Review: Phoenix Theatre Presents CALENDAR GIRLS

"How nearly joy and sorrow are allied!" The line from Wordsworth's The White Doe of Rylstone captures that moment in life when death seizes a loved one from our presence. One can be consumed by grief or transcend it for a greater purpose. The principle reveals its continued relevance two centuries later in the same Yorkshire village made famous by that poem, where, in 1999, eleven members of the Rylstone and District Women's Institute decide to raise money for Leukaemia Research by posing nude for a calendar.

Tim Firth's CALENDAR GIRLS recounts this bold act of entrepreneurial charity with a tasteful mix of joy and sorrow ~ and a splendid dash of hilarity. In less sophisticated hands, this now legendary tale (made into a film hit starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters), could easily devolve (as it has, frankly, in other venues) into a sappy and mundane effort.

On the stage of Phoenix Theatre, CALENDAR GIRLS basks and steeps in the glorious glow of its brilliantly assembled cast. Under EE Moe's astute direction, not one of the superb performances in this production overshadows the other; each is precious in its own right; together, they are simply magnificent.

Shari Watts plays Annie, whose husband John (D. Scott Withers) succumbs to leukemia. Theirs is a righteous and well-balanced marriage ~ she, more restrained and conventional; he, gregarious and steady as a rock. As the seasons pass and John's condition deteriorates, Watts reveals the pathos of a woman soon to be widowed, and Withers transforms into a frail and almost saintlike presence. His passing from the scene is as delicately composed as the flowers he grows. ("The last phase of the flower," he says, "is the most glorious.") And Watts folds his blanket with a tenderness and caring that will move your heart to tears.

Elyse Wolf is a dynamo as Chris, the self-designated (and possibly self-interested) ringleader who concocts the fundraising scheme and convinces Annie and then the rest of their galpals to partake. As the leader of the group's tai chi class, she's quite unsuccessful ~ in the very funny and whimsically choreographed opening scene of the play ~ in coordinating their movements. However, with high-minded persuasion (noting a distinct difference between nude and naked) and a few snorts of whiskey, the girls are on board to go nude, one per month. Their proceeds will buy a settee to memorialize John in the waiting room of the local hospital.

The photo shoot at the end of the first act is a masterfully orchestrated scene with just enough reveal to capture the audience's imagination and to stir their supportive cheers. The ladies are courageously venturing out onto a limb from which there is no return ~ and they are having a palpable devil of a time doing it.

The other months are a captivating bevy of memorable characters. Patti Davis Suarez, with her characteristic elegance, plays Jesse, a retired schoolteacher with a worldly-wise attitude about life's priorities. Debra K. Stevens is delightful as Cora, the lighthearted pianist whose wit belies her own family travail. Cathy Dresbach is genuinely compelling as Ruth whose uncertainty about the plan is driven by her conservatism but overcome by her husband's betrayal. (Dresbach's confrontation with the object of her husband's misguided affections is golden!) Johanna Carlisle is true to form, with her characteristic comic sensibility, as Celia, the well-endowed and irreverent rebel.

Rounding out the core are precisely defined performances by Maren Maclean Mascarelli (ever the exquisite and regal stage presence) as the stodgy and snobby grand dame of the WI; Debby Rosenthal, as the fumbling lecturer on the history of broccoli; Will Hightower as the verklempt photographer; David Dickinson as Chris's husband; and Gabrielle Van Buren as Elaine.

The calendar's sales exceed expectations; their fame goes viral; and strains in their relationships predictably emerge. The journey is handled with care by all involved lest it wander into the valley of triteness.

The beginning and finishing touches of CALENDAR GIRLS are accentuated by the magical fusion of Douglas Clarke's set and William Kirkham's lighting.

As the ladies gather in the final scene on a Yorkshire hilltop for tai chi, their moment turns to celebration as the glory of the sunflower bursts before them. All's well in their field of dreams as they join in warm embrace.

You will want to hold on to your smile and bottle your tears as a remembrance of this well-crafted and thoroughly enjoyable production.

CALENDAR GIRLS continues its run at Phoenix Theatre through February 7th.

Photo credit to Erin Evangeline Photography