There’s more to ‘The Savannah Sipping Society’ than wisecracks!
The Savannah Sipping Society opens August 23rd at The Golden Chain Theatre. It is a raucous comedy that follows the exploits of four downtrodden and unattached Southern women trying to recapture their swag and reclaim their lives.
Playwrights Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten explore the ways in which all of us cope with the reverses, setbacks, and tragedies that life throws our way with all too much regularity.
Like us, Randa, Marlafaye, Dot, and Jinx are self-involved, filled with irrational fears and desires, and consumed by conflicting emotions. On their own, they struggle to get by, but with each other’s support and understanding, they find the courage to try and do new things that make them individually and collectively smarter, stronger, more confident, and self-aware.
All four of the actresses chosen by Director Jennifer Janine for this show deliver impressive performances. By virtue of their onstage chemistry and the way the cast complements each other, the characters in this production come across as real, three-dimensional people.
JULIE RILEY (Randa) is a professional who loses it and her job after her boss gives the promotion she deserves to a man half her age and a quarter as talented. If you liked her as M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias, you’ll adore Riley as Randa Covington.
JUDY WEISS plays Texas divorcee Marlafaye Mosley. She not only enjoys the distinction of having the driest humor and most one-liners, she has the best stocked purse since Mary Poppins.
As the recently-widowed Dot Haigler, MARYELLEN MIERKY is not only sweetly endearing, she is adept at mining every ounce of comedy possible from the lines of dialogue.
The character providing the driving force in this show, however, is DARLA DEAN, who plays Jinx Jenkins. She’s not only funny, theatrical, and refreshing, she’s sensitive to the growth arc her character traverses, which justifies the monologue she delivers near the end of the play.
But the bottom line here is that if you find yourself in need to a good laugh, you need look no farther than GCT’s The Savannah Sipping Society.
Tickets to the show are selling fast, so make reservations immediately.
Plays August 23 – September 8, Fridays and Saturday at 7:00 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
Doors open one hour before curtain.
Tickets available at www.goldenchaintheatre.org or by calling 559-683-7112.
The Golden Chain Theatre
42130 Hwy 41
Oakhurst, CA 93644
