Barter Theatre's 'Southern Fried Nuptials' cooked the way you like it

From left are Andrew Hampton Livingston (Carter Canfield) and Carrie Smith Lewis (Harlene Frye) appearing in Barter Theatre's Southern Fried Nuptials/Photo by Justin Slone

You wouldn't go to this expecting Shakespeare, would you?

No, you come to find fried southern comfort and silliness for a fun time at the theatre tonight, and that's what you get, and more at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, about 20 miles north of the Tennessee-Virginia line.

Naturally, Southern Fried Nuptials is about a weddin' going wrong.

Get ready for a surprise with a twist of lemon.

The slow start is soon forgotten once the guffaws begin, with lines like: "A wife waits until after a weddin' to tell a husband how he feels." 

Or, "your past is standing in the living room," to echo the night's refrain: "What's past is past."(We wish.)

Harlene Frye (played by Carrie Smith Lewis) is the bride-to-be who speaks a mite too fast (which a microphone would help translate for the audience), with a mite too much of an affected Southern accent, trained by none other than her "brother," Dew Drop (Zacchaeus Kimbrell), who pulls double duty as the dialect coach for the play.

Atticus Van Leer (Justin Tyler Lewis) is Harlene's fiance and the best actor on stage, if one has to choose a "best," for he delivers one of the most convincing, wide-eyed performances of the production. 

Harlene's mom, Dorothy (Tricia Matthews) does all right, but the show stealer without a doubt, who makes the audience "howl" every time she comes on stage is the director, Mary Lucy Bivins, also performing dual roles as the unwelcome substitute wedding planner, Ozella Meeks (but "meeks," she ain't). 

Ozella's booming voice carries well throughout the theatre, and her bright yellow garment (by Karen Brewster) marks her like a canary in the woods:   "Where are my manners?" she says, answering a question:  "I must have left them in my pocketbook."

Holly Williams is the bride's sister, Sammy Jo LeFette, another Nuptials standout with her ability, sassiness,  and presentation. 

Says Sammy Jo to husband, Beecham (Sean Maximo Campos):  "I know I must be depressed because I am talking to you about it." 

The second show stealer, another "odd-ball" (aren't they all?  So unlike us) is Fairy June Cooper (love these Mississippi names) riotously portrayed by Kate Denson who grows on you as time passes, like waiting for a firecracker to explode, and you know it's gonna, you just don't know when and exactly what will come out.  Costume Designer Brewster dresses Fairy June exactly like one would expect. 

From left are Kate Denson (Fairy June Cooper), Paris Bradstreet (Martha Ann Fox), and Zacchaeus Kimbrell (Dew Drop) appearing in Barter Theatre's Southern Fried Nuptials/Photo by Justin Slone

Carter Canfield (Andrew Hampton Livingston) is the antagonist, the epitome of the handsome cowboy come to town with an "aw shucks, m'am, I aim to please" personality, that you just want to jump up on stage and smack him around some, he makes you so mad.

Other cast members are Paris Bradstreet who is Martha Ann Fox, Dorothy's business partner, and Michael Poisson as Vester Pickens (the names!), paramour-in-waiting for Dorothy, both whose performances match the Barter troupe's professionalism, reputation, and attractiveness, which get better and better.

The solo set (by William J. Buck) is filled with almost too many props which can detract from the dialogue: wedding gifts on the side board, family photos on the walls, furniture, an upstairs to the left, a kitchen entrance to the right.  (D.C.'s contemporary minimalist theatre sets for sad and depressing content contrast with shows like delightful Nuptials.)

Andrew Morehouse, the lighting designer, illuminates the stage so that not one wrinkle is spared, expanding his talents outside to Buck's well-crafted front porch, "hedges" and a slamming screen door (nice sound by Miles Polaski).

In the show I saw, Dew Drop experienced a costume malfunction when he left the stage for the kitchen and returned a few minutes later wearing a different outfit which suggested a new scene, but it was not (if the other actors don't leave and change, and no one remarks or improvises on his change).

Minutes later, Dewey went back to the kitchen (a "safe harbor" for one or more of the characters off and on all night) and reappeared on stage in his original gear, which always looked like pajama bottoms (trending), increasing intended (?) confusion. 

Mr. Kimbrell's age did not seem to fit his character for he is far beyond the implied 11 or 12 years which Dewey's role and apparel suggest. 

It seems to me that a little bit of Mississippi fried music would have complemented the presentation which was thoroughly entertaining without it. (Huh?)

Cindi A. Raebel is stage manager.

The play was written by Dietz Osborne and Nate Eppler whose website says they work out of the Southeastern U.S. on commission, generally writing comedies.

What:  Southern Fried Nuptials

When: Now through August 8, 2015

Where: Barter Theatre, 127 West Main Street, Abingdon, Virginia 24210. From Washington, drive out I66 West and down I81, about 5.5 hours if you don't stop to eat.

Tickets: Start at $34 with discounts for seniors, AAA, military, students, and groups.  Call 276-628-3991 or purchase tickets at the box office or on the Web.

Other Barter performances: The Barter runs simultaneous plays, and you may also want to see Marvelous Wonderettes, Mary Poppins, Keep on the Sunny Side, The Understudy, and for the children, Rapunzel or The Jungle Book, depending upon the calendar.

For more information: 276-628-3991

Accommodations: Prices in Abingdon range from plain to fancy. There's the lovely, quaint "fab 50s" motel on the hill at Exit 19, the Alpine, with old-fashioned but newly modernized huge rooms, and lawn chairs outside each door for guests to use for gazing at the peaceful hills and farmlands. Mountain air arrives in rooms via open windows. If it's fancier digs you prefer (and ghosts), check out "The Martha" (as in "Washington"), across the street from the Barter. Built in 1832 for a general's residence, it became a woman's college until it was overtaken by the Great Depression, which started a few years before the Barter opened.

"The Martha" is one of several places in Abingdon with theatre packages.

About  Abingdon: A beautiful town with stately trees, hanging baskets and big, old homes to admire, Abingdon was founded in 1776, and, according to Wikipedia, was likely named after Martha Washington's ancestral home in Oxfordshire, England. The U.S. version has a variety of good places to eat, see, browse, and visit, including a gentle nearby mountain trail, the Virginia Creeper, which is an easy walk or bike (with plentiful rentals available) all the way down.

'Johnny Cash' onstage at Barter Theatre

The cast from Ring of Fire:  The Music of Johnny Cash, now on stage at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia.  From left are Mark T. Baczynski, Emily Mikesell, Katie Deal ("June Carter Cash"), Jason Petty ("Johnny Cash"), and Gill Braswell

 

For all Johnny Cash (1932-2003) music lovers, the show now playing at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, is one they will like.

The Barter Theatre, Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rather than a musical, it's a posthumous concert featuring many of the star's hits, but not enough to enliven the first act which includes lesser-known tunes.

Jason Petty is an outstanding "Johnny" who looks, talks, and realistically brings back the "Man in Black," with a quick journey through Johnny's life told in words and song.  (It's unclear if Johnny Cash actually said or wrote the lines attributed to him in the presentation.)

Strangely absent are "Don't Take Your Guns to Town," "Understand Your Man," (Ghost) "Riders in the Sky," "Orange Blossom Special," and "One Piece at a Time,"  replaced by songs not as well known like "Straight A's in Love," "Delia's Gone," "Cocaine Blues," and "I Still Miss Someone."

Closing the first act is bathroom humor (yes, it is) with "Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart" and "Egg-Suckin' Dog" received enthusiastically by the audience which is finally rewarded with "Ring of Fire" sung in excellent harmony by "Johnny" and his bride-to-be, "June Carter Cash," the lovely, dashing Katie Deal who delivers an exceptional performance.

The second act takes off with music by the multi-talented cast which presents “I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues, ”  "A Boy Named Sue," and "Jackson," among others.

Stationed on stage the whole time are Steve Sensenig on keys and David Streng on drums.  Their presence and instruments are distracting, but perhaps designed to fill half the set which does not vary from a framed barn, with the exception of the backdrop of photographs which change from farmland to sky to clouds, etc., in a tired technique now commonplace in many productions. 

Other musicians, Mark Baczynski and Gill Braswell, have speaking and singing parts, but when they pull and strum the strings on their guitars and bass, those undeniable talents  take over.

Meanwhile, Ms. Deal and Emily Mikesell, Johnny's "mother" and "Minnie Pearl" and bassist extraordinaire and fiddle player to kill, almost steal the show, sometimes overshadowing the star who seems almost listless at times.  But, perhaps that's the way "Johnny" really was. 

Throughout the production, "June" gazes longingly at her man with stars in her eyes, and their warm relationship translates well on the platform to produce a genuine bond. 

Period costuming (by Howard Tvsi Kaplan) refreshes the show periodically.

People pay for what they want to hear and why producers don't give it to them is perplexing. Since Johnny Cash is dead and not likely to bring out any new hits which some stars (Bob Dylan) like to introduce to fans (most of whom don't want to hear them), why not replace the lesser-knowns with Johnny's biggest numbers, the ones people know and love, the ones they come to hear?

Ring of Fire lived a short life when it opened in New York in 2006, but Variety predicted better success for the play when it moved to its country fan base which certainly includes Abingdon, Virginia.

The Barter Theatre, Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Ring of Fire was created by Richard Maltby, Jr., conceived by William Meade, and adapted from the Broadway production by Richard Maltby, Jr and Jason Edwards. Other members of the Barter Ring of Fire production team are Amy Jones, director and musical director; Andrew Morehouse, lighting designer; Derek Smith, set designer; Miles Polaski, sound designer; and Kristy Goebel, stage manager.

For more reviews of other plays in the region, go to DC Metro Theater Arts.

What:  Ring of Fire:  The Music of Johnny Cash

When:  Now through September 6, 2014

Where:  Barter Theatre, 127 West Main Street, Abingdon, Virginia 24210.  From Washington, drive out I66 West and down I81, about 5.5 hours if you don't stop to eat, and look out for the state troopers, lined up along 81, comparable to crocodiles ready to pounce and bite speeding motorists.

Tickets:  Start at $34.  Call 276-628-3991 or purchase them on the Web.

Note:  The Barter runs simultaneous plays, and you may also want to see Driving Miss Daisy.  Check  the listings on the calendar.

For more information:  276-628-3991

Accommodations:  Prices in Abingdon range from the plain to the fancy.  There's the lovely, quaint "fab 50s" motel on the hill at Exit 19, the Alpine, with old-fashioned but newly modernized huge rooms, and lawn chairs outside each door for guests to use for gazing a spell at the peaceful hills and farmlands.  Mountain air arrives in rooms via open windows.  If it's fancier digs you prefer (with ghosts), check out "The Martha" (as in "Washington"), across the street from the Barter.  Built in 1832 for a general's residence, it became a woman's college until it was overtaken by the Great Depression, which was the same time the Barter opened.

"The Martha" is one of several places in Abingdon which offer theatre packages. ("Martha's" start at $445, and it's a good deal.)   

A room with a view at the Alpine Motel, Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The "fab 50s" Alpine Motel with bush-covered sign on the hill, Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"The Martha,"  Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The sitting area for the suite below at "The Martha," Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A suite at "The Martha," Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The library at "The Martha," Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Abingdon was founded in 1776, and Wikipedia says it was likely named after Martha Washington's ancestral home in Oxfordshire, England. The U.S. town lies about 20 miles north of the Tennessee border above Bristol and prides itself on its old homes, historic shops, and tree-lined streets whose light posts hold baskets of flowers which fall gracefully to the streets.  Abingdon has good places to eat, see, browse, and visit, including a gentle nearby mountain trail, the Virginia Creeper, which is an easy delight to bike or walk down.

patricialesli@gmail.com