By Robyn Beazley | Robyn’s Review
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Last Thursday I went to the Opening Night performance of The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, directed by Lighthouse Festival’s new Artistic Director Jane Spence and like everyone else in the audience- thoroughly enjoyed it!
This show, about five friends whose connection dates back to their days as college swim team champions, opens with a set that instantly makes you feel like you’re at a quaint little cottage on the beach.
While it takes place on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and the women’s southern accents leave no doubt on where it is set, the story is one that will resonate with anyone anywhere who has had a friendship that spans across different parts of their lifetime.
Written by Jones Hope Wooten (Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten), who are known for being creators of strong female roles and packing their scripts with funny situations and witty repartee, this show follows Sheree, Lexie, Dinah, Jeri, and Vernadette over the course of a few decades during their annual girls trip each August to The Sweet Delilah cottage. The storyline skips a few years here and there but the audience is brought up to speed every time the five women reunite again and share laughter, gossip, advice, and empathy.
The actors nail their respective characters and every witty one-liner or exchange between them, having to pause often for the laughter to die down before they hit us with the next one. Each character’s personalities were highlighted from the hairstyles they wore right down to the outfits they appeared in for each scene.
While each of these women is strikingly different, they accept each other just as they are (albeit not without a few zingers thrown around), and they support each other as they go through the usual life experiences with husbands, children, careers, health, big life changes and a plethora of other relatable milestones. And despite their differences, they all have one thing in common – their genuine love for each other that withstands the test of time and some trials and tribulations over those years.
While this is a comedy it also has its heart touching moments as the women support one another through thick and thin, but the actors never leave room for the audience to feel down for longer than a beat, as they quickly remind us all that even during the worst of times, our friends are the ones we can always lean on.
The signature drink for this show was the Lexie’s Blueberry Sangria – and the reasoning for the name becomes clear in the first couple minutes of the show. As for the choice of sangria, it is the perfect representation of the medley of characters that combine to make up the Sweet Delilah Swim Team, resulting in a drink that is sweet, but with a sassy little kick to it. Just like the women we get to know throughout the show.
The Opening Night celebrations were topped off with a delicious finger foods buffet prepared by Debbie Moffatt Catering and music by Jesse Murphy and Ian Brammall as patrons toasted another great show with champagne and post-show chatter.
I 10/10 recommend that you go see this show, even better if it’s with one of your own best friends!
This show is running in Port Dover until August 10th and then it moves to Port Colborne from the 14th to the 25th.
Get your tickets here: https://lighthousetheatre.com/event/sweet-delilah-swim-club/