"Hats! - The Musical" - Stage Nine Theatre

Every Labor Day seems to present the same entertainment conundrum: should I finally go to see disco star Kristine W (who faithfully returns to Sacramento every year at this time) at Rainbowfest, or should I see community theater star Mary Young in her latest performance?

Unfaithful Kristine W fan that I am, I always seem to choose the second alternative.

Ths year, Mary is in "Hats! - The Musical" at Stage Nine Theatre in Folsom.

Left: Accompanist Mark Ferreira, with his amazing women's bodice hat, together with Sally Forment.


Mary wasn't the only friend in "Hats!" Kathleen Flint, Eileen Beaver and Connie Mockenhaupt Jimena were also in the cast.

It was great seeing Mark Ferreira again. I wondered what he had been doing since Garbeau's Dinner Theatre folded in May.

In fact, Garbeau's didn't precisely fold, but rather got abstracted into cyberspace, or wherever theaters go when they lose their brick-and-mortar connection. Since Mark owns the Garbeau's name, it goes wherever he goes, and right now he will be collaborating with the Stage Nine folks to present both their shows, and his own shows under the Garbeau's name, at Stage Nine Theatre.

Sunday evening, Mark was presenting the first of his Mini Concerts, featuring two singers (one of whom is Jessie Stein).

Left: Lady (Mary Young), Contessa (Connie Mockenhaupt Jimena), and Baroness (Eileen Beaver). Note the excellent costumes (by Costume Designer Eileen Beaver) and the red hats!


The "Hats!" synopsis is as follows:

Hats! concerns a 49.999-year-old woman, MaryAnne, who reluctantly faces the inevitable 50th birthday. In the production, MaryAnne (Kathleen Flint) warms up to her 50th once she meets several remarkable women who show her about fun and friendship after 50. Hats! is based on the ideas of The Red Hat Society."

The show is full of post-50 uplift, with references to a variety of life landmarks.

Women must naturally be more inclined to celebrate life events and to dwell on retrospective thoughts. Natural historians, they are. I'm post-50 myself, and I like history, but if there is the male equivalent of the Red Hat Society, I'm unaware of it. As Wikipedia explains:

The Red Hat Society (RHS) is a social organization founded in 1998 for women approaching the age of 50 and beyond. As of July 2009, there are nearly 40,000 registered members and almost 24,000 chapters in the United States and 25 other countries. The Red Hat Society is the largest women’s social group in the world.

...The founder of the Society is artist Sue Ellen Cooper, who lives in Fullerton, California. In 1997, Cooper gave a friend a 55th birthday gift consisting of a red fedora purchased a year earlier at a thrift store along with a copy of Jenny Joseph's poem "Warning." The opening lines of the poem read:

“ When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me.”

Cooper repeated the gift on request several times, and eventually several of the women bought purple outfits and held a tea party.

Cooper never set out to ignite an international phenomenon. However, after spreading by word of mouth, the Society first received national publicity in 2000 through the magazine Romantic Homes and a feature in The Orange County Register. Cooper then established a "Hatquarters" to field the hundreds of e-mail requests for help starting chapters. She now serves as "Exalted Queen Mother", and has written two best-selling books about the Society.

The Director of the show, Susan Mason, was called upon, starting this weekend, to play the character 'Duchess'.

"In the song 'My Oven's Still Hot', 'Duchess' needed a male plant in the audience upon whose lap she would sit at the end of her number. She chose my lap. Afterwards, she thanked me for being a good sport. I thanked her for the unexpected excitement.

Several musical numbers stood out, particularly 'Celebrate', led by 'Lady' (Mary Young). I also liked the interesting word play in 'Just Like Me', sung by 'Princess' (Jeanette Hall). The cast had a lot of energy, and Eileen's costumes were wonderful (particularly Susan Mason's dresses).

Every show has its bobbles. At one point, in 'Yes We Can', control was lost over a ball of yarn, and it rolled into the audience. I tossed the ball of yarn back onstage, and the amused singers could could barely keep character.

Kathleen Flint played an affecting MaryAnne, the 49.999-year-old woman approaching the Big 5-O. MaryAnne's monologue drives the pace, particularly at the beginning of the show. At first, in order to keep the show from dragging, Kathleen kept a smart pace (maybe a touch too fast for post-50 sloths such as myself), and slowed down later as her character evolved, from tension to relaxation, from apprehension to acceptance, of the landmark age.

After the show, we all repaired to the nearby Hacienda Mexican restaurant, for a convivial Old-Folsom good time. We ate upstairs, outside, on the veranda.

While we ate, on the neighboring street, a solo motorcyclist headed into a curve while riding downhill, lost control approaching the traffic light, and was forced to lay his cycle down in the street. The sound of scraping metal on the pavement caught everyone's attention, and there was certainly damage, but it appeared as if injuries to the rider were fairly minor.