Double Dose tells the story of paternal delinquency, and its after effects. Archibald Wilson has connections in Ocho Rios, a very dark past which haunts him to this day. He shares his business place, ‘Archie Pargie’, with Imogene, one of his past lovers, and she tries at every opportunity to rekindle a fire long extinguished, even though she is involved with a much younger man, Shebada.

Archibald thinks his days of romance are over, until two young ladies of the night – Pinky and Chiquitita – arrive at his business place. These two have connections in Ocho Rios and are desperately trying to escape the long arm of the law. They see Archibald as their plane ticket to safety, and Archibald sees them as one last chance of romance.

Imogene is angry at this idea, and starts chasing Archibald, causing major issues between herself and Shebada. An invitation to a family reunion in Ocho Rios puts everyone in a quandary. Pinky and Chiquitita are nervous that Archibald might find out their true identity, and imogene is upset that she might lose what she worked so long and hard for.

The family reunion reveals much more than Archibald bargained for, giving an amazing revelation about the true identity of one of the girls who gives him a “double dose of bitter medicine”, leaving him thinking if lightning really strikes the same place twice. What could it be?

Double Dose is set to open on Friday, April 15, at the Green Gables Theat, 6 Cargill Avenue, Kingston 10. Fans can expect the usual entertainment with a cast led by Keith ‘Shebada’ Ramsay, Garfield ‘Bad Boy Trevor’ Reid, Abigail Grant, Juliet Shank, Caroline Brown and Natalie Cole. Double Dose is written by David McIntosh, and is expected to provide the type of entertainment that Stages Productions has intently provided over the years.

Last year, Grant played the feisty and very mysterious Hot Pepper in the smash hit Serious Business. Hot Pepper seems to be the only one with enough information on Brother Shepherd (Maxwell Grant) to manipulate his every move, and she wields the information like a weapon, clearing obstacles out of her way to get what she wants. In the play, she faced off with Brother Shebbie, played by Keith ‘Shebada’ Ramsay, a face-off which audiences undoubtedly looked forward to seeing, because they knew that when Grant and Shebada come together on stage the witty and heated exchange of words would keep them rolling in the aisles! Serious Business also provided another opportunity for Grant to showcase her beautiful voice. Having done melodies for Like Father Like Son and Bashment Granny 2, Grant’s solo in Serious Business stirred the soul, thus displaying the versatility of this gifted actress.

Subsequent to Serious Business, Grant appeared in another Stages production – GhettOut. Look for bigger, better and more exciting things from her in 2011!

At the helm of GhettOut‘s talented cast is the ever-popular Keith ‘Shebada’ Ramsa. Fresh from his performance in Serious Business, Ramsay is undoubtedly in his element in GhettOut, bringing the energy, drama, struggles and excitement of the ghetto to life. Look out for him to set the trend once again with feisty, catchy phrases. Joining Shebada on stage is Maylynne Lowe, Maxwell Grant, Orville Hall, Abigail Grant, Luke Ellington and Junior Williams.

GhettOut is a murder mystery topped with large portions of comedic entertainment. It opens on July 30 at the Green Gables Theatre (6 Cargill Avenue, Kingston 10), and will thereafter play from Wednesday to Saturday (8:30 p.m.) and on Sundays (5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.). For ticket information and to book benefit performances, please call 926-4966.

The final showing of the play Bashment Granny was held at the Delta Hotel in Scarborough, and had hundreds of eager patrons ready for the main act. Greeted by hundreds of fans, Shebada entered the stage receiving thunderous applause, whistles, cheers and people jumping out of their seats which took some time to bring under control.

Keith ‘Shebada’ Ramsay couldn’t help but slip a little smile while the loud applause continued. Having been an actor for several years, the star of the play said “It’s nice to see that level of emotion from fans!”

Maxwell Grant aka Mr. Bashment, Volier Johnson aka Counsel Bertram, Deon Silvera aka Gloria, Abigail Grant aka Babalita and Junior Williams aka Half-a-Dog were also welcomed with loud applause from fans who deemed the cast to be friends they hadn’t seen in a little while.

Acted to a witty script, Bashment Granny 2 continued where part one left off, which saw Half-a-Dog in search of his $12 million. Using excellent segments which included crowd participation, Mr. Bashment was also a favourite as he instructed Babalita, the new bar staff during her interview, that she was “done, finished, ova, tru di door” which the audience happily assisted with. After a quick turnaround in understanding, Babalita gets the job as bar staff, and Mr. Bashment gives her advice on which customers go for the “bottom shelf, middle shelf and top shelf”, which again was delivered with full audience participation.

After a play, a procession of fans lined the backstage area, hoping to take pictures, and get autographs from the play’s actors. One patron even tried to distract the security personnel in the hopes of slipping backstage to see the actors.

The play is picked up where the story left off in Bashment Granny; that same twelve million dollar mystery. Half-A-Dog (Junior Williams), is the owner of the money, and he wants to collect his money fast. Mr. Bashment (Maxwell Grant) and Shebada (Keith Ramsay) are the custodians of the cash and they have no intention of giving it back, because too much has been invested in lounge jointly owed by Bashment and Shebada. While Mr. Bashment runs the bar, Shebada lives the daily excitement as an officer of the law. Business is going good and plans are afoot for expansion. However, within this shinny outlook lays the determination of Half-A-Dog (Junior Williams). His arrival in Jamaica sits on one main objective; to retrieve his cash at all cost. The place is then turned upside down as Mr. Bashment and Shebada try to keep the dog from his “Bone”.

The dog’s tactical romantic connection with Mr. Bashment’s bartender, Barbalita (Abigail Grant) made life more complicated for Shebada and Bashment as they struggle to hide the money. In the meantime, Shebada’s indiscretion with his firearm brought him a day in court and he employs the services of noted Ghetto Lawyer Bertram (Volier Johnson) who is trying hard to prevent his domineering wife Gloria (Deon Silvera) from serving divorce papers. The side show between Gloria and Bertram served as a delightful subplot to the issue of the Dog’s millions. Based off what I have seen in this exciting sequel, Bashment Granny 3 (the future) will be a clash between bad Boy Trevor, Shebada, Mr. Bashment and Half-A-Dog.

After his role in ‘Di Driver’, it was refreshing to see Shebada playing a brand new character in bashment Granny 2. As a less-than-honourable officer, his portrayal came off well and is extremely funny. Barbalita as the bartender, shows that she can speak and speak well (she is somewhat muted in Bashment Granny). Maxwell Grant is amazing, he plays 5 characters and he came off excellently with all of them. At 60-something years, he shows no sign of slowing down. Junior Williams as Half-A-Dog fits well in the story and with the team of actors. Bashment Granny 2 is big on comedy, big on excitement and should be very interesting to see how it measures up to its predecessor when it goes to the country.