Published in the Weekly Volcano, Oct. 1, 2015
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Erin Quinn Valcho as Celia and Jon Lee as John. Photo by Austin Lang.
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Calendar
Girls, adapted by Tim Firth from the movie of the same name, is a sweet and
frothy comedy with a heartfelt underlying theme of self-acceptance and caring
for others.
Chris
(Kathy Harris) and her best friend, Annie (Jane Brody) are fed up with the
leadership style of the president of the Women’s Institute in North Yorkshire,
England, Marie (Kendra Malm), and of the club’s bland slide lectures and
uninspired fundraisers. After Annie’s husband, John (Jon Lee) dies of leukemia,
the women decide to raise funds for the hospital in his memory.
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| Calendar Girls doing "aerobics?" Photo by Austin Lang. |
Chris
seems to be the only one of the women with an original thought in her head or a
bit of daring in her soul — except perhaps Celia (Erin Quinn Valcho), the only
one who dares to be slightly risqué. Inspired by something John said: "The
flowers of Yorkshire are like the women of Yorkshire" and "The last
phase of the women of Yorkshire is always the most glorious," Chris
proposes that instead of the proposed calendar celebrating local bridges they
should make a calendar of themselves — middle age women — posing in the nude
with strategically placed props such as flowers and cupcakes or pots and pans
in a kitchen setting. Naturally, the other women are horrified yet somewhat
titillated by the idea. Eventually they come around.
It’s
a silly idea but delightful, designed to be as titillating to audiences as the
calendar they produce.
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Jon Lee as John and
Jane Brody as Annie. Photo by Austin Lang.
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According
to the actor biographies in the program, one of the actors has no prior
experience on stage and a few of the others have very little. The biggest
drawback to their lack of acting experience is that some of them fail to
project their voices or clearly articulate. This was so much in evidence
opening night that I failed to hear possibly as much as a third of the words.
The
only actors who came across as fully experienced were Malm, who also directed;
Lee, whose character died less than halfway through the first act; and Diana
Purvine as Jessie, probably the oldest of the women; and Austin C. Lang in the
double role of Lawrence the photographer and Liam (I could not tell exactly
what his job was, but I think a producer or stage manager for a TV show the
girls were to be on). Lang was
absolutely believable as the nervous photographer who was more embarrassed by
the nudity than were any of the women, with the possible exception of Ruth
(Jean Kivi Thomas) who had to get drunk before posing for her shot. Thomas
acted the part nicely but was one of the most difficult to hear. Harris and
Valcho were among the most expressive of the actors. Harris portrayed Chris
with joyful flirtatiousness, and Valcho played Celia with natural restraint.
There
are a lot of costume changes, including some ridiculous animal costumes and
holiday costumes, as per example Ruth’s bunny rabbit costume that the other
women took to be a mouse or a hamster, and Celia and Chris competing for the
sexiest Santa Claus costume. Plus the everyday wardrobes of the women that
ranged from Marie’s bland business attire to some ludicrous sportswear
(costumes by Allison Gerst).
The
funniest scene in the play was the photo shoot in which the women comically and
skillfully managed to strip naked (or “nude” as Chris insisted on calling it)
without exposing so much flesh as to make audience members uncomfortable. The
program and advertising warns of “burlesque-style nudity.” Not to worry,
there’s much more to be seen on network television every night of the week.
Calendar Girls, Thursday-Saturday and 1:55 p.m. Sunday, through
Oct. 4,Olympia Little Theatre, 1925 Miller Ave., NE, Olympia, tickets $10-$14,
available at Yenney Music, 2703 Capital Mall Dr., Olympia, 360).786.9484, http://olympialittletheater.org/
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