First, one has to get past the script.  Now, it is funny, but when PIPs President Kimberly Vernall describes it as a cross between Greater Tuna and Steel Magnolias she isn’t kidding.  There are some eerily, unnervingly close similarities to Tuna.  Both shows have a frame of the radio show, both have Spanish lessons, gag commercials, a recently deceased and hated townsperson, weather reports, etc.  Tuna relies on the gimmick of two actors doing quick changes to make all the vignettes work; Radio has a full cast, with no doubling.  And these shows are all about the bits, much like anything by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. 

As far as Steel Magnolias, it seems that any show with a group of women in the south gets that comparison, but that is about as far as it goes.  Now, admittedly, these are not the faults of the PIPs, but of the scriptwriter.  Still, I wonder if this piece would be better served as a bonus show, than as part of a season of such larger, fuller shows that PIPs brings us. 

Radio has its moments, but the bits seem to run on endlessly.  Act I ran for an hour and fifteen minutes when I saw it.  Now, it was funny, but scene changes (which were minimal) took a while, and there were lengthy pauses between entrances and exits for each little bit, not to mention lines.  (Some were more comfortable with those than others.)  These added up and killed any momentum the ladies were trying to build up.  The script is not subtle, you can see the jokes coming, so it is best to let them fly quick and not stop.  But, each joke was set up, delivered, and reacted to.  We end up waiting for what we know will be said or done, and by then it isn’t funny anymore.  Director Jonathan Manning should speed the ladies up and trust that audience will keep up with them and catch things.

What was there was done well, if slowly, and again, the script doesn’t allow the characters to change much, if at all during the show.  So, consistency was key for this production.  All of the ladies keep their characters together, but only some did more than what was on the page of the script. 

Vesta and Dixie, the radio hosts, were played by Randi Davenport and Kate Houston with enthusiasm and charm.  Lydia Mugler has some very nice moments to milk as on the spot reporter Missy Goode. Jane Martin was the strongest as the dour and devout Mary Eunice Wheaton, but I would have liked to see her take everything further and faster for full effect.  Holly Johnson plays the trailer vixen Imogene Hurst with some emotional bite, but walks through her blocking because that’s where she was told to go.  Cheryl Allen has fun, and some laughs as Elvis fanatic Madge Huskey.

I think these ladies do have talent, but this was not the best piece or way to showcase it.  Something like Steel Magnolias (which PIPS has already done) or Nunsense would be a better vehicle and I would gladly return.