What do you get when you take 5 Goys (non jewish person) and put them in a show where the, Jewish, Golden Girls meets the, Jewish, Steel Magnolias? Well for one you get an hour and a half of non stop laughter coupled with sentimental moments.

 The Barnstable Comedy Club (BCC) opened their production of “The Cemetery Club” by Ivan Menchell this past Thursday and over all they have a bonafide hit. The show is directed by BCC’s veteran director Marti Baker whose last show at the theatre house Moonlight and Magnolias was also a fan favorite. The show is described as a portrayal of “Three (New York) Jewish widows who meet once a month at the grave-sites of their deceased husbands.”  Each of the widows has their own experience and place in their grieving process and each is aptly depicted by the three actresses chosen to portray the roles despite what I feel to be a week script.

 Carol McManus of Sandwich does a great job capturing the audience with her sweet demeanor playing Ida, while she struggles to let go of the memory of her husband. The Native Cape Codder does a great job mastering a subdued New York Accent albeit not a heavily stereotypical “Jewish” dialect (I’ll get back to this point later.) Carol particularly shines with her instant chemistry with Robert Bock of North Falmouth. Mr. Bock plays the local butcher and a Mensch he is not.

 The second woman in their “club” that appears on the scene is the Free Spirited Lucille played by Jody Carman of Forestdale. Jody definitely gets the point across that she is a woman on the prowl for a new man using her sex appeal and allure. Widow’s of New York would need to watch out if she was a real person! Unfortunately, Jody somewhat struggled with her lines and her overall concentration, something I feel will quickly resolve itself in future performances. The one standout thing that was bothersome was that you had no feel that this women was from New York, let alone Jewish.

 The last woman to appear in Ida’s apartment, where a majority of the show takes place, is Doris, played by Pat Farrell of Brewster. Mrs. Farrell adeptly shows her judgmental attitude about...well... everything the two other women do. She is very reverent of her deceased husband all while doing it with a strong New York and Jewish accent. She does a great job showing the type a character she is playing however it may to seem somewhat off balanced due to the other actors choice of accents.

 Am I being too harsh on the dialect? Possibly...but I will let you in on the fact that I am a Native New Yorker from a Jewish section of Long Island spending my younger years going to endless Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s. Despite that being said I have a personal issue with accents and dialect in general when watching a live theatre production..alright PSA over!

 If you are ready for a night of side splitting laughter you have time to go see the remaining two weekends. May 25 & 26  and June 1 & 2 at 8pm and May 27 and June 3 at 2:30pm