Jennifer Poarch, Autumn O’Ryan, Shelley Walljasper, and Thomas Besler in “The Church Basement Ladies in You Smell Barn" at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse -- March 17 through May 15.
Wednesday, March 17, through Saturday, March 15
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Returning with the venue's first mainstage production since area theatres closed again this past November, Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse will treat its guests to familiar characters in a brand-new setting with the March 17 through May 15 run of The Church Basement Ladies in You Smell Barn, the latest offering in this musical-comedy series that originally made its Quad Cities debut in 2007.
In You Smell Barn, the Church Basement Ladies are back and getting busy with life outside the kitchen. With this seventh installment in the popular series, the musical comedy finally answers the burning question: What do Church Basement Ladies do when they’re not in the basement? It turns our that after the last of the hot dish is served, the coffee pot is emptied, and the Jell-o molds are put away, these steadfast, sturdy women head home to their farms, peel off their good girdles and get on with their daily chores. With plenty of crazy antics, loads of fresh laughs, and new original songs, Church Basement Ladies: You Smell Barn celebrates rural life in the 1950s and introduces the other lovable folks who inhabit the rural community: Earl, who delivers the mail up and down Rural Route One; Fergus, the hired man; and Tillie, who chronicles the action for the Fish County Weekly.
Directing The Church Basement Ladies in You Smell Barn for Circa '21 is Curt Wollan, a longtime venue veteran whose previous musical comedies for the dinner theatre include Grumpy Old Men: The Musical, Ring of Fire, and Southern Crossroads, as well as Church Basement Ladies productions ranging from the original musical to 2018's Rise Up O Men! Area favorite Ron May serves as music director, having also music directed Grumpy Old Men: The Musical and such local productions as Augustana College's Titanic: The Musical and Circa '21's 2018 smash Mamma Mia! And with Erica Bigelow making her venue debut with the dinner theatre's latest presentation, the rest of the show's ensemble is composed of a quintet of familiar Circa '21 talents: T.J. Besler, Brad Hauskins, Autumn O'Ryan, Jennifer Poarch, and Shelley Walljasper.
Due to the Phase 4 rules of Restore Illinois, capacity for each performance of The Church Basement Ladies in You Smell Barn is limited, and for the safety of guests and staff members, temperatures will be taken when patrons arrive, and face masks must be worn to enter the theatre, when interacting with the staff, and whenever guests are away from their tables.
In addition to its preview performances on March 17 and 18, The Church Basement Ladies in You Smell Barn will be performed March 19 through May 15, with performances on Fridays, Saturdays, and Wednesdays at 7:45 p.m.; Sundays at 5:45 p.m.; and Wednesday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. All shows will be preceded by meals and pre-show entertainment with the theatre's performing wait staff of Circa '21 Bootleggers, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visiting Circa21.com.
