“Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End” is a one-woman show that takes a comic look at the beloved humorist who captured the frustrations of her generation by asking, “If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?” Louise Cornetta has played this part on multiple occasions. Her performance for Arts Bonita in 2022 resulted in a nomination for a Broadway World award for best solo performance.
Following a 27-year career at ESPN that took her to every major sporting event, the former USC theater major has performed leading roles for Arts Center Theatre, The Naples Players and Arts Bonita since moving here full time in 2022.
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Cornetta will perform “Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End” at 7 p.m. on Nov. 28, at 2 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 29 and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 30.
Bombeck was the most widely distributed columnist in America in the 1960s and ‘70s. She wrote about the humorous side of being a wife and mother, championing women’s lives with wit born of unvarnished truth. The comedy presents the story behind America’s beloved humorist.
In addition to her performance in 2022 at Arts Bonita, Cornetta starred in the role twice for Arts Center Theatre, most recently in July as part of Arts Center Theatre’s summer encore series.
Cornetta’s other credits include “Hollywood Arms” (a role based on Carol Burnette’s real-life mother, who struggled with and eventually died from alcoholism), “Vanities” and “Love Letters” at Arts Center Theatre, “Beer for Breakfast” at The Studio Players and “A Girl’s Guide to Chaos,” “Funny Shorts Live," "Stage It" and staged readings at Arts Bonita Center for Performing Arts.
During the pandemic, she performed her dream role of Margo Channing (which Bette Davis made famous in “All About Eve”) for FaceBook Live. The pandemic also offered numerous FaceBook Live readings of plays such as “Love Letters for Valentine’s Day,” “A Christmas Carol for Christmas Time,” “Shakespeare” and “Evil Under the Sun” with Abbynormal Productions.
She also narrated scary stories for Halloween.
Before moving to Florida in 2022, Cornetta played the lead in “Cahoots, Misdeeds of the Mistletoe Mine” at the Actors Gym in Hamden, Connecticut, and appeared in “Coming to Town” and “Zooming Through Life” with The Orange Players Theater Company.
In Connecticut, Louise also appeared in short films, showcases and commercials. Shortly before the pandemic, she made her feature film debut in “The Dangerfields,” which was released nationally in June 2022 and is now available on Amazon Prime.
Cornetta performs regularly on the Seminole Gulf Murder Mystery Dinner Train and for GibsonHouse Mystery Performers.
“Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End” is being produced and presented by MariLou Productions, which Cornetta co-founded with the late Marilee Warner to bring theatrical productions, such as the Erma Bombeck show, to country clubs, retirement communities, theaters and other venues across Southwest Florida.
Cornetta will next perform the show at The Norris Center on Feb. 26 and 27 and March 19 and 20, 2026.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
