Glen Ellyn’s Village Theatre Guild wraps up its 60th season with ‘The Sweet Delilah Swim Club’
The Glen Ellyn Village Theatre Guild is wrapping up its diamond anniversary 60th season with “The Sweet Delilah Swim Club” by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten. This is the story of true friendship in its sweetest form.
These five Southern belles, whose lives have evolved differently through the span of 52-plus years, remain devoted to each other.
Through thick and thin, good times and bad, they are there for one another, held hilariously together by annual reunions at the Sweet Delilah cottage on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Watch as they grow old, often apart but once a year, always together.
“The Sweet Delilah Swim Club” is directed by John Vinopal (Schaumburg), produced by Maggie Fredericks (Glen Ellyn), with stage management by Carl Zeitler (Glen Ellyn).
The cast features Village Theatre Guild veterans Susan Carr (Winfield) as Dinah Grayson and Julie Rodgers-Baker (Wheaton) as Lexie Richards, along with VTG newcomers Janet Venzon (Downers Grove) as Sheree Hollinger, Tammy White (Woodridge) as Vernadette Simms, and Karyn Louise Doerfler (Chicago) as Jeri Neal McFeeley.
The production runs for 12 performances from May 17 until June 8.
Vinopal explained why this play stood out to him: “I was immediately interested in this script because it is extremely funny. I literally laughed out loud reading the script for the first time. I was originally scheduled to direct ‘Sweet Delilah’ more than 4 years ago, but COVID threw a wrench in those gears. Better late than never and I’m thrilled to be finally making my directorial debut at VTG, where I’ve been a member since 2014.”
Fredricks has been a producer for at least 15 shows at Village Theatre Guild over the years and remarked “I am so glad this production is finally coming to the stage! And it’s worth the wait. We have a talented cast of five women, and I know the audiences will laugh along with these friends! A good time will be had by all!”
“This is my first show with VTG and I couldn’t be more excited,” White said. “This story is so heartwarming and incredibly funny. My character, Vernadette, has gone through some tough times, which is an understatement. But I feel she derives her strength to persevere through this friendship. She knows that no matter what she has these four women in her corner. Always.”
Another newcomer to the VTG stage, Janet Venzon, echoed that sentiment by saying: “This is a such a wonderful story about the ups and downs of friendship. We come together, we fall apart, we come back together. We laugh, we cry, we’re strong, we’re weak. But most importantly we stick together as a team. Always.”
Carr, who is making her fifth appearance on the VTG’s stage, explained that “the play appealed to me as an actor because of its excellent writing and the challenge of exploring characters and relationships as they evolve over the course of several years. Sweet Delilah is definitely a comedy, with some serious themes, and it’s just plain fun. I can only hope the audience enjoys it as much as we have.”
“The play is a heartwarming experience. It will make you laugh as well as pull at your heart strings,” Zeitler stated.
He also pointed out that the “Village Theatre Guild is great in that they actively welcome and encourage new people to get involved in a variety of areas, whether it be onstage or off. Getting new people involved is the life force any theater group needs to grow.”
Come join the club!
Performances will be 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, May 17 to June 8. There are 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays, May 19 to June 2, and Saturday, June 1. Several dates are already sold out.
Doors open half-hour before curtain, and seating is first come, first served. The theater is located just north of Butterfield Road on Park Boulevard in Glen Ellyn.
Tickets are available by calling the box office at (630) 469-8230 or online at villagetheatreguild.com/2024-4.