Hallelujah Girls’ turns old Southern church into laugh factory at Warner Robins LT

Only in the South can you find ladies named “Sugar” and “Bunny.”

In the vein of “Steel Magnolias” and “Something to Talk About” comes “The Hallelujah Girls,” a comedy written by Jones Hope Wooten, to the Warner Robins Little Theatre beginning March 11 with seven total showings March 12-13 and March 16-19. Produced by Zack Lindstrom and directed by Jerry Reppert, “The Hallelujah Girls” is set in a church turned beauty salon and follows a group of lady friends wondering about love, marriage and what lies ahead.

“These girls have been friends for years and years,” said Reppert. “It’s an old dusty church, and one of the girls buys it. The rest are totally surprised because it’s run down, and she’s going to make a day spa out of it.

‘Then the fun ensues. We have a male interloper so to speak. They hired him to put a sauna in.”

The girls (all 50 or older) are Carlene Travis played by Katie Manning, Nita Mooney played by Lyssa May, Mavis Flowers played by Jaloo Zelonis, Crystal Hart played by Susan McRaney and Sugar Lee Thompkins played by Dot Monahan. Bobby Dwayne Dillahunt is the handyman who was once engaged to Sugar Lee, who bought the church and is concerned about the business’ success. But it’s the story’s antagonist, Bunny Sutherland (played by Monica Nix) who brings Bobby Dwayne into the picture because she wanted to buy the church building herself.

Carlene’s character feels personally responsible for the passing of her three husbands. Nita is a bit on the dramatic side. Mavis would love to start anew from her current marital situation. Crystal never knew a holiday for which she couldn’t adapt a Christmas song.

Reppert said “The Hallelujah Girls” is full of funny lines. He said he looks for shows that will require older, experienced actors, and he said this cast is top-notch whose members develop their characters. They also work together and make the most of the size of the stage, meaning the space may be small, but the production is big.

“There’s no way a director could do it by himself,” said Reppert, who has been involved in Warner Robins Little Theatre since 1990. “You need somebody to run the tech booth, a stage manager, producer. It takes a lot of volunteers, a village to put on a show.

“I’ve acted in several of them and produced. I’ve directed roughly 20 shows. Other than church, this is my passion. This gives you a chance to get all the creative juices running around.

“(‘The Hallelujah Girls’) is a family show. There were only two cuss words, and I took them out. We are very fortunate we have a sponsor, Lowe Toyota. The Pilot Club uses my shows as a fund raiser. We’ve had a relationship with them for at least four years.”

For more information about Warner Robins Little Theatre, located at 502 Pleasant Hill Road, call 929-4579 or visit wrlt.org.

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