Wait."

"It's kind of a 'Freaky Friday' kind of thing," Parish said, alluding to two funny body-switch movies.

"Heaven Can Wait," which runs this weekend and Feb. 15-17 at MLT, focuses on a boxer who is taken to heaven 60 years before his scheduled arrival. The 1938 play spawned three movie versions: "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" with Robert Montgomery; "Heaven Can Wait" with Warren Beaty and "Down to Earth" with Chris Rock.

Parish plays Joe Pendleton, the boxer who finds himself in heaven, where he meets the angel Mr. Jordan. Jordan tries to return Joe to his former body, but discovers it has been cremated. As a result, Joe must inhabit two more bodies — a crooked banker named Jonathan Farnsworth and a boxer named K.O. — to remain "alive."

Such quantum leaps pose a challenge. Parish, who played the onstage radio sound man in MLT's "A 1940s Christmas Carol," said he must play three different parts.

"The audience will see me, but the characters on stage will see different people," Parish said. "One of them is real real mean, the other has a boxer mentality so he's calm and collective, but has a brute force at the same time."

A love interest throws a wrench in the plans.

"While I'm in Farnsworth's body, I'm trying to get back into the boxing world," Parish said. "Then I fall in love with this particular girl."

Steven Lambie, who played Gaston in MLT's "Beauty and the Beast," plays Mr. Jordan.

"Mr. Jordan has been at this for a long time, he knows the ins and outs," Lambie said. "But, this is the first time someone has come too early."

MLT newcomer Cheyenne Gagner plays Bette Logan, the love interest.

"My character is in a pinch because her father got thrown in jail for something he did not do, something that was orchestrated by Jonathan Farnsworth," Gagner said. "I am advocating for him to get released from prison and trying to get people to realize they set him up. Joe Pendleton, inhabiting Jonathan's body, I quickly fall in love with him."

Gagner, who played the lead in the musical "Nanyehi," said the MLT play has been a challenge.

"My strength is music and singing, and this is not a musical, this is just a straight play with no singing," she said. "So it really has challenged me for my acting skills."

She said director Tommy Cummings encouraged and challenged her.

"It has been a fantastic experience, everyone feels like family," she said. "Everyone is ridiculously talented. They have treated me like family."