Gossip, cards, drama shine in Elgin's 'The Octette Bridge Club'

Like the family of sisters in "The Octette Bridge Club," the upcoming production by Elgin's Independent Players, every family has a variety of characters - the good, the bad, the funny, the quiet - and that's why everyone will be able to relate to the play, according to Beth Hitzeroth-McDonald of Hampshire, who plays middle child Connie Emerson.

"It celebrates sisters," she said. "Any man who has been is a family with a bunch of girls can relate. It's the silly things they say, the getting on each other, you can see someone's bossy, someone's the peacemaker, someone's the conscience, they're all there. Everyone has this in their family in different ways."

"I'm 71 and it reminds me of when I was a kid and I would listen to my aunts talk at family gatherings," said director Don Haefliger.

The eight Irish-Catholic sisters in "The Octette Bridge Club" by P.J. Barry get together biweekly to play cards in 1934 in the first act and 10 years later in the second.

"It's all in a smaller town outside of Providence, Rhode Island," said Haefliger. "The eight sisters play bridge, they gossip, they have treats and then they share the evenings every other week."

"In some ways, I'm playing myself," said McDonald. "This isn't a difficult part to play. I recognize myself and my mother."

McDonald's character is the middle child.

"She is the fourth of eight girls. She is kind of the conscience of the group," said McDonald. "She's married to a lawyer, who's a Protestant - she's the only one married to a Protestant."

McDonald feels Connie has a good deal when it comes to her placement in the large family.

"She lucked out being the middle child," McDonald said. "She sees both the good and the bad and was able to duck some of the garbage of the younger and older kids. She's got a good sense of humor."

Palatine resident Lori Rohr's character, Betsy, is the youngest sister who strains at the leash a bit, especially when it comes to her oldest sisters.

"Betsy is the rebel, not like purposefully trying to be a rebel, but she deals with the fact that no one wants to talk about anything, no one wants to be serious, no one wants to feel things in life; whereas Betsy feels suppressed by her sisters, she feels like she can't be herself," Rohr explained. "Being the youngest, she's almost in a different generation than her oldest sisters, so she's like, 'bring on the new!'"

The greatest challenge for the actors is that the play is written with an eye toward recreating everyday conversations in families, with starts and stops and overlapping lines.

"The rhythm of the lines are a challenge for everyone - having them come in when they're supposed to," McDonald said.

"It's a challenge when there's different chains of thought and the sisters might be talking over one another and another conversation might start," said Rohr. "Plus we're playing bridge, so there's that language."

Because the card game of bridge is central to the story, the actors were schooled in the rules.

"We had someone coach us on the basics of bridge so we can portray that, because we have no idea what a game of bridge looks like," Rohr said.

The company has been considering doing the play, which was nominated for four Drama Desk Awards, but felt it didn't fit into the seasons as planned until this year.

"This year it does because the season is all about women," Haefliger said. "We have so many good, mature women in our company, so this was ideal. It's a great show for us."

McDonald said the actresses in the play felt a sister-like camaraderie from the beginning.

"We all get along. Ever since the first night we read through, we can hear the voices and we sound like sisters to each other," McDonald said. "It's been camaraderie and we all help and do for each, not just on a professional level, but a personal level."

The play can be called neither a comedy nor a drama, according to Rohr.

"There are poignant and funny moments. It's pretty equal," she said.

"The sisters are Irish Catholic women which isn't the focus but it informs the way they are," said Haefliger. "They're kind of conservative, being those good, Irish Catholic women, which kind of limits them, but by the end of the play things kind of get opened up and you kind of see a new dawn.

"The show shows you that sometimes people want to hold up appearances," Haefliger added. "And they do that almost to their own disadvantage.

Other cast members include: Angela Douglas of Algonquin; Laura Schaefer of Carpentersville; Christopher Lenard of Chicago; BJ Franquelli, Marilyn House and Patricia Rataj of Elgin; and Nancy Braus of Schaumburg. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays, March 4-19 at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St. Tickets are $10-$14. Visit independentplayers.org.

If you go

What: "The Octette Bridge Club"

When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, March 4-19

Where: The Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., Elgin

Tickets: $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens and $10 for students

Details: Call (847) 697-7374 or visit <a href="http://independentplayers.org">independentplayers.org</a>