It was a busy December for stage theater in the area; I, for one, was happy to get a reprieve the past few weeks.
After seeing “A Christmas Carol” at the Murfreesboro Center for the Arts in December and reviewing it for the last 2008 edition of The Pulse, I went a few days later to see Charlie Parker and Dennis Pessar for one of the “12 Days of Christmas” shows put on annually by Murfreesboro Little Theatre.
I wish I could have been there for more of the presentations, but I was thrilled at the Parker/Pessar piano duets and solos on the ivories. For me, the hour and 20 minutes was one of my Christmas presents. To hear old Broadway favorites and Christmas carols from two of Murfreesboro’s best musicians was like having a cup of hot cocoa at a roaring fire with your dearest friends. The dedication these two men employ with theater in this town is remarkable.
I drove to Smyrna’s Lamplighter’s Theatre on the night of the December “blizzard” to see a radio show of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It was fun and interesting, but after about an act and a half it began to wear on me. The story of Clarence and Mr. Potter and Bedford Falls could only go on so long, and I so wanted to see Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed walk on stage just to liven it up. The actors did a good job, as did the sound crew, but this was one radio show I could have listened to at home.
“A Tuna Christmas” at The Arts Center of Cannon County was enjoyable. I had seen other “Tuna” shows in Atlanta and Austin in years past, but this was my first Christmas show. The Center can put on quite a feast as well, and this dinner show was packed to capacity with patrons smacking on green beans, corn, turkey, ham, dressing and rolls, while some of the wackiest comedy ever came from the two actors onstage.
Overlooking the sea of blue and white hair, I was probably the youngest person there to see the play, and I am 54. I appreciated the meal served, and enjoyed the play, especially the interaction with the audience. I have never understood, however, how churchgoing people, and there were plenty there, can slam drag queens as sins of the devil, then go and laugh their butts off at two female impersonators onstage.
“The Homecoming” at the Theatre at Patterson Park was a blend of “The Waltons” and “Spencer’s Mountain,” all from the boyhood of Earl Hamner. Jeff Harr directed this warm and fuzzy play about the huge Spencer family looking for presumably lost Clay Spencer, played by Gary Davis. Forty people in this play was probably the largest I have seen on the Patterson stage, and yet, the crowds of up to 100 were also the largest I’ve seen at Patterson.
The show was a little slow and dragged on, no fault of the actors or director, but the music and intro were wonderful. At times it seemed the family and townsfolk didn’t know where to stand, which made me wonder how much emphasis was put on blocking. And there was not much color to this play; it seemed stark and sterile. I thought the storyline was substandard, (whether Clay Spencer or John Walton, you don’t get lost on the mountain named for your grandfather), but Andrew Payne did well as Clay-Boy; the casting was good despite the size.
Well, let’s look forward to 2009: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” begins a three-week run at the Center for the Arts Friday, Jan. 16, ending Feb. 1. With a blend of Biblical and modern times, this should be a fun start to the new year.
Jesse Cannady directs this presentation, and his shows are always full of color and spectacle. MLT, Lamplighter’s, the Tucker and Cannon County are all in rehearsals for February, and yours truly will be having auditions for “Harvey” on Feb. 2 and 3, 6 p.m. at Patterson Park.
See ya at the show!
