"The Hallelujah Girls" Opens February 11 at Amelia Community Theatre

The cast of “The Hallelujah Girls” includes Jim Ramage, Karen Antworth, Wendy Wilson, Linda McClane, Peggy Strickland, Martha McDowell, and Sherry Rosen. (Not pictured, Bob Duffy)

Amelia Community Theatre
By Linda McClane
February 5, 2022

Set in Eden Falls, Georgia, the comedy revolves around a group of supportive friends.  Sugar Lee makes her business dream come true when she buys an old abandoned church and turns it into a day spa called Spa-Dee-Dah.   After some initial hesitation, her friends enthusiastically offer their help.   Carlene, who shies away from relationships after three husbands went to early graves, does manicures at the spa.  Mavis, who wants to add some spice to her marriage,  and Nita, struggling with her deadbeat son, are faithful clients.   Rounding out the loyal circle of friends is Crystal who writes lyrics, set to the tunes of favorite Christmas carols, to help promote the spa.

Spa life heats up with the arrival of two men.  Bobby Dwayne, a contractor, shows up for an installation job at the spa, not realizing the owner, Sugar Lee,  is his former high school sweetheart.   Porter, the mail carrier and a real mama’s boy, declares he is brave enough to date Carlene because he has already survived a near-death experience.  Trouble looms when Bunny, a rival of Sugar Lee’s since high school, schemes to take the church property away from her and turn it into her own personal family museum.

With plenty of laughs and surprises, the friends devise a  plan to save the spa  and improve their own lives.   As Sugar Lee reminds them, “It’s not too late for us to become the people we were meant to be.”   The cast includes Karen Antworth, Bob Duffy, Linda McClane, Martha McDowell, Jim Ramage, Sherry Rosen, Peggy Strickland, and Wendy Wilson.

Director Jennifer Webber says, “The playwriting team of Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten have an unfailing ability to make us laugh at the most absurd situations.  These characters  trade insults and endearments in equal measure that will leave you in stitches.”

Show sponsors are Ben Stephens and Meredith Shave of Capital City Home Loans and Monahan & Todd of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on February 11-12, 17-19, 24-26 and at 2 p.m. on February 13 and 20.  Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for students through college, available at AmeliaCommunityTheatre.org and by calling (904) 261-6749.  Box office hours are 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays and ninety minutes before curtain on show dates.