The Houghton High School Drama Club has announced it will present “Ladies, Sigh No More” by Thomas Hischak on Friday & Saturday, November 18 & 19 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 20 at 2:00 p.m. in the High School Auditorium.

“Have you ever wondered where the women of Shakespeare’s plays go after their tragic deaths?” asks Play Director David Crowley. “If so, the Houghton High School Drama Club can put your concerns to rest.”

They cannot name the exact location of the home where the ladies are spending their time in group therapy, he said, but they can provide a glimpse into their lives after death.

Heuer Publishing Co. describes Lady Macbeth playing Monopoly with Juliet and shrewish Kate battles Cordelia at Trivial Pursuit. Ophelia cuts out paper flowers, and Desdemona sews handkerchiefs.

Who is the mysterious man who seems to be so interested in the fate of these ladies? Is this an Elizabethan ladies club, or a literary loony bin? Only Dr. Wells seems to know for sure as she tries to help some of Shakespeare’s heroines figure out their personal problems and bring closure to their theatrical lives. When Juliet is asked to reenact her tragic story, matters get out of hand and all of the ladies are caught up in the act. Rest assured, this comedy ultimately twists and turns its way to a happy ending.

Crowley said that while the play could be staged with either Elizabethan costumes or contemporary clothes, the ladies in the HHS Drama Club presentation will be wearing professional costumes appropriate to the character each is playing, rented from a theater company in Minneapolis.

He explained that the Drama Club charges admission to their performances to offset the cost of expenses such as costume rentals.

“We rented seven costumes,” he said, “and with the shipping, the cost came to 500-some bucks. They’re about $60 or so apiece, on average.”

Crowley said this is not the play he had originally planned to direct. He had another play selected that he had chosen in the spring, but over the summer, scheduling conflicts occurred that compelled a number of students to drop out, so he selected “Ladies, Sigh No More” based on the number of cast members were still available.

“I found this one and I read it,” he said, “and found that it’s got some really subtle humor, Shakespearean kind of things, and there’s some quotes of Shakespeare’s lines mixed in.”

The name of the play, in fact, is quoted from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, which begins:

“Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more. Men were deceivers ever, one foot in sea, and one on shore, to one thing constant never.”

So, join the Drama Club actors on November 18th, 19th & 20th when they will transport you to a secret place somewhere in the universe, or maybe just down the alley behind that abandoned warehouse, where time stands still — or at least it seems like it does when it is not racing in both directions at once. There you will find Lady Anne, Lady Macbeth, Cordelia, Ophelia, Desdemona, the shrewish Kate, and the lonely Juliet, all searching for a way to change in death the outcome that they were unable to escape in life. But first, they need to find a way to get along with each other.

Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for students & seniors.