“Drinking Habits 2: Caught in the Act,” April 20 through 30

Thursday, April 20, through Sunday, April 30

Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, 600 Robinson Drive, Geneseo IL

With the Geneseo venue's 2023 season opener lauded by Talkin' Broadway as “a fast-paced, quick-witted, an funny comedy with a bright, happy ending,” the stage sequel Drinking Habits 2: Caught in the Act will be staged at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre April 20 through 30, this wacky slapstick a continuation to the terrifically popular Drinking Habits that made its area premiere last spring.

Both comedies having been written by playwright Tom Smith, a recipient of the Robert J. Pickering Award for Excellence in Playwriting and the Orlin R. Corey Outstanding Regional Playwright Award, the original Drinking Habits found two nuns at the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing secretly making wine to keep the convent's doors open – a risky yet successful enterprise until reporters and former fiancees Paul and Sally wound up up hot on their trails. In this eagerly awaited followup, the Sisters miss the excitement of the old days when they were saving convents and reuniting long-lost families. So when they learn that the orphanage where Paul grew up is in peril, they can't wait to come to the rescue. Everyone pitches in to mount a play to raise money, but it's no easy feat when Sally is hiding from Paul after another flight from the altar, Mother Superior's acting is unexpectedly narcoleptic, and the sisters' award-winning wine keeps getting switched with the grape juice. The merry mix-ups multiply in this warm and winsome sequel, which Broadway World deemed “90 minutes of hilarious hijinks.”

Returning for his second Drinking Habits at Richmond Hill is the show's director and venue veteran Mike Skiles, who also previously helmed Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some) and Escanaba in da Moonlight in Geneseo and appeared in the theatre's productions of California Suite and Dearly Beloved. Paul and Sally are portrayed by fellow Richmond Hill returnees Patrick Kelly (Here Lies Jeremy Troy) and Dana Skiles (who returns to the role of Sally and will soon direct Richmond Hill's production of Stephen King's Misery). The show's ensemble is completed by Nathan Johnson (Every Christmas Story Ever Told), David Beeson (All My Sons), and returning Drinking Habits performers Julie Gray, Terri Nelson, Carol Neulieb, and Elizabeth Shaffer. Longtime venue favorite Jennifer Kingry, meanwhile, serves as the comedy's tech designer, with Suzanne Rakestraw the show's stage manager, Tristan Johnson its tech operator, and Jim Skiles its set builder.

Drinking Habits 2: Caught in the Act will be staged at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre from April 20 through 30, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $12, and more information and reservations are available by calling (309)944-2244 and visiting RHPlayers.com.