Our
church basement ladies are back in a brand new installment. The lovely ladies
of the Lutheran church won Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre audiences’ hearts
when they first appeared in 2010. This is the fourth show in the series and the
crowd favorites are sure to fill seats again. The clean, quirky humor is
entertaining to anyone who has grown to love them over the past few years. It’s
now 1960 and the girls are cooking, singing and swapping advice about life in
their small Midwestern town.
This installment feels a bit more forced than the others. Most people who attend the show will already know if they love the Church Basement Ladies series or not. This one doesn’t deviate from what we’ve come to expect, but it also doesn’t offer quite as much depth.
Mavis, played by Karen Pappas, remains the stand out character. Her earnest nature and brash sense of humor are both endearing and hilarious. Licia Watson also returns as Vivian, the group's matriarch, and has a great scene in the Catholic church basement.
The rest of the cast includes Hillary Smith and Eddie Curry reprising their roles as Beverly and Pastor Gunderson respectively. Katherine Proctor was noticeably absent as Karin. She was replaced by Carrie SaLoutos, fresh off the national tour, but SaLoutos lacked Proctor’s heartwarming sincerity and Karin felt more like a caricature in her hands.
The Church Basement Ladies series might not offer any startlingly new revelations about life, but it provides comfortable entertainment. Anyone who was raised in the church in the 1950s and ‘60s, no matter what denomination, will be able to recognize pieces of the show from their own past.
Up next on the Beef & Boards stage is Oklahoma. The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic will open August 21st and run until October 5th.
Don't Miss the Show
Performances: The show runs until Aug. 17. Doors open for evening performances at 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The buffet is served from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. For Wednesday matinees doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the buffet is served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The show begins at 1 p.m. For Sunday matinees doors open at 12 p.m. and the buffet is served from 12:15 to 1 p.m. The show begins at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets: To purchase tickets call (317) 872-9664 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Prices range from $38.50 to $63.50 and include the show, tax, coffee, tea and the buffet. This production offers discounts, call the box office for more details.
Photos Courtesy of Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre
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