McLean Community Players
Present
Tim Firth’s
Calendar Girls
September 18 – October 3, 2015, in McLean’s Alden Theatre
The McLean Community Players (MCP) present the area premiere of Tim Firth’s Calendar Girls, opening September 18, 2015, in McLean’s Alden Theatre.
Veteran director Bob Sams leads an award-winning cast and crew in bringing this production to the Alden stage. Based on a true story, Calendar Girls was adapted from the film of the same name and has become one of the most popular plays in British theater history. MCP’s production opens Friday, September 18th, and runs weekends through October 3rd, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and two Sunday matinees, September 20th and 27th, at 2 p.m.
Set in a Yorkshire village, Calendar Girls is about Chris and Annie, two long-time friends who are members of the local chapter of the Women’s Institute (WI), a volunteer organization. After Annie’s husband dies of leukemia, Chris and Annie decide to raise money to buy a new sofa for the visitors’ waiting room in the local hospital. They hit on a plan of producing an “alternative” calendar with shots of nude members of the WI engaged in traditional activities, such as knitting, baking, and gardening. They enlist their friends in the local WI and the porter at the hospital, an amateur photographer, and produce the calendar for sale. As word of the calendar spreads, reporters descend on their small village, and the resulting stress threatens Chris and Annie’s friendship.
Director Bob Sams says, “It is always a challenge and a privilege to do the first area production of a play. I am fortunate to have such a talented, dedicated and brave cast and production staff. Many people think of Calendar Girls as a show about semi-clad women on a calendar. It is much more. It is a show about love, and what love makes you do for those you love. It is about how seemingly small actions can have the most unexpected and far reaching consequences. This is an important play and I am so proud to be doing it.”
This show includes some partial nudity and is suitable for ages 17 and older. Calendar Girls is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. Mclean Community Players’ Calendar Girls is a fund-raising event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society via event page https://events.lls.org/pages/nca/calendargirls
The McLean Community Players, based in McLean, Va., celebrate both the musical and dramatic theater traditions. Producing four shows a year—two musicals and two plays—the McLean Community Players are committed to doing theater for the community, in the community, with the community, and sustained by the community.
Through a cooperative agreement with The Metropolitan Washington Ear, along with the support of the Alden Theatre, audio description services for individuals with vision challenges will be offered at the 8:00 p.m. performance on October 3rd.
Calendar Girls Creative Team
Co-Producers: Bunny Bonnes, Diane Sams
Director: Robert Sams
Stage Manager: Karen Veltri
Set Designer: Bill Glikbarg
Lighting Designer: Lynne Glikbarg
Sound Designer: Jerry Bonnes
Props and Set Dressing: Claire Tse
Construction Chief: George Farnsworth
Scenic Painter: Adrienne Kammer
Costume Design: Farrell Hartigan
House Manager: Bruce Schmid
Accent Coach: John Barclay Burns
Audition Desk: Carol A. Strachan
Calendar Girls Cast
John: Frank Gorrell
Rod: Nick Matich
Chris: Diane Sams
Annie: Sam (Samantha) David
Celia: Liz Weber
Jessie: Kathryn Johnston
Cora: Shayne Gardner
Ruth: Jennifer Greene
Marie: Carole Preston
Lady Cravenshire: Anne Hilleary
Brenda Hulse: Jennifer Levy
Lawrence/Liam: Michael Schwartz
Elaine: Elizabeth Leader
Tim Firth’s Calendar Girls runs weekends, Sept. 18- Oct. 3, 2015 at the McLean Community Players performing at McLean Community Center’s Alden Theatre – 1234 Ingleside Avenue, in McLean, VA. Tickets are $18 to $20, and group rates are available.
For more information, call (703) 304-3176, or visit their website. Tickets are available at the Alden Box Office, through OvationTix at 1-866-811-4111, or online.
MCP’s Calendar Girls is asking folks donate to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society through their event page.
Article is by Cathy Farnsworth.
