Review: THE SWEET DELILAH SWIM CLUB at Theatre Three

Indeed the Winter theatre season gets underway with a splash with Theatre Three's production of The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, a two act play by comedic writing team Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten collectively known as Jones Hope Wooten. It hasn't been on the Great White Way, but it is certainly a great and moving piece. Running through February 4th at the charming Port Jefferson, Long Island, venue, the tale is an emotional roller coaster.

The dramedy follows five friends who have an annual swim team reunion at a beautiful cottage in North Carolina. The show starts with their 22nd reunion and throughout the show, as the years go by, the audience watches them go through life and acclimate to getting older. Their camaraderie is inspiring.

Long Island theatre vet Linda May expertly directs the stupendous cast filled with Theatre Three vets.

Tamaralynn Dorsa portrays Sheree Hollinger, the devoted, spunky team captain who organizes the reunions. In the story, Sheree even helps take care of their former coach. Stephanie Moreau wonderfully portrays Lexi Richards, who does everything to keep from aging, but realizes at a certain point to just age gracefully. Lori Beth Belkin is superb as Dinah Grayson, a witty, sassy lawyer. Suzie Dunn is brilliant as Vernadette Simms who hasn't had the easiest life, but roars of laughter abound with her many quips. And rounding out the cast is the super talented Elizabeth Ladd portraying Jeri Neal McFeeley, a former nun who, shall we say, has made some rather surprising decisions. Many hot button topics are brought up with this crew and the clever writing, along with the effortless chemistry of the cast, make it an enjoyable and relatable show.

On the clever creative team, Randall Parsons' set is stunning. A quaint, old cottage is beautifully decorated and the bi-level stage makes great use of the large space. This is exquisitely enhanced with David Orlando's lighting and Jason Allyn's costumes are excellent and relevant to the time. Truly it is a visually stunning production.

I really could go on and on (and on!) about this incarnation of The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, but I'll leave it by saying that seeing this show is a great winter evening out. The beautiful staff at the theatre makes going to this venue a great experience, too. A wonderful cast, a great piece of American theatre, and the bustling town of Port Jeff make for an enjoyable night of theatre.

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