Theater Review: 'The Savannah Sipping Society' by Westport Community Theatre

Review by Connecticut Critics Circle member and Naugatuck neighbor Nancy Sasso Janis

Westport Community Theatre continues its impressive 68th season with the Jones Hope Wooten comedy “The Savannah Sipping Society,” directed by Lynne Colatrella. Performances continue through Apr. 26 at the Town Hall on Myrtle Avenue in Westport.

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The president of the WCT Board of Directors, Sam Mink, notes that Jones Hope Wooten are the authors of a number of popular Southern-based comedies, including “The Dixie Swim Club,” “The Hallelujah Girls,” and “The Red Velvet Cake War.” Moreover, Wooten was a long-time writer and producer of “The Golden Girls.”

Mink describes this particular show as “Four contemporary Southern women who are thrown together by fate form a support group and gradually help each other reclaim their enthusiasm for life, camaraderie, and adventure.

We follow the four middle-aged ladies over the course of six months that are filled with laughter, misadventures and the “sipping” of an occasional liquid refreshment. What begins as an impromptu happy hour leads to a tightly-bonded group with the confidence to jump-start their lives. They most importantly realize it’s never too late to make new old friends.

The two acts often have the rhythm of a sitcom, punctuated with great one-liners delivered with good comic timing. What makes the performance more theatrical are the monologues delivered by one of the characters at the beginning and end of each scene. The four performers make a wonderful team to tell this funny and surprisingly touching tale of friendship.

Heather DeLude opens the first scene as Randa Covington, an driven architect who was recently fired. DeLude holds a BFA in Acting and an MA in Gifted and Talented Education from UConn. She is a former Chicago and Los Angeles-based actress and improviser.

Ellen Krinick-Porto is a delight in the role of the recently widowed Dot Haigler. She completely embodies this wonderful character with every movement and well-delivered line. The actress has performed with WCT in the past, as well as at Wilton Playshop and New Canaan Town Players.

Dot says, “Life is better when you have someone to talk with, laugh with, and share a glass with every now and then.”

Dandy Barrett does very well with the role of the divorced and bitter Marlafaye Mosley, a Texan out for revenge. Barrett has been performing in regional and community theater for four decades, including Golda in “Golda’s Balcony” and Ethel in “On Golden Pond,” as well as film and television.

Gillian Holt rounds out the quartet in the delicious role of the spunky, first-time life coach Jinx Jenkins. The statuesque actress balances on high heels to reach the highs (and then the lows) of the new gal in town. Holt makes her WCT debut in the role. She has played Charlotte Hay in Ridgefield Theatre Barn’s “Moon Over Buffalo,” and Dracula in the Warner’s “Dracula.”

Colatrella’s directing credits include “Fun Home,” “The Underpants,” and “The Sisters Rosensweig,” and is the co-founder of Curtain Call. John Fatteross worked as the assistant director, with Patricia Berg as stage manager. Lighting design by Jeff Klein helped to highlight the monologues of the four characters. Sound design by David Rylander worked well.

“The Savannah Sipping Society” is set in the present and most of the action takes place on the second-floor verandah of a mansion in Savannah, Georgia. The two acts are presented with one intermission. The lovely veranda set was constructed by Dave Eger, while costuming by Kim Brachet and Mary Kulcsar signify each of the new experiences of the four women.

Next up at the Westport Town Hall will be “The Matchmaker” by Thorton Wilder, the farce that later became the musical “Hello, Dolly!”

RESERVE TICKETS by calling the Box Office at 203-226-1983 or visiting westportcommunitytheatre.com/reserve-tickets/