[NEohioPAL] PRESS RELEASE: CVLT's "The Dixie Swim Club" makes a virtual comeback for more laughs on the web, Sep. 25, 26, & 27

[Andrew Rothman]

*PRESS RELEASE*
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: 7/07/2020
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Contact: Andrew Rothman
From: Chagrin Valley Little Theatre

40 River Street
Chagrin Falls, OH 44122
Phone: 440-247-8955
E-mail: cvlt at cvlt.org
Website: www.CVLT.org <http://www.cvlt.org/>
CVLT's "The Dixie Swim Club" makes a virtual comeback for more laughs on
the web, Sep. 25, 26, & 27 Subhead: Chagrin Valley Little Theatre to stream
hit 2010 comedy about female friendships as one-weekend event

CHAGRIN FALLS, OH - Chagrin Valley Little Theatre has, like many local
performance venues, remained 'dark' for the past six months. However, the
venerable non-profit has continued to offer entertainment via the web while
waiting for health and safety recommendations to permit the resumption of
in-person productions. Determined to proceed with its 91st Season under
these unusual circumstances, CVLT will stream the archival video of its hit
2010 production of *The Dixie Swim Club* on Sept. 25, 26, and 27. Admission
is 'pay-as-you-can' and viewers can watch at any time they choose
throughout the weekend.

*The Dixie Swim Club* is a heartwarming comedy about the power of
friendship by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten. The writing
team has many stage and screen credits, including Wooten's turn as a
writer/producer of *The Golden Girls*, the sassy snap of which comes
through in this play. The 'club' consists of five Southern women who met on
their college swim team and have set aside one long weekend every August to
meet up at the same beach cottage on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Free
from their husbands, children, and jobs, the ladies recharge their
friendships as they catch up, laugh, swig martinis, and meddle in each
other’s lives. *The Dixie Swim Club* focuses on four of those weekends and
spans a period of thirty-three years, during which life flings challenges
at them, throws wrenches into their plans, and helps them prove the
enduring power of 'teamwork'. The play has been compared to *Steel
Magnolias* and *The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants* for its healthy mix
of witty jabs and touching moments.

The group is led by Sheree (Jackie Cassara), the spunky team captain, who
desperately tries to maintain her organized and ‘perfect’ life. Dinah
(Chris White), the wise-cracking overachiever, is a career dynamo whose
victories in the courtroom are in stark contrast to the frustrations of her
personal life. Lexie (Denise Larkin), the pampered and outspoken one, is
determined to hold on to her looks and youth as long as possible throughout
her various marriages. The self-deprecating and acerbic Vernadette (Kate
Tonti), acutely aware of the dark cloud that hovers over her life, has
decided to just give in and embrace the chaos. And sweet, eager-to-please
Jeri Neal (Jenny Barrett) experiences a late entry into motherhood that
takes them all by surprise.

Under the direction of Chagrin Valley Little Theatre veteran Barbara L.
Rhoades, *The Dixie Swim Club* was a box office smash and its ensemble
charmed the critics. The News-Herald's Bob Abelman called them "a uniformly
marvelous cast that brings these five characters to life and makes them
interesting and inviting," while Sun News' Marjorie Preston said "the
characters are amazingly fun for both women and men to watch as they say
the things women think but can't say in public... the quips are delivered
very well and have the audience reeling."

"When I read *The Dixie Swim Club* I thoroughly enjoyed it because it
offered everything I love in a great show," says director Rhoades. "This
play is a combination of every emotion we can experience: laughter, love,
anger, forgiveness, sadness and more. The actors in *Dixie Swim* became a
family of friends right from the auditions through to opening night.
Rehearsals were a joyful experience for everyone and these wonderful women
worked hard to make every emotion real and honest."

Actor Chris White, who subsequently stepped into the role of CVLT Board
President for a few years, concurs. "From the time we met at the first
read-through, the bond and chemistry were instantaneous. We *were* The
Dixie Swim Club!" Her co-star Jenny Barrett made her acting debut in the
production and continued on to leading roles in several other CVLT
comedies. Barrett says she still considers the *Dixie Swim *cast among the
most talented she's worked with.

The play struck a chord with audiences as well, and has been named by many
of the theatre's patrons as one of the finest comedies to play the CVLT
Main Stage. Audience member Thomas Schleper recalled that *The Dixie Swim
Club* was the first play he saw at CVLT. He enjoyed it so much that he
sprang into several years of volunteer work at the Little Theatre,
including house managing and co-chairing the annual murder mystery
fundraiser (which would have taken place early this month). Schleper saw
the announcement of this online reprise as a serendipitous sign of good
fortune for his family's recent return to the area after a stint in
Colorado.

The admission password for this one-weekend stream can be purchased by
PayPal or credit card at CVLT.org. A $10 minimum is suggested and greater
amounts are encouraged, helping CVLT to meet mortgage and utility
obligations while its usual slate of events remain cancelled.

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is located at 40 River St. in Chagrin Falls
and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded through individual and corporate
contributions along with a grant from the Ohio Arts Council and by the
citizens of Cuyahoga Country through Cuyahoga County Arts and Culture.

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