by Alan Bailey, Mike Carver, Mark Hardwick, Connie Ray
Smoke on the Mountain tells the story of a Saturday Night Gospel Sing at a country church in North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains in 1938. The show features two dozen rousing bluegrass songs played and sung by the Sanders Family, a traveling group making its return to performing after a five-year hiatus. Pastor Oglethorpe, the young and enthusiastic minister of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, has enlisted the Sanders Family in his efforts to bring his tiny congregation into “the modern world.” Between songs, each family member “witnesses” – telling a story about an important event in their life. Though they try to appear perfect in the eyes of a congregation who wants to be inspired by their songs, one thing after another goes awry and they reveal their true – and hilariously imperfect – natures. By the evening’s end, the Sanders Family have endeared themselves to us by revealing their weaknesses and allowing us to share in their triumphs.
SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN
FEB. 8-10, 15-17
By Lewis Carrol
Alice plunges down the rabbit hole and becomes involved in that madcap and deliciously satiric series of adventures immortalized by Lewis Carroll. Dramatized as a series of fourteen episodes from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, this play may be produced as a full-length or as a one-act cutting. A kaleidoscope of action and madness, with the necessary elements of suspense and frustration to make it all work.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
JUNE 14-16, 21-23
By Neil Simon and Anton Chekhov
This Broadway hit is a composite of Neil Simon and Anton Chekhov. In one sketch, a feisty old woman storms a bank and upbraids the manager for his gout and lack of money. In another, a father takes his son to a house to initiate him into the mysteries of sex, only to relent at the last moment and leave the boy more perplexed than ever. In another sketch, a crafty seducer goes to work on a wedded woman, only to realize that the woman has been in command from the first overture. And let us not forget the classic tale of a man who offers to drown himself for three rubles. The stories are droll, the portraits affectionate, the humor infectious, and the fun unending.
THE GOOD DOCTOR
AUGUST 16-18, 23-25
By Agatha Christie
A group of strangers is stranded in a boarding house during a snow storm, one of whom is a murderer. The suspects include the newly married couple who run the house, and the suspicions in their minds nearly wreck their perfect marriage. Others are a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired Army major, a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift, and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone. Into their midst comes a policeman, traveling on skis. He no sooner arrives, when the jurist is killed. Two down, and one to go. To get to the rationale of the murderer’s pattern, the policeman probes the background of everyone present, and rattles a lot of skeletons. Another famous Agatha Christie switch finish! Chalk up another superb intrigue for the foremost mystery writer of her time.
THE MOUSETRAP
OCTOBER 4-6. 11-13
By Ed Howard, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams
In this hilarious sequel to Greater Tuna, it’s Christmas in the third-smallest town in Texas. Radio station OKKK news personalities Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie report on various Yuletide activities, including the hot competition in the annual lawn-display contest. In other news, voracious Joe Bob Lipsey’s production of A Christmas Carol is jeopardized by unpaid electric bills. Many colorful Tuna denizens, some you will recognize from Greater Tuna and some appearing here for the first time, join in the holiday fun. A Tuna Christmas is a total delight for all seasons, whether performed by two quick-changing comedians as it was on Broadway, or by twenty or more. Production requirements are minimal, making the play suitable for school and community producers as well as large venues. Audiences who have and who have not seen Greater Tuna will enjoy this laugh-filled evening.
A TUNA CHRISTMAS
NOVEMBER 29-30,
DECEMBER 1, 6-8
BOOKS ALIVE
For the 14thseason the Guild’s BOOKS ALIVE program will entertain and bring Theatre to children in the Lakeway Area. Through a special partnership between The Theatre Guild Inc. and the Hamblen County Department of Education, several thousand Lakeway area students have been educated and entertained in a unique way. The Books Alive! program which started during the 2007-2008 school year has blossomed into an anticipated annual event among elementary classes.
By A.A. Milne
Welcome to the Hundred Acre Wood, where Winnie the Pooh is once again in search of honey. Along the way, he meets his pals, Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit and Owl, but soon discovers that Christopher Robin has been captured by the mysterious Backson! As they prepare for a rescue operation, the animals learn about teamwork, friendship and, of course… sharing snacks.
BOOKS ALIVE PRESENTS
WINNIE THE POOH KIDS
MARCH
Morristown Theatre Guild 