The Hallelujah Girls bring joy to Manitowoc

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MANITOWOC, Wisconsin (WFRV) Sugar Lee beat Bunny in the fist, buying an old church to turn it into a Spa-Dee-Dah instead of the Bunny Sutherland Museum. Sugar Lee takes a big risk to start his business from scratch. But she tells her friends, Life is not Jell-O. When it’s settled, it’s done for life. They are all for her. One thing doesn’t change: Sugar Lee and Bunny have been sworn enemies from high school in Eden Falls, Georgia. Now Bunny has a plan up his sleeve to take over the place no matter how hard Sugar Lee and his wacky, loyal friends try.

It’s a part of The Hallelujah Girls, which feels like a sitcom TV series that boils down to a few hours. It’s a fun piece for a community theater.

It is by one of the brand names in community plays, Jones Hope Wooten. Accessible comedy is the hallmark of stage and screen writing veterans Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten. The three create happy stories and colorful characters with flavors of the South. Quotes, lines, and !!! s fill the air.

And the same goes with The Hallelujah Girls, a comedy that is part of a new venture for The St. Johns Players.

Claran LaViolette, director of The Hallelujah Girls, said: Although St. Johns Players has been around in one form or another since 2003, we banded together during the pandemic, are becoming a performing arts group for purpose. viable nonprofit, and are pleased to present our debut production at the Franciscan Center for Music Education and Performance formerly Silver Lake College.

Basic configuration for “The Hallelujah Girls”. (Warren Gerds)

The troupe performs once a year in the summer so as not to harm the long-established The Masquers, in which many current shows perform, says Claran LaViolette.

While The Hallelujah Girls isn’t as tight as Jones Hope Wooten’s other pieces, it does have the usual entourage of eye-catching characters. Players give the impression that they are having fun with all the oddities.

Sugar Lee (Darcy Gravelle) is pretty much normal. She is grappling with business and bunny plans and an eternal feud with an ex-fiancé.

This guy, Bobby Dwayne (J Gravelle), hasn’t had any luck since a fateful night. How bad has his luck been? Lives have been a vortex of unspeakable grief, he says. This is the kind of line Jones Hope Wooten drops all over the place.

Carlene (Ellen Peronto) is three times widowed due to a stupid accident, and she’s on the prowl when the merry mailman Porter (Gregg Wolf) comes to pick her up.

Mavis (Kathy Kowalski) is miserably married to a growth.

Nita (Ann Wolf) takes comfort from a well-behaved son in romantic novels which she describes in garish, drooling detail.

Bunny (Tina Prigge) is an aspiring Grinch who stole the spa, fully clothed.

Speaking of fully dressed up, there’s Crystal (Cindy Bradley), who has a costume for every party and a comically tailored Christmas tune to go with it.

There are a lot of all dressed up in this show. Claran LaViolette not only directs this production, she is a costume designer. With six scenes, that’s six costume changes mainly for the five women. That’s 30 costumes for beginners. Some that are particularly elaborate are the Statue of Liberty (with torch) for Crystal and a beer garden girl with mats for Nita.

The performance space has pros and cons. The plus: it is available. Cons: It’s designed for concerts, not theatrical performances, so the overall situation is a bit bogus. Pros: The acoustics of the concert hall allow voices to carry unaided. The plus: It’s comfortable, with real seats and real toilets nearby.

The show is lively and funny and beautifully performed by actors who are familiar with a history sprinkled with southern accents. It’s entertaining.

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Creation: Playwrights: Jones Hope Wooten (Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten); director Claran LaViolette; scenography and construction Roger Bennin; lighting design Warren Schmidt; Claran LaViolette costumes; the accessories Roger Bennin, Claran LaViolette and the actors; Aaron Murphy soundtrack; director Roger Bennin; technical director; technical team Jake Jacquart, Aaron Murphy

Distribution (in order of appearance):

Carlene Travis Ellen Peronto

Nita Moore Ann Wolf

Flowers by Mavis Kathy Kowalski

Crystal Hart Cindy Bradley

Sugar Lee Thompkins Darcy Gravelle

Sutherland Rabbit Tina Prigge

Bobby Dwayne Dillahunt J Gravelle

Porter Padgett Gregg Wolf

Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes

Remaining performances: 7:30 p.m. July 30; 7 p.m. on July 31; 2 p.m. on August 1

Information: (920) 242-6529

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THE LOCATION: Opened on October 3, 2013, the 35,000 square foot Franciscan Center for Music Education and Performance at Silver Lake College of the Holy Family consists of two focal interior areas. These are the Bob and Pat Endries Foundation lobby and the Michael and Mimi Ariens atrium. The 464-seat auditorium is dominated by wood. The stage floor is maple, with small lights along the front lip. The ceiling above the stage consists of wood panels curved slightly outward and recessed lights. Five rows of flat panels above the room make two to eight panels. The seat backs are in wood, with a burgundy fabric covering to match that of the main stage curtain. The movable rear wall (for concerts) of the stage consists of panels with a slight arch outwards. The side walls and a fringe on the top of the proscenium (flat face) are made of a veneer with a sort of mahogany hue and, most importantly, a wavy effect. Being surrounded by woods, accompanied by waves, gives the impression of being in a sea of ​​woods. All the wood is intended for the acoustic properties and the sound of the room is warm and inviting. The carpeted atrium has a slight arch. A pattern of floor-to-ceiling windows recessed in stone support sections allows for an aura of light. The high wall of the auditorium is painted in a shade of hers. The ceiling is made of wood, with large beams.

THE PEOPLE: Robert Endries and his wife, Patricia Endries, started a fastening concession in the basement of their home in Brillion in 1970. Endries International grew to 70 locations and 450 employees in 2004 and was sold to Ferguson Enterprises in 2005. The Robert & Patricia Endries Family Foundation benefits entities in Brillion and beyond. For Michael and Mimi Ariens, think of the Ariens snowblowers and lawn mowers, with the business Michael once ran and based in Brillion. Many entities in the territory benefit from the Ariens Foundation, of which Mimi Ariens is the president.

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