Reviewed by Lia Tremblay
The latest production at Swift Creek Mill Theatre, Honky-Tonk Angels weaves its story through separate lives that eventually collide. Three women — a disgruntled housewife in Texas, a fed-up secretary in California and a lonely daughter in Mississippi — are each shown lamenting their various heartaches and their shared desire to escape.
Their separate decisions to flee eventually land them on the same eastbound bus, where they bond over their similar woes and their love of singing. They forge a plan to stick together, settling in Tennessee and combining their voices to entertain at a Nashville bar.
The story is told through dozens of classic country-western songs, the kind that even people who aren’t fans of the genre somehow know by heart. Gems like “9 to 5,” “Stand by Your Man,” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter” sway between humor and melancholy to illustrate the women’s respective lots in life.
Robin Arthur is engaging and entertaining as Sue Ellen, the L.A. office worker, who relates the story of her two divorces and her evil boss as though the audience were an old friend. Robyn O’Neill is campy and hilarious as Angela, the cranky Texas housewife. Debra Wagoner (who you may remember as a ringer for Patsy Cline onstage last year) shines as Darlene, a character whose story offers less comedy than her counterparts, but whose voice impeccably relays her sorrow. Her moving rendition of Jane Siberry’s “Calling All Angels” is a highlight of Act I.
In Act II, when the ladies’ honky-tonk life is in full swing, audiences are treated to more upbeat tunes (and a glimpse of the talented backing band). O’Neill’s “Harper Valley PTA” is particularly memorable, as is “Rocky Top,” sung by a hilariously outfitted Arthur and Wagoner.
All three women gave enjoyable performances and won fans in the enthusiastic audience. The crowd was moved to sniffling in one scene, foot-stomping in the next, and finally to a well-deserved standing ovation.
Honky Tonk Angels runs through May 4 at Swift Creek Mill Theatre —
