Off Stage announces cast for new play

Off Stage Productions information

Off Stage Productions Inc. opens its 2014-2015 season and announces the cast for its upcoming dinner theatre show, The Hallelujah Girls, a two-act Southern comedy written by the popular play-writing team of Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten.

Carol Snyder returns to direct this show after her directorial debut this past spring with “Nana’s Naughty Knickers”. The cast for The Hallelujah Girls will feature some familiar Off Stage actors, as well as some making their very first appearance in an Off Stage production.

Mark those calendars and plan to attend one or more of the five show dates offered: September 26-28 and October 3-4.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 12:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, September 28, at the Van Wert County Senior Center (220 Fox Road in Van Wert).

A delicious buffet style meal prepared by “Catering at its BEST by Sonya & Diane” will be served starting at 7 p.m. and the show will begin at 8 in the evening (a 1 p.m. meal and 2 p.m. show for the Sunday matinee).

Join this all-star cast and creative team and theatre-goers will be sure to laugh out loud and shout “Hallelujah!” watching these feisty females of Eden Falls, Georgia, shake things up at the Spa-Dee-Dah!, their abandoned church-turned-day-spa!

The cast is as follows: Carlene Travis – Mary Yackey;
 Nita Mooney – Lisa Eichler;
Mavis Flowers – Pat Howard;
Crystal Hart – Mandy Fifer; Sugar Lee Thompkins – Terri Stevens;
Bunny Sutherland – Rebecca Coleman;
Bobby Dwayne Dillahunt – Dan Bulau; Porter Padgett – Ed Eichler/Bud Preston*

Assistant Director for the production is Amy Shoppell.


Hilarity abounds when the feisty females of Eden Falls, Georgia, decide to shake up their lives. The action in this rollicking Southern comedy takes place in the Spa-Dee-Dah!, an abandoned church-turned-day spa where this group of friends gathers every Friday afternoon.

After the loss of a dear friend, the women realize time is precious and, if they’re going to change their lives and achieve their dreams, they have to get on it now! But Sugar Lee, their high-spirited, determined leader, has her hands full keeping the women motivated.

Carlene’s given up on romance, having buried three husbands; Nita’s a nervous wreck from running interference between her problematic son and his probation officer; Mavis’ marriage is so stagnant she’s wondering how she can fake her own death to get out of it; and sweet, simple Crystal entertains them all, singing Christmas carols with her own, hilarious lyrics.

The comic tension mounts when a sexy ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly, a marriage proposal comes from an unlikely suitor and Sugar Lee’s arch rival vows she’ll stop at nothing to steal the spa away from her. By the time the women rally together to overcome these obstacles and launch their new, improved lives, theatre-goers have got a sidesplitting, joyful comedy that will make them laugh out loud and shout “Hallelujah.”

“These authors are terrific! They have the perfect ear for Southern comedy. In the thirty years that I’ve been here, this show is one of the best.”
– Michael Genevie, Abbeville Opera House, Abbeville, North Carolina.

“Garner LOVES those Hallelujah Girls!! The cast could barely get through the show due to all the laughter from the crowd! Thank you, thank you, for this fun, fabulous show!”
– Beth Honeycutt, The Towne Players, Garner, North Carolina.

Reservations for Off Stage members open at 10 a.m. Monday, September 8, and on Wednesday, September 10, for the general public and are open daily thereafter. Reservations close at 6 p.m. each day. More information about Off Stage Productions can be found online at www.offstagetheatre.com or by calling 419.605.6708.