GOLDEN GIRLS (AND GUY) SHINE
IN "THE CEMETERY CLUB"
By Robert W. McDowell
So what if the characters of THE CEMETERY CLUB -- three widows, a
widower, and a slightly younger mantrap -- are all unmistakably Jewish New Yorkers of
a certain age? The current Southern-fried community-theater production of
Ivan Menchell's romantic comedy -- performed by the Towne Players of Garner under
the direction of Beth Honeycutt -- lacks the sometimes-grating accents of the
Big Apple. But it is still charming, thanks to effervescent portrayals of the
three widowed Golden Girls by Janis K. Coville, Beverly Jeanfavre, and
Frances Stanley; a poignant portrait of a lonely widowed Golden Guy by Don Howard;
and the spicy cameo by Sandra Shelton as a "younger" woman with her cap set for
Sam.
The Cemetery Club, a trio of widows that meets once a month to visit
their husbands' graves at Forest Hills cemetery in Queens, New York, is about to
break up, because Lucille has started dating again, with great gusto, and Ida
is finished grieving and ready to write a new chapter in her life. Only Doris
stubbornly clings to the monthly ritual of the three lifelong friends like it
is the only life preserver on a stormy sea.
Janis K. Coville (Lucille) is good as a man-crazy Golden Girl dressed in
low-cut gowns and draped in second-hand furs, Beverly Jeanfavre (Doris) is
better the deeply devoted wife who simply cannot get over the loss of her
husband, and Frances Stanley (Ida) is best as a widow who wants to doff her widow's
weeds and get on with the rest of her life. Don Howard (Sam) is delightful as a
bashful widower who thinks that he just might want to declare himself
eligible for the Dating Game once again, and Sandra Shelton (Mildred) adds a brief
but memorable cameo as Ida's chief competitor for Sam's attentions -- a woman
who takes the motto "All's fair in love and war" as a code to live by.
Director Beth Honeycutt gets sharply etched comic characterizations from
each member of her ensemble; and she and her husband, technical director Scott
Honeycutt, have done an exceptionally fine job of transforming the tiny stage
of The Garner Historic Auditorium into a warm and fuzzy facsimile of Ida's
living room. (Three "headstones," placed in front of the curtain, suggest the
cemetery.)
The women's must-be-seen-to-be-believed glad rags, their hideous fuchsia
bridesmaid's dresses, their worn bathrobes, and an absolutely awful blonde wig
-- all selected by the Honeycutts -- enhance the show's visual appeal and
help make THE CEMETERY CLUB an outstanding evening of community theater.
The Towne Players of Garner present THE CEMETERY CLUB Friday-Saturday,
Jan. 23-24, at 8 p.m. in The Garner Historic Auditorium, 742 West Garner Rd.,
Garner, North Carolina. $8 ($6 students and seniors). 919/779-6144. TOWNE
PLAYERS: http://www.towneplayers.org/. INTERNET BROADWAY DATABASE:
http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4327.
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WHAT: ROBERT'S REVIEWS is a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter written
by Robert W. McDowell and Scott Ross. John Lambert and Classical Voice of
North Carolina reprint ROBERT'S REVIEWS online at
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WHO: Since 1973, ROBERT W. McDOWELL has written theater, book, and music
reviews for SPECTATOR Magazine of Raleigh, NC; the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER; THE
RALEIGH TIMES; and NORTH CAROLINA Magazine of Raleigh. SCOTT ROSS is a
prize-winning playwright who has written theater criticism for SPECTATOR (1981-86),
movie and book reviews for the N&O (1986-91), and served as dance, comedy, and
theater editor for Triangle.citysearch.com (1998-2000). He has been the CD
reviewer for the quarterly SONDHEIM REVIEW since 1994. ROBERT'S REVIEWS has nothing
whatsoever to do with any of these publications.
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