‘Away in the Basement’ ‘Church Basement Ladies’ returns to Jamestown

Holiday hijinks, music and comedy can all be found downstairs in an upcoming performance of “Away in the Basement: A Church Basement Ladies Christmas.”

“They’re entertaining, feel-good shows,” said promoter Bill Sorensen. “You get to laugh a little, you get some good music, and it’s good entertainment.”

The Troupe America Inc. show starts at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Jamestown College Reiland Fine Arts Center.

The year is 1959, and the ladies of the church are in the basement, planning out the Sunday school Christmas program. They stuff treat bags with apples, peanuts and candy, work on nativity pieces and stitch up the bathrobes the children use as costumes.

As always — at least in this particular church basement — problems pop up, hijinks occur and the ladies must once again step in to save the day.

The show is a musical with a message, and it was inspired by “Growing Up Lutheran,” and other books by Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson.

It is the third in the “Church Basement Ladies” series, after “Church Basement Ladies” and “Church Basement Ladies 2: A Second Helping.”

The original show opened in 2005, and 250,000 people saw it during its two-and-a-half-year run. In 2007, the show went on tour.

The creative team for “Away in the Basement” includes composer/ songwriter Drew Jansen, who wrote the score and lyrics of the original play and its sequel. Greta Grosch, the head writer for the Medora musical, developed the script.

“It’s a good Christmas show and very funny,” Sorensen said.

Tickets are $25 and can be ordered at the Jamestown Civic Center at 252-8088 or the Reiland box office at 252-8088.

Sun reporter Kari Lucin can be reached at 701-952-8453

or by email at

klucin@jamestownsun.com

Tags: diversions, theater