A production of &uot;Auntie Mame&uot; presents a few challenges to any theater in the world &045; a production of the 1958 movie in an old converted church in a small town presents a few more.

Twenty-five scene changes, nearly 50 characters, a 9-year-old leading man and costumes and wigs galore are just some of the things the cast of the Natchez Little Theatre’s production has spent six weeks working on.

&uot;This is the biggest undertaking for the Natchez Little Theatre,&uot; Executive Director Layne Taylor said. &uot;It’s been wild.&uot;

Since the Linton Avenue theater lacks much of the backstage and offstage room found at most theaters, scene changes and costume changes can get a little hectic.

&uot;The cast all has to help with changing settings,&uot; Taylor said. &uot;And we have a full-time dresser for Auntie Mame.&uot;

Wardrobe is a serious word for Auntie Mame, played by Diana Glaze, who changes costumes from wig to toe countless times throughout the course of the production.

&uot;It’s the most demanding role I’ve ever had,&uot; said Glaze who has 14 years of NLT experience.

Mame, an eccentric free spirit with a taste for the party scene, becomes Auntie when her 10-year-old nephew Patrick, played by Shawn Parker, comes to live with her after his father’s death. Auntie Mame quickly takes the boy under her wing making it her business to see that he has a proper worldly education at non-conventional schools.

Plans change when Auntie Mame loses all her money during the Depression and Patrick’s bank trustee Mr. Babcock (Moe LeBlanc) sends the boy away to a boarding school.

Every scene in Act I means Cathedral fourth-grader Parker is on stage. Taylor said his first reaction was to panic at the idea of having such a young child play a lead role, but said Parker, new to the stage, has done wonderfully. Patrick Dennis was Taylor’s first on-stage role as a child too.

&uot;It’s hard work,&uot; said Parker, who wants to act in the future but said he’d rather not have a lead role again anytime soon.

Late nights at the theatre have meant homework huddles for Parker and many of the production’s high school students Taylor said. In addition to Parker, 7-year-old Christian Wroten makes an appearance at the end of the play as the child of a grown Patrick.

&uot;It is an exciting and diverse cast, complicated by being so large,&uot; Taylor said. &uot;They range in age from 7 to above 60.&uot;

Things look up for Auntie Mame when she meets Southern gentlemen and oil tycoon Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside (Rusty Jenkins), but once again turn tragic soon after.

The focus returns to Patrick, now grown (Stevie Oertel), when he brings home his socialite fianc (Maggie Brown) and her uppity parents (Becky Zerby and Don Vesterse). Energy, color and annoying laughter light up the stage in the productions final scenes when Auntie Mame returns to her old tricks to rid Patrick of his conventional fianc.

Glaze said she felt confident most of the kinks had been worked out by Saturday’s dress rehearsal.

&uot;You think it’s never going to come together,&uot; Glaze said. &uot;Then all of a sudden, overnight, you hit it in one rehearsal and you say you have a show. We did that Thursday night.&uot;

&uot;Auntie Mame&uot; opened for specialty shows this week. Area nursing home residents and workers were invited to a free show and a matinee will be held for high school students at 12:15 today.

Opening night is Thursday at 8 p.m. Intermission will include champagne and wine.

The show continues Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. and Sunday for a 2 p.m. matinee.

The production lasts approximately three hours.

Admission is $15 at the door for adults and $12 for students and seniors. Season tickets to the NLT can still be purchased for $45, but only about 100 are available. Calling ahead for reservations for individual tickets is recommended.

Performances slated for later this year include a Natchez adaptation of &uot;A Christmas Carol&uot; and a one man Tennessee Williams show among others.