5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche • Satire for the Soul

Since the month of June is officially considered PRIDE month, it is both fitting and serendipitous this final production of Pit & Balcony Community Theatre’s 93^rd Season is mixing together all the essential ingredients for staging the immersive and hilarious crowd pleaser, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche for a series of performances set to run Thursday through Saturday, June 26-27-28^th.

Written by playwright Kevin Delong  and set within the cultivated and very real paranoia of the Cold War, this ingenious comedy follows members of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein as they gather for their annual quiche breakfast. The year is 1956 and as the assembled ladies await the announcement of the society's prize-winning quiche, suddenly atomic bomb sirens resonate, creating an existential recipe for hysterical laughs, sexual innuendoes, unsuccessful repressions, and delicious discoveries as these five ‘widows’ respond to imminent attacks upon their idyllic town and lifestyle, which in turn leads to a series of comedic and emotional revelations about their lives and identities.

Named Best Overall Production in the 2012 New York Fringe Festival and exploring themes of friendship and sexual awakening while dealing with defining anxieties permeating that golden era of American prosperity, as the show unfolds the five ladies greet each member of the audience as if we are their dear society sisters come to join their meeting, which sets the stage for interactive theatre at its finest.

According to play director, Rhiannon Evans-Hall, who makes her directorial debut with this production, these five characters consist of Vern, short for Veronica (played by Katie MacLean Peters - a masculine, pant-wearing bossy gal who's in lust with Ginny (Kaeleigh Casavant) a ditzy thing who doesn't mind having quiche crumbs licked off her face by the fairer sex. Wren (Trashan Donald) an overly cheery gal who is "close friends" with the beauty of the group, Dale (Meghan Campbell). Finally there is the President of the organization, Lulie (performed by Hope Brown) who suppresses any libidinous urges she may have by ruling the Society with an iron egg cup.  

However, the truth about these women's sexuality all comes pouring out in confessional form when an atomic explosion forces them into indefinite lockdown at the community center.

“I would call this production a very immersive dark comedy and almost a satire in the sense of how we see these women react and respond to what’s going on,” reflects Rhiannon. “It feels almost over-dramatic and ridiculous to the audience watching the way these women respond, but to them this existential threat of Doomsday forces them to face the most serious things happening in their lives, which is also what makes it funny.”

Sometimes, when it feels like the worst thing in the world has happened, it opens a door to your authentic self. Maybe it’s because you feel like you have nothing to lose, or because it forces us to become our own best advocate, or perhaps it’s the realization that despite feeling like your world is ending you find yourself still standing.

Because of all these factors, Rhiannon feels the core of this story centralizes around female friendship and community.  “In a way these women use their sisterhood as a scapegoat and a way to hide and forge their community,” she explains. “Because of the way the audience views this production, it’s like watching these characters hide in plain sight, or like seeing them in a closet made of glass.”

“This is a very immersive production because the stage is set with four long picnic tables in the middle of the stage with seats around it, so the audience is seated directly on the stage inside the community center with the actors,” she continues.   

“Every audience member gets a female name tag when they come in, so they are part of the sisterhood. We can fit 100 people on the stage, which makes it tight but is also an important element of what’s fun and makes the show work so well. The script leaves a lot of room for improvisation with the audience, so the girls have a lot of ability to play with their characters…as well as the audience.”

“We had 20 actors auditioning for only 5 roles so it was tough casting this play, which is a good problem to have,” Rhiannon notes. “Each actor is digging into their character and fleshing out the depth, color, and qualities that define them. Katie Mclean Peters is having fun with quips and sarcastic one-liners in her role as Vern, who is very protective of her girls. She was in charge of rebuilding the community center, so has re-designed it as a safety shelter and takes her job quite  seriously.”

“The character of Ginny is a British girl from Manchester and because this is her first quiche breakfast she wants to impress the others and feel like a member of the Board. She is secretary of the group and makes sure everything is right on the agenda, and Kaeleigh Casavant is so funny to watch as she develops this role. She has a lot of Improv moments and will be sitting in a chair and shoot out a one-liner that gets the whole audience roaring.”

“Trashan Donald brings such a light to the character of Wren, who is this sing-song, fun-loving personality -  like a bottle of sunshine and energy - and feels she is there to hype all the other members of the sisterhood up; while Meghan Campbell in the role of Dale is like the golden retriever of the group, and is the historian/photographer there to capture all these memorable moments between her friends.”

Lastly, we have Hope Brown in the role of Lulie, who is President of the society and ‘Presidential’ is the right word for her. She is like the Mother in charge of Christmas dinner - very proper, but also like a Den Mother who can be a little strict with some of the women when it comes to trying to make them more orderly. Hope brings a lot of heart to that character.”

In term of challenges, Rhiannon admits, “This is a crazy first show to direct. There are a lot of components to it, beginning with the fact we’ll be using real quiche on-stage. There are a lot of surprise elements to this play that I unfortunately can’t explain without giving away important parts, but with the audience seated on-stage it’s a complicated show to block. We don’t have a lot of performance space for the actors, so navigating that is an interesting challenge but also a fun one.”

“The bigger challenge for me, though, is balancing the serious moments with the funny satirical moments and making sure we’re not over-dramatizing the characters. The script leans in a way you can make each character out to be foolish and funny, but it would take away from the heart of the script if you lean too far into it, so finding that right balance can be tough.”

“We’re working on making this play as immersive as possible, starting with the lobby that will be decorated with posters from the 1950s to bring people into the set,” she concludes. “We’re setting it in the month of June so will have a summer picnic kind of vibe, and our costume designer, Spencer Beyerlein, is leaning into that ‘hiding in plain sight’ theme to match the clothing of each character with their personalities.”

While set in the 1950s, perhaps the most important element to this production is its Timelessness. In times of uncertainty, we tend to rely the most upon what Art is founded on: community and generosity. Art provides us with a safe place to go, to return to, and to look forward to.

Our art, whatever it may be, has the possibility to be an anchor in our lives, and in times of chaos and uncertainly, it can provide us with a sense of direction as we move forward to create a future where we feel secure, safe, and free to flourish in uncertain times.

Pit & Balcony’s After Dark production of ‘5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche’ runs Thursday, Friday & Saturday, June 26-27-28 at 8:00 PM.  Tickets are only $15.00 and available at the box office by calling 989.754.6587 or visiting PitandBalconyTheatre.com