Some Bingo players are notorious for not letting anything get in the way of their Bingo night. That is definitely the case of Vern, Patsy and Honey, the trio of women at the center of “Bingo the Winning Musical,” which opened this last weekend at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret.

The show begins with our trio of bingo addicted ladies listening to emergency weather reports describing a major storm raging outside.

No one should leave their home except in the most dire emergency, but does this faze our intrepid gang? Not in the least. Besides, this is not just any Bingo night. This is the anniversary of the local bingo parlor featuring a double prize! No little storm is going to keep our girls away.

But there is another anniversary tonight that is just as significant. The trio used to be a foursome. On this night fifteen years ago, Bernice, the fourth player, committed a Bingo faux pas so great that it broke up the foursome. Vern believes herself to be the victim of the act and has not forgiven Bernice after all these years.

Naturally, they make it to the Bingo parlor where Minnie the hostess and Sam who calls the numbers are busy revving up the crowd.

Bonnie Bailey-Reed as Minnie and Michael Stevenson as Sam (Image by: Charr Crail)

Who is the crowd that made it to Bingo this dark and stormy night? Well, it is the audience.

Each audience member gets multiple Bingo cards with daubers to use to mark the cards.

A stranger walks into the Bingo parlor this night. Hesitant at first, she is seated with our trio. Little do they know that this young lady, Allison, is the daughter of the long estranged Bernice.

Lisa Raggio as Vern and Jessica Crouch as Alison (Image by: Charr Crail)

Eydie Alyson plays Patsy, the extremely superstitious one, hysterically so. Alyson has a long stage, television and recording resume. She was last seen at Cosmopolitan Cabaret in “Suds the Musical” as Dee Dee.

Lisa Raggio as Vern, Eydie Alyson, as Patsy (Image by: Charr Crail)

Nikki D’Amico plays Honey who makes little effort to hide the fact that she has the hots for Sam and would do anything to make him hers. D’Amico has appeared in numerous regional and national tours of major Broadway musicals. In Sacramento she appeared in Music Circus productions of “A Chorus Line,” “The Boyfriend” and “Nunsense.”

Nikki D’Amico as Honey and Michael Stevenson as Sam (Image by: Charr Crail)

Lisa Raggio does a great job of portraying the still bitter Vern while keeping Vern a sympathetic character. It might help that Raggio has an MA in Psychology and counseling along with her extensive experience in musical theater and voicing animation.

Bonnie Bailey-Reed plays both Minnie the Bingo parlor hostess and Bernice, mostly in flashbacks. She has acted in a number of musical and dramatic stage roles along with extensive television work including roles as a series regular. Her television work includes many roles in commercials that bring you those shows. The fact that she is having a great deal of fun with these roles is obvious.

Nikki D’Amico, Lisa Raggio, Bonnie Bailey-Reed and Eydie Alyson (Image by: Charr Crail)

Michael Stevenson at his hunkiest and sexiest plays Sam, the object of Honey’s lust and affection, also as Frank, the man who pulled the numbers 15 years ago. His portrayal of Sam runs from sexy to silly or goofy. An MFA graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre, Stevenson is best known for appearing in numerous shows at the B Street Theatre where he is a member of the acting company. He and his wife, Jamie Jones, are co-directors of the B Street Conservatory.

The mysterious Alison is played by Sacramento native and graduate of the prestigious NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Jessica Crouch. She was most recently seen on the Cosmopolitan Cabaret stage in a reprise of Graham-A-Rama’s concert version of William Finn’s, “In Trousers,” playing Miss Goldberg. That role was a portend of her – yes, I am going to use the “F” word here, fabulous performance as Alison.

Eydie Alyson as Patsy, Nikki D’Amico as Honey, Lisa Raggio as Vern and Jessica Crouch as Alison (Image by: Charr Crail)

Everyone in the show is a really great singer-actor-dancer with years of experience, but when Crouch walks onto the stage and begins to sing, the whole place just lights up.

While having a fairly simple and straight forward plot, the book by Michael Heitzman and Ilene Reid is sweet and endearing. The sequences where the audience plays bingo helps create the excitement and the addictive quality of bingo while actually being fun.

The music and lyrics by Heitzman and Reid along with David Holcenberg run from fun and silly to sad and hopeful. The songs allow the talented cast to show off their best performances.

All the creative talent for “Bingo the Winning Musical” have strong ties to Cosmopolitan Cabaret and its sister series, Music Circus.

Music director Michael Paternostro, while an experienced musical director, is usually out on stage performing. He has appeared in over a dozen roles on Broadway, touring and regionally. This season he was the wonderfully over the top Carmen Ghia in the Music Circus opener, “The Producers,” and the sweet Eddie Ryan in last year’s, “Funny Girl.”

Sound designer Robert Sereno did the original sound design and engineering for the Cosmopolitan Cabaret.

Scenic designer Michael Peters is the prop designer for Music Circus and did set design for “Suds” at the Cosmo as well as the great props for “Forever Plaid,” the first production at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret.

Peters’ set design is enhanced by lighting design by Sally Slocum who did the Cosmo productions of “Shear Madness” and “A Grand Night for Singing.

Angela Enos, who did costumes, also designed for “Miss Saigon,” “The Producers” and “Camelot” this season at Music Circus.

Hair, wig and makeup design, so important in a show like “Bingo” is by Christine Conklin who did “Oliver!” “Camelot” and “I Do! I Do!” at Music Circus this season.

The biggest Music Circus and Cosmopolitan Cabaret connection here is the director, Glenn Casale.

Casale is the artistic director of California Musical Theatre, the parent company for Music Circus and Cosmopolitan Cabaret, along with Broadway Sacramento. He is a theatre icon as well as a treasure in Sacramento. He makes the most of a talented cast with a good musical show. His staging and choreography really make “Bingo” come alive.

“Bingo the Winning Musical” is easily the best show Cosmopolitan Cabaret has produced since “Forever Plaid.”

Eydie Alyson as Patsy, Nikki D’Amico as Honey, Lisa Raggio as Vern and Jessica Crouch as Alison (Image by: Charr Crail)

Like “Plaid,” “Bingo” will easily hold up to repeat viewings. The talented cast is a joy to watch. It is fun, funny and good time, and who knows, you may win an actual Bingo prize! Even if you don’t, you will have had a winning night at the theatre.