Church Basement Ladies

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Church Basement Ladies
ChruchBasementLadies.jpg
Church Basement Ladies Logo
MusicDrew Jansen
LyricsDrew Jansen
Book Jim Stowell
Jessica Zuehlke
BasisGrowing Up Lutheran by Janet Letnes Martin & Suzann Nelson
Productions2005 Plymouth, Minnesota
2009 West Coast Premiere
2008 A Second Helping
2009 Away in the Basement
2011 A Mighty Fortress
2013 The Last (Potluck) Supper
2016 Rise Up, O Men
2018 You Smell Barn
2099 Hark! The Basement Ladies Sing
2022 Plowin' Thru

Church Basement Ladies is a musical comedy, book by Jim Stowell and Jessica Zuehlke, music and lyrics by Drew Jansen. The story is about the ladies that work in the church basement cooking meals for church functions, and is inspired by the humorous book Growing Up Lutheran, by Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson. Published in 1997, Growing Up Lutheran is a "scrapbook of memories" of what it was like to grow up Lutheran in the Midwest in the 1950s. In addition to their bestseller, Martin and Nelson, aka "Those Lutheran Ladies," have written numerous other works, including Growing Up Rural, published in 2017. Their lives and writings have inspired eight additional Church Basement Ladies musicals. The ninth sequel to the play, "The Church Basement Ladies Plowin' Thru" premiered at The Ames Center in Burnsville MN on September 7, 2022.

Contents

Cast

Original

The show's 2009 national tour featured William Christopher as the pastor. [1]

West Coast Premiere

Sequel Original Cast(s)

Plot

A celebration of the church basement kitchen and the women who work there, Church Basement Ladies is a musical comedy featuring four distinct characters and their relationships as they organize the food and solve the problems of a rural Minnesota church about to undergo changes in 1965. From the elderly matriarch of the kitchen to the young bride-to-be learning the proper order of things, we see them handle a record-breaking Christmas dinner, the funeral of a dear friend, a Hawaiian Easter fundraiser, and a steaming hot July wedding. They stave off potential disasters, share and debate recipes, instruct the young, and keep the Pastor on course while thoroughly enjoying, (and tolerating) each other as the true "steel magnolias" of the church. Funny and down to earth, audiences will recognize these ladies as they witness the church year unfold from below the house of God.

Act 1

Christmas Dinner
Willie's Funeral

Act 2

Hawaiian Easter Dinner
Wedding

Songs

Sequels

Church Basement Ladies (CBL) has spawned an entire series of musicals, with eight sequels and prequels to date.

Production History

Produced by Troupe America Inc., Curt Wollan, Executive Producer, the first six musicals in the series opened at the Plymouth Playhouse in Plymouth, Minnesota. Installments 7, 8 and 9 opened at the Ames Center in Burnsville, Minnesota .

In addition to touring nationally, the nine musicals have been licensed in all contiguous 48 states and Canada. More than four million audience members have attended the musical and its sequels. On November 18, 2016, the company celebrated its 3000th performance at the Plymouth Playhouse. Original Cast Recordings are available for Church Basement Ladies 1 through 7.

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References

  1. "Church Basement Ladies 2009–2010 tour". churchbasementladiesonstage.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.