Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theater will be presenting Calendar Girls by Tim Firth this April. Tickets are now avail- able at mvlct.com with show dates of April 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and April 6 at 2 p.m. at First Street Community Center Theater.

From Concord Theatricals: When Annie’s husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new
settee in the local hospital waiting room.

They manage to persuade four fellow Women’s Institute members to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar, with a
little help from hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. The news of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the York- shire Dales. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their newfound fame.

Director Kerry Covington said that this was a play that the MVLCT board asked her to direct.

“Once I got to reading the script, I realized how much fun this thing was,” Covington said.

Covington said she is working with people she has worked along side from years earlier in her own community acting career to bring this to life. And while the play does feature some illusion of nudity in the performance, Covington said it’s not much different than thefilm adaptation, that had a PG-13 rating.

“This has just been a fun show to be a part of,” Covington said.

Jenn Pearson plays the role of Chris in “Calendar Girls.”

Her favorite part of the show is the camaraderie of the cast.

“I really love the feminist perspective that we have throughout this show,” Pearson said. “That on top of the ability to be celebrating older women.”

Pearson explained that the entire show has a cast of people 40 or above. As for challenges – it’s memorizing the lines in the show. Susie Burns plays the role of Jessie in the production.

“This is a very prop heavy show,” Burns said. “Having to remember those or the costume changes is definitely one of the challenges of the show.”

Tiffany Zarifkar, who plays Rose, said one of the things she really admired about this cast is the level of body diversity on stage.

“Especially in a show that is centered around a subject like this,” Zarifkar said. “That’s what I’m most excited about.”

The other was the age variety in the show and working alongside her real-life husband Mehrdad Zarifkar in the production. Carole Martin plays the role of Annie in the production.

Martin said that being on stage with Pearson and Burns, who were on stage together for Rich Heritage of Cedar Rapids production of “Steel Magnolias” last year has really helped the cast.

“We were all friends from that production, so coming back for this show was so easy,” Martin said.

Martin said her husband had seen the call for the cast announcement and that the show sounded like a lot of fun.

“I read the script and I just fell in love with it,” Martin said.

She also recruited Burns to the show. Burns said it has been almost 13 years since their last show with MVLCT, recalling when they were in the production, it was a show held at Gwen’s in Lisbon.

“It’s a really funny and entertaining show,” Martin said.

“It’s a play really about overcoming difficulty, both in life and death and in friendship,” Burns said.

“It’s a hilarious and heartwarming show,” Pearson said. “We have an excellent cast with a lot of talent.”