After going on-line and seeing the cast of characters names including Pa and Ma, Pappy and Granny, Bubba, and lots of kids I attended the show on Saturday evening, December 5, with lots of preconceived ideas about it's content. I had imagined a mish-mash mix of Al Capp's "Lil Abner," "Pa and Ma Kettle," "Andy Griffith," "Hee Haw," with some "Cousin Minnie Pearl," and "Deliverance" tossed in, all while listening to various renditions of Tex Logan's great bluegrass song, "Christmas Times a-Comin'." (Tex Logan was a brilliant electrical engineer - I believe he had a PhD - for Bell Laboratories. He was famous for carrying his fiddle case on field work. He used it as a portable desktop to write equations and electronic schematics. And do a little fiddling after hours, too.)
As this show was written by local people and expecting very little I was pleasantly surprised by how well it all went. Yes there were a lot of corny jokes and lines, but all the cast had good vocal skills and many well known Christmas carols had been woven into the story line. Tex Logan's tune only introduced the show and was not repeated again. Maybe it could have been reprised as a finale, but that was a sing along with the attendees joining in which most enjoyed.
An on stage band cast as the "Cousins" consisted of Terry and Trent Indreland, Janny Kirk, Wade Steinmetz, Wes Horton, and another fiddler whom I didn't recognize. Many old time tunes were woven into the story line throughout the play. "Dooley" was a Dillard's tune from the Old Andy Griffith show. The Dillard's were called the Darlings in those classic TV shows centered in fictional Mayberry. Toward the shows end local favorite Ed Kemmick entered with his guitar to play several numbers. Coming weekends will feature "Songdog Serenade," and "Highway 302" in those final roles. My only criticism of the band was they didn't know how to handle a jug of supposed moonshine whiskey. Instead of two hands they needed a jug coach to show them how to grab the jug with an index finger in the ring and hoist it onto the shoulder of that hand. Then turn the head and guzzle from there.
Well with that minor gripe I have to say that my companion (a singer guitar strummer herself) and I greatly enjoyed the show. You will, too.
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