If you know the seven different kinds of pickle to serve at a funeral,
and the difference between Andersen and Anderson is of vital importance
to you, then hurry along to Overture Center and get a big green Jell-O
scoop of Church Basement Ladies before it's all gobbled up. You'll be glad you did.
Written by husband-and-wife team Jim Stowell and Jessica Zuehlke,
with music and lyrics by Drew Jansen, this frothy little comedy is
fairly bursting at the seams with folksy humor and Nordic know-how. The
story, centered on four episodes set in the basement of a Lutheran
church in Cornucopia, Minn. in 1964, is as slender as the comedy is
broad. But the memorable music, wittily engaging lyrics and the sheer
blustery bravado of the acting carry the evening along.
Director Curt Wollan has engendered a great sense of camaraderie in
his cast. Some pieces of business outstay their welcome, but there are
some wonderful laugh-out-loud scenes and several touching moments. It
is the sheer joie de vivre of the quartet of Midwestern matrons, however, that really makes the evening so enjoyable.
Mrs. Snustad, played with magnificently affronted iciness by Jean
Liuzzi, shuffles in from the snow with her shoes encased in plastic
Wonder Bread wrappers. The sweet-natured romantic Signe (an endearing
Stella Fasanello) prefers John, Paul, George and Ringo to the four
gospels, while her mother Karin (Margaret Curry, in a thinly written
role) is a rebel who has lost her cause. And the manically menopausal
Mavis, brought to irrepressible life by the enormously energetic Karen
Pappas, wickedly wields a carving knife.
Unfortunately, the lone male (William Christopher, of M*A*S*H
fame, as Pastor Gunderson) is not sly enough to be a fox in this
henhouse, and his ponderous presence serves only to interrupt the
delicious distaff dynamic.
The show is technically proficient, with imaginative choreography
by Wendy Short Hays. The orchestra and vocals were poorly mixed on
opening night. While none of the singers is outstanding as a soloist,
their ensemble performance is, after a shaky start, very strong.
Your heritage may not include lutefisk, but don't let that stop you from sampling this smorgasbord of tasty treats.
