Life is all about improvising solutions, and that is something the four seriously funny women of Leave it to Cleavage take to heart.
The gut-bustlingly hilarious show returns to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on Nov. 3. These ladies are more than ready to run you through the wringer of common sense — which, as their 1950s housewife alter egos will tell you, involves prim satin dresses, perky attitudes, and just a touch of self-medication.
Diana Frances, Jamie Chrest, Denise Jones, and Christine Lippa make up this all-star cast and have been nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Improv Group. With their carefully crafted personas, these women are a whirlwind of high energy fun as they don their perfectly ironed satin dresses, and flawlessly hair sprayed beehives. Frances and Chrest take on the roles of repressed 50s housewives, while Lippa plays the character of their sassy German neighbour, and Jones balances their personalities with her own deadpan Russian maid persona.
Of course, the audience plays an important role in their shenanigans as well, as with any improv show, the cast relies on suggestions and interjections from the audience to keep the ball rolling.
“The fun thing about improv is that we’re making it up on the spot based on their suggestions, so they’re a part of creating the show,” Frances says. “And that type of audience involvement is incredibly fun — even if you don’t end up on stage with us, you can still shout out suggestions and then feel that those suggestions are a part of the show, like you’re helping to create right along with us.”
For the second half of the show, half a dozen audience member volunteers will join the cast onstage for a battle of the sexes to answer the age-old question: “Who wears the pants in the family?” The ensuing questions and answers promise to flip between delightful, clever, naughty, and back to hilarious in the span of just a few short minutes. It’s a riotous ride that you won’t want to miss, so don’t forget to put your name in the volunteer draw bucket during intermission if you want to represent your gender in the battle for household dominance.
Leave it to Cleavage is coming to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $32/adults, $29/seniors, and $27/youth, and can be purchased at the Centre Box Office, online at www.chilliwackculturalcentre.ca, or by calling 604-391-SHOW(7469).