When I was in seventh grade, I had my whole life planned out. I had one goal: I was going to marry Brad Pitt.

It was an easy decision after I saw "Legends of the Fall" for the first time.

It turns out I had something in common with the main character in a play I saw over the weekend.

"Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean," the latest production by Danville's Red Mask Players, is in part about the character's obsession with the iconic '50s heartthrob - and one character's sometimes skewed view of the way her life turned out.

Besides being able to relate to a movie star crush, I was very impressed with the production. I didn't know what to expect when I entered the Kathryn Randolph Theater.

You see, I'd never been to a community theater production.

What I found were eight natural-born actresses who delivered captivating, heartfelt performances.

From the minute Gretchen Elliott, who played Juanita, walked onto the stage, I was pulled into the story about five friends who come back to their West Texas hometown for a reunion.

I want to know how the actresses did the Texas accents so well. They never faltered in their drawls for even a second.

The cadence of their voices - coupled with a script ideal for the theater's stage - kept the story going as it traveled back and forth between the mid '50s and the '70s, when the reunion takes place.

The plot really takes off when we find out James Dean might be the father of the character Mona's son.

It's a strong possibility because Mona (played by Suzy Smalley) and Joe (played by Nathan Ingold) went to the set of one of his movies to be extras, and Dean and Mona shared an intimate moment.

Shown through flashbacks, the women's relationship began when they founded the Disciples of Jimmy Dean club, and developed as they chose different paths in life. Annie Roach plays Mona as a teenager, and Jeridith Wallace plays a young Sissy.

Lisa Richter, who plays present-day Sissy, and Mary Ann Laker, who plays Stella May, kept the audience laughing throughout the play with their jokes and boisterous personalities.

Jennifer Dixson, who played a very pregnant Edna Louise, made the audience laugh as she hobbled around the stage in her costume, often sliding off chairs with her enlarged abdomen.

Julia Sullivan, Commercial-News columnist and actress, played Joanne, a character who showed up in a surprising way.

If I tell you too much about, I'd give away the ending, but Julia, who studied at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, stole more than one scene.

I loved how the set design helped propel the plot.

The main action took place at the Five and Dime diner. Actors and actresses from the past and the present shared the stage, and the flashbacks blended in smoothly.

If you've never been to a play, and even if you're a veteran of the stage, I think seeing a Red Mask performance, particularly this one - is a must for at least one of the next two winter weekends.

Needless to say, it didn't work out with Brad and me.

Our lives went in separate directions. I like to think there's still a chance for the two of us, but maybe I'll continue with this gig first.

Anna Herkamp is the Danville schools education reporter and fan of all things Vermilion County. Contact her at 477-5163 or by e-mail at aherkamp@dancomnews.com.

FYI

Red Mask Players presents "Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" at the Kathryn Randoph Theater, 601 N. Vermilion St. Performances are 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Jan. 27-28, and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for full-time students and $12 for those 60 and older. Call 442-5858 for information.