Annie and Chris are best friends that belong to a chapter of the Women’s Institute in Yorkshire. They spend their time there with other women, all friends. Annie’s husband John is struck down by a terminal case of cancer. While waiting at a mechanic’s shop, Chris notices a provocative calendar with women posing nude. This gives her the idea that the members can pose in a similar fashion, to raise money for leukemia. The women are skeptical at first, but eventually persuaded. The club’s leader, Cora, strenuously objects, but after pleading their case to the Board of the Women’s Institute, Chris and Annie get the green light. And we’re off to the races.
The premise of Calendar Girls, is time honored. Nothing gets laughs like a matronly lady using blue language, or throwing a haymaker, or engaged in otherwise unseemly behavior. Perhaps it proves that Aunt Velma still has the piss and vinegar. That life hasn’t passed her by. That she has enough gumption to engage in scandalous behavior. Chris is savvy enough to guess that folks will love the idea of the ladies being “naughty”. It will bring a smile, and it’s for a good cause. The members will get the buzz that only comes from flirting with transgression, and charity gives them the excuse. It gives us the excuse, too.
Allen Contemporary Theatre has scored a litany of successful shows, directed with skill and sophistication: Red Rabbit, White Rabbit, God of Carnage, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time…Proof, It’s Only a Play, et al. Directed by Kathleen Vaught, Calendar Girls is no different. Vaught elicits performances (from a poised, gifted cast) that are authentic, focused, and intuitive. The show never drags: a combination of sauciness, sincerity and irony that make the content work. The nudity is playful, not shocking, rather like an elbow to the ribs.
Calendar Girls celebrates the richness of life. What it means to embrace: allure, wit and intelligence, defiance, i. e. realms not only for the young and rebellious. It suggests the members of this chapter of the Women’s Institute are iconoclasts. Who knew?
Allen Contemporary Theatre presents Calendar Girls, playing January 26th-February 11th, 2024. 1210 East Main Street # 300, Allen Texas. 844-822-8849. allencontemporary theate.net