Vagabond Players bring ‘Gingerbread Lady’ to stage

"The Gingerbread Lady," Neil Simon’s bittersweet comedy, is being performed by the Vagabond Players through April 10.

A talented cast will present the production at Theatre on the Hill at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts, 403 W. Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks.

Directed by Don Pearlman, the play centers around Evy Meara (Trish Haight), an ex-singer in the 1970s fighting a desperate battle against alcoholism and increasing weight.

When the play opens, she has just returned from rehabilitation after receiving treatment, and is trying to pick up the threads of her life.

Evy’s closest male friend, a 40-year-old actor Jimmy Perry (Sergio Bertolli), is still waiting for his big break.

Her best friend is Toby (Melanie McGuire), an aging glamour queen who has a problem hanging on to her husband.

Also in the mix is Evy’s ex-boyfriend (Bob Decker), a thoughtless freeloader who tries to win his way back into her affections after losing his latest 18-year-old conquest.

Polly, portrayed by Maggie Olbrich as Evy’s sweet and loving daughter, is the play’s only relatively well-adjusted person.

Show times for "The Gingerbread Lady" are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m., and a special Saturday matinee will begin at 2 p.m. on Sat., April 3.

Ticket prices are $15 for adults; $13 for seniors and students. For reservations or more information, please call the Vagabond Players at (805) 987-6039.