Fans of the popular “Church Basement Ladies” franchise have a similar but “different” show to add to their compendium of favorites, that being Richmond Hill Players current production of Bo Wilson’s The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church directed by Mike Skiles.
The program synopsis of the show reads as follows: Storms have flooded the roads, the bridges are washed out but it takes more than a little rain to keep the Charitable Sisterhood of Pennington Gap, VA from fulfilling their mission. These ladies meet to organize a relief effort for homeless Guatemalans, they are greeted with a mountain of community donations – and that pile of stuff is hiding a thing or two…where [these]…angels of mercy will…do their best to save the world, and each other.
I’m going to be brutally honest here. To my shame, I was NOT looking forward to this show. RHP skews toward a lot of light-hearted farces and my preference skews toward so-called “works of substance.” Well, did I ever get my comeuppance. This well written delightful farce morphs from light-hearted banter in the first act to navigating imperfect lives and serious topics in the second, while maintaining the comedy that makes those bitter pills go down much more easily.
Characters include the hypercritical and bossy pastor’s wife, Bea; Tina, the transplanted nurse from Maryland, who Bea labels “a Yankee”; the sassy mother of nine, Lorraine who tosses the term “bless their heart” around like confetti at a Mardi Gras parade; the new to town and not quite accepted yet, Janet; and, last, there’s the pop-out surprise, Riley, who lends the “work of substance” element to the story line.
This ensemble cast consists of Jalayne Riewerts, as Bea, Melanie Gillespie as Tina, Tifany Simosky as Lorraine, Dana Skiles as Janet, and Elissa Dynes as Riley. All of these actors have extremely impressive theatre backgrounds and their stage chemistry creates a comic yet provocative nuclear reaction that will give you a thoughtful ride home. I hope to see more of them in future productions.
This script is a set designer’s dream and lends itself quite well to RHP’s theatre-in-the-round stage. All they need is some folding tables and chairs and a couple of mountains of Goodwill type donations. Easy-peasy, except for acquisition of the donations.
While this show is highly entertaining, it does contain some adult themes so parental guidance is advised.
Now, y’all need to get on out to Geneseo to take in this show…bless your hearts.
The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church continues at Richmond Hill Players Barn Theatre in Geneseo, Thursday through Saturday, April 23 through 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 26 at 3:00 p.m.
I’m Chris Hicks…break a leg.