By: Sarah Wright | Troy Times | Published April 15, 2026
TROY — During weekend showings April 17 to May 3, the Ridgedale Players will present the comedy “Drinking Habits” at its community theater, 205 W. Long Lake Road.
Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are around $20 for adults and $18 for seniors.
“Drinking Habits,” written by Tom Smith, is a comedy where two nuns at the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing try to hide the fact they’ve been secretly making and selling wine to keep their convent from closing. As they struggle to hide their work from Mother Superior, more problems arise when reporters start investigating, as well as possible spies from Rome.
“I really wanted to put it on,” said Michael Sullivan, the director. “It fits our stage perfectly, and it’s a cute little comedy that I think audiences are gonna love.”
For Denise Kallas, who plays Sister Augusta, this is her first show with the Ridgedale Players and her first role in a comedy. Sister Augusta is one of the nuns involved in the secret winemaking business.
“It’s a lot of fun because it’s a comedy,” Kallas said. “The characters don’t know that they’re funny, so you’re trying to play it straight … and there’s a lot of times where we’re really struggling not to laugh.”
Holly Myers plays Mother Superior, and this is her fifth show with Ridgedale. She has done around 40 shows in her career. Her character hates alcohol and has no idea about the other sisters’ activities, although she does have her own secrets that come to light during the show.
“I was saying this might be the hardest show I’ve ever been in to keep a straight face because I’m supposed to always be serious, and the people I’m playing against are doing crazy things and I have to look at them in the face and not laugh,” Myers said. “But it’s a lot of fun. … It’s a new character for me, I would say.”
Dave Klecha plays Paul, a reporter who accompanies his colleague and former fiancé to investigate the convent and ends up wearing multiple disguises during the investigation.
Klecha’s first show with Ridgedale occurred 12 years ago and he has done many shows with the troupe since then.
“I’m playing one character who dresses up as different characters, so I have to kind of try to be those different characters a little bit but still be Paul underneath it all, and that’s been fun and fascinating trying to work out who he is when he’s each of these other people,” Klecha said.
For more information, visit ridgedaleplayers.com.