THEATER REVIEW : Elite Players Present ‘Cemetery Club’ That’s Comic, Not Cryptic : A trio of women meets at their spouses’ burial site in a play that is both humorous and touching.

Funeral bells are breaking up that old gang of theirs, so once each month, three women meet to visit the cemetery where their husbands are buried. Playwright Ivan Menchell calls this trio “The Cemetery Club.” While the title and premise don’t exactly brim with holiday cheer, the play itself is warmly humorous, and the Elite Theatre Company’s current production ranks among the year’s highlights.

It will probably be of most interest to older theater fans, but has much to offer younger generations.

The three old friends’ companionship is salted with gentle raillery, usually at the expense of Lucille, whose behavior is less restrained than that of Ida and Doris. But the longstanding relationship is threatened by the arrival of Sam, the butcher. Though the flirtatious Lucille takes a proprietary interest in him, Sam’s eye is on one of the other ladies. High jinks, needless to mention, ensue.

And, while the played is assuredly a comedy, there are some tear-provoking moments and a serious subtext dealing with friendship and romance among the Modern Maturity set.

Each of the five cast members gets plenty of time to make an impression, and the players assembled by director Patricia Lynn-Strickland perform admirably. The principals include Marlene Reinhart as the nice, cautious Ida; Dot Scott as tart-tongued Doris, and Juanita Seavey as flirtatious, bargain-hungry Lucille.

Stan Seavey (Juanita’s real-life husband) plays the cautious Sam, and the show’s producer, Judy Heiliger, appears briefly but hilariously as the overly vivacious Mildred.

The characters are all Jewish, which is important to the play, but the performances here are somewhat less stereotypically exaggerated than those in the Plaza Players’ also-funny 1992 production; nothing is lost. They’re from New York’s borough of Queens, too, but thankfully don’t speak with the abrasive yawl of TV’s “Nanny,” Fran Drescher.

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Details

* WHAT: “The Cemetery Club”

* WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday through Jan. 14, with the following exceptions: champagne buffet show 9 p.m. Dec. 31; no performance Dec. 24; matinee 2 p.m. Jan. 8 only.

* WHERE: Petit Ranch House, 730 S. B St. (Heritage Square), Oxnard.

* HOW MUCH: General admission $10; seniors, $7. New Year’s Eve: All tickets $20, including champagne buffet.

* CALL: For reservations or further information, call 526-6219.