‘After Hours’ at St. Luke’s

Ever wonder what happens in a women’s clothing store when the lights go out?

Apparently, it’s not as quiet as you would think.

When store owner Jillian locks up for the evening, her spirited mannequins, LuAnn and Patty, liven things up with their late-night antics in the zany one-act play, “After Hours.”

The 30-minute adaptation of the Pioneer Drama Service performance begins tonight at 7 at St. Luke’s Lutheran School featuring the St. Luke’s Players.

In the show, LuAnn — the feisty mannequin played by 14-year-old ninth-grader Danielle Scott — refuses to display a tacky black purse, as she tosses it on the floor as soon as Jillian leaves.

“Who decided these were in style this year,” she complains, opting for a larger brown purse.

Her less-than-fashionable cohort, Patty, played by 14-year-old ninth-grader Elizabeth Nixon, dons a white dress with black designs on it and rainbow socks, isn’t as outspoken.

“Approaching,” Patty shrieks, warning LuAnn to freeze as the clueless, near-sighted security guard, Henry, conducts his sporadic walkthrough, pointing his flashlight around the store.

As the mannequins try to move, Patty gets stuck in a slouched over position.

“Uh, LuAnn,” she cries. “My back, it’s stuck.”

LuAnn quickly helps her plastic partner loosen up.

“A couple of working stiffs; that’s what we are,” LuAnn snaps.

The plastic models are in for a surprise after a deliveryman leaves the wrong crate at their store earlier that day.

Danny, the new mannequin played by 13-year-old eighth-grader Nicolai Gravina-Kursell, pops out thinking that he’s landed in a California department store where he’s to work as a crash-test dummy in the automotive section.

“No more standing all day with a crooked hairpiece just because someone was careless when putting on your turtleneck, which you didn’t even want to wear because it was yellow and because it was a turtleneck,” he complains.

Instead he ends up in LuAnn and Patty’s store where he takes matters in his own hands when two clumsy cat burglars try to rob the store.

Danny refuses to just stand around as the would-be robbers take cash from the register and safe.

The lively mannequins show the burglars who the real “dummies” are when they divert the heist.

Meanwhile, the trio must frequently hold their poses as window shoppers stroll past the store, questioning their changing, yet awkward positions.

After the play, directors Sarah Sydnor and Tracey Stakem went over their notes with the actors, explaining what they wanted to see corrected during the next rehearsal.

Sydnor said she chose “After Hours” because its “slightly scary” theme would be perfect this time of year.

“I thought it would be kind of funny around Halloween and that the mannequins would be kind of funny spooking (the burglars),” she said. “Plus, I thought the kids would enjoy it.”

Rhonda Simmons can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 125 or .