Oct 7, 2013 3 min read

East Franklin Grange is planning a chartered bus trip to Garrett County, Md., Oct. 19 to see West Greene High School graduate Nancy Parson in the Garrett College production of “Nana’s Naughty Knickers,” according to grange president, Bonnie Smouse.

Cost per person is $20, which includes the cost of the bus and admission to the play. Anyone interested in the trip may contact Lee Wright at 724-428-3004.

Parson, who was an honor student at West Greene, said she chose to attend Garrett because it is a small school with small classes, which allows more one-on-one time with instructors.

She is an elementary education major and chose to become involved in theater because both she and the play’s director, Dr. Lonnie Brewster, are members of the local grange. “Lonnie has planned many activities for grange youth,” said Parson, “so I knew it would be fun to be in the play.” Parson landed a major role in the comedy about two elderly women whose eccentric behavior lands them in one difficult situation after another.

Brewster noted the play takes a witty look at issues which senior citizens confront, especially living active, productive lives after retirement.

Sylvia Charles, the play’s lead character, lives in a rent-controlled apartment in New York City.

Although she is 83, she remains a physically active character and uses the sewing machine in her bedroom to make “saucy” undergarments for senior citizens. Sylvia, aka Nana, spent years working for the Maiden Form Bra Company. She uses her know-how to run a small business out of her apartment – without a business license, without charging sales tax, and without paying state or federal income taxes. Bridget, the young granddaughter who is moving in for a summer with Nana prior to moving into her own apartment and beginning her study of law, is aghast when she learns what her elderly grandmother is up to.

Vera, Nana’s less physically fit sidekick, is played by Parson. Vera is hard of hearing and doesn’t see exceptionally well either, yet she manages to ogle and occasionally squeeze young Tom O’Grady, a rookie cop whose “eagle eyes” focus only on Bridget. Nana uses secret closets to hide the “saucy slips” she makes seniors, hiding places that were once used by a bootlegger known as Moonshine Maury during prohibition.

Gil Schmidt, a grumpy landlord looking for any excuse to evict Nana so he can rent the apartment at market value is ecstatic when he discovers what Nana has been doing, because he thinks he now has grounds for eviction. Added complications arise when boxes of merchandise arrive via UPS.

Having outsourced an order that was too big for her to fill by herself, Nana is horrified when she receives merchandise meant for a pornography company named Saucy Lips instead of the garments ordered for her company, Saucy Slips. To the rescue comes Heather Van Pree, a scantily clad employee of Saucy Lips, looking for a modeling career, a better job opportunity, or just the boxes meant for her company.

Tentatively, plans call for the bus to leave East Franklin Grange at 6 p.m. and to return to Waynesburg by 11 p.m.