On Theater: They’re back — Wonderettes return for a winter show

Remember the Marvelous Wonderettes?

They spent the summer at the Laguna Playhouse a year and a half ago.

Well, they’re coming back for an encore.

This time around, they’re the “Winter Wonderettes,” returning next weekend in a seasonal sequel in their guise as a hastily formed vocal combo to entertain at their 1958 high school prom.

Set just six months after their 1968 10th reunion, the new show focuses on a Christmas party being organized by one of the girls, Betty Jean, who regroups the quartet to entertain at the festivities.

But when Santa Claus is among the missing, the girls must use their talent and ingenuity to put on a real show.

Because it’s the holiday season, we’ll get such classics as “Santa Baby,” “Jingle Bell Rock” and “It’s a Marshmallow World,” all favorites from the 1950s and ’60s.

The Wonderettes sprung from the vivid imagination of Roger Bean, who directed the first Laguna production and also is at the helm of this one.

They feature Suzy, a ditzy blonde who must remove her gum before vocalizing; Betty Jean, a mischievous and jealous scamp; Cindy Lou, the seductress of the quartet, and Missy, the bespectacled “plain Jane” member.

The latest incarnation centers on the 1968 holiday party for Harper’s Hardware, where Betty Jean has worked since high school.

Audience members are fellow employees, friends and family, and the girls have transformed the hardware store into a winter wonderland (with help from the guys in the lumber department, of course).

As is the annual tradition, Mr. Harper is scheduled to appear at the end of the evening as Santa Claus, when he will pass out the much-anticipated bonus envelopes.

After missing his cue (the special “Santa Bell”) several times, Betty Jean runs off to find him.

What happens next is the “big surprise” of the show, which involves members of the audience.

The plot is woven in and out of a plethora of holiday songs, including just about every Christmas song imaginable, with the possible exception of “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”

“Winter Wonderettes” will be on the playhouse stage through Dec. 30, playing nightly except Mondays with weekend matinees.

More information is available by calling the theater at (949) 494-2787.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Coastline Pilot.