The theater is a wonderful place where juxtaposition often results in solid entertainment.
Take Calendar Girls, now playing through March 22, 2026, at Fauquier Community Theatre. This British comedy, loosely based on a true story, has a death within the first 20 minutes of the play. Hilarious, right?
Ah, but for a small group of Yorkshire village ladies, the loss of a beloved spouse and friend quickly becomes a cause célèbre, a reason to shed their inhibitions and hangups and take off some clothes to raise enough money to purchase a comfortable sofa for the family waiting room in the local hospital.
This is the basis for the plot and the comedic situations in Calendar Girls, a stage version of the 2003 film starring Dame Helen Mirren and Julie Walters as the ad hoc leaders of the enterprising women. Adapted by co-screenwriter Tim Firth, the play thrusts the cast of plucky and quirky ladies into the spotlight for a wonderful showcase for middle-aged women. Fauquier Community Theatre’s production, thanks to director Scott Olson, has an impeccable cast in place to find both the humor and the pathos in the story.
Eileen Marshall is Annie Clark, a member of the Women’s Institute in the fictional village of Knapely, Yorkshire — often called “God’s own county” — in the north of England. Annie’s husband, John (Lloyd Rittiner), is quickly deteriorating from cancer. Her best mate and fellow Women’s Institute member, Chris, played by Cheryl Bolt, is supportive of her friend and her lovable spouse.
Marshall’s performance serves as the heart of this production, showing her love and grief, even while pulling herself up by her bootstraps out of her sadness. She also has an easy chemistry with Rittiner, as John, who makes a strong impression in his brief time on stage. John’s letter to the ladies about their being the best flowers Yorkshire has to offer is a major source of symbolism for the play — sunflowers abound — and the effort to raise funds.
As the go-getter and engine of the story, Bolt is pitch-perfect as Chris, with a strong sense of adventure and rapport with Marshall. These two actresses keep the play moving with a natural flair while playing up the humor just enough. Even when their characters are briefly at odds, it is easy to believe them as best friends who would do anything for each other.
Providing the sugar and spice to enliven the story and the group of ladies, the supporting cast makes the most out of their colorful roles. Kathy Young is Cora, the church organist and rather a free spirit. As a retired school teacher with a wicked streak, Tina Mullins provides numerous moments of comedic surprise, as does Tammy Barboza as the brash Celia. Leslie Anne Ross rounds out the core group as Ruth, with an unfaithful husband and a huge guffaw of a laugh. As a comic ensemble, this saucy sextet works together like true friends who know each other, understand each other, and support each other. Plus, they bring out the joy and life-affirming spirit of these ladies who face their inhibitions head-on and bare more than their soul for a good cause. Without spoiling the best bits, suffice it to say the end of Act One, when the group goes through their carefully orchestrated and comedically charged photoshoot, is worth the price of admission. What a joy it was to see how each of the women handled baring themselves in such creative ways, carrying out mundane tasks like knitting, baking, and making tea; the entire sequence was a whirlwind of comedic delights.
Speaking of the photoshoot, do they in fact bare all? No, is the quick answer. Let’s say that every aspect of their calendar poses and each spotlight on each lady’s “nude scene” was handled creatively and with class. The play would probably get a PG-13 for some salty, adult language faster than for too much skin. Kudos to director Scott Olson, his lighting designer Stacy King, and the cast for handling the pivotal scene with such ingenuity.
The remaining cast members provide excellent support along the way, including Danica Shook as the haughty head of the Women’s Institute, Marie; Stub Estey as Chris’s patient and loving husband, Rod; and Greg Smith as the creative and open-minded photographer Lawrence. Rounding out the cast is the memorable Lisa Trondeau as guest lecturer (broccoli!), Sherry Bendt as a local dignitary Lady Cravenshire, Krista Poole as Elaine (who gets an earful from Ruth about staying away from her husband), and Gideon Evans as a TV commercial executive the ladies meet on their journey into infamy.
As a whole the cast provide varying degrees of Yorkshire and British accents, and there are a few moments when the actors play a little too much to the audience, but the strong impression when the curtain falls is the sense of community, the camaraderie of the ladies group, and the success of their little calendar project, which ended up bringing in enough funds to purchase more than a comfortable sofa — they were able to fund the John Clark Wing of their local hospital, all from their idea of a racy but tasteful calendar featuring real women and not supermodels.
Audience members can take home a real calendar to help support the production with proceeds going to leukemia research for the American Cancer Society. Available for $15 in the lobby before the show or at intermission, it features artistic and clever photographs of the entire cast by Mindy Ratcliff of The Little Photo Shop. The Calendar Girls 2027 calendar is a wonderful memento of this heartwarming and hilarious production.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission.
Calendar Girls plays through March 22, 2026 (Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm), presented by Fauquier Community Theatre, performing at the Vint Hill Theater on the Green, 4225 Aiken Dr, Warrenton, VA. All tickets ($16 for youth, $18 for seniors, $20 for adults) are for reserved seating. Purchase tickets online or call the box office at (540) 349-8760.
The playbill is online here.
Calendar Girls
A Play by Tim Firth
Based on the Miramax Motion Picture by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth
CAST
Cora: Kathy Young
Chris: Cheryl Bolt
Annie: Eileen Marshall
Jessie: Tina Mullins
Celia: Tammy Barboza
Ruth: Leslie Anne Ross
Marie: Danica Shook
Brenda Hulse: Lisa Tondreau
John: Lloyd Rittiner
Rod: Stub Estey
Lady Cravenshire: Sherry Bendt
Lawrence: Greg Smith
Elaine: Krista Poole
Liam: Gideon Evans
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director: Scott Olson
Producer and Set Designer: Maggie Swan
Stage Manager and Sound Operator: Margie MacDonald
Asst. Stage Manager: Ellen Tolson
Props Manager and Stagehand: Pat Jannell
Stagehands: Gideon Evans, Lisa Tondreau
Lighting and Sound Design: Stacy King
Lighting Operator: Paul Thornton
Set Construction Lead and Builder: Steve Cooper
Set Decoration and Set Building Assistance: Heather Rittiner, Steve Young, cast, and crew
Language Coach: Peter Barnes
