Cornwell's dinner Theatre has staged "Smoke on the Mountain" nine years ago. The show marked the first of it's 14th season and the first for new producer Dennis McKeen and his TopHat Productions. Now in its 23rd season, Cornwell's and TopHat are reviving the much-loved gospel musical with Paul Kerr who directed the show in 2001. This time Kerr takes a role in the cast as McKeen fills the artistic-diredctor's shoes.
Just like nine years ago, the show kills. Its distinctive brand of zany humaor keeps the audience in stitches while over 20 gospel number rock the house with live music.
The show's humor starts from lights up with a hilarious situation faced by the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant, N.C. Pastor Mervin Ogglethorp's (Travis Smith ) job is to kick off the first ever Saturday Night Sing with a performance by the Sanders Family Singers; except that the congregation has already been seated and still the Sanders Family has not arrived. Within seconds the audience flies into hysterics, laughing at Mervin's distress.
Soon enough, the Sanders Family makes its grand entrance with tales of a bus turning over on the road amid many shenanigans. From those opening moments of hilarity, the audience knows it is in for a real treat.
The show rotates through the Sanders family, with each taking a turn sharing a monologue revealing personal character as well as the character of the times: Depression-era, the South during 1938 and a traditional gospel revival. The Sanders family includes family partiarch Burl (Paul Kerr), his wife Vera (Amber Burgess) and their three children Stanley (David Goins) and the "twins" Denise (Molly Laurel) and Dennis (Tim Leonard). Burl's sister une (Brooke Beesley) rounds out the singing family group.
The Sanders sing many familiar and unfamiliar gospel tunes, such as "No Tears in Heaven", "Jesus I Mine", "Christian Cowboy", "Brining in the Sheaves", and "Smoke on the Mountain".
Some of the songs are exhilarating such as "I'll Fly Away" and "When the Roll is called up Yonder". But it is "I'll Live a Million Years" along with its dancing performed by Denise and June that sends Pastor Mervin into a tizzy and drives the Sanders family from the stage to close the First Act with cries of "No dancing! No dancing!"
Act Two starts off with a biblical debate of scripture quoting betwen the pastor and Vera in which the Sanders matriarch wins, proving that the bible is not opposed to dancing.
In the second act, the Sanders family continues to share experiences that have teste their faith or anecdotes that can be turned to a biblical homily or object lesson, Amber Burgess has one of the best moments with these soliloquies with a gut-busing laugh riot of a story about a June bug featureing comic business with an actutual insect (or well pantomimed facsimille).
Some of the stories are serious as well, such as David Goins telling a riveting tale about bridge building and bar hopping in answer to the sobreity sermons of the pastor. In the first act, Tim Leonard also shows off his preachy talents with a display of Bible-thumping and witnessing that is as powerful as it is funny. Likewise, the monologues by the rest of the cast are solid, if not as standout as those of the other three. Brooke beesley, Paul Kerr, and Molly Laurel all contributte with strong acting and great humor, especially Laurel whose attempts at sign language are constant source of hilarity throughout the show.
In nine years and dozens of shows, McKeen has grown into a masterful director/producer with a good eye for creating strong ensemble casts and assembling high produc tion values in the Cornwell's venue.
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