Northumberland News Review, May 2022
The craziness starts in Savannah in the juice bar of a yoga studio and ends on a hotel balcony. In between, four incomparable characters, drawn together by fate, do a lot of talking, sharing, comparing, reminiscing, wishing and bitching. And a lot of sipping.
First, we meet Savannah Sipper Randa (Kate Shuker), a tightly wound, perfectionist workaholic who has recently been summarily dismissed from her job with an architectural firm. She was escorted from the premises. She was gobsmacked. She soon realizes that she has no life outside her job and no idea how to get one.
Next, meet Savannah Sipper Dot (Brenda Worsnop), a recent widow, who is reeling from her husband’s recent demise and is also quietly furious that he died just as he was about to retire, thus cancelling their plans for an idyllic retirement. She now faces the unsettling prospect of starting a new life from scratch – and all alone. She and Randa meet in the juice bar
The third Savannah Sipper is Marlafaye (Honor Sylvester), who inserts herself at Randa’s and Dot’s table. Marlafaye is new to Savannah, having just moved from Texas after her husband took up with a 23 year old dental hygienist. Marlafaye is not sure what she wants more: a new life or revenge on her tom-catting husband. (“A husband’s ideal weight? 4 lbs, including the urn!”)
And our final Sipper, also new to Savannah, is Jinx (Heather Jopling). Jinx has her own tale. She’s a spunky ball of fire, a wanderer, never happy in one place, or with one person. She’s come to Savannah to care for a beloved sister with dementia. She offers her services as a much-needed life coach for our Savannah Sippers. However, blinded by her determination and efforts to get their lives on track, she overlooks the fact that she’s the one most in need of sage advice.
The Savannah Sipping Society, written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, is a laugh a minute. Fast paced and brilliantly produced, directed, and played by our Northumberland Players, who never, ever cease to amaze me. The people who design the costumes, stage manage, create and build the set, paint, engineer sound and lighting and find the props, and the scores of other people doing things we never know about. They are a Dream Team.
And the actors. Dream Team Number Two! What can I say? Perfectly cast, they each have perfect comedic timing and their ‘bits’ are amazing and very unexpected. And very clever. And very, very funny. And they each have an amazing command of the Georgia accent. (Thanks to a certain Cobourgian who speaks the language!)
Get your ticket soon! It will be a sell-out. Dinner Theatre at the Best Western. 905-372-2105. Weekends to May 15th.
Enjoy,
Selena Forsyth