Respect the Egg - FIVE LESBIANS EATING A QUICHE
The following article was written by Julinda Lewis on RVArt Review Originally published on online of September 14, 2024. View the original article here.
September 14, 2024
A Theater Review by Julinda D. Lewis
The leaders and members of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are gathered in the newly renovated community center for their annual Quiche Breakfast, but all is not as picture perfect as it appears on the surface. It’s 1956 and the country is uneasy about the prospect of impending nuclear attack and many – let’s be honest, all – of the widows (wink, wink) share a secret that no one dares speak aloud. When the security system signals a nuclear attack, everything changes.
The authors, Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood – and the artistic team at Richmond Triangle Players – were eerily prescient. Change the year from 1956 to 2024 and the political climate, the threat of terrorism, and the challenges (dangers?) of being yourself are pretty much the same. I’m sure it was accident, no mere coincidence, that this production was planned for this pre-election period.
William Luther’s near cartoon-style set and gorgeous 1950s style dresses with their swinging skirts – some fluffed up by crinolines – stunning vintage shoes, hair bows, fascinators, and lace gloves are a feast for the eyes. The very demure outer appearance only makes the underlying sexual tension, innuendo, and banter that permeate each scene that much steamier. When Ashley Thompson’s character, Ginny Cadbury, the over-eager newest member of the group ends up atop a table with her face buried in a plate of quiche it’s as if a group of church ladies had suddenly put down their needle point to engage in an orgy. But I’m jumping ahead.
Theater-goers aka members receive name tags on arriving at their seats. Everyone gets a “female” name. I was Virginia this time. There is a lot of audience interaction, and one front-seat viewer in particular – “Margery” on opening night – gets to have an on-going supporting role. Nora Ogunleye as Wren Robin is the club’s event chair. Ogunleye, looking fabulous in a purple ensemble with matching hat and shoes brings over-the-top optimism and a mile-wide smile to the role. Kendall Walker plays Dale Prist, a wide-eyed innocent who looks like an animated Barbie doll and serves as the group’s historian with a classic Eastman-type film using camera around her neck.
Rachel Dilliplane brings barely repressed butch energy to Veronica “Vern” Schulz, the group’s buildings and grounds manager. Vern is the only one of the five women bold enough to wear pants, and in spite of her tight control over just about everything in her immediate world, Vern is the one who dropped the ball when it most mattered.
Ashley Thompson slays as Ginny Cadbury, the newest member and recent British transplant who serves as the secretary. We never learn why – or if we did, it went over my head – Ginny is ostracized by the rest of the leadership team. Last but not least, Donna Marie Miller has the role of the group’s President, Lulie Stanwyck. A stickler for rules and protocol, who lives by the motto “no men, no meat,” it is Lulie who drops the biggest bombshell (I actually did not know that pun was coming) after the five find themselves confined to the shelter – with the possibility they may have to remain there for four long years.
Everything was moving along according to plan, you see, although there is a hint that things are not as they appear – when suddenly the lights flicker, the alarm sounds, and the safety door locks everyone inside against a nuclear attack. With seemingly nothing left to lose, it’s time to finally let go of long-held secrets. It turns out that “widow” is used here as a euphemism for lesbian. Once that is out in the open – and some are more reluctant to name their truth than others, and not even the audience is not exempt from participating in the apocalyptic confession – the floodgates open to reveal all sorts of secrets and Dale has an opportunity to earn a special place in the history of the sisterhood.
This cast is bright and snarky and generally hilarious. The costumes and set are visually delightful. The lighting and sound effects are appropriately over-the-top. The audience’s immersion pushes the edge of an unnamed boundary that gives heightened meaning to the word inclusion. What other play do you know of that encourages the audience to sing along to the theme song of an elite society and have everyone shout out, “I am a lesbian!” The issues are real: nuclear warfare, loyalty, discrimination, oppression, same-sex marriage. The timing of lines by the ensemble and the overall pacing set by director Kelsey Cordrey never attempts to belittle any of this, while at the same time guaranteeing there is never a dull moment. In short, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche is breathlessly entertaining.
5 LESBIANS EATING A QUICHE
Written by Evan Linder & Andrew Hobgood
Directed by Kelsey Cordrey
Cast
Rachel Dilliplane as Veronica “Vern” Schultz
Donna Marie Miller as Lulie Stanwyck
Nora Ogunleye as Wren Robin
Ashley Thompson as Ginny Cadbury
Understudies
Kendall Walker as Dale Prist
Emils Berry u/s for Wren Robin & Veronica “Vern” Schultz
Sydnee Graces u/s for Dale Prist & Ginny Cadbury
Jen Hines u/s for Lulie Stanwyck
Production & Design
Playwright – Evan Linder & Andrew Hobgood
Director – Kelsey Cordrey
Scenic & Costume Design – William Luther
Lighting Design – Gretta Daughtry
Sound Design – Lucian Restivo
Props Design – Tim Moehring
Hair & Makeup Design – Luke Newsome
Production Stage Manager – Corrie Yarbrough
Assistant Stage Manager – Finn Thomason
Intimacy & Fight Director – Lucinda McDermott
Gender Consultant – August Hundley
Master Electrician – Griffin Hardy
Technical Director & Scenic Artist – William Luther
Scenic Construction – David Ballas, Josie Carter, Becka Russo, Kendall Walker
Setting
A community center in middle America where the annual Quiche Breakfast of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein is being held. Today, 1956.
Run Time
Approximately 70 minutes without intermission
Ticket Information
$50, Info: (804) 346-8113 or rtriangle.org
