(Seguin) — Although Friday’s opening night of The Savannah Sipping Society might already be close to being sold out, theatergoers will still have two full weekends to catch the laughter, heart and Southern charm of the live production over at the Stephen & Mary Birch Texas Theatre in downtown Seguin.
The special premier welcomes the comedy, written by Jamie Wooten, Jessie Jones and Nicholas Hope. The show follows four Southern women who meet by chance and begin gathering for weekly happy hours. But what starts as casual cocktails in Savannah, Georgia blossoms into an unexpected sisterhood as the women navigate through life’s many curveballs.
The cast and director recently stopped by Seguin Radio KWED to share more about their characters and what audiences can expect during its Saturday Topic radio program.
Terri Bennett, who plays Dot, shares how she is a recent widow trying to find life after the loss of her husband.
“She has a very positive outlook on life even though her husband has passed away. She is trying to make the best of what is going on with her,” said Bennett. “There are some challenges that she will face later on in the script that the other girls help her embrace and go forward.”
For Actress Katie Sawyer — she takes on the role of Miranda, a high-powered, driven professional who finds herself “unexpectedly unemployed.”
“She is a very Type A driven perfectionist who struggles with her career and the ladies help her with that and encourage her along the way and she finds her way at some point,” said Sawyer.
Also providing plenty of comic relief is Marlafaye, played by local actress Mary Jane Windle. Marlafaye is newly divorced and does not shy away from the details.
“She’s from Tyler, Texas and she’s gotten a divorce because her husband Waylon found himself a 23-year-old dental hygienist, so I left all the bad memories behind. I should have known that he was tomcatting when he started flossing between meals,” laughed Windle.
KWED’s very own Linda Duncan is also set to take the stage — portraying as Jinx, — a free-spirited “ball of fire.”
“I’m not a whole lot like my character. I mean I do like to have fun like her, but I don’t think I have been around as many blocks as she has — I’ve only been about from here to San Marcos Street, but she’s probably been to Gonzales, Texas from here,” said Duncan.
Director Pat Hoppe couldn’t be happier about how the show has come together and encourages the community to come out and check one of the many performances.
“This is a comedy about four women who meet accidentally. They get together. They drink a lot — the Sipping Society. They have a great time together and over time, they become very close to each other. They become good friends,” said Hoppe. “There’s a lot of laughter but then there’s also some poignant scenes too. We love it. They laugh the whole time.”
Again, only a handful of tickets remain for Friday’s special opening night event at 6:30 pm. The remainder of this weekend’s schedule includes Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The show again returns Friday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at TheTexas.org.