PHILLIPS – The Phillips Area Community Center (PACC) on Depot Street was the place to be last Saturday evening. The Phillips Follies, billed as a Comedy of Errors, featured local talent with acts ranging from dramatic recitation to comedic skits, from musical performances to dancing with brooms. For certain, there was something for everyone.
Winona Davenport emceed the event. While welcoming one and all to the special event she made a point of the fact that her commentary would not “take too long”.
“I keep my eyes open all the time and I don’t take chances,” she explained, “If the audience acts restless I know I’ve got to speed up. If a man takes out a watch and looks at it, I know I’d better quit in five minutes. But when someone takes out a watch, looks at it, and holds it up to his ear to see if it’s going, I know I’ve been on too long…
“But I do want you to see this,” she concluded.
And it was on with the show.
First to take the stage was The Lighthouse Quartet Minus One. Steve Sozanski serenaded his wife, Alice, with a love song. Pastor Ryan Decker provided accompaniment on his guitar.
Tom Skolfield of Weld followed with his dramatic recitation of The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert W. Service.
Two young fellows from Mt. Abram High School, Thomas Gusler, sophomore, and Evan Bilodeau, junior, took the stage next. This was their first public performance for an audience outside of their school. The two performed “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber.
Sherry Nelson, Lisa Haines, Kathy Scribner, and Winona Davenport were up next, taking the audience on a stroll down memory lane with their skit, “Four Girlfriends Through the Decades”, narrated by Rachael Knight. From age 15 getting ready to go to The Dairy Queen for ice cream and a look at the cute boy behind the counter to a change of venue in their 20s to the more elegant Ocean View Restaurant, where the menu was more sophisticated, including alcoholic beverages, and the waiters were even better looking in their uniforms. Onward through their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, the group continued to patronize The Ocean View Restaurant. However, throughout decades, as their tastes became ever more “refined”, their “acuity” might have begun to dim.
Of course, you had to be there to get the full impact of all those decades on the lovely ladies who were first seen fussing with their lipsticks and giggling about boys, and were now wearing hearing aids and using walking sticks and, perhaps, experiencing a bit of memory loss, as well.
In the last scene of the skit, all were gathered once again to decide where to go for dinner that evening. To the audience’s great delight, the overwhelming response was, of course, The Ocean View Restaurant “because, you know, we’ve never been there…”
Following a brief intermission, during which the audience was encouraged to check out the snacks and beverages for sale at the back of the auditorium, Act II opened with “Hunting Camp”, featuring Chris Hardy, Bruce Godin, Steve Mitchell, Milt Baston, and Duane Stefani.
Bruce Godin also performed a soliloquy of “Hello, Muddah, Hello, Faddah” to a recording of the original tune by Alan Sherman.
The Mt. Abram duet, Thomas and Evan, returned to perform a second number, “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles.
The last act of the evening’s entertainment was The Dancers: Sharon Jones with “Bob”, Dolly Bodine with “Chris”, Sandra Curtis with “Moe”, BJ Bangs with “Egor”, and Paula Kane with “Elvis”. The group danced to “The Great Pretender” by Elvis Presley and also received a lesson on how to do the Macarena from Harmony Cox and June Locklan.
A special thank you goes to Walmart for providing the broomstick partners, whose “personalities” and costumes were created by the ladies. The broomstick partners will be on display at the Scarecrow Reunion.
This event was sponsored in part by Pat Matulaitis, Ginni Robie, Mt. Timber Frames, and Adams Bros. Monument Company.
All of PACC’s activities this year are underwritten by Edmunds’ Market, Dark Star Fabrics, Mike Soboleski, Eastman Park, Saviello’s EPCS LLC, and Mike and Ginny Auger.
Written by Paula Kane.
