By: Stephanie Proko[
BORDENTOWN Just as actors and actresses come in all shapes and sizes, so does comedy.
As the Bordentown Community Players gear up for their Oct. 13 opening of Neil Simon’s "The Gingerbread Lady," lead Marlene DeMara, who plays Evy Meara, defines the show’s laugh-factor as "a comedy with some drama added to it."
"I think it’s gonna be different from any other Neil Simon play that we do," she said, "because there’s comedy, there are tears in it it’ll play on all angles of people’s emotions." The play follows the life of a dried-up, middle-aged singer who is just getting out of rehab for alcohol abuse in the 1970s, while simultaneously looking to move in with her two best friends while rekindling her relationship with her daughter.
"Basically, Evy is a reformed alcoholic, and she is returning where she was in life before she was put away," Ms. DeMara explains.
"Her and her two friends, they’re like a support system, and then her daughter wants to come into the scene. She has setbacks, and things happen with all of her old boyfriends."
Although this is the second production of the year for the Bordentown Community Players, the community theater troupe has been around in one form or another since the 1930s. The nonprofit organization finances its productions through ticket sales and provides two annual scholarships. One, a public service scholarship for a Bordentown student, memorializes the late Bee Busch, a former troupe member. Another, in memory of Orville Goode, is for a Rancocas Valley theater student.
The Bordentown Community Players are made up of about 15 regular members, plus the people who help out at performances, ranging in age from their 20s to 70s, mostly from the Bordentown area.
Although Ms. DeMara agrees that the Players is a family organization, she emphasizes that this particular production, while tongue-in-cheek, is not intended for the younger crowd.
"This is an adult comedy!" she reiterated. "The gingerbread lady figure on our poster advertising the play is smoking a cigarette and has a bottle in her hand."
Still, the humor in the show is not completely over the heads of the community, and has a heartfelt lesson at the end:
"It’s one of those funnies because you’re laughing because you’re embarrassed for Evy’s character," she said. "In the end she gets back in with her daughter. She’s middle-aged, she is learning that she needs to grow up. It’s almost like a mid-life crisis, and then basically in the end she did learn that she did wrong."
Ms. DeMara has been involved in the Players for over 20 years. She joined the community theater when a friend called her and asked her if she would be interested in trying out for a role. Ever since , she has been hooked.
"There are at least 15 productions I’ve been in, and it’s just a pastime, something I enjoyed being involved in," she said. "It’s something I enjoy doing outside of my job."
During the day, Ms. DeMara is a food service teacher in the Burlington County Special School District. She puts in about nine hours a week in rehearsal preparing for the play. Even though the Players do not pay to participate in the productions, they are very particular about getting all the details of the shows they perform correct. This includes costumes, scenery, and even something as mundane as a tablecloth.
"This particular play was done in the 1970s, so we want to look like we did in that time period, including the hair, the makeup, everything," Ms. DeMara said. "If things aren’t matching up exactly, people will say something like, ‘that tablecloth isn’t from the 1970s.’ "
Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. on Oct 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28. There is also a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 22. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for seniors and students with proper ID. Seating is first-come-first-serve. The play is performed at Rancocas Valley Regional High School in the Old Auditorium (under the clock tower), 520 Jacksonville Road, in Mt. Holly.
Visit www.bordentownplayers.org or call (609) 744-3361 for more information.

