‘Dixie Swim Club’ performances begin June 7 in Georgetown
Summer is almost here, and it’s time to hit the beach for a group swim with the Possum Point Players’ presentation of “The Dixie Swim Club.” Show dates for this funny and touching play are Friday to Sunday, June 7 to 9, and 14 to 16. Theatre-goers are advised to purchase tickets early; the June 9 matinee is already sold out.
Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, and $19 for seniors and students; they may be purchased at www.possumpointplayers.org or by calling 302-856-4560.
“The Dixie Swim Club” follows the lives of five women who first came together as members of their college swim club. The friendships formed then kept them tied together for the rest of their lives, and they keep it that way with an annual reunion at the beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The play spans 33 years of the lives of these strong, spunky, loving and sympathetic Southern women. They joke, tease, disagree and always support each other.
The cast includes Cat Baker of Georgetown, Beth DiGrasso and Cheryl Graves of Rehoboth Beach, Jill Lewandowski of Milford, and Audrey Killen of Roxana. Helen Barlow of Georgetown is director. The show focuses on four of the reunion weekends and takes the friends from their 40s into their 70s. Although each life takes turns and ups and downs, some characteristics stay consistent through the years.
Sheree, played by Baker, will always be the team captain who organizes and directs everyone, but even the leader finds that not everything is under her control. DeGrasso portrays Dinah, the wisecracking lawyer who is a career dynamo and mistress of the martini mixer, but her professional victories are not matched in her frustrating personal life.
Lewandowski as Lexie is a pampered, outspoken and much-married Southern belle who uses every advance of science and cosmetics to hold onto her looks and youth. Graves portrays Vernadette, who uses her humor and good-natured self-deprecation to try to brighten the dark cloud that hovers over her life. Sweet, eager-to-please Jeri Neal, played by Killen, has thrown off the trappings of her first avowed calling and chooses a late entry into motherhood that takes them all by surprise and makes for a memorable weekend.
Through morning screwdrivers, trying to act like it’s normal to travel in a clown suit, stashing foul-tasting organic hors d’oeuvres in the potted plants and attempting to help a former nun dress for a job interview, these swim club members keep laughing at and loving each other. “The Dixie Swim Club” is suitable for audiences of all ages.
