Published: January 24, 2007 03:34 pm      

Playhouse season peppered with premieres and old favorites

Brand new plays and musicals and an “American Masterpiece” highlight the 42nd season of the Cumberland County Playhouse. The season features the world professional premiere of Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming; the Tennessee professional premiere of a beautiful new southern comedy, First Baptist of Ivy Gap; and the first major Tennessee production of Disney’s High School Musical. Plus, the National Endowment for the Arts sponsors the beloved musical Carousel by Rodgers and Hammerstein as part of the prestigious American Masterpieces Program, an honor for which the Playhouse competed with professional theaters across the country. The Playhouse Mainstage is sponsored by VF Factory Outlet and the Adventure Theater by Fairfield Resorts.

The season opens Jan. 27 with First Baptist of Ivy Gap which follows the church’s women as they support American troops during World War II and again 25 years later, in the Vietnam era. Abigail Crabtree directs resident company members Patty Payne, Weslie Webster, Carol Irvin and Summer Dawn Wallace, plus newcomers Karen Burns and Leah Jennings, who bring to life the women of a small town Tennessee Baptist church.

On Feb. 22 the Playhouse becomes the world’s only professional theater to produce the entire Sanders Family/Southern Baptist trilogy when the new Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming premieres, sponsored by First National Bank of Tennessee and starring Jason Ross as Pastor Oglethorpe. Homecoming is set just after World War II, returning veteran Dennis Sanders is called to succeed the Rev. Oglethorpe as pastor, and the Sanders Family girls (and their husbands!) help start the baby boom and make grandparents of Burl and Vera. On May 24 the original Smoke on the Mountain will rejoin the repertory for its 14th season sponsored by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, and A Sanders Family Christmas, sponsored by Cumberland County Bank, will return on Nov. 1.

Disney’s High School Musical, sponsored by MasterBrand Cabinets and Playhouse Education Sponsor Hughes Real Estate Services, opens just in time for Valentine’s on Feb. 9. This is the first major live Tennessee production of this exciting Disney musical in its brand new stage edition. High School Musical is co-produced by Cumberland County High and features 50 students from a dozen schools including Stone Memorial, Cookeville High, Webb School/Knoxville, Martin Elementary, Christian Academy of Knoxville, Brown Elementary, Daniel 1 Academy, South Cumberland, Roane State, and homeschoolers. Michele Colvin (Oklahoma!) directs and choreographs.

The first Tennessee production of the new Broadway family musical Little Women opens on April 6, followed by The Times of Our Lives playing May 3-6, the CCP Dance and Theater Education Departments’ annual production sponsored by Playhouse Education Sponsor Hughes Real Estate Services.

Summer brings Guys and Dolls opening on June 8, sponsored by Looney & Chadwell Title Services and Kenneth and Carol Ann Chadwell — the classic 1950s American musical in which a pretty Salvation Army officer, Sarah Brown, is wooed on a bet by a gambling New York man-about-town, Sky Masterson. Featuring the title song “Luck Be a Lady” and the hit ballad “I’ll Know,” this show mixes Rat-Pack style gamblers with Salvation Army soldiers determined to save sinners.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado opens July 12 combining glorious music and theatrical fun. Two American classics follow with Death of a Salesman Aug. 9 and Carousel, sponsored by Crossville, Inc., on Sept. 7. Captains Courageous takes the stage on Oct. 11. This stirring musical, sponsored by Dr. Stan Bise, based on the popular movie and Kipling novel tells of a spoiled, wealthy boy who falls from his father’s yacht and learns the life of the fisherman who rescues him. Finally, a great family show for the holidays in the tradition of White Christmas, Oliver! and Beauty and the Beast will be announced later in the season and sponsored by M. Stewart Galloway and Cumberland Eye Care.

Season tickets, gift certificates and discount memberships are on sale at the Playhouse Box Office at 484-5000, and schedules can be seen at www.ccplayhouse.com. Online ticketing will be available later in 2007.