“06880” culture correspondent Robin Moyer Chung writes:
The Westport Community Theatre is far more passionate about theater than about public relations.
Which is too bad, because that means not enough people may know about their current production. “The Savannah Sipping Society” is terrific. It’s funny, energetic, and a steal at $30 a seat.
Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting the show to knock me over. Perhaps my low expectations raised my appreciation of it, but I’m pretty sure it’s great by any measure.
First, a bit about WCT. I’m pretty sure, judging by Saturday night’s smattering of theater-goers, precious few of you have seen one of their productions.
Now in its 68th season (68!), WCT is a non-profit company run largely by volunteers. It embraces local talent, and provides opportunities to community members for acting, backstage work and directing.
The play, written by Jones Hope Wooten (a 3-woman comedy writing team), is a Southern-based comedy about 4 middle-aged/liminal senior women who wilt out of a hot yoga class, and bond over their shared disdain for it.
From left: Heather DeLude, Gillian Holt, Dandy Barrett, Ellen Krinick Porto. (Photo/Westport Community Theatre)
They’re all single, they all have baggage, and they all decide to overcome their discomforts and hang weekly with appetizers and libation.
It’s “Sex and the City” without the sex and designer wardrobes — “Sip and the City.”
There are tropes – Marlaflaye’s husband dropped her for a younger woman, Randa was fired from her high-pressure job after a professional meltdown, Dot is recently widowed without financial security, and sexpot-adjacent Jinx has decided to become a life coach.
However, it avoids caricature and melodrama. The play is less about coping with past trauma, and more about 4 strangers navigating new friendship territory after a hard crack from their previous lives.
The women are a strong ensemble, adeptly playing off of each other in witty asides and differing levels of enthusiasm for awkward ideas. I especially liked the unapologetic Marlaflaye, played by Dandy Barnett, with fiery red hair.
The prop master and set designer delightfully bolster their lifestyle and culture: Dot shows up at Randa’s home with a dinner plate full of appetizers, speared with frilly supermarket toothpicks and covered loosely with a square of plastic wrap. In Randa’s home is a makeshift curtain rod and sort-of-coordinating-but-not-really throw pillows on a worn wicker sofa.
The costume designer’s wardrobes, from synthetic separates to artsy/ menopausal ensembles to cautiously décolletage-baring dresses, define each woman’s personality.
One word of caution: Yes, the theater is in Town Hall — but it’s not the upstairs auditorium. They perform in a black box tucked in the basement. Directions to it are helpfully scrawled on a piece of paper taped to the stair railing.
The WCT’s passion for theater outweighs their passion for professional signage as well.
“The Savannah Sipping Society” ends its run this weekend. Performances are Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. Click here for tickets.
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Saw it a week ago.
Fun and enjoyable local theater!