“The Savannah Sipping Society” at the Bare Stage was a perfectly delightful mash-up of “Steel Magnolias,” “The Golden Girls” and a baby boomer twist on “Sex and the City.”
Charmingly Southern, the play featured four lively women, their overlapping sagas and their comical quest for meaningful relationships. Directed by Roxanne Rosenblatt, actresses Linda Goman (Jinx), Kathleen Morris (Randa), Kathleen Pharis (MarlaFaye) and Barbara Pruitt (Dot) donned proper Southern accents and engaged in humorous banter that had a bit of an edge to it —as Southern banter often does. The audience quickly fell under the spell of the cast and their portrayals of these irresistible characters.
Three of the four characters met at a hot yoga class and immediately bonded over their distaste for that particular exercise regimen. As single women of a certain age, they discovered they had many things in common and made plans to gather for cocktails on “Randa’s Verandah.” Priceless nuggets, such as the fact they were “living single and drinking doubles,” were sprinkled through the performance. The fourth character, Jinx, was invited to join and, although not immediately favorably welcomed by the host, they all found common ground in the “legendary power of Southern cooking.” Jinx won over the host and brought an unexpected element of adventure to the group. Thus the Savannah Sipping Society was off and running. v
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