Published: April 24, 2008 12:24 pm         

First Baptist of Ivy Gap returns to Playhouse

The run of First Baptist of Ivy Gap, the Ron Osborne play in its second season at Cumberland County Playhouse, has been held over until Oct. 1. First Baptist is sponsored by Crossville Ford-Lincoln-Mercury. It will also tour several Southern states in September and October, and Director Bari Newport and Producer Jim Crabtree are seeking possible future alternates or replacements for several excellent roles in the “comedy with heart.”

“We’re excited that audiences enjoy Ms. Newport’s ’08 production, with its beautiful setting by Curtis Philips,” notes box office supervisor Katy Parrent, “and we’re happy to add more performances this spring and summer, especially the matinees which are so popular.” Several women in the hit production may need breaks during the extended run, according to Crabtree, so the theater is accepting pictures and resumes from experienced volunteer and non-union professional Tennessee actresses to play roles ranging in age from 20s to 70s between 1945 and the early 1970s. Readings and auditions will be scheduled by appointment, and the rep schedule calls for two to four performances in most weeks, and limited out-of-town travel in selected weeks on tour in the fall of ’08.

First Baptist features hopes and dreams of the women of a Tennessee Baptist church during World War II in Act I, and again in Act II during Vietnam. Music of both eras evokes times in the lives of “the greatest generation” as the women celebrate church anniversaries.

Company members Carol Irvin, Annie Crabtree, and Nicole Begue are joined by new artists Ashley Pankow, Anne Staler, and Sharyn Tadolin in the current cast, several of whom appear in other Playhouse productions, including Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming, sponsored by First National Bank of Tennessee. Tickets can be purchased from the Playhouse Box Office at 484-5000. Visit CCP online at www.ccplayhouse.com to view their full season schedule and additional information.