'Smoke' drifts over the mountain to Dayton - Sept. 28

photo The current cast of "Smoke on the Mountain" features, kneeling, from left, Elizabeth Wyld and Malachi Banegas; seated, Patty Payne, Cody Murphy and Lauren Marshall; and standing, Austin Price and Daniel Black.

IF YOU GO• What: Cumberland County Playhouse traveling production of "Smoke on the Mountain."•When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28.• Where: Rhea County Courthouse, 1475 Market St., Dayton, Tenn.• Admission: $20 and $24 adults in advance, $12 children and students with ID in advance; add $2 for tickets purchased at the door.• Phone: 931-484-5000.•Website: www.ccplayhouse.com.

The success of a Cumberland County Playhouse production in neighboring Rhea County, Tenn., this past summer has put "Smoke" on the horizon.

The cast and crew from the Crossville theater's current production of "Smoke on the Mountain" will travel to Dayton on Sunday, Sept. 28, for a special presentation in the Rhea County Courthouse. Playhouse actors will return on Sunday, Nov. 30, for "A Sanders Family Christmas." Both productions feature the gospel-singing Sanders family.

The touring engagements follow sold-out shows of "Front Page News," co-produced by CCP for the 2014 Scopes Trial Festival in Dayton. The new play with music was adapted from Deborah DeGeorge Harbin's 2013 script by CCP producing director Jim Crabtree and Grammy-nominated songwriter Bobby Taylor. The show teamed Playhouse actors, technicians and musicians with veteran Scopes Festival actors and Bryan College interns.

"We hope this is just the beginning of Playhouse shows in Dayton," says Crabtree.

"Smoke on the Mountain" introduces the Sanders family, circa 1938. "A Sanders Family Christmas" picks up their story in 1941 just after Pearl Harbor. Each time, the family is visiting Mount Pleasant Baptist Church to share music and testimony. They perform down-home gospel music, plus original songs by show creators Connie Ray and Alan Bailey.

Both productions are perennial favorites on the Crossville stage. "Smoke on the Mountain" has been held over through Saturday, Oct. 4. "A Sanders Family Christmas" will run for two months starting Friday, Oct. 31. A production of "Inherit the Wind," a fictionalized historical drama loosely based on the Scopes Trial and inspired by the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, will open Oct. 12 at the playhouse.

Proceeds from the two traveling shows benefit the Scopes Trial Festival, Cumberland County Playhouse and the Festival/Playhouse partnership.

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