Hallelujah Girls promise laughs Friday at WiLLow LeaVes

Wit and southern charm deliver an inspiring life-changing approach to living in the moment in “Hallelujah Girls,” which debuts Friday at WILLow LeaVes of Hope.

The debut of “Hallelujah Girls” adds to the repertoire of nearly one dozen comedies performed on the WILLow LeaVes of Hope stage since the venue opened in 2015. And the play is sure to not disappoint, says the play’s director and producer Naomi Fleetwood-Pyle.

“’Hallelujah Girls’ ranks up there with ‘The Savannah Sipping Society’” Pyle says. “Because it is from the same writers and is flat out funny. It ranks high on my list.”

Written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, “Hallelujah Girls” hilariously explores how life’s experiences can propel one to seize the day with unbridled abandon.

Set in the Spa-Dee-Dah!, a church-turned-day spa, located in Eden Falls, Georgia, five southern belles face individual trials and tribulations while finding comfort in their shared friendship. After a dear friend of the group dies, the ladies realize exactly how precious time and life are and that they’ve only the present to make their dreams a reality… together.

Veteran actor with the Actors’ Studio of Hope, Lisa Barrett, says this comedy is very similar to other comedies performed at WILLow LeaVes of Hope in that it follows the dynamics of friendships in a southern town. However, that is where the similarities end.

“This one has more of a love side to it,” Barrett says. “This has an actual unrequited love story and you get to see the male characters onstage.”

Barrett plays the part of Carlene, a widow three times over who has been dubbed the Black Widow of Eden Falls.

“All her husbands died strange deaths, like one died from eating bad mayonnaise and another from swimming in a lake of water moccasins,” Barrett says.

And, yet, despite her bad luck in love, Carlene demonstrates a resilience, wit, and outlook that speak volumes.

Columbus resident Jason Bowser plays Bobby Dwayne Dillahunt, the love interest of the main character Sugar Lee, who owns the day spa.

Bowser says the best part of his character is he’s able to truly throw himself into the role and make a fool of himself.

“He is a ladies’ man” Bowser says. “But not the kind where a woman would say, ‘Hey, that’s the guy I want.”

Bowser says the low-key approach of this comedy makes it stand out against others he’s acted in previously.

“It is more subtle with some laugh out loud moments, but not as much physical comedy,” he says.

Bowser hopes the play offers audiences a chance to escape the stress and mundanities of everyday life.

“With everything going on right now, I want people to have an hour or two to get away and smile, laugh, have fun and relax,” he says. “Things have gotten way too serious.”