‘The Ladies Foursome’: the Community Players return to the stage

The Moose Jaw Community Players are excited to showcase their first performance since the pandemic began – The Ladies Foursome, written by Norm Foster, is coming to the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery on April 13 and 14.

The last time Moose Jaw’s community theatre group performed on stage was in November 2019.

“It’s really, really exciting,” said Community Players president Crystal Milburn. “We haven’t done anything since the pandemic, since they shut down the theatres.”

The setting is a game of golf: 18 holes, 18 scenes, with four female players.

“It was a practical choice,” said Milburn. The group didn’t want to re-start with anything too intense. The cast is small and the set is uncomplicated, making it a play that is easy to produce.

“The premise is really simple. Three of these women have been golfing together for over a decade,” Milburn explained. “They’ve just lost their fourth player, she just passed away. So they’re out on the links again in memory of her, and they’ve invited along another woman, a friend of their deceased friend, to join them on the course this day.”

The Ladies Foursome is a comedy. There are moments of poignancy, but what the Community Players would like is to see their audience having fun. They’d like to get people out and laughing, Milburn said.

This show will mark a return to form that every member of the group has been longing for. The four actors – Milburn will be one – obviously get most of the attention, being on the stage.

However, actors are not the only people interested in plays. Anyone who enjoys theatre is needed and appreciated.

“There’s always work to be done,” said Milburn. “We have a lot of members who never set foot on a stage in a performance role, who do things like build sets, source props for us, or even just help get the production up and running. Things like booking the venue, selling tickets, designing programs… all that stuff needs to be done too, (people don’t have to be) on stage in the spotlight.”

New members are always welcome. The Moose Jaw Community Players’ Facebook page is the best way to join. In addition to rehearsing, acting workshops are a regular perk of membership.

The venue for The Ladies Foursome is the theatre at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery (MJMAG). Positioned between the library and the gallery itself, there are seats for 135 people.

Tickets are online now at EventBrite for $16.93 apiece.

Milburn hopes people are ready for a return to theatre.

“I’m hoping we get a huge turnout,” she said.

Once they’ve done their two shows at MJMAG, the Community Players will take their show on the road: They're headed to TheatreFest in Melfort, SK.

TheatreFest 2022, from April 20-24, will the first Theatre Saskatchewan competitive festival since 2019. Four community theatre groups will be performing, with an awards ceremony scheduled for Sunday.

The other communities sending representatives are the Battlefords, Regina, and Prince Albert.

Moose Jaw’s group will perform on April 22 – the Friday night of the festival. Tickets can be purchased from the TheatreFest site.