STREATOR — Community Players of Streator’s 56th season will begin with a celebration of the church basement kitchen and the women who work there in “Church Basement Ladies.”

Directed by Greg Tullis of Streator, the musical comedy features four distinct characters and their relationships as they organize the food and solve the problems of a Minnesota church about to undergo changes in 1965. They stave off potential disasters, share and debate recipes, instruct the young and keep the pastor on course. Audiences will recognize these ladies as they witness the church year unfold from below the house of God. “Church Basement Ladies” will open May 19 and run through May 25, 2013.

In June, Brian Steep of Ottawa will direct “Leading Ladies” by Ken Ludwig, author of “Lend Me a Tenor” and “Moon Over Buffalo,” both previously presented at Engle Lane. In this hilarious comedy, two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, find themselves down on their luck. When they hear that an old lady in York, Pa., is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long-lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. When they get to York, however, they find out that the relatives aren’t nephews, but nieces, and hilarity unfolds. “Leading Ladies” will run June 16-22, 2013.