Take some of music legend Neil Sadaka's best songs, add a handful of comedy, a touch of romance, let simmer for three weeks in Jackson's 89 degrees and 99 percent humidity, and you have the makings of New Stage Theatre's season finale, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do."
In the style of other "jukebox musicals" such as "Mamma Mia" and "All Shook Up," "Breaking Up" tells the story of two friends, Lois and Marge, as they explore romance and adventure at a 1960s Catskill resort. Marge's fiancé has left her at the altar, and rather than waste a perfectly good honeymoon vacation, Marge grabs her best friend Lois and heads to the mountains to commiserate.
"It's kind of a ‘Dirty Dancing' theme," director Francine Reynolds said. "It's a good show to start summer. It's fun; it's light. ... You come to be entertained."
Filling out the impressive cast are familiar faces, such as Ray McFarland (Harvey) and Jolyne Shirley (Esther), and new talent like Ashley Pankow (Lois), from New York City, who will be making her Mississippi debut.
"Lois is the best friend, ... the one who pushes (Marge) into everything and tends to stir up trouble," Pankow said. "Basically, she's the dumb blonde."
Ray McFarland, who remembers singing along to Sadaka albums during the '70s, takes on the role of Harvey, an aging comedian (known in the Catskills as a "tumbler") who sets aside his tired jokes to pine for Esther.
McFarland explained that the 1960s Catskills were a not only a great vacation and honeymoon location, but were also a "testing ground for musical acts that hoped to play the circuit later in the year."
"It was a place to cut your teeth," Shirley added. Her character, Esther, is the proprietor of the Catskill resort and has been for many years. Money isn't coming in like it used to, and Esther worries that one day soon the expenses will just be too much.
This a production that entertains in the fullest sense of the word—it comes with laughter, dance, audience participation, and all but a guarantee that "Calendar Girl" will be stuck in your head for hours.
"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" opens May 25 and ends June 6. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.Tickets are $22; $18 seniors and students; $8 student rush with valid ID; group discounts available. For information, call 601-948-3533 or visit http://www.newstagetheatre.com
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