Coney Island Christmas

The theatrical Christmas season is already in full swing and now comes “Coney Island Christmas” by Pulitzer-prize winner Donald Margulies, presented by the Winters Theatre Company, directed by Anita Ahuja. The play, written in 2012, is based on a short story (“The Loudest Voice”) by Grace Paley.

This is a cast of nine adults and 14 children, who play 47 different parts, including, Mary, Joseph, the three wise men, Santa Claus, Ebenezer Scrooge, the ghost of Christmas past, Miles Standish, King Herod, a tribe of Indians, the Statue of Liberty and a bearded lady. It’s lots of fun and not nearly as chaotic as it sounds.

Great grandmother Shirley (Gail Finney), trying to convince her great-granddaughter Clara (Amelia Doran) to put down her cell phone, tells her the story of the first school play she was in, in depression-era Brooklyn. The bulk of this production is the story of that play, with Shirley continuing to narrate. She paints a vivid picture of the time, with the smells and sounds she remembers fondly.
Isadora Harris, who receives deserved applause for her solo bow at the end of the show (she is wonderful) plays the young Shirley, a Jewish girl who loves theater and is cast as Jesus in the school Christmas play. She is cast for her loudmouth voice, which she is unafraid to use.

While her father, Mr. Abramowitz (Trent Beeby), a shopkeeper, is proud and supportive of his daughter, her mother (Alexis Velasquez) is appalled that Shirley has been cast to play Jesus in a Christian pageant.

“We let our Shirley play Jesus, then what?” she asks. “She becomes a nun?” (I was waiting for someone to point out to the mother that Jesus was Jewish, but nobody ever does).
The Harris family is well-represented in this cast as, in addition to Isadora, brothers Arlo and Abner are also in the cast. Five-year-old Abner, with a feather in his hair as an Indian, is easily the cutest kid on stage.

The school play is directed by Mr. Hilton (Scott Schwerdtfeger) and Miss Glacé (Cameron Toney) and the play itself is as endearingly inept as you’d expect a grammar school play to be.

Bridget O’Flaherty plays grouchy Mrs. Kornblum, a customer of Mr. Abramowitz’ store. She also joins with Robert Payawal and Jennifer Rutherford as a Christmas caroler.

Rachel Rominger is a proud Statue of Liberty, reciting the Emma Lazarus poem, sadly appropriate at the moment.

Set design and construction by a dozen company members is an ingeniously simple way to create a home, a school, a store and the school interior, with simple fold-out walls. The timeline is set by sale signs for things like chicken at 25 cents a pound or potatoes 20 pounds for 25 cents.

Costumes by Germaine Hupe and other regulars are fine, though I do think Shirley’s bushy beard was too big for her face. It made her unrecognizable and masked even her loud voice.

This is a truly delightful production, like going to your kid’s Christmas play, with the chance to enjoy watching how it comes together.

The Viewing Room

“The Viewing Room,” a comedy-drama by Mark Smith, was performed at the Howe Avenue Theater in Sacramento last year. Director Jesse Akers saw it there, enjoyed it, and decided to bring it to the Winters Theatre Company. In conjunction with the playwright, Akers added some running gags and other effects, while Smith made edits to the script.

I am assuming this play has not been performed elsewhere. The playwright attended the opening night performance.

This is the story of Chester Dumbrosky, who has died and is lying in his coffin when son Matthew arrives, awaiting for the wake to begin. Imagine Matthew’s shock when his deceased father sits up in his coffin and begins to talk with him.

As it turns out, Chester was an emotionally distant father and was allowed to return on the day of his wake to interact with his “grieving” family, make amends and say the things he had left unsaid.
This production has a talented cast of eight, including Brad Haney as the corpse and Cody Svozil as son Matthew.

Dona Marie Akers is Chester’s wife Florence, who sold their house on his demise, bought a condo in Florida and a new Mercedes and isn’t all that happy to discover that he is quasi-alive and will probably disapprove.

Daughters Patty and Debbie are played by Cameron Toney and Janene Whitesell and son Steven is Scott Schwerdtfeger. Chet, Jr., who left home at 18 and has not been heard from in 30 years, is played by Robert Payawal.

The cast is rounded out by Chris Thaiss as Jay, the Undertaker, who is not able to see the “alive” deceased.

There are a lot of funny things in this show, both jokes and physical humor and enough drama to show the extent of the dysfunction of this family. Each person explains how Dad’s attitude throughout their life has affected the adult they have all become and Mom, who took charge of her life on her husband’s death, seems to retreat back into the dominated woman she was during his life.
My feeling watching this play was that this excellent, talented cast is better than the material with which they are working.

While this is an enjoyable evening, there are problems. (For starters, it’s amazing that Mom has sold the house, bought a condo in Florida and a new car — all before her husband’s wake!)

While each of the adult children experiences serious effects of living in this dysfunctional family, each’s interaction with Dad is quite unsatisfactory and Dad’s excuse is that was just the way he was because of growing up during the Depression and working hard to pay the bills. I’m not sure any of them, except maybe Chet Jr., felt any better when he climbs back in his coffin, though his brief return to life at least gives him a chance to tell them all that he loves them, and may give the audience something to think about.

His dance with his wife is very sweet.

If I were still giving stars for reviews, this one would be five for actors and three for the play itself.

I found some humor that the program gives special thanks to the Dixon Florist, Milton Carpenter Funeral Homes and St. Peter’s Catholic Church!

Inherit the Wind

Henry Drummond (J. Toney) interrogates a potential juror (Tyler Tufts)
as the judge (Greg Lanzaro) watches. Courtesy photo

Though they have done a few dramas in the many years I have been reviewing productions of the Winters Community Theatre Company, I think of them as doing mostly comedies, with the occasional musical. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I learned the next production was going to be Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee’s “Inherit the Wind.”

Coming off the stage and into the director’s chair for the first time, Rodney Orosco promised the audience “a good show…maybe a great show.” In all honesty, it was not a great show, but it was a very good show.

Most people know that this is the story of the trial of Thomas Scopes (called Bertram Cates in this script), the teacher who had the audacity to teach his students about evolution instead of creationism in 1925. It is sad to realize that many of the things shouted by conservatives in 1925 ring true in 2019, nearly 100 years later. At the time this was known as “Godless science versus fairy-tale notions.” I’m sure somewhere someone is preaching the same sentiment today. We have not evolved as quickly as expected.

The Scopes trial pitted two of the legal giants of the age against each other — three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan (called Matthew Harrison Brady in the play) and Clarence Darrow (known as Henry Drummond).

The impact of the play rests on the performance of these two characters. If they are not strong, the play can fall apart. How fortunate Winters is to have two impressive newcomers in the roles. Will Oberholtzer gives a towering performance as Brady, the self-professed Biblical scholar who defiantly defends fundamentalism. Brady is the more bombastic of the two and Oberholtzer is captivating.

J. Toney’s Drummond is more laconic and sarcastic, but no less effective. He gave a spellbinding interrogation of Brady, whose slow but continuous wilting under the questions was perfect. Brady’s physical condition was hinted at by the attention of his wife (Ana Kormos) throughout the first act and his reaction to the courtroom heat was so realistic, we almost wanted the theater to turn on the air conditioner.

(Toney’s daughter Cameron — last seen in last year’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” — plays the town’s mayor.)

Winters regular Philip Pittman was E.K. Hornbeck, the reporter who covers the trial and arranges for Drummond to represent Cates at the trial. This was another strong performance. Hornbeck knows he is a controversial figure (“I am admired for my detestability”) and uses his reputation to his advantage.

Defendant Cates hasn’t much to say or do, but Spencer Alexander did it well, projecting his concern about his future as well as his feelings for Rachel Brown (Elizabeth Williams, alternating with Sierra Winter), daughter of the town minister, Jeremiah Brown (Tom Rost). Rost is always outstanding and makes a convincing minister, denouncing his daughter as a creature of the devil for her feelings for Cates.

There is a large cast, and Tyler Tufts outdoes himself by playing two characters being interviewed for the jury, one distinguishable by his impressive mustache.

(Also doing double duty is the suitcase, which a reporter (Laurel Brittan) carries in, and off stage, brought back on again minutes later by Rachel, bringing clothes to the jailed Cates.)
Among the many town characters, Germaine Hupe adds comic relief by her many shouted epithets at both Cates and Drummond.

There is a simple set dominated by a stage-wide backdrop by Jeff Hesemeyer. It’s an impressive piece, a vision of the town of Hillsboro, Tenn., strangely reminiscent of the town of Winters itself, both the Putah Creek Café and the Buckhorn easily identifiable.

The debate of creationism vs. evolution continues today and one wonders how many more decades this play is going to remain contemporary.

It's a Wonderful Life

“It’s a Wonderful Life” has been a favorite ever since it appeared on our movie screens in 1946.  The Winters Theatre company presented a production in 2010 and are reprising the show, though a different version, this one by Philip Grecian. Again, Anita Ahuja directs.

There are many, many scenes and the lengthy set changes make the first act, especially, drag somewhat.  There were also some first night problems with telephones that didn’t ring when they should and did ring when they should not and a few other glitches, which I know will be smoothed out as the run progresses, but all in all, Winters has given a loving tribute to this beloved holiday classic.   

Scott Graf dominates as Clarence Oddbody, the angel who has been trying for 200 years to earn his wings.  He has his chance when God sends him to earth to help George Bailey (Scott Taylor), who has reached a crisis and has decided to kill himself.

Taylor gives a fine performance as George, with all the wide eyed enthusiasm of a young man, and the weight of the world as his world falls apart.  His chemistry with Mary (Cameron Toney) is lovely.  She is the steadfast wife who supports him no matter what (Young Mary is played by Isadora Harris)

Act 1 is a backward look at George’s life, with Kenneth Matheson playing the young George saving his brother Harry (Arlo Harris) from being drowned and preventing the local pharmacist (Jesse Akers) from sending the wrong medication to a patient.

George has great plans for his future–traveling the world and then settling down to become an architect.  But plans go awry when his father dies suddenly and it is up to George to take over the Savings & Loan and keep it from being taken over by the wicked Mr. Potter (Trent Beeby, who played George in the 2010 production).

Beeby is wonderful as the man you love to hate.  People sometimes think stories like this are dated, but some of Potter’s lines could be right out of today’s headlines.

Uncle Billy, who loses $8,000 and plunges the Savaings and Loan into the brink of bankruptcy is played wonderfully by Bryan Pro who gives Billy more "smarts" than some actors, but is devastated by his loss.

“Sesame Street” swears that the Muppet characters of Ernie and Bert are not taken from this story, but William Haggerty (Bert) and Jim Hewlett (Ernie) are fun as these two characters.  Hewlett appears later as a bartender.

Cody Svozil does double duty as Mr Potter’s slimy-haired body guard and “enforcer,” and also as George’s enthusiastic brother, who just received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism in battle.

Alexis Velasquez is very funny as Aunt Tilly, secretary of the Savings and Loan, who answers the phone in the best Lily Tomlin imitation.

Shahzana Ali is Violet Bick, the oversexed young woman whom George befriends.

George’s children are Rachel Rominger as Janie, Jackson Bronson as Peter, Arlo Harris as Tommy and Stella Gonalez as Zuzu, who announced that whenever a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

Because of the number of locations, sets are necessarily pretty utilitarian, but designer Gary Schroeder manages to make the most of minimal set pieces.  Particularly impressive, though simple, is the bridge on which George wants to commit suicide.

I never leave Winters productions without a smile on my face because of how much fun everyone is having, both on and off the stage.





 

Heaven Can Wait

“Heaven Can Wait” was a movie produced in 1978, starring Warren Beatty and James Mason, based on the 1941 movie “Here Comes Mr. Jordan,” with Robert Montgomery and Claude Rains. Now the Winters Community Theatre Company has put it on stage, under the direction of Jesse Akers. It’s the kind of drama/comedy that Winters does so well.

As the show starts, Mr. Jordan (Tom Rost) is checking people off a list as they pass by him across the stage. With the arrival of Joe Pendleton (Tyler Tufts), things go wrong. We learn that this is heaven and Jordan is checking people off the list to enter the pearly gates. Joe argues that it’s not his time, that he shouldn’t be there and that he should go back.

As Mr. Jordan confers with Messenger 7013 (Michelle Novello), who accompanied Joe to Heaven, they discover he’s right. A terrible mistake has been made. In her compassion to spare him a painful death, she plucked him out of a plane seconds before it was to crash. Records, however, show that Joe, a boxer, had 60 more years left to him and that he was going to be the Heavyweight Champion of the World.

What to do? What to do? Since Joe’s manager had him cremated, they can’t return him to his body and so Mr. Jordan begins the search for the body of someone about to die that Joe can borrow.

Tufts is the perfect choice for Pendleton; a tall, lumbering, not terribly bright athlete fixated on keeping his body “in the pink” and wanting nothing more than what he was supposed to have. He has the perfect New Jersey accent and the street smarts of a Jersey athlete.

Tom Rost always gives a solid, low-key performance, often speaking softly. He embodied Jordan, though fortunately as the play progressed, his confidence and his projection improved. He brings a sensitivity to the role and truly wants to do right by Joe and rectify the mistake that has been made.
Novello, as the brand new Messenger 7013, is eager to help Joe, but unsure what to do. She’s very earnest and is a nice complement to Mr. Jordan.

After a lengthy search, they settle on a millionaire tycoon named Farnsworth who is about to be killed by his wife and her lover (his secretary). Joe is at first reluctant, but since it seems to be his last opportunity, he agrees to inhabit Farnsworth’s body, intent on getting it “in the pink” so the can continue his boxing career. Mr. Jordan promises it’s only temporary and that the search for the perfect body will continue.

Obviously Mrs. Farnsworth (Ana Kormos) and lover Tony Abbott (Loren Skinner) are confused by the very alive Mr. Farnsworth and his aberrant behavior. Kormos is quite good as the murderous wife, but sadly somewhat sabotaged by a voluminous skirt in Act 2 which looked like it had been dragged out of a laundry bag, it was so wrinkled. I hope someone irons it before the show progresses!

Joe/Farnsworth’s first act is to contact his manager, Max Corkle (Scott Graf). He must first convince him that yes, it really is Joe inside that unfamiliar body. Graf gives the outstanding performance of this production, as the grizzled Corkle. He is a delight whenever he is on stage and his final scene brings tears.

Lyra Domingues is Miss Bette Logan, the daughter of a man whom Farnsworth has framed and sent to jail. She comes to Farnsworth to plead for her father’s release. Joe/Farnsworth is taken with her sweet, sincere nature and falls in love with her, which makes his later opportunity to move to a perfect body somewhat problematic.

Germaine Hupe and Donna Akers add some nice comedic touches as Farnsworth’s house staff, while Robert Williams is the perpetually befuddled inspector.

“Heaven Can Wait” is a fun play full of fantasy, twists and comedic situations. It can be slow in parts, especially when the cast seems to be stumbling over dialog (for which they cover quite well); in the end this is a charming play that will amuse anyone.

Wizard of Oz

Despite the slow pace and the interminable set changes, I had more fun at the Winters Theatre Company’s production of “The Wizard of Oz,” directed by Anita Ahuja than I have had in a long time.

For starters there is perhaps the largest cast I have seen on the Winters stage (more than 30), including the Munchkin Hinojosa brothers, one of whom was a baby in a carrier, and the other a toddler, who had us all laughing when he escaped and ran off the stage.

Another favorite was Tibby Williams, as Toto, who had more on-stage time than most Totos do, and who, other than a few unexpected barks, was surprisingly good, though you could tell when the members of her real family came on stage in costume because her tail would wag furiously.

Alexis Velasquez was a perhaps too tall Dorothy, though she had that wide-eyed wonder one expects from a girl whose house has swirled through the air and landed her in a strange land. She also had a beautiful clear voice.

There must be something about putting a bizarre costume on an actor to bring out the best in them.  A case in point was Eleanor Yeatman, as Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch.  Paint a girl’s face green and watch her eat the scenery.  She was absolutely marvelous.

(Yeatman is also credited as Assistant Director, set construction, costumes and props!)

Likewise, this may have been the best performance I have seen by Jim Hewlett as the Scarecrow.  He was completely comfortable in his wobbly body and became a great friend to Dorothy.

Robert Williams (from Tibby’s family) was a wonderful Cowardly Lion and even offered a pretty credible Bert Lahr during his “If I were king of the forest.”

A find for Winters was Loren Skinner, in his first ever theatrical performance, as the Tin Man.  He had the kind of voice that makes you sit up and wonder “where has this guy BEEN all these years?”  I hope we will see more of him on the Winters stage.

Elizabeth Williams was a younger than expected Glinda, the Witch of the North, but she was warm and wise in helping Dorothy when she needed help.

(Rounding out the Williams family was Jason Williams as Nikko, the Monkey Commander, who was a credible slightly evil sidekick to the witch, and also one of the mean apple trees.)

In lesser roles, Debra DeAngelo made the most of Auntie Em, a strict, no-nonsense farm woman, whose warm side shines through when she insists the farm hands have cookies so they don’t have to work on an empty stomach.  Her best, though, was her appearance inside a big glass globe while Dorothy is locked in the witch’s castle.    

[picky aside: Dorothy refers to her consistently as “Aunt Em” instead of ”Auntie Em,” which grated on my nerves until the end of the show when she finally called her Auntie.]

Jesse Akers was fine in the small role of the gruff Uncle Henry,

Tom Rost was a professorial Professor Marvel, and the Wizard.  He was wise in dealing with run-away Dorothy, and with granting the wishes of Dorothy’s three companions.

The young actors playing Munchkin, Lullaby League, and Lollipop Guild were well rehearsed, disciplined and sang well, as well as being very cute.  Josh Masem and Kenneth Matheson were notable as the Mayor and Coroner, respectively.

Ahuja decided to add back the Jitterbug, a number which had been cut from the movie and the dancers, Mikenzie Hapworth Eldridge, Elizabeth Williams, Julia Berrelleza, Christian Duran, Manny Lanzaro and Kenneth Matheson made fun work of the bugs dancing around.

The set for most of Oz (designed by Gary Schroeder) was pretty minimal, but there was a nice, solid farm house for the Gale family and a great storm cellar for protection from the approaching storm.  A nice touch was the lantern on the house porch, which swung wildly in the wind, without visible help from anyone.

It was a full house for opening night and we all had a wonderful time.  This was the first in-theater production since the death of co-founder Howard Hupe, whose presence was missed, and who was honored briefly before the start of the show.

Rumors

 

Neil Simon wrote his comedy ”Rumors” at a time when he was at one of his lowest points. He was in the process of divorce from wife No. 3 (Joan Balm), and needed something funny to occupy his mind. Work was always cathartic for him and, having written many funny things, he decided to try his hand at farce, which is a different style of comedy.

Comedy is a work of art that is amusing and intended to be humorous. Farce, in contrast, is a type of comedy that is characterized by highly exaggerated and comic situations and crude and one-dimensional characterizations. It has no other aim than creating laughter. (Farce usually also involves a lot of doors!)

By its very nature, farce requires crispness of dialogue and a quick pace to the show. The funny lines (you can’t really call them “jokes’) should come fast and furious and flow one into the other.
The fine cast of the Winters Theatre Company production of “Rumors,” directed by Linda Glick, are probably presenting a comedy, but not really a farce. While the show is enjoyable, the spark that makes a farce pop is missing.

The situation involves a couple who have arrived at the home of friends, intending to celebrate their 10th anniversary with other friends. But nothing is ready, the wife Myra and the serving staff are nowhere to be found, and the husband, Charlie, is on the floor in the bedroom with a bullet wound in his earlobe.

Simon hits a bit of a sour note with the first scene in which a guest, Ken (Philip Pittman), is upstairs with the unconscious (and unseen) host and Ken’s wife Chris (Anita Ahuja) is downstairs waiting for a call from the doctor.

Ken, who is Charlie’s attorney, keeps asking if the doctor has called yet when he does, he tells Chris not to tell him anything and to get him off the phone. Both Ken and Chris are frantic, unsure what happened or what to do to protect Charlie.

In the meantime, the other guests keep arriving. Claire (Ana Kormos) and Lenny (Jim Hewlett) are in a state because someone just ran into their prized new BMW.

Ernie (Brad Haney) and Cookie (Laure Olson) are upset that there is no food available, so Cookie, who is a TV chef (and who wears the most amazing costume you’re likely to see) takes it upon herself to prepare something to eat.

The final couple are Glenn (Manny Lanzaro) and Cassie (Michelle Novello), who arrive feuding and who squabble throughout the play.

Each person has a secret he or she is hiding, which may involve themselves or a rumor they have heard about one of the other guests, and as the lies involved in keeping the others from learning their secret mount, so does the craziness.

All comes to a head when a police officer (Rodney Orosco) comes to investigate and is treated to a highly implausible but entertaining story by Lenny that brings the whole show to an end. Almost. The final minute is a surprise for all.

Excellent in this production are Kormer as Claire, who has a real natural presence on stage; Pittman as Philip, trying to find some normalcy in a situation that is anything but normal; and Novello as Cassie, who doesn’t really have much to do but be beautiful and angry, but does it very well.

The attractive set is designed by Gary Schroeder, Jesse Akers and Sally Alexander and yes, it has all those requisite doors.

The sound, however, is a shrill negative, as there is a telephone, a doorbell and a pager, and the sound crew never could seem to get which ring was which. Each ring was repeated endlessly and was very irritating, as everyone stood around talking about something ringing, but not doing anything about it. (And at some point, someone threatens to wrap the cord of the cordless phone around someone’s neck, which made no sense at all.)

Despite Simon’s stellar career, “Rumors” has moments when his writing is just sloppy. However, this production is still fun overall and the opening-night audience was very entertained by the zaniness on stage.

Seven

“SEVEN,” directed by Anita Ahuja, is an odd choice for a show for the Winters Theatre Company, which is more accustomed to presenting lightweight, frothy comedies. “SEVEN” is a documentary play, first performed in 2008, written by seven female playwrights based on interviews with seven women around the world who have fought for the rights and well-being of women and girls.

The play is being staged to commemorate National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Each of the women’s stories is moving and inspiring.

Hafsat Abiola’s story was written by Anna Deavere Smith and was performed by Carla Fleming. After the assassination of both her father (briefly president of Nigeria) and her mother, Abiola fought a campaign for human rights in Nigeria and founded the Kudirat initiative, promoting democracy in Nigeria. She was named Global Leader of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum in 2000.

Fleming brings a quiet dignity to her character. She carries herself as would the daughter of a noble family, and rather than rant and rave, she gets results by being cool and collected, her very demeanor demanding respect.

Playwright Ruth Margraff wrote the story of Farida Azizi from Afghanistan, played by Monica Arneja. Azizi has met with George Bush and Hillary Clinton on women’s roles in helping to rebuild Afghanistan. She was part of several international groups working for women’s rights. When she was imprisoned in her own house by her husband, she managed to escape to the United States with her two sons, where she continues to work for women’s rights.

Like Fleming, Arneja delivers her message with a quiet dignity. She also points out that a burqa can be a handy piece of clothing when trying to hide children from authorities.

Guatemala’s Anabella de León raised herself and her family out poverty by getting an education. She was the first vice president of the Guatemalan congress and has been a congresswoman since 1995. She has received death threats because of her fight against corruption and for the rights of the poor, particularly women and indigenous peoples. Her story was penned by Gail Kriegel.

Ana Kormos is a real firebrand as Anabella, with her wild hair and a passion for her work and for her people.

Mu Sochua is a tireless activist in Cambodia, focusing primarily on domestic violence. She helped create and pass the Prevention of Domestic Violence bill.

Meera Ekkanath Klein gives an impassioned performance exploring the depth of her character’s feelings and desire to do something meaningful in her country.

Paula Cizmar tells the story of Marina Pisklakova-Parker, played by Fran Wittman. Pisklakov is Russia’s leading women’s rights activist and has set up a series of hotlines for victims of domestic abuse.

Wittman is a force to be reckoned with. She ardently portrayed Pisklakov’s passion for saving women from domestic abuse when she realizes how rampant a problem it is.

Mukhtar Mai was the survivor of gang rape in Pakistan. She found the courage to speak up, to bring charges against her rapists and to win a court battle and a large sum of money, which she used to establish a school for other girls. Susan Yankowitz tells her story.

Shahzana Ali gives an emotional performance that will have you weeping. Watching her transform from a shamed girl who felt her life was over to a powerful, proud woman is wonderful to behold.

Inez McCormack’s story is written by Carol K. Mack and performed by Janene Whitesell. McCormack, who died in 2013, was a Northern Irish trade-union leader and human-rights activist and founded an organization supporting disadvantaged groups based in Belfast.

Whitesell is a real spitfire and her performance shows all the fire that one would expect from an Irish woman.

“SEVEN” is a roller-coaster ride that will open the audience’s eyes to problems facing women worldwide and leave everyone with admiration for those who are making a difference despite the challenges they have faced.

The show runs in Winters through Oct. 9 and there will be a special performance at the Davis Musical Theatre Company on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 8 p.m.

Calendar Girls

The Winters Theatre Company presents the charming and hilarious “Calendar Girls” through March 20.

“Calendar Girls,” by Tim Firth, began as a 2003 movie starring Helen Mirren. It is based on a true story of Tricia Stewart and Angela Baker, who belonged to the Women’s Institute in England. Angela’s husband, John, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and died a few years later.

The women in Angela’s WI chapter decided to raise money for research on leukemia and lymphoma. An “alternative version” of their annual calendar was proposed, with the women (ages 45-65) posing nude, tastefully surrounded by projects like very large cupcakes, sunflowers, knitting projects, etc.

The calendar was a huge success. More than 88,000 copies sold in the U.K. and 240,000 copies in America. The original goal was to raise £5,000 but more than £3.5 million were raised and the story has become the stuff of legend.

Now this delightful comedy has come to Winters, directed by Anita Ahuja, with a first-rate cast.

The setting is the Yorkshire town of Knapely. Lori Vaughn and Sara Wieringa are Chris and Annie, the Tricia and Angela characters. Vaughn is an irreverent take-charge person, the first to “bare it all” for the cause, while Wieringa presents a more soulful and sympathetic personality. She is the one who is more interested in memorializing her late husband than in achieving fame for the “calendar girls.”

And what a group of calendar girls they are. There’s Ruth (Linda Glick), perhaps the most straight-laced, who just can’t bring herself to pose, but will buy several copies of the calendar — and ends up being perhaps the funniest of them all.

Jessie, a retired teacher and secret firecracker, is played by longtime Davis Musical Theatre Company favorite Mary Young. It’s fair to say that in Jessie we are seeing a piece of Young we didn’t know existed. She always has had a great sense of comic timing and this role is right up her alley.

Cora (Christine Deamer) is a divorced single mother and the piano accompanist for the group. Deamer and the pit accompanist (Riley Loventhal) need to coordinate better, as she often has her hands poised over the keyboard and he has already started playing what she is supposedly playing.

Feisty Celia (Janene Whitesell), whom the girls think will need encouragement, confesses that in her younger days she once rode topless on a Harley Davidson and she is definitely in for the project.

The trick is keeping the project secret from Marie (Dona Akers), the straight-laced chairwoman of the Knapely WI. Akers always finds a way to inject ditzy comic humor into her roles and this one is no exception.

Ann Rost plays Lady Cravenshire, as shocked as Marie is to discover what the ladies of the club have been up to.

Debra DeAngelo — The Winters Express editor and columnist for 23 years, whose columns also are published on Sundays in The Davis Enterprise — is making her stage debut as Brenda Hulse, a visiting lecturer about to give a talk about broccoli to the women of the WI. It’s a small role, but DeAngelo gives it her all and does a credible job.

The men in the cast definitely play minor roles, compared to the women. Foremost among them, though, is Cortlandt Wilson as John, whom we watch deteriorate as his disease worsens. Brad Haney is Rod, Chris’ husband.

The funniest scene in the play is, not surprisingly, the photography session itself, showing the women doing various tasks around the home in the nude and being snapped by a bashful photographer (Manny Lanzaro). While the girls are (with one exception) nude on stage, the audience would never know it, thanks to the ingenious (and hilarious) ways they cover up.

The entire cast could work a bit more on their British accents, as they seem to be all over the place and very inconsistent, sometimes spot on, other times completely lacking and then back again. At least one seemed to be speaking with a Scottish accent, another perhaps from Liverpool.

However, American audiences are not fussy about such things and it does not detract from the charm, humor and pathos of this delightful production.

The set design by Jesse Akers, Trent Beeby and Ahuja is nice, but the final scene is particularly lovely.
This show is a salute to the bonds of friendship and the proof that sex appeal is not limited by age or size.

In-Laws, Outlaws and other people (who should be shot)

Audiences will enjoy spending some holiday time with this quirky
extended family in the Winters Theatre Company's production of
"In-Laws, Outlaws and Other People (Who Should Be Shot)." Courtesy photo

 “In-Laws, Outlaws and Other People (Who Should Be Shot)” by Steve Franco may never be considered great literature, or be performed on Broadway, but it’s a fun play that will get anyone in the mood for those big family holiday gatherings approaching.

Now entertaining Winters Theatre Company audiences at the Winters Community Center Theater, this production is directed by Jesse Akers and displays all the things that I love about the Winters Theatre Company.

Akers is also credited with set design and it is one of the better-looking Winters sets, entirely utilitarian, but just … charming.

The show starts and ends with a chorus of seven young children singing carols, but this is no professional choir. It’s just a bunch of kids holding music sheets and singing, mostly on key and looking adorable. Before the start of Act 2 they sing a rendition of “Little Drummer Boy” with drum accompaniment by Hannah Palchik.

As the show begins, Dad (Phil Pittman) and daughter Beth (Caitlin Richards) are getting the house ready for the quirky extended family to arrive for Christmas Eve dinner. Mom (Anita Ahuja) is flying home from a quick business trip.

As the often petulant, distant, somewhat bored teenage daughter, Richards nails it. Even if her fellow actors weren’t so much fun to watch, her performance alone is a good reason to see this play.

Pittman is the level-headed Dad who tries to keep everyone calm despite the trauma that is about to envelop all of them.

Cranky neighbor Mrs. Draper (Germaine Hupe) pops in a few times to remind Dad to light the outside Christmas lights or the other neighbors will be upset.

In pairs, the guests begin to arrive. Bunny (Mom’s sister) and husband Bud arrive first. Donna Akers is wonderful as the aunt who loves to gossip and to run things, while Brad Haney as Bud seems to be most comfortable in an overstuffed chair, with a beer in his hand watching football on TV.

Aunt Rose (Laure Olson) and Uncle Leo (Scott Graff) are in their 80s, wobbly on their canes, and endearingly cantankerous. Rose is the aunt who pinches your cheek and questions you on your life. She’s 83 years old, she’s not afraid to tell you, and nobody is going to boss her around.

Leo and Bud are salty old geezers who derive great pleasure in arguing over just about everything. Graff is wonderfully blustery, trying to find the right words and tripping over his tongue.

Into this mix come Tony and Vinny, two petty thieves who have just robbed a store and don’t want to hurt anyone, but since their car broke down, they need a place to hide out until the coast is clear. Tony (Tyler Tufts) is the leader, a tough guy who isn’t quite comfortable with his role and doesn’t know what to make of this weird family he is holding captive.

Vinny (Manny Lanzaro) follows Tony’s lead, but is terribly inept and obviously new at this criminal business.

Others in the cast include Elizabeth Williams as cousin Tracy; William Haggerty as Beth’s boyfrend Paul, with electric blue hair, who has very little to say; Alex Harris as Paul’s sister Emily; Alison Hapworth Eldridge as their mother, Mrs. Wakowski; and Robert Williams as a police officer (Williams shares the role with Trent Beeby).

The “aw shucks” conclusion is predictable, but charming nonetheless. It will warm the cockles of your heart and get you in the mood for the holidays.

Circle Mirror Transformation

L to R: Heidi Masem, Trent Beeby, Woody Fridae, and Linda Glick

I’ve never heard such a quiet audience in my life.

Annie Baker’s “Circle Mirror Transformation” was quite a change from Winters Theatre Company’s usual wacky comedies, and the new young director, Andrew Fridae, had warned the audience there would be silences in the show that might seem uncomfortable and not to worry that the actors had forgotten their lines. Throughout the play, the audience was in rapt attention so that during the silences you could hear a pin drop.

The director has ignored the Community Center stage and built instead a platform along the back wall of the room on which he has created the look of a studio where an “acting class” is taking place, led by Marty (Linda Glick) a 55-year-old acting instructor who teaches by communication exercises rather than by actual acting scenes. Glick, an instructor of such courses in real life, I was informed, is obviously perfect in the role of instructor, mentor and participant in the activities.

There are four in her class. James (Woody Fridae, father of the director and former mayor of Winters) is her husband and their relationship will come under some scrutiny throughout the evening.

Schultz (Trent Beeby) is a 48-year-old divorcee, full of insecurities, newly single, and hoping the class will help his self-esteem.

Theresa (Ana Kormos) is a 35-year-old gorgeous but lonely woman, harboring her own relationship problems and doing a lot of sublimating.

Lauren (Heidi Masem) is only 19 and hopes the class will prepare her to audition for an upcoming high school production of “West Side Story.” She is the typical sullen teenager, but still serious about doing well in this class.

The play is divided into two acts and each consists of three weeks of the six-week class. Each “week” is a series of acting exercises, some of which may seem silly, but which, over the course of the six weeks, shows how the group has come together, and has grown and been changed by their experiences.

Along one wall of the studio is a large mirror, donated by Sally Teaford, which allows the class to concentrate on the exercises, and not on always facing the audience, which can see them in the mirror when they are looking away.

Director Fridae explained to me that this is a “naturalistic play,” meaning that the action attempts to create the illusion of reality. Fridae (and playwright Baker) succeeds so brilliantly that the audience was totally into what was going on on stage.

This was the second-most-produced play in the United States after its 2009 premiere, perhaps because of the small cast and perhaps because of that “naturalistic” approach, but it’s not as simple as it may seem because it requires a team of top-notch actors who relate well to each other. Fortunately, just such a mix is featured in this show.

Throughout the evening, relationships among the participants form and dissolve. One particularly touching exercise involves one person getting up, introducing him or herself as another member of the group and then giving an introduction based on that person. Some of those introductions were quite touching, especially when the actor speaking addressed something within the person he or she was representing that that person had not realized.

“I am a real artist,” for example, was a real revelation to the person about whom the comment was spoken.

Another surprisingly effective exercise was a conversation between two people where they could each use only one nonsense word, “goulash” and “ak-mak,” for example. The exercise began awkwardly, but as the participants became comfortable with the exercise, an actual conversation began to be discerned.

Things work so organically that one wonders if the actors might be improvising, but it’s all scripted beautifully and directed so expertly that it ends up being a new theatrical experience for all. It’s not until the cast takes a rather unusual bow that you realize it has been a play and not a real-life experience all along.

You Can't Take It With You

“You Can’t Take it With You” is the 1937 Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It ran for nearly 900 performances on Broadway and was made into a movie in 1938, directed by Frank Capra.

Now on the Winters Community Theatre stage, under the direction of Anita Ahuja, this revival is a comedy guaranteed to keep the audience laughing through all three acts.

It is the story of the rather odd Sycamore family, with eccentric Grandpa Vanderhof at its head. This is one of Tom Rost’s better roles. He lives his life by the philosophy “don’t do anything that you’re not going to enjoy doing.” He goes to circuses, commencements, throws darts and collects stamps, and he hasn’t paid taxes in more than 35 years.

Daughter Penny Sycamore (Dona Akers) is a would-be playwright who has a file of half-finished scripts. When we first meet her, her plot is stuck in a monastery, and she can’t figure out how to get out, so she switches to work on the “war play” for a while.

Husband Paul Sycamore (Jesse Akers) is a man who doesn’t have a lot to say, but spends his time down in the basement with “Mr. DePinna” (Rodney Orosco), designing and building fireworks for the upcoming Fourth of July celebration.

Daughter Essie (Lori Vaughn) is a dancer who spends her entire life doing pirouettes and leaps about the house as she spends time inventing new candies (she was played in the movie by a very young Ann Miller). Is Essie any good? “She stinks!” says her teacher, Boris Kolenkov (Phillip Pittman, in a commanding, overpowering performance), who calls her “my Pavlova” and encourages her because she is having such a good time. The fee he gets for her lessons is also a great incentive.

Jim Hewlett plays Ed Carmichael, Essie’s husband, a xylophone player and printer who often accompanies Essie musically and who distributes her candies with the fliers he prints to accompany them. Hewlett is always such fun to watch on stage because of his exuberance. He is obviously having a great time with his characters.

Alice Sycamore (Kathleen Dodge), Penny and Paul’s other daughter, comes the closest to being a normal person. She loves her family to death, she frequently tells everyone, but when faced with introducing them to her boyfriend Tony (William Haggerty), the son of her boss, she sees their oddities and is embarrassed. Will the family’s eccentricities hurt their relationship?

Alexis Velasquez gives a solid performance as Rheba, the maid who somehow manages to keep the family in shape. Her boyfriend Donald (Manny Lanzaro) also gets drawn into the family dynamic and escapades.

If you have ever seen Germaine Hupe on stage, you will be blown away by her performance as Gay Wellington, an actress Penny brings home for a reading of one of her plays. Trust me, this is a side of Hupe that you have never seen before. She is a delight.

Tony’s parents, Mr. Kirby (Michael Barbour) and Mrs. Kirby (Ann Rost), show up for dinner a night too early and are thrust into the height of the craziness of the Sycamore household.

In the middle of the confusion, government agents (Mike McGraw, Lou Velasquez and Larry Justice) show up to take Ed to jail for plots against the government, and end up arresting the entire stage.

When all are released and back home again, Kolenkov brings the Grand Duchess Olga Katrina (Laure Olson), now defected from Russia and working as a waitress in a New York restaurant, home for dinner. I would like to have been a fly on the wall when Kauffman and Hart came up with that plot line from left field.

The production suffered from some opening-night jitters, with lots of lines missed, but the rest of the cast covered beautifully. The audience didn’t mind. They were too busy laughing.

A Christmas Story

It was 30 years ago this year when the now-classic movie, “A Christmas Story” appeared on the screen.  Partly based on Jean Shepherd’s book, “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash,” the film was released just before Thanksgiving in 1983 and became a surprise hit. By the time Christmas rolled around, the movie had already been pulled from most theaters because it had been "played out". After complaints were lodged at the theater owners and the studio, the film played on select screens until after the first of the year 1984.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of this movie, the Winters Community Theater is repeating the stage version, by Phillip Grecian, first staged by Winters in 2005. This time around it’s Howard Hupe in the director’s chair, assisted by Ellie Yeatman and Jesse Akers.

It’s a big show for Winters, with 15 characters played by 13 actors, most of whom give strong performances.

As Ralph, the grown up “Ralphie,” who narrates the story throughout, Scott Taylor was a perfect choice.  He has a good rapport with the audience, a winning smile, and he makes us all remember our childhood and the adventures we had. In fact, based on the chuckles throughout the play from many men of a “certain age” in the audience, it was easy to see why this hits such a resonant chord..

Sam Peterson is the young Ralphie, his heart set on an official, Red Ryder, Carbine-action, 200-Shot, Range Model, Air Rifle for Christmas, but knows he’s fighting a losing battle because his mother is convinced he’ll put his eye out.  Peterson’s Ralphie is often shy except in the company of his buddies Flick (Ulysses De la Cruz) and Schwartz (Garret Matheson).  Ralphie enacts many fantasies, such as conversations with Red Ryder himself (Greg Lanzaro, who also plays Santa Claus and a Tree Seller)

Trent Beeby reprises his role from the 2005 production as Ralphie’s father, known as “The Old Man.” He’s the perfect sit-com Dad.  Never really utters anything profound, is a bumbling “fixer” of things like the furnace (at which time he excells in unintelligible expletives that shock his family), but is obviously a loving father.

Mother (played by JoAnnMay) is a housewife in the shadow of all those housewives of the 50s.  She’s Beaver’s mother, Jim Anderson’s wife, and Donna Reed all rolled into one.  She runs the house quietly and efficiently, while all the time letting her husband think he’s in charge.  The only battle she doesn’t win is the battle of the famous “leg lamp,” which The Old Man wins using the answers to the questions she gives him.

Jackson Olton is Randy, Ralphie’s younger brother, who has little to say because he spends most of the play wrapped in several layers of warm clothing to protect him from the elements when he goes outside.

Kyle Gardiner is an evil Scut Farkas, the school bully who shows his true nature when Ralphie finally gives him his comeuppance.  He is also Santa’s elf, perhaps the only elf I’ve seen with an evil glint in his eye.  Great facial expressions for Gardiner.

There are a couple of scenes off the stage in a classroom set up on the same level as the audience.  DonaAkers is the teacher, Miss Shields, whom Ralphie hopes to impress with his great writing skills.  Sadly, the scenes are all but unintelligible to the opposite end of the auditorium.  We were aware there was talking going on but other than Miss Shield’s shriek of “you’ll put your eye out,” the rest of the dialog was not able to be heard.

The trio of girls, Sophia Tolley as Esther Jane (who has a crush on Ralphie), Emilla Orosco as Helen, and Paige Davis as Alice were all very cute, especially huddled together giggling, and casting sidelong glances at the boys.

This is a fun family show which should be enjoyed by audience members of all ages.

When we left the theater, I asked my husband if he had ever had a  Red Ryder, Carbine-action, 200-Shot, Range Model, Air Rifle and he said that he wanted one.  He said he never did, because his mother thought he would put his eye out.

Nunsense

 

Dan Goggin apparently enjoyed his Catholic school upbringing so much that he decided to honor those wacky nuns of whom he was so fond. He penned a cabaret show called “The Nunsense Story,” which opened for a four-day run and was so popular it was extended to 38 weeks.

Encouraged, he expanded his original concept into a full-length comedy called “Nunsense,” which opened off-Broadway and ran for an unbelievable 10 years, the second longest running off-Broadway show (second only to “The Fantasticks”). By the time it ended its run, it had been translated into 26 different languages and had seen more than 8,000 productions worldwide.

It spawned a whole industry for Goggin, with (so far) five sequels to the original production. The Winters Community Theatre presented the third of these, “Nuncrackers, the Nunsense Christmas Musical,” in 2002 and now it is bringing the original to the stage.

“Nunsense” is a great show for community theater. There are only five in the cast (six, if you count Sister Mary Melody — Debi Bowen, who plays the piano accompaniment), there are no costume changes, and the set can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.

What it does require is five talented actresses who can sing, dance and deliver corny old jokes and get the audience to laugh (or audibly groan) every time. Winters has found these actresses.

The story involves the Little Sisters of Hoboken — who once worked in a leper colony in the south of France — who are now living in New Jersey, after having been ousted by Protestant missionaries

While several of the sisters were out playing bingo with a bunch of Maryknolls, their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God (that’s one of the groaners) accidentally poisons 52 of the nuns with her tainted vichyssoise. The remaining sisters managed to bury all but four of the departed when they ran out of money and discovered that the Mother Superior took some of the money raised to buy a flat-screen TV.  So the four remaining are being kept in the freezer (“blue nuns,” you might say) and the health department is beating at their door.

They have decided to put on a show to raise the rest of the money so they can finally bury their fellow sisters … and thus is the set-up for the rest of the show.

This may be one of the strongest shows I have seen at Winters in a long time, due in large part to the addition of Mary Young, a longtime favorite of Davis Musical Theatre Company audiences, making her Winters debut in this production as Mother Superior Mary Regina, a former circus performer who can’t resist the spotlight. She is a delight to watch.

If you have been raised in Catholic schools, you may find several of your old teachers in the cast, as I did. Sister Mary Hubert is a dead ringer for my old home economics teacher, and I enjoyed Christine Beamer’s performance very much. It doesn’t hurt that she also was a knockout in DMTC’s recent “Follies.” Hubert is the director of novices and aspires to be Superior. Her “Holier than Thou” is the show-stopper of the evening.

When Mother Superior is detained after an Act 1 incident (Young as you’ve never seen her before), Sister Robert Ann (Eleanor Yeatman), the show’s understudy, seizes the moment to reminisce about her childhood at St. Claire’s Catholic School, a beautiful, poignant song about the changes in the modern church. It is a stand-out moment for Yeatman.

Joanie Bryant is the novice, Sister Mary Leo. She is very sweet and wants to be the first ballerina nun. I’m not sure what the Little Sisters are doing with a Daughter of Charity cornette, but Mary Leo dons the headpiece and dances for all the world like The Flying Nun.

Rounding out the gang of five is Sister Amnesia (Linda Glick), who can’t remember who she is but who ultimately comes up with the solution for the burial of the blue nuns just in the nick of time.

The material is dated, some is mildly offensive (I didn’t like the song about the leper colony) and the jokes are corny, but the show is a delight, sure to please anyone, no matter what their religion.

Christmas has come early to Winters, beating even the venerable old Macy’s Thanksgiving parade by a week. “Miracle on 34th Street,” directed by Anita Ahuja, opened last weekend and will run weekends through Dec. 2 at the Winters Community Center.

This stage adaptation of the beloved 1947 movie classic was adapted by Mountain Community Theater from the novel by Valentine Davies.

Yes, the pace of this production is sometimes plodding and there were lots of missed and made-up lines throughout the evening, but who cares, when everyone on stage and in the audience is having such a good time, and when you can enjoy the delight of Mikenzie Hapworth-Eldridge, the littlest elf, who stole every scene in which she appeared.

It’s the story of Kris Kringle, who has just been booted out of the senior home in which he has been living because of his insistence that he is the real Santa Claus. In a piece of serendipity, he turns up at the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade just in time to save the parade from a drunken Santa Claus, and does such a convincing job that he is offered the opportunity to be the in-store Santa for the season.

Has Tom Rost ever looked more dapper? This stalwart of many Winters theater productions is perfectly suited to the role of Kris. His humility and passion for his role will convince anyone that he really is Santa Claus. He and little Emilia Orosco also must have had a good dialog coach to be able to converse and sing together so convincingly in Dutch.

Wendy Rash is Doris Walker, the very practical, no-nonsense mother of young Susan (Sophia Tolley). Doris believes in “utter realism and truth” for her daughter, without a shred of fantasy. It is Doris who hires Kris and then must face the consequences when he begins sending customers to other stores and convincing little Susan that fantasy is important in life.

Sophia Tolley does a good job of being the “you can’t fool me” child of her mother, but slowly pulled into Kris’ fantasy world and beginning to believe that maybe there really is a Santa Claus after all.

Jim Hewlett, featured as the town cop in last year’s “Fruitcakes,” takes on the role of Fred Gayley, Susan’s neighbor, who has developed a good relationship with Susan and tries to bring a little playfulness into her life. He would also like to have a closer relationship with Doris. Gayley befriends Kris and ultimately solves all of the old man’s problems, and receives a very special gift from Kringle as well.

Dona Akers is Mrs. Shellhammer, the head of the toy department, at first entranced with Kris’ performance, then appalled when she overhears him sending parents to different stores for toys that Macy’s does not stock, or where they can buy them more cheaply. She is ready to fire him until Mr. Macy himself (Howard Hupe) gets flooded with compliments on the store’s true spirit of Christmas and comes to Kris’ support.

Eleanor Yeatman puts on her best Lily Tomlin-as-Ernestine impression to portray Miss Saywer, head of Macy’s Human Relations Department, who gives Kris a psychological evaluation and sees him as a danger to the community and is determined to have him committed to Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital.

Michael Barbour is Judge Harper, who will decide Kris’ fate at a sanity hearing, while Germaine Hupe is the formidable prosecuting attorney who gets trapped by her own granddaughter.

Shows like “Miracle on 34th Street” are wonderful for community theaters because they offer so many opportunities for members of the community to have a small role. Angel Clute-Bixby and Justice Brewer, for example, start off the evening as drummers marching onto the set and playing a little drum duet.

Alexis Velasquez grabs the microphone and gives a good rendition of several Christmas carols.

And there are a number of children who sit on Santa’s lap or become elves: Amelia Doran and Marc Velasquez, for example, in addition to others mentioned previously. Sam Peterson is one of the children and also does a surprisingly good job as Lou, one of the postal workers who handles Santa mail.

This is a play that exudes kindness, love, humanity and maybe a little bit of magic as well. It’s a fun family show to start the Christmas season.

Leading Ladies

“Leading Ladies,” by Ken Ludwig, directed by Howard Hupe for the Winters Theatre Company, is comedy about two British Shakespearean actors — Jack Clark (Trent Beeby) and Leo Gable (Scott Taylor) — who find themselves so down on their luck that they are reduced to making a not-so-grand tour of rural Pennsylvania doing “Scenes from Shakespeare.”

After a disastrous performance at a Moose Lodge, Jack reads that an old lady in York, Pa., is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long-lost English nephews, whom she has not seen in a very long time. The actors resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren’t nephews, but nieces!

With a suitcase full of costumes, the two men become women and the comedy is on.

Beeby and Taylor are likeable actors who try their best to use a British accent. Beeby succeeds more consistently, but Taylor gives up early into the play and only occasionally comes out with a word or a sentence that is said in a kinda/sorta British accent. But who really cares when the two are so much fun to watch on stage?

Beeby is also the more convincing of the two as a woman, while Taylor adopts such a twisted odd body language that it’s difficult to understand why anybody finds him attractive as a girl. I thought at first that his shoes hurt his feet, which would explain his odd gait, but observed later that he is able to walk upright without tripping all over himself, so the body language is just … strange.

The actors arrive at the home of Aunt Florence (Lauri Vaughn), after hearing the news of her demise. The reports of her death, however, have been greatly exaggerated and the old woman is still very much alive and unhesitatingly accepts Jack/Maxine and Leo/Stephanie as her long-lost nieces.

Vaughn is a suitably cranky old woman and spends most of the play irritated by her doctor (Jesse Akers), who seems eager to pronounce her dead.

Jack finds himself drawn to Florence’s stage-struck niece Meg (Joanie Bryant), who is not quite, but almost, engaged to the local minister, Duncan (Jim Hewlett), a strict suitor who quashes her love of theater because he feels theater people are “loud, flamboyant and too … theatrical.”

It is Duncan who feels that something is not quite right with these two fortune-hunting “nieces” and he’s determined to get to the bottom of things.

Bryant is delightful as Meg and Hewlett plays the dullard beautifully.

Jessica Eldrige plays Audrey, whom Jack and Leo meet on the train on their way to York. She herself is loosely connected to Doc’s son Butch (Jeremy Nelson), though has an eye for Jack as well. Eldrige simply sparkles in each of her scenes. She has an expressive face and an endearing manner and is a delight to watch.

The plot builds up to a hilarious production of “Twelfth Night,” which allows Jack to come in as himself to direct the show, while at the same time maintaining his alter ego as Maxine, requiring some quick costume changes.

The set is the same used for most of the plays at the Winters Community Theater, with the front door stage left instead of stage right this time, and an interesting cut-out for the entrance to the patio. The confines of the community center stage don’t allow for much variation from this set, and the company always finds interesting ways to make it look different.

“Leading Ladies” is a lightweight comedy, presented in the usual Winters Theatre Company way, which will leave the audience laughing.

Fruitcakes

In the 1980s, I saw a musical produced by Buddy Ebsen (of “The Beverly Hillbillies”) called “A Turn to the Right.” It was a show about making peach preserves and, to this day, remains the worst show I have ever seen.

When I saw that the Winters Theatre Company was presenting a show called “Fruitcakes” as its holiday gift to the community, I had great misgivings. If a show about peach preserves, which many people love, could be so awful, could a show about fruitcakes, which most people don’t like, be any better?

I was very happy to see that my misgivings were unfounded. “Fruitcakes” by Julian Wiles, directed by Anita Ahuja, is a delightful little gem of a comedy. It’s also a great community theater play, since it has a cast of thousands (well, about 30), which includes lots of children, all of whom looked like they were having the time of their lives.

The story is set in the tiny town of McCord’s Ferry in Georgia and centers around Mack Morgan (Tom Rost), the guy who owns the whirligig barn. Rost, a veteran of many Winters productions, is as solid as they come and perfect as the man around whom all of the action in McCord’s Ferry seems to revolve.

Into Mack’s life comes Jamie (Alexandra Bazzoni-Curro), a 13-year-old runaway who has stolen a fruitcake from the elderly sisters in town and hides out in Mack’s barn. Bazzoni-Curro is a talented actress who nicely complements any scene in which she appears.

Miss Sarah (Liz Siracusa) and Miss Alice (Ann Rost) are a combination of the Baldwin sisters of “Walton’s Mountain” and the sisters in “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.” They are constantly feuding and wouldn’t speak to each other at all if they didn’t have to get together each year to make fruitcakes for everyone in town.

When their mother died, she left half of the recipe for her famous fruitcake with one sister and half with the other and they have to work together, each on her own side of their divided house. (Each sister has her own front door, and the kitchen is divided in half by different colored paint for each side.)

The two actresses are fun to watch. Siracusa is grumpy and angry with everybody. Rost — who, with her husband, is also a veteran of many Winters shows — always adds a calm presence to her characters, though I really wish she could project just a bit more. Some of her lines were difficult to catch.

While investigation is under way into the fruitcake caper, the town is getting ready for Christmas. Beebo Dantzler (Jim Hewlett), the town cop, is decorating his house and getting ready for the “Grand Illumination” ceremony, when he will light the lights for the first time. This year he has added Buster, the Christmas hog, a wooden figure that he rescued from a business that was closing.

Hewlett demonstrates an amazing voice as he leads the children in song. I would love to see him do a musical some day.

In the meantime, Beebo’s wife, Betty Jane (Allie Griffey) is the director of the town Christmas pageant and trying to work around a plague of chicken pox that is starting to infect the children. I first noticed Griffey in a small role in last year’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” and commented that she was outstanding in the role. It is nice to see her in a leading role, and she shows that she really knows her stuff (though I do wish that she had a better-fitting bucket hat).

Add to the mix a bunch of other town eccentrics, including Mattie Sue (Dona Akers), a six-time widowed woman with a heart as big as all outdoors, who takes care of most of the townsfolk when they are in need; Skeeter (John Siracusa), a Harvard graduate with a degree in engineering who spends his time fishing, using nothing but poetry for bait (the theory being that the more he bores the fish, the more they will relax and the easier they will be to catch); and a group of hunters who pray to Clyde the hunting angel.

The children are each adorable in his or her own way: EllaRose Eldon, Nicholas McKenna, Pietra Curro, Kennedy Rivera, Sophia Tolley, Corinne McKenna, Victoria White, Angel Tunstall, Sam Petersen, Victoria Olton, Angelica Schiesari and little 5-year-old Mikenzie Lillian, appearing on stage for the first time, who is adorable as she giggles and waves to her family in the audience.

When “chickenpox descends on Bethlehem,” director Betty Jane comes up with a unique solution, while secrets are revealed that affect the feuding sisters, and runaway Jamie changes Mack’s life. It all ends with a violin solo by angel violinist Emilia Orosco.

This is such a fun way to start the holiday season, even if the plates of fruitcake on the audience tables on opening night went untouched!

It's a Wonderful Life

What would Christmas be without Bing Crosby singing 'White Christmas?'

What would Christmas be without Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol,' whether Scrooge is an actor, a cartoon character, an animal, or a muppet?

And what would Christmas be without 'It's a Wonderful Life,' the classic film that has played for decades on televisions across this country?

To celebrate the Winters Community Theater's 30th season, the group is presenting the staged version of the classic tale, directed by Anita Ahuja.

It's the perfect community theater vehicle, with lots of small roles for anybody who has a desire to try his or her hand at acting - and for company regulars to give the solid performances we have come to expect from them.

What better way to begin the holiday season?

'It's a Wonderful Life' is based on the story 'The Greatest Gift,' written by Phillip Van Doren Stern in 1943. The story was inspired by a dream. Unable to find a publisher, Stern printed 200 copies of his story and sent them to friends in Christmas cards.

One of the copies ended up with RKO Pictures, who purchased the motion picture rights and sold them to Frank Capra's production company.

In 1946, Capra produced the movie, which he named 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Though originally considered a box office flop due to high production costs and stiff competition at the time of its release, the movie was nominated for five Academy Awards and has since been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made, and placed No. 1 on its list of the most inspirational American films of all time.

Heading the Winters cast of nearly 30 is Trent Beeby, playing good ol' George Bailey, who gave up his dreams of setting the world on fire to stay in town and keep his family's savings and loan from collapse. Beeby gives his usual fine performance. He's likable and dedicated and suffers genuine anguish when driven to the brink of suicide by feeling that his life meant nothing.

Phil Pittman is Clarence Odbody, the angel yet to earn his wings, sent from heaven to get George through the crisis of faith.

Tom Rost earns boos from the audience for his curmudgeonly portrayal of old Mr. Potter, the man determined to bring the savings and loan to its knees. The boos are an indication of how well Rost handles his task! Robert Fischer is sufficiently menacing as Potter's bodyguard.

Michael Barbour does a good job as pharmacist Mr. Gower, whose carelessness would have killed a client were it not for the keen eye of the young George Bailey (Nick McKenna)

Ann Rost gives a solid performance as George's mother and Jesse Akers is the likable, if not quite competent Uncle Billy, whose inattention nearly destroys the savings and loan. Joanie Bryant does a good job as George's wife, though her role seems smaller than the role in the movie. Jason Spyres brings youthful enthusiasm to the role of George's brother, Jason.

The Bailey children are all very cute - Nick McKenna as Pete, Emelia Orosco as Margaret, Allyson Freckman as Elizabeth, Sophia Tolley as ZuZu and Corinne McKenna as Janie.

Annie Griffey stands out from the supporting cast as the bank examiner, Miss Carter. She makes the most of a small role and her voice is a nice addition to the choir that sings Christmas carols during the long set changes.

The costumes by Germaine Hupe, Linda Glick, Viona Hicks and Ann Rost work well and are a good representation of the era.

The program for this show lists multiple members of several families, whether on stage or behind the stage and displays that wonderful thing about community theater.

The audience is often filled with friends of the cast (we sat with co-workers of Mr. Potter, for example). I love the Winters Community Theater for this. Each production is a feel-good experience.

I never leave without a smile on my face because of how much fun everyone is having, both on and off the stage.

Moon Over Buffalo

The Winters Theater Company production of Ken Ludwig's 'Moon Over Buffalo' has one problem.

Doors.

Four doors are present in this play's set. The presence of so many doors suggests a farce involving doors, but in this production people go out one door and come in via another door, on the opposite side of the stage. Characters exit, saying they're going outside, but they don't use the door that leads outside, because someone else is entering through that door.

A character sees somebody depart through one door, and then tells somebody else that said character left through a different door. What should be very funny just becomes confusing.

As for the plot, 'Moon Over Buffalo' is kind of a 1930s-era 'Noises Off' meets 'Waiting for Guffman.' A second-rate theater company - 'The House of Usher Repertory Theater,' jokes one character - has been forced to reduce its ranks to only five actors, who are stuck playing the Erlanger Theater in Buffalo, N.Y. ('Scranton, without the charm.')

Just in passing, the set looks more like a living room than a theater green room ... but at least it's painted green.

The company's stars, Charlotte (Christine Schiesart) and George (Phil Pittman), are over-the-hill actors who feel they just need the right show to revitalize their sagging careers.

The company has two productions in repertory: the swash-buckling 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and the Noel Coward comedy, 'Private Lives.' Both are being mounted with a very small cast: one at the matinee and the other in the evening.

The company gets word that director Frank Capra is filming a version of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' nearby, starring Greer Garson and Ronald Coleman. When Coleman falls and breaks his leg, George receives a telephone call - from a telephone that has an ear-shattering ring - and learns that Capra is coming to check out their productions, to see if George and Charlotte might be good replacements for Coleman and Garson.

This announcement sets off a frenetic series of events: getting ready to perform, the discovery of an affair or two, Rosalind's confusion regarding the man she used to love and the man she plans to marry, George's drinking and several repairs to Cyrano's costume. The tighter, faster-paced second act rests heavily on Pittman's ability to remain drunk throughout. He delivers like a champ, nicely handling the physical comedy of a sword fight and a wrestling match, in addition to being falling-down blotto.

Schiesart does a good job in a role that was originated by Carol Burnett. Schiesart is given considerable help by costumers Germain Hupe, Ann Rost and Joanie Bryant; a red dress complements her color beautifully, and she does great things with a dramatic hat that she frequently takes off and puts back on.

Ann Rost, who always tackles wonderful droll roles, plays Charlotte's mother here: a woman who is hard of hearing and a little forgetful, who performs with the group and takes care of costumes ... and people's lives. The part is right up Rost's alley.

Joanie Bryant is earnest as Charlotte and George's daughter, Rosalind, who is tired of all the drama and just wants to settle down and raise a family. Jim Hewlett is perfect as nerdy Howard, Rosalind's boyfriend and the local TV weatherman, who is star-struck at the idea of meeting her somewhat famous parents.

JoAnn May plays Eileen, an ingenue who is pregnant with George's child. Her solution to this 'condition' nicely wraps up a rather frazzled situation, and smooths the way for the show's finale.

Trent Beeby plays Rosalind's former boyfriend, Paul, the troupe's stage manager, who has been pressed into service as one of its actors. Beeby always gives a solid performance, and this one's no exception. He and Bryant are quite funny as a couple who've broken up, but somehow can't keep their hands off each other.

The cast is rounded out by Greg Lanzaro as Richard, the Hays' attorney, who also is in love with Charlotte, and hopes to convince her to leave George and run away with him.

The clearly delighted audience chuckled wholeheartedly during the performance.

Harvey

I would have thought everyone was familiar with Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize-winning story of "Harvey," made into a now-classic movie with Jimmy Stewart back in 1950.

But judging from the sounds of surprise coming from some sections of the audience at the Winters Community Theater production that debuted last weekend, perhaps the story isn't as well known as I assumed.

Trent Beeby directs a charming little version of this saga of the gentle, clueless and probably more than slightly inebriated Elwood P. Dowd and his constant companion: Harvey, a 6-foot, 31/2-inch white rabbit that only Dowd can see. Harvey is a "pooka," you see: a mischievous Irish spirit. (Or, rather, you don't see.)

Tom Rost gives a wonderful performance as Dowd, the perfect gentleman for whom a tall rabbit seems not in the least odd, and who seems totally oblivious to the chaos and embarrassment that his invisible companion seems to cause. Rost is extraordinarily polite and extremely likable, and gives the character both a childlike innocence and a sense of dignity.

"I always have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whomever I'm with," Dowd says.

Elwood was the sole recipient of his mother's fortune upon her death, which gives him the freedom to spend his time visiting friends at various drinking establishments.

"Harvey and I sit in the bars ... have a drink or two ... play the juke box," Dowd explains. "And soon the faces of all the other people they turn toward mine, and they smile. And they're saying, 'We don't know your name, mister, but you're a very nice fella.' Harvey and I warm ourselves in all these golden moments. We've entered as strangers ... soon we have friends."

Elwood is contrasted by his sister, Veta Louise — played by the always delightful Germaine Hupe — who was excluded from her mother's will, and so lives in Elwood's house and is supported by him. Veta Louise is a social climber, and her brother's imaginary companion is a source of great embarrassment, both to her and to her daughter, Myrtle Mae (Molly Davis).

How will Myrtle Mae ever find a proper husband, when her uncle is the town laughingstock?

(I must mention that Myrtle Mae has the best poodle skirt I've ever seen. Kudos to costumers Ann Rost and Germaine Hupe!)

Only one avenue is available to Veta Louise: She must commit her brother to the famous sanitarium run by Dr. William R. Chumley (Michael Barbour), to get Elwood out of her life ... and take over the trust fund.

But the sanitarium is a study in dysfunction: One nurse (Anita Ahuja) flirts blatantly with Dr. Lyman Sanderson (Jim Hewlett), while a sadistic attendant, Duane Wilson (Rodney Orosco), is only too eager to inflict painful procedures on new patients.

He's a male Nurse Ratched — from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" — but with a sardonic wit.

As a result of some confusion about who is the patient — and who is the person admitting the patient — Veta Louise is hauled off to be stripped and put in the baths, while Elwood is ignored.

Veta Louise calls in her attorney, Judge Omar Gaffney — Howard Hupe, whose performance is second only to that given by Rost — hoping to sue the sanitarium for all her indignities.

Meanwhile, Elwood has long discussions with Dr. Chumley about Harvey, as the two men — and the rabbit — make the rounds of various drinking establishments: "I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it."

The play has a dated feel, and occasionally moves very slowly. By the end, though, the audience (along with Dr. Chumley) believes in Harvey.

And gives him a nice round of applause at the curtain call (!).

The cast also includes Anne Castro DePonte as Miss Johnson, Valerie Whitworth as Mrs. Chauvenet, Ann Rost as Betty Chumley, and JoAnn May as the cab driver. Whitworth needs to work on her projection, as she could barely be heard, even in this small theater.

Although likely not the most polished play you'll ever see, this production of "Harvey" displays such charm that you can't help but like it.