Hairy Tease presents The Wild Women of Winedale

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Moncton’s own Hairy Tease Productions returns to the stage at Theatre l’Escaouette this week with its 43rd show, a comedy called The Wild Women of Winedale.

Director Mike Granville says the play catches up with three women at the crossroads of their lives. Fanny and Willa, along with their sister-in-law Johnny Faye, have supported each other through life’s highs and lows, including the early demise of their husbands. They are now coming up with new ways to clear the clutter from their lives, their homes and their relationships as they move forward with their lives, says the show summary.

Granville is a retired teacher and drama instructor from Harrison Trimble High School who formed the Hairy Tease group as a community theatre and produces a few plays each year. This will be the 43rd show since 2004.

The Hairy Tease has a group of actors, many of whom graduated from Harrison Trimble High School. For each play, a group is chosen and they go through several weeks of rehearsals before a weekend of performances.

Granville said this play represents the first all-female cast with Dara Hicks, Jane Messervier, Ingrid Perry, Rhonda Whittaker and Jill Baycroft.

“Working with these ladies has been a real adventure,” Granville said. “Five strong talents with five big personalities were what this show required, and this cast delivers on all fronts. These ladies have kept me on my toes and sometimes actually listened to this much older male director.”

Whittaker said she was in the very first Hairy Tease production, Send Me No Flowers, 20 years ago and is happy to be back on stage with the group.

“It’s a gift to the community that you have somebody who’s willing to commit and volunteer time and energy that it takes to put something like this on,” she said. “We’re so lucky that Mike and the team are here to make sure it happens. It’s just a thrill to be able to do it and be part of it.”

Hicks said it takes passion and commitment to be part of community theatre, making time for rehearsals while working a full-time job.

“You have to be passionate about it and love the people. You get to know everybody on a different level and it becomes a bonding experience for us,” Hicks said.

• Hairy Tease Productions will present the comedy, The Wild Women of Winedale at Theatre l’Escaouette, 170 Botsford St., Moncton, May 2-4 at 7:30 p.m. and May 5 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 and available at the box office, by calling 855-0001 (207) or online at escaouette.com.