A pair of one-act comedies about female friendship by the Kenai Performers will liven the stage this weekend and next at their theater on Kalifornsky Beach Road.
“If Men Played Cards as Women Do” and “Savannah Sipping Society” make up an interesting juxtaposition, director Terri Zopf-Schoessler and some of the actors said. The first, starring a group of four men, is an “appetizer” that runs only around 10 minutes before a more substantial second helping in “Savannah Sipping Society.”
In “If Men Played Cards as Women Do,” Sean Morgan, Tony Mika, Ian McEwen and Allen Auxier play a group of four men sitting down for a game of poker — but their dialogue and interactions are all rooted in a “stereotypical” portrayal of womanhood as the men gossip with one another and criticize the decor behind their host’s back.
The play dates back to a 1920s vaudeville sketch, Zopf-Schoessler said, and provides a fun showcase for a small group of actors.
“These are very manly men, there’s no femininity about them at all, but they are saying lines that they typically attribute to women,” she said. “The contrast is hysterical.”
It’s fun, actor Ian McEwen said, to play against male stereotypes — in his case as a Regina George-esque mean girl. Of course, he said, the stereotypes on display are dated, but there’s still fun to have in playing the “ridiculous premise” out on stage.
After that opener, the scene shifts to a more nuanced exploration of a similar friendly dynamic, as the “Savannah Sipping Society” follows a group of women who meet after a disastrous session of hot yoga and then spark a fast friendship — also featuring comedy hijinks.
Each of the women have experienced loss, the director said, be that a firing, a divorce, being widowed or just having lost their way through life.
“Through happy circumstance, or maybe karma, they meet and they challenge each other to get outside their comfort zone,” Zopf-Schoessler said.
It can be hard, actor Amy Burton said, to find interesting roles for adult women in some plays — let alone a show entirely composed of those roles. In “Savannah Sipping Society,” the audience will see a group of women find one another at a time when they’re struggling. The show delights in comedy and in real emotion as they push one another to grow.
“You kind of start to question who you are and what you are and what your purpose is,” Burton said of those challenging times in life. “They help each other through that, and it’s a beautiful thing.”
The two shows, written nearly 100 years apart from each other, offer a glimpse into changing portrayals of women, Burton said, but also offer a lot of space for the local actors to have fun and stage a diverse show with broad appeal.
The show is a bright spot of comedy as the Kenai Peninsula shifts back into a fall setting. Zopf-Schoessler said that kids are back in school, leaves are falling, and the temperatures are starting to decline. The silly combination of plays will keep people smiling as a kick off to this year’s season of Kenai Performers shows, acting as a balance against some more heavy drama ahead.
The “gift of comedy,” Zopf-Schoessler said, is the opportunity to laugh about some of the challenges people experience in their lives.
An evening of comedy, featuring “If Men Played Cards as Women Do” written by George Kaufman and “The Savannah Sipping Society” written by Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten and Jessie Jones, opens Thursday, Sept. 18, and runs for two weekends. The show will run Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 18-21, and Sept. 25-28. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows are a 7 p.m., while Sunday shows are a matinee at 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at kenaiperformers.org, and cost $27.43 after fees. For more information, find “Kenai Performers” on Facebook.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
Sean Morgan, Tony Mika, Ian McEwen and Allen Auxier rehearse “If Men Played Cards as Women Do” at the Kenai Performers Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sean Morgan and Tony Mika rehearse “If Men Played Cards as Women Do” at the Kenai Performers Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Allen Auxier, Tony Mika and Ian McEwen rehearse “If Men Played Cards as Women Do” at the Kenai Performers Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Amy Burton rehearses “Savannah Sipping Society” at the Kenai Performers Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Amy Burton and Yvette Tappana rehearse “Savannah Sipping Society” at the Kenai Performers Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Heidi Hinz and Tracie Sanborn rehearse “Savannah Sipping Society” at the Kenai Performers Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Amy Burton, Tracie Sanborn and Yvette Tappana rehearse “Savannah Sipping Society” at the Kenai Performers Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Amy Burton, Heidi Hinz and Yvette Tappana rehearse “Savannah Sipping Society” at the Kenai Performers Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
