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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Aurora’s ‘The Dixie
Swim Club’ offers more of the same<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Times </I>papers
3/10/11</SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Some
theater is risky and risqué.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is
intended to challenge the audience’s sensibilities while assaulting its
senses.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“The Dixie Swim Club,”
written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, and currently on stage
at the Aurora Community Theatre, is most certainly not that kind of
theater.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
kind of theater is safe and familiar fare.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>To a very large extent, the appeal of “The Dixie Swim Club”—a truly
delightful comedy—resides in its immediate recognizability and the fluffy cloud
of comfort such temperate entertainment tends to generate.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
play bares a strong resemblance to "Steel Magnolias" in its depiction of
Southern charm, its blending of broad humor, and its thick estrogen-laced
sentimentality.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
play explores the lives of five girlfriends who met on their college swim
team.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They now meet each year at
the same beach cottage on North Carolina's Outer Banks to drink, swim and
support each other through life’s unpredictable twists and
turns.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">As
such, “The Dixie Swim Club” resembles "Same Time, Next Year" in that it spans
these friends’ adult lives and drops in on them periodically, at first depicting
the women in their 40s and, finally, in their golden years.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
play also hints of TV’s "The Golden Girls." <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Like a good sitcom, the laughs come fast
and furious.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And, true to ensemble
sitcom casting, each character is built to conflict with the others for broad
comedic effect, while their bond of uncompromising friendship supplies the
occasional moments of drama. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sheree,
played by Jackie Cassara, is the steadfast team captain and unflappable group
organizer.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Dinah, played by Chris
White, is the aggressive, hard-drinking career woman.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Lexie has never met a mirror or a man
she didn’t like, and is portrayed by Denise Bernstein.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Kate Tonti, as Vernadette, is an
accident waiting to happen, arriving each year as the victim of increasingly
improbable tribulations.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Jeri Neal,
played by Jenny Barrett, is a lapsed nun making up for lost time.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">What
is most familiar about this play is that it was just performed at the Chagrin
Valley Little Theatre last June.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>This is the same cast, the same concept and, with Barbara Rhoades at the
helm, the same director.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Aside
from some remnant dust still showing during the opening night performance, this
play, this production and these players make for an enjoyable evening’s
entertainment.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It
can be argued that the insertion of this play into the season’s existing lineup
makes good business sense for the ACT.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>“The Dixie Swim Club” is, after all, an established entity.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The CVLT production had a very
successful run and received recognition from the Ohio Community Theater
Association.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Logistically,
this production makes sense as well.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The set used in the ACT’s previous production of “Communicating Doors” is
put to use once again, and the performers were able to step back into their
roles without missing a beat and with little rehearsal. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Still,
the revival of a show available just 8 miles away and just 6 months ago lacks a
certain degree of artistic merit and creative integrity.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Risky and risqué theater may be out of
the question on the community theater scene in some communities, but recycled
theater should never be entered into the equation, no matter how good, safe or
familiar the product.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"
class=MsoNormal><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“The
Dixie Swim Club"</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
</SPAN><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">continues
through March 12 </SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">at </SPAN></I><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Aurora
Community Theatre, </SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">115 E.
Pioneer Trail, Aurora.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets,
which are $16, contact 330-562-1818</SPAN></I><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
or www. </SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">auroracommunitytheatre.com.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>