Park Square to Conclude Season with Calendar Girls
May 18, 2016

Park Square concludes its 2016-2017 season with the area premiere of Tim Firth's hilarious and heartfelt comedy Calendar Girls. Based on the hit 2003 film, the play explores loss, friendship, and baring it all as a group of women pose in the buff to benefit a local charity. The ensuing media firestorm puts the women's friendship to the test and reveals the love shared by an extraordinary group of women.

Mary M. Finnerty, a long time Park Square favorite, stages the play. "This is my favorite kind of play," she says, "it celebrates how deliciously human we are while also revealing how incredibly generous we can be when one of our own is in need of hope."

When Annie's husband dies of leukemia, she and her friends set out to raise funds for a local charity - by posing for a calendar in the nude. Positioned behind strategically placed flower arrangements, cakes, and knitting projects, the women discover the beauty within themselves and one another. When news of the women's hilariously provocative venture spreads like wildfire, they find themselves exposed in ways they hadn't anticipated, and reach for a new level of understanding and friendship that will carry them through the days to come.

Tim Firth wrote the screenplay for Calendar Girls based on a true story. A group of women in northern England produced a nude but tasteful calendar to raise money for cancer research in remembrance of their dear friend's husband who passed away. A few years later, Firth's adaptation for the stage broke nearly every British box office record and has played to millions around the world, including audiences in Israel, Russia, Bulgaria, Argentina, and New Zealand. Of the play's London premiere, the Telegraph wrote, "...in the great good cause of cheering us up in hard times, Calendar Girls is just the ticket." Director Finnerty says, "The movie is fun, but the play is so much better. It is a charming, hilarious and moving portrait of the depth of female friendship. The characters are more fully drawn and each woman conquers some fear or challenge to be photographed in the nude and to weather the fallout which follows."

The play features Charity Jones* (Chris), Christina Baldwin* (Annie), Linda Kelsey* (Jessie), Carolyn Pool* (Celia), Shanan Custer (Ruth), and Laurel Armstrong (Cora) as the women who take it all off. Newcomer Julia Cook* plays Marie, the group's uptight leader, Karen Weber is the high society dame Lady Cravenshire and Anna Hickey plays the flirtatious young hairstylist, Elaine. John Middleton* is Annie's likeable and ill husband (John), with Bill McCallum*as his best mate Rod, Kory LaQuess Pullam plays London Promoter (Liam), and Ryan Colbert (Lawrence) the photographer who captures John's touching vision of feminine beauty.

The production team for Calendar Girls includes Mary M. Finnerty (Director), MaryBeth Gagner (Costume Designer), Katharine Horowitz (Sound Designer), Abbee Warmboe (Properties Designer), Mike P. Kittel (Lighting Designer), and Michael Hoover (Set Designer). Laura Topham* is the Stage Manager and Marie D. Long*is the Assistant Stage Manager.

Calendar Girls Performance Schedule: Previews begin Friday, June 17, and continue through Thursday, June 23. June 24 is Opening Night, and the run continues through July 24. Show times are 7:30 p.m. except for Saturday and Sunday matinees, which begin at 2 p.m. All performances are in the company's Proscenium Stage in Saint Paul's historic Hamm Building, 20 W. Seventh Place.

Ticket prices: Previews: $27 and $37. Regular Run: $40 and $60. Discounts are available for seniors, those under age 30, college students and groups. Tickets are on sale at the Park Square ticket office, 20 W. Seventh Place, or by phone: 651.291.7005, (12 noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday), or online at www.parksquaretheatre.org.

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