Katrina Kittle (left) and Stefanie Pratt during a dress rehearsal of The Hallelujah Girls, Tuesday, November 24, 2009. The show opens Friday, November 27th.
Photo: MediaMoments.com/ Peter Wine
Dayton OH – November 25, 2009
How long has it been since you were able to turn off the cell phone, sit back and have a good, old fashioned belly laugh?
If you can’t even come up with an answer, then you’re way overdue for a trip to the Dayton Theatre Guild’s production of The Hallelujah Girls, which opens Friday (November 27th) at the Caryl D. Phillips TheatreScape, 430 Wayne Avenue in Dayton.
It’s their third show at this new location, and you’ll likely be able to find some nits to pick if you’re really desperate to do so (though it would be better if you offered to help instead.)
One of the things that you take for granted at a theatre is seating, and until the move, they had plenty. Since the move, they’ve discovered that it takes a village, or perhaps two or three to provide seats for everyone.
When they moved, they were asked to leave the seats in their old building, so they began searching, and found an old movie house in West Virginia that had some for sale (at a very nice, low price.)
During a tour for the Examiner.com on Saturday, house manager K.L. Storer told us, “Several of the board members rented a truck, went to West Virginia, uninstalled them, and then brought ‘em back, and actually they’re out front [of the building] cleaning them up... By the end of this season, we will have our permanent seats in.”
A work crew cleans up seats outside the Dayton Theatre Guild's new building on Wayne Avenue in Dayton, Saturday, November 21, 2009. .
Photo: MediaMoments.com/ Peter Wine
Until then, they are using folding chairs on loan from the Muse Machine as temporary seating. It’s a win-win, since the Muse Machine gets added publicity out of the deal.
The current production also got help from the Wright State University theatre department after the WSU production of Proof. Storer explains how it happened.
“One of our volunteers, actually, arranged to go down there as they were striking their set, look at the things they were going to throw away and say ‘hey, we’ll take those.’ So this stuff here [referring to pillars and a railing] used to be part of the porch on the set of Proof.”
“And now, it went from a porch to part of a church,” Storer said. And that’s part of the process of putting on what some people call community theatre. People doing things not because of a paycheck, but because they have a passion for the process as well as the results.
In the beginning, The Hallelujah Girls may remind you of another comedy set in the south: Steel Magnolias. And that’s fine, because they do have some similarities beyond the locale.
Both feature women in the lead roles, both feature dialogue that can be biting at times, and both are very funny.
The more you watch the show, though, the less you think of what they have in common, as you’re drawn into the trials, tribulations and joys they share over the course of the show.
The show is a delight to watch, and has enough surprises and costume changes to keep you on your toes as you watch.
Sometimes, you may also be on the edge of your seat, other times you’ll be laughing out loud.
The show has two acts, with a 15-minute intermission where you’ll find cookies and refreshments, thanks to fellow audience members.
According to Asides, the Guild’s “occasional newsletter,” Fran Pesch wears the hat of “cookie lady,” and coordinates this “long standing tradition.” Yum! I can hear a furry Sesame Street character now saying, “cookie!”
The Dayton Theatre Guild’s new location is 430 Wayne Avenue near downtown Dayton.
Their current production is The Hallelujah Girls, which runs through December 13th.
Performance times vary over the three week run of the show. During the first week they have an 8pm show on Friday and Saturday and a Sunday show at 3pm.
During the second and third weeks, you’ll find a show Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 5pm and Sunday at 3pm.
Tickets are $18, with discounts for seniors and students. There’s also a discount for buying your ticket at the door, but only advance ticket holders have a seat for sure.
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