‘CLASSY AND SASSY’
‘The Women of DCP Theatre’ featured in new calendar
SALFORD TOWNSHIP >> The stage isn’t the only place DCP Theatre has “Calendar Girls” for the start of its 2020 season.
DCP has also put together its own calendar, showing “The Women of DCP Theatre.”
The play, based on the 2003 movie, tells the true-life story of a group of women volunteers at a hospital in England who became a sensation after making a fundraising calendar featuring nude photos of themselves.
“I just love the script. I love the story. I love that it is a story about older women
who do something very daring and out of their comfort zone. I love that it’s a true story,” said Deb Takes, the show’s director and president of the DCP Theatre Board of Directors.
“I love that there are parts for older actresses,” she said, “because you know when you get to be my age, there are not a lot of parts. You’re sort of out of the ingenue stage like by 40 years.”
All of the models in “The Women of DCP Theatre” calendar, one of which is herself, are over 40, Takes said. Similar to the original “Calendar Girls” calendar, the DCP one flirts with nudity, outfits and well-placed props. It’s not as racy as the original, though, Takes and photographer Colleen Algeo said.
“We’re more classy and sassy,” said Algeo, who does sets at DCP and is a former board member.
Each of the models is photographed doing what they do at the theatre on Ridge Road in Salford Township with accompanying captions such as “Yes they’re real! Oh ... you mean the pastries?” for
Prop Creation and “One hot ticket” for the Box Office.
Jayne Galletta, who is one of the models, said she initially didn’t think she wanted to do the calendar, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.
“Debby and Colleen brought out in the women who were doing this calendar a sense of freedom, sensuality, confidence,” she said.
Some of the women have gone through or are now going through tough situations, she said.
“This brought us together as women, family,” Galletta said, “and doing the calendar was just the icing on the cake.”
Takes described it as an empowering experience.
“You made us, each one of us, feel special, feel beautiful,” Galletta said.
“Even with the wrinkles, the gray hair, and everything’s sagging,” she said, “there’s still a beauty to it.”
Algeo, the owner of Colleen Algeo Studio, took all the photos for the calendar except the one of herself, which was done by Algeo’s daughter, Madison Jeronis.
The limited-edition calendar, which sells for $20, also lists DCP’s show dates for the year. It is available on the DCPtheatre.com website and will be on sale at the theatre during the “Calendar Girls” run.
“Calendar Girls” showtimes are 8 p.m. Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15, and 2 p.m. Feb. 2 and 9. Opening weekend director’s receptions featuring wine and cheese are on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, students and children under 12, and are available on the website, at the door or by calling 215-234-0966.
The show is billed as an adult comedy with the theatre leaving it up to parents to decide if they want to bring kids, Takes said.
“There’s no nudity in this show,” she said.
Tim Firth, who wrote the play, writes in his notes that if you use nudity, you’re not staying true to his vision, she said.
“This is not a play about nudity. This is a play about taking risks,” Takes said.
Firth said to think of it as vaudevillian fan dancing, Takes said.
“What you don’t see is more exciting than what you do see,” she said.
When auditions were held, she told everybody that nobody would be naked on stage in the show, she said.
“First of all, that is not a thing our audiences would appreciate,” Takes said. “This is not Philadelphia. This is not New York. This is Telford.”
The play does include depictions of photos being shot for the “Calendar Girls” calendar, but is done in a way that tells the story without letting the audience see too much, she said.
For instance, when it was discovered that a teapot being used as a prop was not quite big enough to block the view, she took eight teacups and glued them together into two towers to add to the visual block, Takes said.
“It’s provocative, but nothing’s gonna show,” she said. “There are TV commercials that are racier than this play.”
Proceeds from sales of the calendars will go to planned improvements to the theatre building, Takes said.
The first part of those plans are for renovations to the backstage green room area used for storage, dressing rooms and from which the cast enters the stage, she said. That section was added in the 1980s and hasn’t been touched since then, she said. The second part of the plan includes expanding the bathrooms used by people attending the shows at the theatre, she said.
It’s not yet known when that work can be fit into the theatre’s tight schedule, she said.
“This brought us together as women, family.” — Model Jayne Galletta
“I love that it is a story about older women who do something very daring and out of their comfort zone.” — “Calendar Girls” Director Deb Takes