Who among us has not noticed the explosion, in recent years, of the growing industry of storage facilities designed to relieve us of the clutter of all our accumulated “stuff?” In my own family we sometimes joke about it, while all the while knowing it is really no laughing matter. That fact notwithstanding, plenty of laughs currently emanate from Conroe’s elegant Crighton Theater. Before heading home to clean out those closets, why not drop by to enjoy this madcap comedy from Stage Right Productions, directed by Dinah Mahlman? If you do stop by for this latest play in the series of Jones/Hope/Wooten comedies by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten, you will be meeting the three hilarious Wild Women of Winedale. There is a bit of a pun involved in that title as we meet these “wild” women who happen to be three sisters of a certain mature age. We meet the widowed Fanny Wild Cantrelle (Lisa Schofield), who is apprehensively preparing for her 60th birthday (“I thought getting older would take longer!”). She lives in a pleasant but cluttered house (set designer, Mandy Mershon), with feisty sister, Willa Wild, comically played by Carolyn Corsano Wong, whose zany antics never fail to amuse. There, they tend to their mysterious and ailing Aunt Hester, who is reportedly near death as she frequently rings her bedside bell to bring their attention from the other room. Adding to their domestic complications is the uproarious arrival of their semi-hysterical sister, Johnnie Fay “Jef” Wild (Renée Poe), who breaks the news that she is now homeless since her house and possessions have disappeared into a Florida sinkhole. Now, it so happens that Fanny is employed at the Museum of Virginia where she is involved in production of a documentary film aimed at “Defining Women,” and celebrating the lives and experiences of various Virginia women being interviewed on camera. This theatrical device allows for periodic breaks from the central story of the ensuing mayhem at the home of the sisters. These brief vignettes, sometimes poignant, sometimes amusing, are performed to the left of the stage by talented actresses that include Danielle Williams, Donna S. Warner, Kaye Thompson, Cheryl Campbell, Mandy Mershon, and Rhea Young. In the process we meet such characters as a pair of elderly friends who find delight in dressing as twins, and another woman who has discovered that “Having twins in your forties is God’s way of saying ‘You have slept enough.’” There is a sweet woman who works in the Candle Shop in Colonial Williamsburg, and has a cute period costume to match. The sisters begin to realize it is time to separate themselves from attachment to “things,” and amid the yard sale chaos that follows, always there is humor. It is aimed at the older generation and should draw big crowds of senior citizens who appreciate finding the laughter in growing old. Lines like, “She’s had so many facelifts that the next one will be a Caesarean,” generate hilarity that brings the house down. Even bits of ironic wisdom like, “You can’t change the past, but you can dwell on it until you’re old and bitter,” add to the fun. Perhaps the more insightful concluding line, from optimistic Fanny, would inspire you to head over to see the show: “We get to choose our next adventures. There’s a whole world out there waiting for us.”
