Church Basement Ladies return to the Lied April 16

The Church Basement Ladies are back for the final chapter in the comedy series, "The Last (Potluck) Supper," coming to the Lied Center for Performing Arts for two performances April 16.

Tickets for the 2 and 7:30 p.m. performances are on sale at http://liedcenter.org , at the Lied Center box office at 12th and R streets, or by phone at 402-472-4747.

The latest installment takes place in 1979, on the day of the church's centennial celebration, as parishioners gather to share hot dishes, desserts and stories from the last 100 years. As the women work in the kitchen, their shared memories come to life through a series of flashbacks. Travel back to 1897 and meet Vivian's grandmother, one of the founding members of the church; see Karin as a newlywed, cautiously navigating her way through the politics of the kitchen; and be there in 1944 when Mavis first barreled her way through the swinging door. As they time-jump through a century, these ladies manage to serve up a rib-tickling panorama of the changes in the kitchen, without spilling a drop of their egg coffee.

Meanwhile, the celebration continues on the lawn. But the festivities are bittersweet. Times are tough in this small farm community, and hard decisions will have to be made. Once again, the ladies handle it all with grace, hilarity and more crazy antics, more great new songs and more lessons reluctantly learned.

Based on the books by Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson, including the national bestseller "Growing Up Lutheran," all four installments began at the Plymouth Playhouse in Plymouth, Minn., starting with the first production in 2005. Over the course of the musicals, audiences have continued to fall in love with the residents of the church kitchen.

Writer: Carrie Christensen, Lied Center for Performing Arts