Smoke on the Mountain at Flat Rock Playhouse
The latest winner at Flat Rock Playhouse, Smoke on the Mountain manages to lovingly lampoon gospel performers while simultaneously presenting a reverent portrait of Christian life.
Set in 1938 in a Baptist church in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina — whose pickle factory strongly suggests it’s a Mt. Olive stand-in — the show centers on the Sanders Family Band, back on the performance circuit after a brief hiatus and, to the audience’s delight, still working out a few kinks.
Thanks to writer Connie Ray’s variety-show format for the Sanders’ appearance, Smoke on the Mountain grants each character the opportunity to share his or her history and personality as the band witnesses and performs. From stern, serious parents Vera (Emily Mikesell) and Burl (Chris Damiano) down to their three less-buttoned-up children and Burl’s prodigal brother Stanley (Eric Scott Anthony, pulling double duty as music director), comedic drama runs rampant for the Sanders clan, who do their best to cover up the in-fighting with their musical dexterity.
A wonder to behold, nearly every actor plays multiple instruments — hopping effortlessly between guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass, and piano — and sings angelically well. The exceptions are June (Lilly Tobin), whose creative sign language skills and occasional auxiliary percussion accompaniment are consistent treats, and Pastor Oglethorpe (Scott Treadway), who may laughably labor through “Rock of Ages” on the piano to start the show, but holds a few charming musical surprises of his own.
Rounded out by twin siblings Dennise (Margaret Dudasik), an aspiring movie starlet, and Dennis (Sam Sherwood), a nervous preacher-in-training, the ensemble earns steady guffaws from both the stubborn, tradition-minded actions of Vera and Burl, and the more independent doings of their kin — all without trying to be funny (at least on a character level).
These self-serious folks’ obliviousness to just how humorous they are is a major reason why Smoke on the Mountain is so entertaining, but there’s never the sense that Ray, the cast, nor director Amy Jones are ridiculing these figures. Much of that careful balance comes courtesy of the professionalism of the musical performances, the common bond through which the conflict-riddled family and audience members of varying degrees of religious faith may unite.
The pleasant message shines all the clearer thanks to the fuss-free production. Opening the same weekend as Asheville Community Theatre’s cheery The Wizard of Oz and its array of colorful sets and costumes, the Playhouse’s technical crew operates as an unintentional polar opposite, with everything from Dennis Maulden’s straightforward, homey wood sanctuary set to Ashli Arnold Crump’s period-appropriate clothing working in tandem with the material without creating distractions.
Among its many highlights, Smoke on the Mountain also features one of the best lead-ins to and reasons for an intermission. Far more amusing than an arbitrary break and even most cliffhangers, the writing points to Ray’s commendable intentionality in making every moment count — an attitude carried on by all involved in the local production.
Smoke on the Mountain runs through Oct. 19 at Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock. For schedule, directions, and tickets, visit flatrockplayhouse.org.
(Photos by Scott Treadway)
