The Cemetery Club

The latest offering for our entertainment from Wigan Little Theatre was an outstanding  production of  Ivan Menchell’s play “The Cemetery Club”, expertly directed by Margaret Kinley. The clever script is full of one liners and barbed comments, there are lots of laughs as well as some very poignant moments and it has been likened by some commentators to the ‘The Golden Girls meets Steel Magnolias’. The play was originally staged at the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.on 30th March 1990 and it had a short run on Broadway opening at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre also in1990, before being made into a film in the 1993 starring Olympia Dukakis, Diane Ladd, and Ellen Burstyn.

The story follows three Jewish widows, from Queens, New York, they have been best friends for years, however they are very different characters, each coping with their loss in their own way. There is Ida who is dependable and a peacemaker, she still feels the loss of her husband Murray but would like to move on with her life. In contrast there is Lucille, who is brash, funny and flirts with any man she comes into contact with, she has some very funny lines and likes to go shopping, especially for a bargain, however, there is a sense that her behaviour hides the fact that she is lonely. The third member of the trio is Doris who is a traditionalist, very stoic and clings to the past and to her husband Abe’s memory. Once a month they get together on a Sunday for tea at Ida’s home before going to the cemetery to visit their husbands' graves. But then during one of their visits things change, when the ladies meet Sam a widower who is visiting his wife’s grave. Sam is attracted to Ida and they become friends, but Doris thinks that Ida is being disrespectful to the memory of her late husband and Lucille is jealous They both persuade Sam that his relationship with Ida is wrong, so instead of taking Ida to mutual friend, Selma’s wedding as promised, he brings along another woman called Mildred. Ida cannot understand Sam’s behaviour, then Doris admits she was wrong and tells Ida the truth, in the end Sam and Ida make up and things look promising for their future. 

The curtains opened  at the beginning of the performance revealing a striking set which resembled a typical open plan American style living room with stairs leading off from the centre, it was dressed exceptionally well with pictures, ornaments, photographs and applicable furniture which made it look very homely. Well done, to Stage Manager Alicia Scally and all the back stage workers and crew, set designer Peter Hall, the set builders, painters and properties, also lighting and sound who did an excellent job, I really enjoyed the incidental music between scenes which added to the feel of the play. Also costumes were just right for the production and matched the characters personalities giving authenticity to the production.

The central roles were played brilliant  by three talented actors, they were Rita Benson as Ida, Veronica Teesdale as Lucille and Patricia Ashurst as Doris, each produced very different spot on characters that gelled together excellently, meaning their relationship with each other was very believable. Their dialogue was clear and very easy to follow and the pace which was very important to the success of the play was spot on. They were supported  and complemented excellently by Peter Hall who fitted in very well as Sam, his relationship with Ida was also very believable and there was a nice cameo role from Ellen Fitton as Mildred. All the actors also made good use of the stage area. This was an ensemble piece and the actors relied very much on each other, working together as a team, otherwise this play would not have worked.

This was an outstanding  evening’s entertainment with allot of laughs and some very poignant moments. It is a story about love, friendships, and the sudden realisation that you are growing old and recognising the inevitability of death.

Well done to all involved in this production. Thank you very much for inviting us we had a lovely evening.

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