Laughs and Lessons on Aging (Derby Dinner Playhouse)
- stagedoorlouisville
- 15 hours ago
- 4 min read
Calendar Girls
By Tim Firth
Produced and Directed by Tina Jo Wallace
Review by Loraine Lawson Entire contents are copyright © 2026 Loraine Lawson. All rights reserved.
If somehow you’ve missed learning about Calendar Girls, it’s the true account of how the Yorkshire Women’s Institute (WI) club raised money for a cancer ward by poising nude — not naked, mind you, but tastefully nude — for their annual calendar.
What’s unexpected about that is they were all middle- and senior-aged women. The story made international headlines and was turned into an award-winning movie staring Helen Mirren, Julie Walters and Celia Imrie.
So how does this very English story translate for Derby Dinner audiences in Kentuckiana?
Surprisingly well. Opening night provided the audience with plenty of laughs, a bit of drama and a few touching life lessons.
The play opens with the local WI club practicing Tai Chi, led by Chris, who owns a Knapley Village, Yorkshire, flower shop. Chris is quite the charismatic character: Even though she doesn’t know Tai Chi, she still leads the ladies in practice by making up moves such as “milk the yak” as she goes. She’s played with charm and wit by Lisa Woods.
Joining her in these shenanigans is group of women that includes her best friend, Annie; a spunky pianist named Cora; the sharp-tongued former teacher, Jessie; Celia, a major's wife who golfs despite herself; and Ruth, a reserved woman whose husband tends to stray.
It’s fall in the village, and the ladies are full of mirth, laughing and making light of each other.
As the scene ends, Annie, played with depth by Jennifer Pennington, learns that her husband, John, has received devastating news about his blood work: He has blood cancer.
John is played by Michael Drury, who brings an endearing sweetness to the character. He and Pennington show audiences how deeply the two characters love each other with just a few, brief interactions.
John quickly declines. By winter, he’s slowing down and Annie worries about him walking very far or fast as the group heads out caroling. By spring, he’s in a wheel chair; by summer, he’s gone.
To honor John, the WI gals decide to use the club’s annual calendar as a way to fund a much-needed new settee for the local cancer ward.
Traditionally, the calendar features local scenery, but inspired by sales of nude calendars, Chris and Annie decide to pitch a tasteful, nude calendar featuring the women of the WI.
Celia (Bryana Bentley), Cora (Elizabeth Loos) and Jessie (Janet Essenpreis) embrace the idea, but the reticent Ruth (Katie Lose Gilbertson) opts out. Later, inspired by a large bottle of alcohol and events revealed later in the play, she changes her mind and joins the girls for the photo shoot.
All the while they’re planning this, the ladies are carefully hiding their plan from local WI leader Marie, played with humorous sternness by Emily Shimskey.
The gals meet with Lawrence to discuss the details. Lawrence has drawn out his vision of cleverly turning their interests into photos where the women are artfully covered by produce, baked goods, flowers and other hobby accruements. Derby Dinner newcomer Chase Howard gives a solid performance as the understandably nervous photographer.
As you can imagine, it proved a bit tricky to pull off the nude photo shoot onstage, surrounded by a live audience on three sides of four sides. The actresses generated a lot of mirth among the audience as they covered each other, cleverly positioning their photo props. The final “photos” were projected on the backdrop screen.
And wouldn’t you know it? Just as they snap the final group shot for December, in walks stern Marie, flabbergasted by what she sees.
Act II took awhile to warm up, in part because there’s a tone shift toward as the play becomes more drama-driven. It opens with Chris and Annie pitching their calendar to the WI conference in London, from whom they need permission if they’re going to sell their WI calendar.
They return to the village, mission accomplished but things soon take a more serious turn as Chris and Marie have words, with Marie accusing Chris of doing the calendar for attention, and not for John.
Annie at first dismisses this, but when Chris arranges for the ensemble to do a laundry commercial, she also begins to question Chris’ motives.
The conflict builds as the calendar publishes and draws international attention to the village. There’s still humor, but there’s also conflict and wise lessons about life and agism as the group learns more about consequences of their actions.
The ensemble cast worked well together. Bentley is beautiful and witty as Celia, while Loos consistently delivered some of the loudest laughs as Cora. Gilbertson’s Ruth has a wonderful moment of self-awakening as she confronts the woman who cheated with her husband and finds her own voice.
Essenpreis in particular has some choice lines, quipping, “I’ve never had a problem with age — it has had a problem with me.” She also makes the poignant observation that “the saddest thing is those with the fewest hours allowing less and less to fill more and more hours.”
J.R. Stuart is a delight in his brief appearance as Chris’ husband, Rod. He also plays Liam, the producer for the soap commercial.
This is ultimately a comedy so everyone gets a happy ending of sorts. But along the way, they grow and the audience learns some life lessons about aging and the expectations it places on us.
Calendar Girls runs through June 28 with shows Tuesday through Sunday, with matinees on Sunday and Wednesday. Ticket prices start at $26.50, thanks to a buy one get one free Memorial Day promotion but normally start at $50.
Calendar Girls
Derby Dinner Playhouse May 20-June 28, 2026
525 Marriott Drive
Clarksville, IN 47129
812-288-8281