MCT excited to debut ‘The Savannah Sipping Society’ this weekend

The latest production of the Marshalltown Community Theatre is a lighthearted romp set in one of the American South's most suave and popular tourist destinations, following four unforgettable women who meet and each bring their own quirks and backstories to the forefront as they form an inseparable bond -- while consuming plenty of alcohol in the process.

"The Savannah Sipping Society," directed by Rick Gooding and starring Lisa Naig, Theresa Walton, Kelly Kemp and Jasmine Hill, will debut at the Miller Middle School auditorium on Friday night at 7 p.m. and will be performed again on Saturday as well as next Friday and Saturday nights at the same time before a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 29.

In the show, three of the women -- Randa (Naig), Marlafaye (Kemp) and Dot (Walton) -- meet during an ill-fated hot yoga class and decide to drink away their troubles afterward, where Jinx (Hill) enters the picture and becomes "their guiding light" as a life coach despite a hostile initial encounter with Randa.

All of them enter the story with personal struggles: for the proud Texan Marlafaye, it's her philandering ex-husband Waylon who ditched her for a 20-something dental hygienist, and for the recently widowed Dot, it's the loss of her husband and their plans for a happy retirement together. Randa is a workaholic architect who finds herself suddenly unemployed after a surprise firing, and even Jinx, the "life coach," learns as the play goes on that she may be in need of a bit of advice herself.

"Jinx is a well-traveled lady. She's been all around. She's followed a man here, followed a man there, followed a job prospect there, even the Grateful Dead for goodness sake," Hill said. "Jinx has made her way around and came to Savannah because her sister was there, so she decided to come and take care of her sister and that's how she met these ladies."

Without giving too much away, Kemp indicated that there's "murder and death" involved in the story, but Walton added that there's a bit of a lesson in the end. The show is aimed at an 18 plus audience, and Hill cited "The Golden Girls," which has seen a resurgence in popularity with younger generations, as a point of reference.

Gooding commented that the show has been a joy to direct, and the casting process came together very quickly -- once auditions wrapped up, he and his assistant knew who they wanted in the lead roles. He also appreciated the mix of experience as Naig and Walton are regulars in the MCT stable, but Kemp and Hill are both first-time performers in Marshalltown (Hill has previously performed with the Boone Community Theatre, and Kemp has done community theater in both Colorado and San Diego).

"We always love new people onstage and backstage," Gooding said.

The actors definitely saw pieces of themselves in their characters: Naig, for example, is most certainly a workaholic, and Hill has traveled around the country over the last few years. Others, not so much.

"I've never been divorced, but I like liquor and I love Texas," Kemp joked, staying in character with a thick southern drawl throughout the interview.

Tickets for each show are $15 at the door, and season passes can also be purchased.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.