Sonja Morgan Reflects on ‘Welcome to Crappie Lake’ Hookup, Says Benton Men “Know How to Make Love”

Real Housewives of New York City icons Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan are feeling less Jovani these days and more flannels and cut-off shorts. The “dynamic duo,” as they refer to themselves, have traded in their glamorous Big Apple lifestyles to spend the summer in the small (and hot) Illinois town of Benton in what’s sure to be Bravo’s newest hit, Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake.

In the show, the veteran reality stars assist the mayor in reinvigorating Benton, a fixer-upper town that de Lesseps and Morgan — both “small-town girls at heart” — hope to uplift with their sparkling NYC touch. But aside from orchestrating a Follies performance, renovating the park and fixing up their motel rooms — which makes Blue Stone Manor’s fish room alone look like a 5-star resort — the series follows the hilarious hijinks of the longtime BFFs.

From eating “sagging grandpa balls” at the annual Testy Festy that tasted like “the worst fried chicken you’ve ever had in your life” to flirting up a storm with the Benton men, who Morgan says “know how to make love,” the beloved RHONY alums told Decider all about their six-week venture to the midwest.

The show is hilarious. When I’m watching it, it feels like a crossover between Simple Life, Schitt’s Creek and RHONY. Did it feel like that for you while you were filming?

Luann: It certainly did. Working with the mayor, being tasked, we had no idea what to expect. We went in with open arms and here we are … We had a laundry list of things that we had to do, which, we were ready. We just didn’t expect the heat. I did not expect to catch a catfish with my bare hands or eat testicles, but here we are.

Sonja: We didn’t know where Benton was, really. When they said Illinois, I thought it was gonna be up by Chicago. What do I know? I couldn’t get there fast enough. I was so excited for the opportunity. We hadn’t filmed for a while on Real Housewives of New York and Luann and I were both very busy with our tours. She’s doing her cabaret, I’m doing my comedy, and [we] never get to see each other. Yeah, so I was just so happy to be with Lu. And we knew we could get it done! Right Lu?

Luann: That’s true. I mean, as you’ve seen throughout the history of the show, we’ve been through it. Marriages, homes, children, divorce. We really can kind of pull all those pieces together and keep it moving forward. And I think they needed this kind of dynamic duo to get into their town and lift it from post-COVID. It was actually our producer who’s from this town — his twin brother lives there and his mom still lives in Benton. So it was his personal interest to elevate the town. And they picked the right girls for the job because we can do it all, from decorating to renovating — God knows we’ve renovated Sonja’s townhouse, I don’t know how many times … We girls know how to get it done. 

Which renovation project was more difficult: organizing your hotel rooms in Benton or Sonja’s townhouse? 

Sonja: The hotel was a real project because we had to do it quickly to get organized because for us — 

Luann: The motel. Not hotel. Motel. 

Sonja: We were under pressure to just get organized with all our clothes and things. Luann took over a shed with no air conditioning to put all her boots and shoes and signature necklaces and hats … I did have luckily a good bathtub and the motel owners — they’re very, very nice. 

Luann: We made it our home. After six weeks, it’s funny how you can acclimate no matter where you are. As long as you have a buddy like Sonja. I had Sonja, we had the town’s people — which were just such a pleasure. It took them a minute because they were like, ‘Who are these fancy girls coming from New York. What are they going to do for us? I mean, what can they possibly do?’ We made the parking lot of the Benton motel into a lounge situation where you could be in San Tropez. I was never so happy to see a Walmart in my life, let me tell you that.

Sonja: We killed it. They had no idea we were small-town girls. All the glam, they had no idea we would get our hands dirty and make sure things happen. We brought in truckloads of tools. For the contractor, Luann had her brother fly in — he’s a contractor. He helped renovate our rooms. We tore up carpet and put brand new floor-to-floor carpet. Painting. Signage. 

It seems like things were equal parts fun and work. Who was more into accomplishing the mayor’s tasks and who was more into flirting and going out?

Sonja: We both did both because we both have a very strong work ethic and we’re very proud, and the people of Benton are very proud, and they were right there to help us with whatever we needed — once they saw we were serious. But we both love to have a good time, we’re both entertainers, we crack people up, we love to inspire people with our outfits. They kept up with it. They really did. It’s a beautiful town. Wonderful people.

In the first look, we see that you two attend a testicle festival. Was that the wildest event you attended in the town of Benton? How did you enjoy it? 

Luann: When they invited us to the Testy Festy — that’s what they call it, the Testy Festy — I didn’t really understand what it was all about until I got there and then it was like, ‘Oh, this is what we’re doing?’ There were people that rode in on their horses. There were people in underwear. There were bouncy balls, which, of course, we have a little bouncy ball competition, because that’s what they do for fun. 

I ate the testicles because Sonja would not do it. I was like, ‘You know what? When in Rome. This is what they do. So I’m going to taste it.’ I had to and thank god I had my Listerine breath spray because that was saving me. It’s like the worst fried chicken you’ve ever had in your life. It had, like, a gamey aftertaste.

Sonja: Very old testicles, too. Like sagging grandpa balls. We had fun at that festival though. Other than that.  

Sonja, one of the funniest moments of the first few episodes was when the hotel manager noticed your pink vibrator and you totally own it. What advice would you give to Benton residents struggling to embrace their true selves?

Sonja: I just had to be very efficient in a small room. So that’s the charging station which you have an iPad, you have a Mac, and then you have your cell phone and your vibrator … Embrace your sexuality, always. You don’t live forever. 

The only problem we will say, as far as fishing outside the lake, was all the people are married there. Every man is married and if they’re divorcing, it’s a very small town so they didn’t really want to be out there dating Luann or I because it would affect their divorce settlement. So we were fucked. 

Luann: And with all that going on, Sonja managed to find the one single guy in town, didn’t she?

Sonja: He was from out of town. That was a bummer. Because I was like, ‘What do you mean you’re leaving after the weekend?’ I was just getting this party started. The men down there are real men. And I like that. They know how to fix things. They know how to be romantic. They know how to make love. I did spend a night at the firehouse because we had a blackout at the hotel.

Luann: At the motel.

Sonja: Yeah, at the motel. And my reputation does precede me so as soon as I got there in the blackout — they had electricity and the first fireman that opened the door was like, ‘I don’t believe we’ve met yet.’

Are you still in touch with any of these men or the people of Benton? Are they going to come out to Manhattan any time soon?

Sonja: The townhouse is a part of the show, right? I’ve already had people fly in and stay with me. I had the new mayor fly in. I had Parks and Recreation staying there. I had producers from the show come in for BravoCon and stay there … I’m staying in touch with everyone. I really loved it [in Benton]. I sent some plants down there that I love from Home Depot. So yeah, we have real friendships. They’re like our family down there. 

As far as the Benton Follies — Luann, can you talk about what it was like to bring your cabaret background to the small town? Did you grace Benton with a performance of “Money Can’t Buy You Class”?

Luann: We actually wrote a song for Benton together. And you’ll see that on the show. And you know, I do cabaret, Sonja does her comedy caburlesque. Listen, we’re together for six weeks. We don’t have the same ideas because we’re different performers in that way. So we had to work collaboratively and it’s not always easy. We disagreed and we had moments, but we pull it together for the greater good of Benton and to make the Follies something that’s gonna last beyond us. 

To be able to get Paula Abdul was just incredible. Part of the show was a dance performance. [Abdul] came in, 15 minutes later she had those girls tight and right. It was amazing to watch her work — the icon that she is — and that she would do that for us really meant the world to us. And so to bring my knowledge of cabaret and for Sonja to bring her comedy, together we made it work and let me tell you, it was a lot of work. 

Rehearsals, putting all the pieces [together]. At one point, I’m like, ‘Sonja, we got a little problem here.’ She’s just eating popcorn. I’m like, ‘How can you eat right now?’ I couldn’t even think about eating but Sonja’s so relaxed. I’m the one who’s like, ‘I like scripted.’ I go off script, but I like my script. And I like everything to work. And Sonja’s like, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be fine, don’t worry.’

Sonja: People were coming in from all over the country to see it. I just knew that the supporters and ticket buyers were watching their own family members. So that’s a great start. But Luann is a perfectionist about things going on schedule and semi-scripted, let’s say. Me, I do improv. I’m just like, ‘Oh, I’ll just run out and make everybody laugh if something goes wrong.’ Luann goes, ‘No, we’re not doing that. We’re gonna have the sound perfect. We’re gonna have the background perfect. We’re gonna have the lighting done right.’ And they have an amazing director there and it’s a real stage. [They had] many local schools for gymnastics and dance and they had a cheerleading squad and they all practice three to four times a week. So we promised Paula that it wouldn’t be a waste of time for her.

You had a lot of doubters in Benton — but you’re both being great sports about the activities and it seems like you really pull through in the trailer. What’s the biggest challenge you faced as you helped rehab the town of Benton? 

Luann: We thought we weren’t going to get the playground. We almost had to leave without getting it. It was a big challenge because we worked on trade outs with companies to get this playground. It cost a lot of money. And we promised them we would have it … We went in. We knocked down trees, physically. We worked on this land to create a platform to even put this [jungle gym]. So that challenge was a big one for us. We almost didn’t get it.

Sonja: [The owner of the jungle gym] said another family had pre-purchased it but they can wait another month or two. He drove it personally for two days … The jungle gym, it’s huge. It’s gorgeous!

Luann: We were thrilled. And to pull off those Follies — that was a big deal for us. There were so many things — the dog run to get these dogs out of the shelter. To see that happening, where people can go now and adopt a dog from the shelter and they can be with it outside and pet it outside and see it outside. They were in concrete stalls [before]. It was really bad. We’re very proud of ourselves. We did a lot for this town. At the same time, they loved us because they realized that these are just down-to-earth girls. They look fancy, but guess what? They got their hands dirty and they got it done.

If you were to go back in time and add one more New York Housewife to take with you, who would you each choose?

Sonja: I think Bravo are the professionals and they chose us two because, seriously — six weeks off-season in July, August, 110-degree days and most of the time outside our room, working in the field. I don’t think a lot of girls could deal. Certainly not Ramona [Singer]. 

Luann: Definitely not.

Sonja: I don’t think Dorinda [Medley] could handle it either. It’s a lot. She’d bring her 300-count sheets. She’d be wearing Pucci every day. By the end, Luann was wearing a plaid shirt and cut-off shorts. 

Would you both consider doing a Season 2 in Benton? Or would you rather travel to a new location?

Luann: We love Benton. We fell in love with Benton. I think a lot of towns across this country could use a little Lu and Sonja. In the perfect world, we can go to Benton, we can go to Texas, we can go all over and help a lot of people that need to lift their town after the years we’ve been through. I think a lot of people would embrace us — after they see what we’ve done with Benton.

Sonja: Exactly! We’d be the wind beneath their sails.

Luann: The wind beneath the crappie fish.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

New episodes of Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake air on Sunday nights at 10/9c on Bravo.