 The Mad Hatteras Community Theater is putting audiences under their spell with their production of The Kitchen Witches. As Mal Meyer reports for This Week's In Focus from Wadena, the cast and characters will leave many laughing, crying, and spellbound. The play starts with the end of Baking with Bobja, a cooking cable show ready to draw the curtains for one last time. Bronwyn Tushet brings the persona to life as an animated Bobja, and later as a character, Dolly Biddle. It just makes you feel really good being creative and trying to figure out how to tell a story through the actions in the words of the author. One of the live studio audience members suddenly becomes part of the show, bringing in the first twist. The woman who broke up Dolly's marriage confronts her before her final boss. It's a hard story to tell, but the Mad Hatteras do it with ease, despite some of the cast having little to no experience at all. I haven't worked with adults in a professional setting. I've never been on the stage. I'm on the board of Mad Hatteras, and so I thought if I'm on the board of something I should probably, you know, like get in it. Director Michelle Curtis is happy to have them performing, adding in a way that they couldn't otherwise in a big city. In the cities, you're just a part of the big anonymous rat race down there. Up here, they need all the bodies they can get. That's one of the things that Kevin Klawetter enjoys the most about the group. I think it's a very important part of the community, gives people lots of opportunities to be part of the things that they might not normally be able to. And telling stories that the community might not otherwise hear. They've covered tales about aging, disabilities, LGBT issues, and more. For being a little rural Minnesota community, I mean, we hit some hard things, and I think you need to do that. This play uses comedy to soothe over the complicated issues of infidelity, family, and adoption. Make no mistake, it hits hard when it needs to. This friendship that has been gone off the rails because of the infidelity and all of that, it's something to think about. It's a little deeper than just fluff. Kitchen witches will be cooking up the laughs until May 14th. In Wadena with This Week's in Focus, I'm Al Meyer, Lakeland News. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.