Therese Burns

Epilogue comedy brings new meaning to ‘juke joint’

PWJW_Indy Reviews, Stage , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By Wendy Carson 

Epilogue Players whisks us away to a senior living center in Upstate New York for the Indiana premiere of Paul Stroili’s rollicking tale, “A Jukebox for the Algonquin.” It is billed as “a serious comedy about sex, drugs, and rocking chairs” yet not a single rocking chair is to be had in the show.

The entire show takes place in The Algonquin Room, one of the many meeting spaces available to the residents. Being such a large place, they split into three main tribes: Indies – those in Independent Living; Asses – in Assisted Living; and Longhorns –in Long-term care, here until the end.

Dennis (Duane Mercier) holds court in the room in much the way that Dorthy Parker ran her round table in the hotel the room is named for. His regulars consist of Johnny (Onis Dean), who has a wicked sense of humor and longs for a jukebox to fill the room with real music and Annie (Wendy Brown) a spitfire who would be quite dangerous if she wasn’t mostly blind. Occasional visits from Tyler (Grant Bowen), the orderly who tries, not too well, to hide his shadier side from everyone; and Josefina (Yolanda Valdivia), the woman in charge of everything, add some bits of spice to daily life.

However, the arrival of two new people brings about all the laughs and drama that anyone could hope for. We first meet Chuck (Albert E. Lahiman III), also known as “Dust Mop Guy.” Despite his quiet demeanor, he has more than enough emotional baggage to fill all the meeting rooms. Then comes Peg (Mary DeBoer), a new Indy who becomes the member of the table they never knew was missing.

Johnny’s quest to raise money for the jukebox hits a snag and all looks lost, until Peg’s efforts to identify the plants her hippie predecessor left behind brings about a lucrative herbal solution to their financial woes. Still, it’s only 2003 and such things are still illegal.

The whole show is exquisitely cast, and co-directors Therese Burns and Amanda Greene keep things rolling along even during the few moments when life steps in and kicks the players. This is a tender, sweet, and very funny look at aging with dignity.

So, pull up a chair at the round table and see whether the gang gets to dance to the living music of actual records – or continue to suffer the sad collection of 17 CDs (three of which are copies of Frampton Comes Alive).

Ticket sales have been brisk, and there is just one week of shows left, Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 18-21, at 1849 N. Alabama St. (corner of 19th and Alabama), downtown Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at epilogueplayers.com.

Life gets funnier with age for these ‘Girls’

PWJW_Indy Reviews, Stage , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By John Lyle Belden

“Life is like Jello,” says Carlene, the “black widow of Eden Falls.” We’re not sure if that’s true, but we did find ourselves shaking a lot – from laughter – at “The Hallelujah Girls,” the Jones Hope Wooten comedy on stage at Epilogue Players, directed by Therese Burns.

Lea Ellingwood plays manicurist Carlene, thrice widowed and giving up on love, while Barbara Lemay is her sister, Crystal, who hasn’t been the same since that tornado, yet is ever joyous with her celebration – complete with baking and invented “carols” – of every calendar holiday. They join Mavis (Elizabeth Popplewell), who doesn’t mind time away from her frustratingly drab husband, and Nita (Tracy Brunner) who escapes with trashy romance novels like her ne’er-do-well son likes to escape his parole officer, to meet up with Sugar Lee (Valerie Nowosielski) at a long-abandoned church. In the wake of a mutual friend passing away without realizing her dreams, Sugar has decided this building will become her new day-spa, and she needs her fellow 50-plus ladies to pitch in.

At first reluctant at this mutual midlife project, the others agree, and Spa-Dee-Dah! becomes the Georgia town’s newest hotspot, complete with sauna. Not everyone is thrilled with this, as social vultu- I mean butterfly Bunny Sutherland (Elizabeth Ruddell) wanted to raze the old church and build a museum to hersel- I mean the town. Her first attempt at sabotage fails; sending Sugar’s ex-fiance Bobby Dwayne (Brad Burns) to take the renovation contract gives the women the most reliable worker in the area. Sugar and Bobby smolder below the surface, but she refuses to forgive him for what happened the day of their high school graduation, tolerating him until the work is done.

Meanwhile, single postal worker Porter (Grant Bowen), having survived a near-death experience, decides to court Carlene. Noticing the women working at the former church, he dubs them “the Hallelujah Girls.”

The play takes place over a year of Fridays, when the Girls routinely gather, highlighted by Crystal’s latest over-the-top costume. There are the ups and downs of starting a small business, Bunny’s endless plotting, and, my, Bobby Dwayne does look good in them shorts, right, Sugar Lee?

Still, through all the laughs and fun, one bad swing of the hammer brings certain disaster. Given the setting, maybe they’ll get a miracle.

Epilogue Players was established as a place for those 50 and older to shine, so this show is a perfect fit, with lively performances by these young-at-heart actors. The wisecracks about aging sound genuine, but with more good humor than despair, striking the funny bone just right. Also, the costume outfits Burns comes up with for Crystal are a treat in themselves. Everyone is sweet-tea refreshing, except for Bunny, whom Ruddell makes just as deliciously evil.

Amanda Greene is assistant director and stage manager. And a hat-tip to props master Diane McGuire for finding the “Why limit Happy to one Hour?” sign that could serve as a theme for the whole project.

With an upbeat theme that it is never too late in life to work on your dreams (including romance), hilarity liberally scattered throughout, and a lesson on the true value of a good peach brandy, this is a fun escape from the local Georgia-like heat, with remaining performances Thursday through Sunday, June 22-25, at 1849 N. Alabama St. (corner of 19th and Alabama), downtown Indianapolis. Tickets and info at epilogueplayers.com.