A comedy featuring two middle-aged cable-access cooking show hostesses will come to the stage this week as part of Albert Lea Community Theatre’s newest production.

“The Kitchen Witches,” written by Caroline Smith, features Elizabeth Harty and Rebekah Sousa as Isobel Lomax and Dolly Biddle, hostesses who have hated each other for 30 years.

When circumstances put them together on a television show called “The Kitchen Witches,” the show becomes a ratings smash, as secrets are leaked on live TV.

Director Brian Mattson, who has previously directed two plays for ACT, including “A Dickens’ Christmas Carol: A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts,” said the play is a fast-paced comedy with lots of little surprises.

“It’s a fun play,” Mattson said. “You get to see some backstage things about cooking shows you don’t normally see.”

In addition to Harty and Sousa’s roles, Patrick Menning plays Stephen Biddle and Sue Runden plays Sue, a camera woman.

The play is estimated to last 1 1/2 to two hours long.

“Kitchen Witches” opens on Thursday and continues through May 14. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and May 11-14. A matinee will be at 2 p.m. May 8.

Box office hours during the show weeks are from 3:30 to 6 p.m. and from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on performance nights. On Saturday evenings, the box office is open from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Tickets, please 

What: “The Kitchen Witches”

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, May 11-14; 2 p.m. May 8

Where: Marion Ross Performing Arts Center, 147 N. Broadway

Cost: $15 for adults, $10 for students

Info.: Tickets can be purchased over the phone at 1-877-730-3144, online at actonbroadway.com, at the box office or at the Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau

Cast and crew 

Isobel Lomax: Elizabeth Harty

Dolly Biddle: Rebekah Sousa

Stephen Biddle: Patrick Menning

Sue (camera woman): Sue Runden

Director: Brian Mattson

Stage manager: Karen Szymanowski

Set design: Steve Kinney

Prop design: Teresa Wilson