Reviewed by Karla Froehlich
The Clio Cast and Crew opened The Hallelujah Girls this past weekend to a warm reception by appreciative audiences. I attended Saturday night with a group of theatre revelers engaging with the actors telling this funny tale.
First to make an appearance are three friends meeting up after another friend’s funeral. Judy Harper plays “black widow” Carlene with irreverent care. She is joined by Paula Price-Anthony portraying a romance novel quoting Nita, full of vigor in the face of family troubles. Completing this trio is Madeline Speed bringing Mavis to life and revealing unfulfilled desires with mastery. Each of these ladies helps tell the story with wit and sarcasm, each with her own delivery and backstory.
The simple, sweet, and ever-well-intentioned Crystal is brought to us with humor and grace, complete with a costume and song for any (and every) occasion by Dawn Sabourin. Crystal is literally cloaked in joy and offers innocent understanding in some tough situations.
At the heart of the story is eternally (until now) heartbroken Sugar Lee, played with stalwart confidence by Joy Bishop. This beautiful rose has thorns and seeks to soothe them with her new business and bring comfort to her community.
No story is complete without a villain, and we have the perfect catty cat in Bunny, dramatically delivered with the proper pomp by Judy Santos. She walks in and tries to own the place but gets her in the end.
Two love interests are featured in this piece: Porter, the town’s postperson, who takes a shine to Carlene, is brought eagerly to the stage by William Kircher. Then there’s Bobby Dwayne who broke Sugar Lee’s heart so many years ago, played earnestly by Alex Vokoun.
The set was perfectly situated for the many set decorating changes. Each scene was a new holiday, marking the passage of time. The changes were a bit long for me, but that will tighten with repetition. More upbeat music may have helped too.
The actors looked comfortable in their clothes and well-suited for their roles. Kudos to designer Dennis Swedorski and the cast for assembling a cohesive pallet. The only costumes that stood out were those of Crystal, which were supposed to be over the top. Mission accomplished!
Hats off to director Allison Szyperski, who aptly directed women older than herself to play women older than herself. That’s vision!
This adorable show has another weekend, February 16 and 17 at 7:30 pm and February 18 at 2:30 pm. To buy tickets call the box office at 810-687-2588 or go to https://www.cliocastandcrew.com/buy-tickets.
Flint Area Theatres 