If Savannah Sipping Society feels like beloved ’80s TV sitcom The Golden Girls, there’s a reason for that. The playwright collective that wrote the 2016 comedy script, Jones Hope Wooten, includes one of the show’s writer-producers. That Wooten is Jamie Wooten. But no one owns the story of four middle-aged femmes who meet, by chance, at hot yoga. That story is eternal. A recent weekend show at Triangle Productions proved the enduring charm of a script full of American South wordplay and visually evocative idioms. The audience’s generous laughter didn’t let up for the entire 90-minute runtime.
Now, I’m not saying this cast is actually modeled on Golden Girls, but I will be telling you which characters remind me of that iconic ensemble.
Randa (Michelle Maida) is an architect recovering from being blacklisted—after her firm gives her promotion to a younger man with less experience. She’s our Dorothy. At the story’s beginning, she meets Dot (Helen Raptis, clearly our Rose) and Marlafaye (Beth Willis, this cast’s Sophia) at the previously mentioned hot yoga class, where they bond over a hatred of exercise.
Dot and Marlafaye invite themselves over to Randa’s house where we finally meet Jinks (Lisamarie Harrison)—the show’s Blanche, who coincidentally squabbled with Randa earlier that day. A free-spirited life coach in training, Jinks challenges each woman on Randa’s porch to pursue an unfulfilled dream or festering challenge. Emboldened by mojitos, flask whiskey, and margaritas, they all agree.
The rest of the play follows the foursome everywhere from a Renaissance Faire to a late night tour of Savannah’s haunted hot spots, as the new friends support one another through emotional and social trials. Not everyone’s stories end happily, but they are richly entertaining, endearing, and realistic. Watching these characters uplift themselves and one another, even when they disagree or do foolish things (like get back with an ex, boooo), feels like a hopeful message for those struggling to make friends outside of work or classrooms. Putting yourself out there in any capacity takes courage. One of the many reasons Golden Girls—along with movies like 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias—is so celebrated is that it contains truths about the stress-tested strength of found family.
Plenty of the show’s jokes can be categorized as “wine mom” humor, but the cast fires lines so rapidly that audiences might be surprised at the goofs that catch them off guard. In its best moments, Savannah Sipping Society‘s audience forgets they’re not on the porch themselves—feeling like a fifth member.
We were most curious to see Raptis center stage, as her work in previous Triangle productions proved a captivating departure from the morning show host persona that she’ll retire in May from KATU’s AM Northwest. Raptis did the late Betty White justice as the quartet’s ditziest comedian. All four actresses are Triangle veterans, so seeing them together felt like a superstar alignment of the director and company founder Don Horn.
Savannah Sipping Society ends its run just like a pitcher of margaritas—too soon. It costs less than a bar tab and leaves viewers with a nice buzz for life. We have stated several times now that this isn’t an onstage episode. of The Golden Girls, but it does make you appreciate your loved ones enough to say, “Thank you for being a friend.”
Savannah Sipping Society runs at Triangle Productions, 1785 NE Sandy, through April 18, $20–$40, Arts for All tickets available, trianglepro.org.