Burn ban in effect across south La.
July 1, 2009
Brenda Guidry Dantin
July 6, 2009
Thibodaux Playhouse’s summer musical offering will have plenty of gospel songs, bluegrass music and Christmas carols when the –
Hold on. Christmas carols?
“It doesn’t make sense, but we’re calling it ‘Sanders Family Christmas (in July),’ said director Bert Boquet. “There’s no rhyme or reason for it. We just selected it for our musical.”
“Sanders Family Christmas,” which premiered nationally in 1999, is a continuation of the popular play “Smoke on the Mountain,” both featuring the Sanders family and both authored by actress/writer Connie Ray with help from Alan Bailey. Hey, if the suburban Griswolds can do Christmas, why not mountain folk?
In the sequel, the clan gathers for a get-together at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in North Carolina to send one of its members off to the battlefield shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
The family had been on the road and comes back home to do the Christmas show. The gathering is a chance for them to sing mountain songs, tell stories and witness to the faith.
“They get together for the last time before the war,” Boquet said. “It would be a while before they could do it again.”
Thibodaux Playhouse staged “Smoke on the Mountain” several years ago and the play drew a good response then, Boquet said. “But it would have been nice to do (the sequel) in the fall,” he said.
“Sanders” does not have a conventional plot, so to speak. The play has one set-the church-where family members tell their stories. No one leaves the stage for the entire two acts.
Father Burl (Donovan Bourgeois) and mother Vera (Mary LeJeune) Sanders head up the clan. Twenty-year-old son Dennis (Ethan Rodrigue) is a recent Bible college graduate who does not know whether to enter the war as a preacher or a soldier.
His twin sister Denise (Toni Lynn Guidry) abandons her aspirations to be a southern belle to join the USO, defying her mother’s wishes.
Uncle Stanley (Paul Cook) has done time for an undisclosed offense. “He’s not bitter about it, he takes it well,” Boquet said. “He’s a good character.” Stanley’s good enough to become a country singer who appeared onscreen with Gene Autry.
Perhaps the most involving characters are June Sanders (Meredith Peltier) and the church’s young minister, Mervin Oglethorpe (Dan Salvatura).
June is the only family member who does not sing. Instead, she uses sign language while onstage. In fact, Peltier has learned to sign to prepare for the part.
“June just doesn’t have a voice,” Boquet said, explaining how the character differs from the others.
Oglethorpe – not the most electrifying speaker – is in mourning for his recently-deceased mother, to whom he was strongly attached. The minister also works for the town’s biggest industry, the Mt. Pleasant Pickle Factory, and is learning to cook to help him through his grief.
June and Oglethorpe find mutual understanding and end up marrying.
But the show’s main attraction is the gospel, bluegrass and Christmas music. The Stanley and Vera characters are the only family members who play instruments-guitar and piano, respectively.
Some of the carols, like “Away in a Manger” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” are familiar, while others are less popular.
The story is different for the gospel and bluegrass music. None will be recognizable to area residents, more than likely. Boquet tried to insert a couple of familiar gospel tunes into the show, but failed to get the author’s permission.
The music for “Sanders” was arranged by John Foley and Gary Fagin.
Boquet chose the cast, naturally, for their good voices as well as their acting chops. “I’ve got experienced people who’ve acted before,” he said, “but the voices were primary.”
For his role-also as a clergyman-in Le Petit Theatre de Terrebonne’s “Doubt” in March, Salvatura won the Esther Award for Best Actor.
Guidry is a rising theater performer and singer who last appeared in Thibodaux Playhouse’s “Enchanted April.”
LeJeune and Cook have appeared in numerous Thibodaux Playhouse productions.
Bourgeois, coincidentally, played Burl Sanders when the playhouse staged “Smoke on the Mountain.”
“They’re all straight characters,” Boquet said. “The authors said make it as much of a family show as you can. They relate as a rustic family.”
“The play has no lead characters,” he said. “All parts are equal. No one stands out. That’s good. We want it to be a family.”
Performances of “Sanders Family Christmas” are at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center (314 St. Mary Street) near downtown Thibodaux. Show dates are Thursday, July 9, through Sunday, July 12, and Thursday, July 16, through Sunday, July 19. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. except the Sunday performances at 2 p.m. Call Thibodaux Playhouse at (985) 446-1896 for more information.
