Invasions is a dark comedy that takes place in a small community on the edge of collapse contending with a curse and strange behavior as old wounds are dredged up from the past.

This is a series of firsts for Doug Armentrout, the Director, from Woodinville. He is not only the writer, but he is also making his CCT directorial debut. “Invasions of the Public Order is my homage to chicken-fried America,” says Armentrout. Armentrout expressed his appreciation to CCT, “I want to express sincere thanks to Cascade Community Theatre for producing my new work.”

The cast consist of local talent from around the puget sound. It has a good mix of CCT veterans as well as others never before seen on the local stage. Rick Greenfield, a CCT veteran actor and board member, plays the major instigator of getting people worked up about the new neighbors in town. All this talk about aliens ... or was it women?

The lead female role, as the local cafe owner, Wickus, is played by Duvall’s Wendy Habek who has appeared in a number of CCT productions and currently serves on the board as well.

Thefunniest moment of the show comes when Spackle, the local indigent, played by Vernon Randall, expresses his love for Wickus in a hip gyrating, arms flaring moment near the end of Act 1. It leaves you speechless, but laughing throughout.

Carnation’s own, Suzy Murdoch, plays Bittner, the local sheriff, seems to be the only one that is sane throughout the play. Suzie continues to show her versatility by playing this role after being seen in 12 Angry Men, Murder Me Always and her portrayal as the old lady in the recent An Evening of One Act Plays.

Newcomers to the CCT stage are Mark Landau, who plays Pock, Gil MacKenna, who plays Wink, and Michael McFadden who played the Stranger (for the first weekend of the show). Patrick Kevin plays the stranger for the other four performances. They all gelled well during this performance.

And as for the costumes, as is the norm, they look every bit from a local small country town that time seems to have left behind. Gina Humberstone has done another fine job as the costume designer.

As with any firsts, some things still need to be worked out. The script could use a little “flushing out”. But now that Doug has seen his play performed in front of a live audience, he can tweak it before it becomes readily available throughout the world.

I particularly like the fact that CCT is not afraid to push the envelop in their productions as evident in past performances of Ophelia and 12 Angry Men. Each were good shows but stretched the audience by the messages they conveyed.

If you want to get in on the being part of something special by attending a “World premiere,” and you won’t mind the mature audience subject matter, then Invasions of the Public Order is one you shouldn’t miss. I am always in favor of supporting local fledging artists as well as local theatre; and the fact that CCT decided to hold the performances at the historical quaint Grange Cafe, built in 1926, doesn’t hurt either.

I give Invasions 3 out of 4 curtain calls. In this humble critics opinion, Invasions is not for everyone. Coarse suggestive language and sexual situations are alluded to in the production. It is a must see for the liberal minded person who wants a good laugh. This original adaptation may leave you with mixed emotions while also scratching your head over the experience. Make this an adult night out!

Cascade Community Theatre presents the Invasions on Friday and Saturday, March 26th and 27th, and also Friday and Saturday, April 2nd and 3rd. Curtain is at 7:30pm at TheGrange Cafe in Duvall. Run time is less than 2 hours. Tickets are available on line, $12 for adults and $10 for students/seniors. Go to www.cascadecommunitytheatre.org to order your advance tickets or visit one of the CCT ticket outlets around town including Miller’s Community & Arts Center in Carnation and The Quilters Garden in Duvall.