NANA'S NAUGHTY KNICKERS - A conversation with Nana and her granddaughter, Sherry Konjura and Louise Keeton

Louise Keeton and Sherry Konjura

by Gil Benbrook

It’s not odd for real married couples to perform together as husband and wife in stage productions, but an actual grandmother and granddaughter playing those roles on stage doesn’t happen that often.  In the Palms Theatre’s production of Nana’s Naughty Knickers, Sherry Konjura and her granddaughter Louise Keeton are having a blast, on stage and off, as the Nana with a secret lingerie company and her granddaughter who discovers the truth about her Nana’s hidden “naughty knicker” business.

While this is the first time they’ve appeared together, it turns out that Sherry and Louise have a long history of appearing on stage with other members of their family.  Sherry has performed with all three of her sons, including Craig, Louise’s father. Their most notable performance, according to Sherry, was when she was “Nurse Ratched” and he was the depressed young mental patient “Billy Bibbitt” in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest back in 1977.  While Craig is currently a producer at PBS in Richmond, VA he has gotten back into performing again, and even recently appeared in the film Lincoln.  Louise’s parents met in a college production of Our Town and she has appeared with both of them on stage, with her mom “as the Fairy Godmother to my Cinderella and this spring I will be playing Snow White while my Dad plays my Father in the same show.”  Sherry’s husband Gerry also appears in Nana, as well as constructed the sets for the show.  She adds that he’s “my all time favorite actor in the world to be onstage with. I'm proud to call him my partner in life.”

While this is Sherry’s first time directing this show she has appeared in three previous productions of the comedy, having been asked by Nana playwright Katy DiSavino to play the lead role.  She originated the part five years ago when the show premiered at the Rainbow Dinner Theatre, in Lancaster, PA.  Louise first met DiSavino when she visited her grandmother one summer, “we sat backstage and talked about playwrighting and our dreams. She was the first person I had ever met who had the same goals as me. Now I'm an award winning playwright and her play is being performed all over the world. It’s neat to perform in something she created. It’s so full circle.”  While DiSavino hasn't had a chance to see Sherry and Louise in the play together she did see Sherry in the show when it first premiered.

Louise states that the experience of performing with her grandmother was “a once in a life time opportunity. I had to take this chance and I'm so grateful I did. I was impressed by how effortless the process was. We just sort of fell into our roles.  I remember watching her on stage as a little girl and thinking about how I wanted to do that. Now we're doing it together!”

Lois Sharrott, Gerry Konjura, Barbara McBain, Sherry Konjura
Louise Keeton and Toni Kallen 

Having been in the business for a fairly long time, when asked how things have changed since she started out, Sherry is quick to state “this is, and has always been, a business that one cannot get into unless there just simply is no way NOT to be in it! I taught theatre at a University when my boys were growing up and I used to tell my students that if there was ANYTHING else they could do in life that would make them happy, then not to go into acting. One rarely knows what's coming next as far as employment is concerned. That has not changed. As for Dinner Theatre, I see some interesting changes because of the loss of many who used to make up our core audience. So many of the elderly customers who used to love getting on a bus trip to come see a show are gone now...and interests are changing. This creates a challenge for us. As for Louise, she heeded my advice not to limit herself and, as a result, is proficient in many avenues. She can act, write, teach, model just to name a few of her abilities.”

Like Sherry states, and just like Nana in the play, Louise has her own business ventures, though none of them secret or “naughty.” Her play Cinderella: The Fairy Godmother's Tale was the first children's show produced at The Whistle Stop Theatre Company in Ashland, Virginia, where she is the founding artistic director. “One of the audience members came up to me after the show and said I ought to be sending it to festivals.” It was one of four shows to be accepted into the New York Children's Theater Festival.  Louise decided to re-write the Cinderella story from the perspective of the fairy godmother. “In order to get her wings she has to bring Cinderella and the Prince together before midnight without using any magic. I wanted to present a story that let children know if they want to make their dreams come true, don't wait around for a fairy godmother to do it for you. You have power to change your life for the better, with or without magic.”

Louise also has an event company, “Parties by Louise” where she appear as fairytale characters and sings songs, plays games and leads activities. She adds, “transforming into a child's idol, getting to talk to them and then having the opportunity to show them that a princess can be smart, empowered and still have fun is a real joy. “  .

But Sherry also has worn a lot of hats throughout her career and has a long association with the Prather Entertainment Group (PEG) - the original founders of the now Palms Theatre in Mesa - having met family patriarch Tom Prather when he gave her a call-back at an audition in 1984. Sherry adds “He cast me as ‘Ann’ in Forty Carats...then rehired me a couple of months later to do three shows in a row. I've been doing shows with PEG ever since (as well as performing for other companies). and have also worked with the organization on the administrative side over the years” however, this is Sherry's first time doing a show at The Palms Theatre in Mesa.

Toni Kallen, Sherry Konjura and Louise Keeton

The Palms has gone through some significant changes over the past year. While planning the 2013-2014 season, Tom Prather (Prather Entertainment Group (PEG) founder and family patriarch) met Robert Shaw, founder of Lonely Street Productions - an Arizona based nostalgia entertainment company. Impressed by Lonely Street’s offerings and commitment to providing its audience with quality entertainment, Tom forged an immediate bond with Robert and the rest of Lonely Street’s artistic staff.

As the 2013-2014 season progressed, Tom approached Robert and his management team, Andrew Birgensmith and Khris Dodge, and asked that the three take over operations. The partners assumed management duties in August 2014, assembled their team of professionals, and have worked non-stop to prepare the Mesa Palms Theatre for a 14th season full of musicals, concerts and comedies like Nana’s Naughty Knickers.

While at The Palms both Sherry and Louise have had a chance to check out the various shows and concerts also playing in the main stage auditorium while Nana is playing in the smaller Marquis theatre. Sherry states “We saw Robert Shaw (CEO & Executive Producer of The Palms) perform his "Elvis" show and were blown away...wonderful show. And Annie Get Your Gun is a marvelous production....so much talent on that stage! I just wish that we had the opportunity to see more of the concerts. But that is one of the down sides of being an actor...you are busy performing at the same time as all of the people you'd love to see in performance.”

When asked what they’ve both gained from this experience, Sherry states “It has been wonderful. I've watched Louise develop as an accomplished actress for a number of years now and have been so proud of her. When this opportunity came along I was thrilled to have the chance to share a stage with her.” As far as what she’s learned from working together with Louise, “just how very much alike we really are! We have discovered just how easily we fall into the scenes together and how well we play off of each other...it has been a delight!”

Nana’s Naughty Knickers runs through February 7th at the Palms Theatre in Mesa. For information on this production and other shows and concerts playing at The Palms go to https://thepalmstheatre.com

Photo Credit: Toni Kallen Photography