Theater review: The Hallelujah Girls

by Christopher Soden of John Garcia's The Column

Welcome to the wacky world of Spa-Dee-Dah! Day Spa in Eden Falls, Georgia, where Sugar Lee Thompkins and the rest of her middle-aged gal pals spend quality time together, while Sugar pursues a "dream deferred" after what would seem to be a lifelong succession of disappointments, and haven't we all been there? Sugar, Carlene, Nita, Crystal and Mavis all trade wisecracks and heartache, wisdom, gossip and gibes, giving proof to various adages, the two foremost being: a. Snow on the roof doesn't preclude a fire in the furnace, and b. Gravity is no friend to the elderly. Just to keep things lively are Bobby Dwayne, who devastated Sugar on the eve of their wedding; Porter, another romantic interest who works at the post office and lives with his mother; and Bunny, a wicked harridan and Sugar's arch-nemesis.

There's lots of zany content: the good-hearted space cadet wears a special costume for every holiday on the calendar (and the day before), the peach brandy still that saved Eden Falls from dire destruction, and the long-suffering mama who's addicted to the exotic plots of Barbara Cartland style romance novels. There's much silliness and some pathos and injustice to keep the wheels rolling. Bobby Dwayne, a constant reminder of Sugar's humiliation, is doing repairs at Spa-Dee-Dah! and Bunny Sutherland is determined to snatch the property from Sugar Lee's day spa and put the kibosh on her last hope for success.

The acting in The Hallelujah Girls (playing this weekend at the Unity Church of Dallas) is sweet and smart, though I'm thinking it lacked a certain bounce. The cast all seemed comfortable with their lines, and convincing, but the energy seemed kind of low.

The script by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten was clever, but didn't always tickle in the irresistible way that a playwright like Neil Simon or Philip Barry will make you laugh in spite of yourself. Jones Wooten and Hope seem to have the structure down but the material only occasionally seemed to climb. You feel like the motor's trying to turn over, but it's a bit too cold outside.

Costume Coordinator Nanci Leslie has assembled some great threads for the ladies, especially the one who changes for every holiday (including Presidents' and Groundhog Day) and loved the details, like smocks with embroidery and Bunny's jeweled handbag. Set Designers Neil Mowles and Ken Sutherland did an excellent job suggesting the day spa with just the right touches, an actual salon chair, a manicurist's table and a glamorous phone that would make Zsa Zsa Gabor proud. Whoever was responsible for the segue music (Neil Mowles? Kevin Foresman?) chose some very witty C& W pieces to enhance the comedy including a cover of Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls."

You needn't be a media fiend to grasp that The Hallelujah Girls is working some pretty familiar territory and finding a spark isn't easy, when the formula can be seen from Steel Magnolias to The Golden Girls (and long before). But it's good fun, even if it isn't necessarily firing on all cylinders. Act, Too, under the auspices of Unity Church of Dallas, has assembled an enjoyable show in The Hallelujah Girls.

We come to care about Sugar and circle of close friends and appreciate their situation. All the way down the line you could tell cast and crew were involved and dedicated to the show's success.