Florida Weekly’s Review of Vanities

Relationships are complicated, and the secrets shared between friends in a high school locker room evolve into far more complex bonds for three Texas women as their lives unfold in the Southwest Florida regional premiere of “Vanities: The Musical” at Players Circle Theater.

Written by Jack Heifner (who also wrote the original play “Vanities”) with music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, “Vanities: The Musical” follows the lives and friendships of Joanne, Mary and Kathy from high school in the 1960s through adulthood in the late 1980s. With poignancy and a healthy dose of humor, the women forge their identities and navigate societal expectations and their individual desires — through songs reflecting the bubblegum pop of the 1960s, introspective ‘70s tunes and rock ballads of the ‘80s.

“’Vanities: The Musical’ is a musical comedy. It is about transitions — the transitions we make from one age to another, navigating throughout friendship,” said Ted Wioncek III, the musical’s director and the associate artistic director of Players Circle. “In fact, even the transitions from scene to scene are done in plain sight. The actresses’ complete makeup and hair changes in front of the audience, giving the audience a visual representation of looking into their private world as they looked into the mirror.”

For Wioncek, one of the biggest challenges for directing a show that spans several decades in the lives of the characters is guiding actors through the craft of creating compelling and authentic growth — through both the emotional arcs and the physical changes that develop for the women throughout the play.

““The way you walk, talk — your entire center of gravity and point of view changes with time, especially in the span of 27 years. In some ways, we’ve approached the four scenes as four separate plays. Each scene stands on its own because each character undergoes such drastic change from one to the other. Yet, the actor’s challenge is to keep hold of the connective tissue that weaves its way through their character throughout their journey,” he explained.

The costumes cleverly designed by Sallyanne Bianchetta allow the audience to grow with the characters and play an invaluable role in setting the tone of the different periods of time in history and the women’s lives.

“Costuming plays a particularly incredible role in telling the story due to the multitude of eras we explore. These are characters whose identities are wrapped up in their outward appearance. Our goal in costuming ‘Vanities’ was to say it all with body language and fashion. If the audience were to watch the entire production with the sound off, they would still be able to understand exactly who these characters are and their relationships,” said Wioncek.

According to Wioncek, each character in the show represents an aspect of human nature. For example, Joanne (played by Elizabeth D’Aiuto) represents the lessons learned in childhood, Mary (played by Kimberly Suskind) represents the rebellious side of individual identity, and Kathy (portrayed by Natalie Brouwer), represents the voice of reason that develops later in a person’s life.

D’Aiuto became interested in theater at an early age. Her mother was an actress, and her father was a stagehand. She received a degree in fine arts and musical theatre from the Boston Conservatory.

“I play the role of Joanne, a talkative prude whose sole desires in life are to be popular, get married and have children. I can relate to Joanne’s desire for reconnection with her friends in Act III and feeling behind or lost in life. As an actress, you have to dig deep down, find what that feeling was and bring it back up to the surface again,” she said.

D’Aiuto explained that mastering the lines and lyrics in a three-person musical with no downtime or intermission required work and concentration that challenged the actresses but was one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.

“I think what is extremely helpful is that all three of us women already knew each other prior to this process and have an authentic friendship with one another. Our personal connection with each other naturally comes out as we are portraying these characters,” D’Aiuto said.

Suskind, who plays the role of Mary, is the director of education at Players Circle.

“Mary has a wonderful arc built into her character within the piece. She starts off more innocently looking to escape her small town life, seek independence and explore what the world has to offer and ends up getting exactly that. She realizes that needing no one isn’t exactly the badge of honor she had hoped it would be,” Suskind said. “To show the change from youthful exuberance to jaded middle age, I have played a lot with posture and vocal quality. She starts the production with a bright and thick Texas accent, which she completely abandons by the middle of the play. Dropping my voice and being more pointed and “sat in” has helped to portray her growth (and nongrowth), maturity and sense of self.”

Suskind, who is married to Wioncek, appreciates her husband’s role in helping her develop her character.

“Ted’s direction and vision, as usual, has helped clarify my character and her place and purpose among the three girls. He recently said that if we could put all three of these girls into one person, they would make the ‘perfect’ woman. But instead, all three are lovably flawed and serve as different perspectives and paths stemming from a similar upbringing. He has said that although they have moments of questionable motives, they are truly good people deep down,” said Suskind.

Actress Natalie Brouwer plays Kathy. She relates to her character’s sense of organization and perfectionism.

“I play Kathy, a girl from a well to do family in Texas, and the best friend of the other two gals in the show. I’m a southern girl myself (though not from Texas), so I can relate to much of the charm that the show’s setting brings to everything. Kathy’s agenda is like her third arm, and I often feel that way. She is very organized and precise, and values excellence. These are things that I can certainly relate to. It makes her very easy for me to channel. I love her journey of self-discovery and growth later in the show,” Brouwer described.

Although Kathy is the type to color code her planner and schedule her emotions, she comes alive in the choreography.

“We have some really, really delightful choreography, created by Amy McCleary that I think audiences will love. We are having a blast with all of it, and it plays into the silliness and bright energy that each of us brings to the show, especially when we are our younger selves,” said Brouwer.

This heartfelt and humorous chronicle of the lives of three women as they grow from vivacious cheerleaders to sorority sisters to housewives to liberated women makes for a perfect girls night out, according to Wioncek.

“When the original play came out in 1978, audiences saw their children represented in these roles. In 2025, audiences will see themselves — their joys, losses, personal journeys and closest relationships — embodied in these characters. It is a celebration of the enduring power of friendship,” Wioncek said. “My sincere hope is that ‘Vanities’ will make audiences laugh again, love again and pick up the phone to call a long-lost friend for an overdue trip down memory lane.”

In the KNOW

“Vanities: The Musical”

· When: May 23-June 8

· Where: Players Circle Theater, 13211 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers

· Tickets: Starting at $40

Players Circle Theater is located at 13211 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers. For more information, call 239-800-3292.