Review: Rarely Seen in the US CALENDAR GIRLS Sheds a Delicious Naughtiness at Group rep

Calendar Girls/by Tim Firth/based on the Miramax motion picture by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth/directed by Larry Eisenberg/Group rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre, NoHo/through October 9

The 2003 film Calendar Girls was produced in the US with a British cast starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters. It is a delightful comedy and a sweet ode to women, who, dissatisfied with many lifestyle choices, try quite earnestly to raise the bar. In 2008 it was made into a play and has been a best seller in the UK, probably because it takes place in and pays homage to Yorkshire. Now under Larry Eisenberg's keen and caring direction, Calendar Girls, rarely produced in the US, has a sturdy production with a sterling cast at Group rep in NoHo through October 9.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, Calendar Girls is about a women's club, the WI, whose regular meetings might feature a symposium on the benefits of broccoli and whose yearly calendars run the gammit from photos of Yorkshire bridges to its stately churches. Boring, you say? Quite! Chris (Michele Bernath), consistently pushing the status quo with her lessons in tai chi and unorthodox opinions, decides that the new calendar should be pictures of nude women - she and her friends in the WI - all the proceeds of which will honor her friend Annie's (Lauren Peterson) husband John (Doug Haverty), who has died of leukemia. They will put a new settee in the visitor's room of the hospital in his name. Of course, Lady Cravenshire (Lareen Faye), a stickler to tradition, vehemently objects, and many of the ladies are just too nervous and afraid to take their clothes off. Won't everyone think them tarts? Well, to make a long story short, they do agree to pose for the calendar because of its accent on charity. The calendar is a huge success but the ladies are called upon to do interviews and TV spots in which they are expected to remove their clothing once more. Once this madness starts, there's no end to it. Ladies, who were close friends, turn against each other, blame each other for what has transpired, and despite their victory in the WI, it is hardly a pretty picture for one and all.

Dialect coach Glenda Morgan Brown has done a terrific job in getting all of the ladies to speak in near to perfect accents, so good that it was practically impossible to clearly understand the first five to ten minutes of the show. But this is a British comedy, and their accuracy is what counts. Better they nail it than have audiences complain that these damn American actors cannot sustain proper English! The second act of the play gets bogged down a bit with personal issues where, for example, Celia (Vesna Tolomanoska), a tad younger than the others, is looked upon with jealousy, and branded a slut by the older women because of her beautiful body and the way she flaunts it regularly. All of this fluff is fun to listen to for a while, but a little goes a long way.

On the plus side, the photo shoot scene is simply hilarious where all the women have their turn in the spotlight. Cora (LizAnne Keigley) is so funny clinging fast to her bathrobe, not allowing an inch of exposure. Ruth (Julie Davis) who had refused to pose changes her mind with gay aplomb and grey-haired Jessie (Cheryl Crosland Butler), after a few drinks, gets down and dirty with the rest of them. They all drink, fret, then have a ball with the various props keeping certain parts of their anatomy hidden from view. This is art after all, so taste is at stake! It's a delicious scene with James Guinn as Lawrence the photographer running in and out as the ladies change their minds about his presence.

The other lovely moment in the play arises from dying John's wish for his wife Annie to plant sunflower seeds on the hill overlooking the town. His spirit returns at play's end and he walks through the fully blossomed sunflower field, nodding his approval of beauty in its final stage.

Eisenberg has directed cautiously, letting the comedy roll. If the play slows down it's in the writing and not due to him; he has directed with fine pacing. Calendar Girls is an ensemble piece in every sense of the word. Bernath, always a resourceful actress, Peterson, Butler, Davis, Keigley, Tolomanoska, Faye, Jennifer Nicole Ross, BeLinda Howell, another standout as the opposition Marie, and men Guinn, Chris Winfield, Haverty and Devin Juleff, are all in top form. J Kent Inasy is to be commended for a very colorful set design, which adds to the overall brightness and optimistic viewpoint of the play.

Go see Calendar Girls! You'll have fun...and buy the gorgeous calendar with GRT's actresses posing in character within its pages ... for only $25.00. It benefits all the great artistic programs of the theatre!

www.thegrouprep.com

(photo credit: Drina Durazo)

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