‘Hallelujah Girls’ bring warmth, laughter to stage

WASILLA — “The Hallelujah Girls” are offering a healthy dose of Southern hospitality for theatergoers looking to escape the winter weather this weekend at Valley Performing Arts.

Set in the Deep South town of Eden Falls, Georgia, “The Hallelujah Girls” is the comedic story of a group of middle-aged women and their attempts to fulfill their dreams — one day spa trip at a time.

Sugar Lee Thompkins, played by Tori Hicks, gets the ball rolling by opening Spa Dee Dah in an old church and roping her four friends into working with her.

“She is high energy and she wants everybody to have the best life they can possibly have,” Hicks said.

It’s easy for Hicks to feel that way as herself, too, she said, with the friendly cast she works alongside.

“I’ve been in plays where there’s drama and diva, and this has just been wonderful, warm-hearted fun,” Hicks said.

The show itself isn’t without drama, of course. Before the girls even establish their business, Bunny Sutherland (played by Cora Carleson) steps in to try and ruin the plans of her peers.

Carleson called her character both a “snarky witch” and a “bossy broad” who tries to capitalize on everyone else’s problems.

“She wants to get her way, at whatever the cost,” she said.

A newcomer to the stage, Carleson said she’s found it fun to toss biting comments (and occasionally props) at her fellow actresses — though their responses can sometimes seem all too real.

“I actually feel like I need to say, ‘Oh, honey, I would never say that to you,’” she said.

In the play, though, she’s conniving as they come. When she hears Sugar Lee’s ex-fiancé, Bobby Dwayne Dillahunt, is in town, Bunny goes out of her way to make sure he’s hired to renovate Spa Dee Dah — without the former lovers knowing of her plot.

VPA veteran Larry Bottjen plays the flirtatious, 50-something Bobby Dwayne with flair, rocking a pair of jean shorts and tall socks when the situation calls for it. When he meets Sugar Lee again after 30 years, they find themselves right back in the “great big blow up” they had in high school, blaming each other for the incident.

Bottjen applauded the playwrights — Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, who also wrote “The Dixie Swim Club” — for creating such a comedic drama.

“They have a real special talent to be able to create the most humorous environment out of everyday people,” he said.

Those everyday people do have an air of caricature to them, however.

Crystal Hart, for example — played by Ashley Elver — is the overly enthusiastic and hopelessly oblivious daughter of one of the hallelujah girls, dressing up for every holiday and tailoring Christmas carols to every occasion.

Nita Mooney (Linda Llewelyn) is also likely to get some laughs — especially to audiences who know someone that reads a few too many romance novels. In comparing her life and her friends’ lives to that of characters in her books, Nita fails to address her flaws (or, more appropriately, her son’s, for whom she’s always covering). Instead, she’d rather live in wait for a younger man to sweep her off her feet.

“That world is her world,” Llewelyn said.

Mavis Flowers (Cathy Garrick) and Carlene Travis (Cathy John) try to act as the voices of reason in the play, using their age as an excuse not to do various things (like open a day spa). In Carlene’s case, her reluctant attitude is an expression of pessimism that stems from the loss of three husbands to untimely deaths.

“She feels that she’s killed them all,” John said.

But she maintains some hope when the postman, Porter Padgett, shows interest in her.

Michael Sheehan, who plays Porter, said it’s just because “she’s easy.”

Director DJ Rotach said it’s the whole cast that’s easy — easy to direct, that is.

“They’re open to ideas. They’ll try things,” he said.

With more than 30 shows behind him as an actor, and several more as a director, Rotach has established a penchant for farces, gravitating toward over-the-top, silly stories, he said. He’s also from Georgia, making “The Hallelujah Girls” an even better fit.

And after months of practically begging for it, Rotach convinced the powers that be at VPA to let him do a few shows as dinner theater, which he likes for the more relaxed, social atmosphere.

“I get to drink and watch my creation come to life,” he said.

“The Hallelujah Girls” opens on Friday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at Valley Performing Arts, 251 W. Swanson Ave., Wasilla. Performances will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and 2 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 31. Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for students and seniors.

The dinner theater performances will be at Evangelo’s Restaurant at 7 p.m. on Feb. 4 through 6. Tickets are $45 and seating is limited.

For tickets, visit valleyperformingarts.org, or call 373-0195.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.