Once a year, a group of women get together to celebrate their long-standing friendship and bring themselves up-to-date on what’s been happening in each other’s lives. They’ve been doing this for 35 years, since they all met at Family camp as young marrieds with children.
There’s Anne, chief organizer and bossy pants. And there’s warm-hearted, sensible Marie. Carol is a devoted housewife, a.k.a. Mrs. Bill; Ellen is sweet but not too bright; outgoing Yolanda marries often to keep things interesting; Patty is the heavy-drinking party girl; Irene can’t bring herself to tell her father she’s a lesbian; and Kathy refuses to acknowledge her age. Then there’s Jane, who cannot let herself find happiness.
Finally, unbeknownst to most of the women, there’s Pierre, the kindly spirit who’s been inhabiting the cottage for 43 years. We also briefly meet Frieda, the owner of the 10-bedroom cottage, and Travis, the helpful next-door neighbour.
In Act One, we learn about each character and see how the women relate to each other. As can happen with a large group, while there’s much laughter and friendly teasing on the surface, there are undercurrents of emotion that reveal some unhappy truths about their relationships.
The frivolity comes to a sudden end when Jane has a minor melt-down. The banter among these quirky characters riles her until she finally erupts. Confessing to Marie that she is deeply depressed, she escapes to her room so the others can carry on with the evening.
Led by Marie, the women examine their relationships, and ask the question: If we weren’t keeping up this annual tradition, would we still be friends now? Some are all-in, some aren’t quite so sure.
Act One ends when the women retire to bed, knowing they have yoga in six hours, according to Anne’s “schedule of activities”.
As Act Two opens, it is 2:00 a.m. and we see Jane alone by the fire, wrapped in a blanket and crying softly. Pierre the ghost, who has been quietly participating in the women’s weekend retreat, becomes visible to Jane. He has heard her “call” for help and is here to listen and offer advice.
Pierre and Jane have a poignant yet humorous tete-a-tete, when he explains a few things about life after death, and why the “now” is so important. He demonstrates the limitations of what he is able to do as a spirit – things he took for granted in life – and counsels Jane to live while she can. His message also reaches Marie, who thinks the voice she’s hearing from her bedroom is nothing more than a dream.
In the morning, the women have forgiven Jane for her outburst, and as they prepare to leave, they continue their ritual of stating what they are grateful for and what they will aim for in the year ahead. Marie stuns them all by announcing that she won’t be joining them for the next get-together; that she wants to look forward instead of living in the past. Jane realizes that Marie has also taken Pierre’s advice to heart, and she prepares to take control of her own life with a new, positive mindset.
And never mind that Pierre insists that he’s a ghost – Jane believes he’s an angel.
Keywords: ghost, life lessons
Produced by Theatre Ancaster's "Classics Company", Ancaster ON, March 2024
Genre: Comedic Drama
Acts: 2
Run time: 100 minutes
Content notes: Contains sexual innuendo and discussion; ghosts, angels and the spirit world.
Cast size: 12 actors
Male roles: 2
Female roles: 10
Casting notes: The character of the ghost is 65-85 years of age. The women are all of similar age, over 55, and the character of Travis is 50-65. The role of Frieda is very small and could be played by another character.