By Josephine Norris, Photo Editor.
“The Dixie Swim Club” is a story about swimming through the rough waters of life with friends that help you stay afloat. The show serves as the Player’s 98th season opener, continuing their legacy as Michigan’s oldest continuously operating theater.
A soundtrack of friendship, including songs such as “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen and “Somebody to Lean On” by Bill Withers, plays as you walk into the theater which sets the sentiment of friendship and companionship. I was not disappointed as with the show as I got my fill of the warm fuzzy feelings as I thought of my own friends who I’ve had for years and I know will always be there for me.
Sheree, Lexie, Dinah, Vernadette and Jerri Neal all met years ago in college, where they swam on the college swim team together. At their meets, they would chant “the faster we swim the sooner we win” and it became a mantra that they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. For one weekend in August every year, they reunite on the ocean in a beach house. Free of men, kids and the worries of everyday life, these women reconnect with each other. In addition, they also “share advice and not wear bras for three days” and a fair share of dips in the ocean as the character of Lexie explains.
The show is made of scenes that span the course over 33 years of the lives of the women. Through these years each woman faces their own set of challenges. Despite the diverse difficulties each woman goes through they all have one thing in common: they rely on their number one support system, their teammates, even years after college.
As the group faces the perils of aging, men who let them down, yet another divorce and the loss of friends and family; they personify the best support system a person could ask for. These women hold long time friendships with each other. They are the kind of friends who will always listen to each other, despite their failings.
The friendship and love each woman has for the others is a focal point of the whole show and each of the five actresses did a beautiful job communicating that through their portrayals of the women. Even in the heated arguments that the women had over slights made towards each other, it was obvious these women cared about each other. And that they only spoke the sometimes harsh truth out of love.
“The Dixie Swim Club” is a story centered on the attachments that humans have to not only each other, but places we go to and make memories in. The beach house that the women spend their weekends becomes a character itself and the grief surrounding the prospect of losing it is palpable. Others may relate to this grief as they think of the loss of special places in their own lives, such as a family home or a grandparent’s home; places where wonderful memories were made.
Set in the south, southern accents are necessary to convey a sense of place and region onstage. However, not all the accents onstage were quite right. A few almost seemed to start grating on my ears as I sat listening to the dialogue.
The show is a great story of friendships that help you swim through the crazy and uncharted waters of life and is a good evening of entertaining theater.
“The Dixie Swim Club” runs Oct. 9 and 10 at 8p.m., and Oct. 11 at 3p.m. The Bay City Players are located at 1214 Columbus Ave, Bay City, MI. Tickets may be purchased online at baycityplayers.com or by calling the box office at 989-893-5555.
