Junior Samples, Grandpa Jones, Minnie Pearl and more — the funniest (and the most talented) of the old-school Hee Haw cast will be well represented when local seniors take the stage next week, for a first-ever comedy-filled variety show hosted by Senior Outreach, a nonprofit that aims to improve area seniors’ quality of life.

Engaging more than two dozen local upstart actors, the show will go off at 1 p.m. on Feb. 4 at the Donald Green Senior Center. There’ll be food, drinks, singing, and lots of belly laughs, and you’re invited — and, best of all, it’s all free.

“Oh, everything’s free,” said Senior Outreach’s Jamie Brown. “We’ll have appetizers; we’ll have someone going around during the show handing out popcorn. We really want it to be like Hee Haw; we’ll have an intermission, we’ll have people bent over double laughing.”

The program’s purpose is twofold: to raise local awareness, sponsorships, and support for the still-new nonprofit, and to give the seniors already involved in the group’s ongoing activities a signature event to strut their stuff. 

“The whole show is done our seniors, and they’ve been practicing really hard. They enjoy it so much,” Brown said. “This is the biggest performance some of these folks have ever done. A lot of them have never done anything like this at all. I think they enjoy the practices as much as they’ll enjoy the show, and the comedy is hilarious — even the mess-ups are hilarious. They’re very excited about it — and they’re very good. They’ve made me laugh so hard.”

The slapstick spirit of the old-school TV show makes an ideal fit for the upstart production. At a recent dress rehearsal, the costumed seniors and their Hee Haw props are all the more convincing thanks to their ingenuity at improvising. The group sourced all the outfits and props (think washboards, jugs, and hillbilly hats) on their own, and it gives the whole production a fun and freewheeling look and feel.

“The idea is to keep these seniors entertained; to help them be happy and not sit home and be depressed,” said Brown. “It helps them meet friends. Really, it helps them to live longer. It’s good for their memory, and it’s good for their soul to be laughing. And they get plenty of hugs; plenty of love — and they give it all right back. It’s really gratifying to work with them.”

The show starts Monday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m., and admission is free. To learn more about how you can get involved in assisting Senior Outreach, search “Senior Outreach Organization Cullman” on Facebook, or contact Jamie Brown at 256-339-9863. 

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 145.