“A 10-year-old kid playing three parts? You’ve got to be kidding,” said the reporter.

“Yep,” said Dottie Freeman, “But he’s not your typical 10-year-old. His name is Ben Branch. He’s smart and determined. He has a deadpan delivery that freaks out an audience. He’ll have them begging for more.”

“If you say, so,” said the reporter. Dottie’s instincts in things dramatic is usually spot on, and the wise interloper doesn’t argue. “You say the audience gets to help solve the mystery?”

“Oh, yes,” said Dottie. “That’s a whole bunch of the fun.”

Dottie Freeman is the talented manager of the Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, and she is directing the upcoming show. “It has to be a riot,” she continued. “Just looking at the title makes you giggle.” It was true.

“The Plot, Like Gravy, Thickens” is the play, and it’s a crazy combination comedy/murder mystery with more twists, turns and surprises than an Atlanta street. “And don’t worry about Ben Branch. He’s being backed up by a great cast. Several of our old pros and a few new faces.”

Among the “old pros” are Mandy Roberts and Elizabeth Powell, most recently stars of the Tift’s hilarious “The Odd Couple (Female Version,” and before that, “Once upon a Mattress.” Caleb Smith and Bonnie Young are on board, and they last appeared in “God’s Favorite.” Stevie Partin, who played the mute heroine in “The Spiral Staircase,” is back at the Tift after too long an absence. Marty Freeman, Dottie’s main squeeze and an acting utility man of skill and daring who appeared in “On Golden Pond” and “Once upon a Mattress,” is in this one also.

Kody Jones is back. He was a courtier in “Once upon a Mattress,” and, more recently, a talking dog in ABAC’s Baldwin Players fall production. Add to these Keive Gordon, Shadae Dennard, Scott Barron , Carlie Johnson, Ashley Harris and Savannah Rogers and you have a spicy, bubbly mix of irreplaceable experience and rampant rookie enthusiasm. Also joining the production is Nikki Rains, a first-time assistant director.

“I am very excited about this new season line-up,” says Freeman, and she drops hints about a new musical and even a Tennessee Williams classic in the wings. Tennessee Williams? In Tifton? The thought boggles the brain.

“The Plot, Like Gravy, Thickens” plays Feb. 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, and 16. All hit the boards at 7 p.m. but for Sunday, the 10th when it plays at 3 p.m. Tickets are on sale at Jack Stone’s Western Auto store on Main Street, or they may be had at the box office an hour before show time.