Weekender Encore: ‘The Real Housewives of Napa Valley’ Revealed

By Sasha Paulsen

Jun 07, 2024

NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — They had me at “Pompous One.”

This was about 1 minute into “The Real Housewives of Napa Valley,” when the five stars of a reality-based TV show are extolling (for the camera) the attributes of their Napa Valley winery sponsor.

Lucky Penny Productions’ original musical, ‘The Real Housewives of Napa Valley,’ runs through June 16 — Kurt Gonsalves/KMG Design Photo

Someone, I perceived, had been having fun. That would be the creators of the newest production from Lucky Penny Productions, writer Barry Martin and musician Rob Broadhurst, who collaborated on a wickedly witty farce that is wonderfully silly and mercilessly satisfying.

And we are laughing at ourselves — or at least at our neighbors.

The cast of seven, in turn, has fun, too. Sarah Lundstrom as Alicia, Kirsten Pieschke as Shawndra, Heather Buck as Joni, Daniela Innocent Beem as Michaela and Taylor Bartolucci as Monica ham it up with gusto as the housewives — the spouses of a winery owner (Joni), a very old but very rich man, husband No. 5 (Shawndra), a celebrity chef (Michaela) and two other less clearly identified husbands.

Buck, as Joni, has a job as a real estate agent, for as she points in one of Broadhurst’s sapient songs, it’s what pretty women with no talent do. Bartolucci, who came up with the idea for Martin and Broadhurst to tackle “Real Housewives” after their two previous hit collaborations (“Napa Valley Christmas Carol” and “Saving Santa”), slinks, slouches and guzzles her way through the show. Whomever she is married to, she has an endless supply of inebriants.

It’s hard to choose a favorite among them, but it might be the hopelessly dumb Shawndra, who in one comic scene tries to remember if she gave birth and in another, as her colleagues are sharing their deeply hidden truths, confesses, “I don’t understand gravity.” She also inspires the hilarious Broadhurst song wherein the other wives point out to her “You’re Doing Rich Wrong.” They, of course, do rich right. Just ask Alicia, who, as she begins to recite the platitude “They say money can’t buy happiness,” pauses, reconsiders and departs, presumably, to tend to her grapes.

Hard as it might be to believe, they are very nearly upstaged by Julianne and Mark Bradbury, who play not only the harried producers of “Real Housewives of Napa Valley” but also hop in and out of myriad other roles, including Mark’s uproariously spot-on spot as the deranged celebrity chef husband.

Is there a plot? Indeed, there is. These preening women who open the play absorbed in their great obsession — “Look at Me” — encounter reality. Their show, tanking in ratings, is going to be cancelled by Huzzah Network. They are losing their sponsors. They have been replaced by Influencers. Can they reverse the trend? They wrack their brains, more or less (less). They are catapulted into an “Existential Crisis,” confronting who they are without their show. Except for Shawndra, who is worried about losing her free lip gloss. I cannot say more except be prepared for a blockbuster finish, delivered in a powerhouse performance by Beem.

“I am not sure what my penchant is for making fun of the valley I love so much,” Martin said on opening night. This predisposition, first seen in his spoof of wineries in “The Tasting Room,” has once again translated into glorious good fun for the audience, who laughed their way through the evening. I should note here that Martin, who also directs the show, insists the characters are all creatures of his and Broadhurst’s imaginations, although I am sure I have interviewed that chef.

Jane Austen, however, would back Martin up. It is her Mr. Bennett in “Pride and Prejudice” who asks, “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?”

“The Real Housewives of Napa Valley” continues through June 16 at the Lucky Penny Community Art Center, 1758 Industrial Arts Way, Napa. Performances are Thursday through Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. For more information, visit their website.

Weekender Encore is an occasional segment that provides follow-up reviews of recent productions and events in the Napa Valley. Published in the 10 a.m. Friday slot, Weekender Encore offers readers a deeper look into performances that have premiered, highlighting notable aspects and audience reception.