Smoke...

Nice that the C-T was able to review three shows all opening at once (this one's from Tony Kiss). May this trend continue.
But where have all of our "citizen reviewers" gone...?
BG--

MARS HILL — The Sanders family of Siler City is back for more good old gospel music in the warm musical comedy “Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming,” now playing at Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre at Owen Theatre.

This third chapter in the Sanders series closely follows the path of the first two shows. The clan heads to the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church to perform, but of course, things don’t go exactly right. Still, there’s plenty of good singing, some heart-touching moments and lots of laughs. It’s a perfect fit for historic Owen Theatre, once a church itself.

This production, directed by Paul Schierhorn, benefits greatly from the strong musical contributions of Brad Curtioff, and local music legends Bucky Hanks and Bruce Lang (who also portrays ne’er-do-well brother Stanley Sanders). Give them major props for making this homecoming a joyous occasion.

It’s just after World War II, and the Sanderses are reunited in Mountain Pleasant to bid farewell to bubbly Rev. Oglethorpe (Bradshaw Call). The pastor has married June Sanders (Katie Keiley), who is now expecting, and they’re all headed to a new ministry in Texas.

The play’s premise is that each member of the Sanders clan “witnesses” their love of the Lord, often with daffy but heartfelt results.

Company veteran Tony Medlin settles nicely into the role of daddy Burl, with Mandy Sayles as his Bible verse-spouting wife, Vera. Ashley Manning is daughter Denise (forever trying to settle down her unseen youngsters outside the church) and Daniel Hensley as her brother Dennis, just back from the war, and ready to take over the Mount Pleasant church. June stands to the side, “signing” each song with crazy movements. Halfway through, there’s a crisis, but things always work out with the Sanders family.

It seems that in every production of “Smoke on the Mountain” or its sequels, one member of the ensemble breaks out to shine, and in this cast, it’s Hensley as the forever-smiling Dennis. He’s got a fine singing voice, some sharp acting skills, and with other members of this crew, makes this an entertaining evening.