‘Church Basement Ladies’ cooking up laughs in Hope

Willow Leaves of Hope in Hope, Indiana, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019. Carla Clark | For The Republic

There’s far more than meatloaf and green beans cookin’ in the Lutheran church where Mavis Gilmersen leads of group of women preparing everything from fellowship suppers to funeral dinners.

Generous helpings of comedy overflow.

“You know how (husband) Gilmer proposed to me?” Mavis, played by Columbus actress Naomi Fleetwood-Pyle, asks a friend. “He called me up on the party line and said, ‘Hey — how’d you like to be buried in the family plot?”

The deadpan humor seems a perfect fit for the performer who has made such unvarnished, plain-speaking women a staple in her Actors Studio of Hope appearances for several years now. The scene is part of the dinner theater musical comedy “Church Basement Ladies” opening Oct. 3 at Willow Leaves of Hope. The show already has sold so many advance tickets that organizers — known for a string of sellouts — have added two more nights.

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Fleetwood-Pyle became a fan of the show when she saw it at Indianapolis’ Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre.

“I immediately fell in love with it,” she said. “It’s very funny, but it also has a sweet message.”

That combination is Fleetwood-Pyle’s favorite recipe for entertainment — and one that has endeared her to an area audience that stretches to nearby communities from Shelbyville to Greensburg.

The work features four distinct characters and their relationships as they organize the food and solve the problems of a rural Minnesota church about to undergo changes in 1965. The women, with the help of the church pastor, handle everything from the celebration of a wedding party to the joy of a record-breaking Christmas dinner.

The production was inspired by the lighthearted book “Growing Up Lutheran,” by Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson. The pair now has created a whole sequel of shows on the concept.

Actor Pete Law, who plays the minister, can relate to the women and the excess estrogen.

“I didn’t grow up Lutheran, but everyone knows some version of these ladies,” Law said.

The show also includes well-known area actresses Lisa Barrett (co-directing with Fleetwood-Pyle), Kristy Kelley and newcomer to Actors Studio of Hope Falicia Whitted.

“Let me tell you,” Fleetwood-Pyle said. “She is incredible.”

What audiences have found remarkable about a number of the troupe’s female-oriented shows is that cast members who are friends in real life seem to easily portray believable bonds on stage. But Fleetwood-Pyle mentioned that a veteran lineup seems to find its own way in rehearsals.

“If you surround yourself with good singers and with good actors,” she said, “things tend to take care of themselves.”

In the future, Fleetwood-Pyle hopes to present other shows among the basement ladies sequels. She figures they would have to be as popular as a good pot-luck.

“I would think that we haven’t seen the last of the church basement ladies,” she said.

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What: Actors Studio of Hope presents the musical comedy "Church Basement Ladies," based upon the 1997 book "Growing Up Lutheran."

When: 6 p.m. Oct. 3,4, 5, and Oct. 10, 11, 12. And 1 p.m. Oct. 6 and 13.

Where: Willow Leaves of Hope, 326 Jackson St. in Hope.

Tickets: $26, including dinner and the play. Reservations available by calling 812-546-0640.

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