Charles Carnes has been producing and directing shows at the Ingersoll Dinner Theater for over 20 years.

Tonight’s opening performance of Faith County: Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere will be different than other shows, though.

The difference lies in how the show was selected.

“When I first read the script, I laughed so hard I nearly fell out of my chair,” Owner and Artistic Director Carnes said. “That’s when I knew we had to do this show.”

Carnes, founder of the Ingersoll Dinner Theater, has been anxious to do a comedy like this for years. What was missing was the right script.

“Finding a show this funny is rare. It is shaping up to be one of the best productions of the year,” Carnes said.

The show’s setting is the Faith County Fair, a small area located in the South. Feathers get ruffled and tempers flare as the locals prepare their entries for this year’s county fair.

“It’s a farcical comedy spoof of small-town living,” Director John Thompson explained.

“The writing lends itself to broadly drawn characters, to the point that the locals seem to be cartoon figures.”

Six women and three men compose the locals of Faith County, and it is the gossiping women who seem to cause all the trouble.

Actress Barb Merrill described the show as, “Steel Magnolias meets ‘Hee-Haw.'”

Faith County: Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere will be playing Wednesdays through Sundays from Aug. 29 to Sept. 29 at the Ingersoll Dinner Theater located at 3711 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines.

Matinee performances are scheduled for Sept. 11 and 29.

Adult tickets for Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings are $25. Saturday evening tickets are $29.50.

Ticket prices include dinner at the Ingersoll’s home-cooked four- entree buffet and the show.

For more information call the Ingersoll Dinner Theater box office at 515-274-4686.