MUSICAL SATIRE SUPREME
Napa’s Lucky Penny Productions closes out its 2024-25 season with a screamingly funny spoof of an inexplicably popular TV franchise, in which five rich boozy women can’t stop bickering when their reality show is threatened with cancellation.
A reboot – and rewrite – of a show that debuted last year, The Real Housewives of Napa Valley is even funnier and more outrageous that its first iteration. Written and directed by Lucky Penny Managing Director Barry Martin, with music and lyrics by Rob Broadhurst, the show gets off to a roaring start with some alcohol-fueled song-and-dance (“Look at Me Disease”) by the five housewives — Alicia (Sarah Lundstrom), Shawndra (Kirstin Pieschke), Joni (Andrea Davis), Michaela (Dani Innocenti-Beem), and Monica (Taylor Bartolucci), all of them resplendent in character-perfect costumes by Bartolucci.
Andrea Davis, Kirstin Pieschke, Dani Innocenti-Beem, Sarah Lundstrom, Taylor Bartolucci
What might be a couple of great Saturday Night Live sketches soon detour into another realm altogether when we meet intense, black-clad video producers Mark (Mark Bradbury) and Jules (Julianne Bradbury) from the “Huzzah!” network. They’re fretting over possible cancellation of “the 17th most popular program in the Housewives franchise” and looking for a cliffhanger to close out the final segment. They’re also toying with product placement from upscale advertisers such as “pompus one” wines and ultra-expensive designer handbags made by toddlers in a sweatshop.
The housewives with Mark Bradbury (center)
Accusations fly in all directions as the wives deal with long-running disagreements, jealousies, and disgusting spouses. Mark Bradbury is amazing in quick-change multiple roles, including a hot-shot rock-and-roll celebrity chef. Julianne Bradbury is his frenetic equal as Housewives showrunner, continually fielding disturbing calls from upper management. Marjory Harper has a couple of nice cameos as an old-school feminist podcaster pestering the wives about their clearly self-indulgent lifestyles.
The Real Housewives of Napa Valley
There are three big stars in this show – the entire cast, Martin’s script, and Broadhurst’s music. A special delight in the second act is “You’re Doing Rich Wrong” wherein the wives berate each other. It’s a dazzling bit of musical satire made more delicious by Staci Arriaga’s wry choreography. Broadhurst wrote many of the songs with specific performers in mind.
Dancing Housewives
Bartolucci never veers from her character’s drowsy drunkenness, while Pieschke proves that even bimbos have moments of brilliance. Davis and Lundstrom anchor the five with deadpan commentary, while Innocenti-Beem rattles the rafters with her Broadway belting. She’s also the North Bay’s most versatile comedic actress. Her Micheala disdains her friends’ drinking habits, instead promoting a preference for being pot-centric, or “Calisober,” including onstage demonstrations. Fantastic.
The Real Housewives of Napa Valley is an uproarious can’t-stop-laughing show with huge potential to play in much larger markets. It’s a riotous affair. Despite its many Napa-insider references, it’s a show that will work beautifully for everyone who sees it. This Real Housewives could run all summer.
photos courtesy of Lucky Penny Productions
The Real Housewives of Napa Valley
Lucky Penny Productions
1758 Industrial Way in Napa
ends on June 15, 2025
for tickets ($24-$47), call 707.266.6305 or visit Lucky Penny
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Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact: barry.m.willis@gmail.com
