'Away in the Basement'

Sean McCall loves being a basement dweller. Audiences do, too.

McCall and company are back with the third installment of "Church Basement Ladies," the musical play series that looks at life among the denizens of a Lutheran church in a rural Minnesota town. The "Away in the Basement" segment opens Nov. 14 and continues through Dec. 22 at the Old Creamery Theatre in Amana.

This version takes audiences on a blast from the past with a Christmas 1959 prequel to the previous shows in the series, which are set in the 1960s. The last time we saw Beverly, she was an expectant mother in 1969. This time, she's 15 and it's her last year to play Mary in the church Christmas pageant.

You can bet it won't be a silent night when the faithful cooks come to the basement to prepare for the big day. Angels will no doubt hear on high what's uttered from the belly of the building.

"There's always crises, but they handle them with musical numbers and comedy, God bless," says McCall, who plays the minister.

The previous installments have been wildly popular with Old Creamery patrons, so they're eagerly coming back for thirds. Several matinees already are sold out, including the Nov. 14 opening performance. It's one of the first holiday shows to hit the Corridor's stages, opening earlier and running longer than usual, to handle the expected ticket demand, McCall says.

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