Off the Square Players spring play opens tonight
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
Off the Square Player’s spring play, “The Cemetery Club,” opens Friday night at Ivan’s Backstage on the East Troy Village Square.
The play will run April 5, 6, 12, 13 and 14. Friday and Saturday show times are 7:30 p.m. The Sunday matinee will be at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15.
The show features Ann Morrow, East Troy; Beth Perry, Elkhorn; Joan Hay, Delavan; Anne Wales, Elkhorn; and Jeff Gepfert, East Troy.
“The storyline is really about friendship and how friends sustain us through the good times and the bad times,” Director Mary Hubbard Nugent said. “It’s a comedy, but there is a lot of poignancy to it; there’s humor, romance and also some sadness in it. It runs a gamut of emotions, but overall, it’s funny.”
Nugent said this is the second time she’s directed the play, the first about 18 years ago with The Good Company in Lake Geneva.
“One of my cast members was in that production, in a different role, and one woman has done the same role before, but for the other three, it’s a new show,” Nugent said.
The play is about three widows who meet each month for tea and to visit their husbands’ grave. Each woman is coping with the loss of their spouse in a different way. Their routine is disrupted when they meet a widower at the cemetery who is visiting his wife’s grave.
“Each of these women is in a different place,” Nugent said. “For one of them, the marriage was the good and that’s all they needed. For another, it’s time to move on, her marriage was a really good relationship and she’s ready for the next chapter and possible another romance. For the last one, it’s recognizing that with marriage comes pain and there needs to be healing so they can move on.”
Nugent said the cast has enjoyed getting to know their characters and each other.
“They’re having a lot of fun with this,” she said. “Three are really good friends and the other two have embraced that relationship and they are enjoying finding the depth of their characters and developing the nuances of the show.”
As in the past, the Players are donating some of the proceeds to a local charity.
“We’ve done this with every show,” Nugent said. “It’s our way of giving back. This one is for Gerard’s Embrace, which supports homeless pregnant women in the community. We’re really hoping for a lot of people to show up so we can make a good donation.”
Tickets are still available and Ivan’s on the Square is taking reservations for dinner/lunch before the show. Ivan’s will also have a signature drink for the show, but Nugent said she didn’t know what it would be yet.
“Come and see the show,” Nugent urged. “It’s about how important friendships are and how important it is to just enjoy life.”
