The Tellico Community Players will take the stage for the first musical play performed in the Patricia Smith Theatre at the Tellico Community Playhouse.
It is also one of the first sold-out shows for the theater company thanks to the unique draw of a musical performance.
“First of all I think the sets are very unique,” Dennis Loy, one of the show’s directors, said. “The way that we’re producing this production I don’t think the theater has ever seen before. I think that one of the unique things is the audience participation. There’s a lot of audience participation, so the audience has to expect that they’re going to be involved in this production from the beginning to the end.
“... They talk to the audience,” he added. “They come out in the audience. The audience has got to be prepared to be shaking hands, being in the spotlight, dancing on the floor. They’re going to pick a couple of guys to come out and dance.”
The play, “The Honky Tong Angels,” is the story of three women who follow their dreams of performing country music. It also features several well-known country music hits among its more than 30 songs.
“That’s one reason we chose this particular work is because of the familiarity of the songs to the audience,” Deborah Mayberry, another of the show’s directors, said. “That’s one of the drawing points and one of the things that makes it so unique. Everybody is part of the show. When you walk in the door you’re in the bus, you’re in the bar with the girls.”
Behind-the-scenes production on the show has been a two-year process, Mayberry said. Even those on the stage have put in “countless hours” in preparation.
The three actresses in the play — Emilee Jane Richardson, Anna Caroline Causey and Desiree Dezutti — worked during the summer with music director Wendel Werner to prepare for their performances.
“Before we even started them with blocking and everything, they had been working a full month with Wendel just working on sound and balance and blend and everything else,” Loy said.
Picking the three performances was a task in itself.
“It’s very unique to audition for a musical,” Loy said. “Not only do you have to find someone who can sing, but because there are three, you’ve got to be able to listen to each one in terms of the timbre and quality of that voice and see if they’re going to blend together. That’s really important because you can have three people here that have beautiful voices, but when you put them in as an ensemble it sounds like three people singing. This doesn’t. These girls — there are many times if you closed your eyes you would not be able to tell who is singing. They’re that close.”
Loy has blocked the play to have movement not only during dialogue, but during the musical sequences as well. Lighting and sound cues are also key in the play.
“(The audience) have no idea of all the people behind the scenes — in the lights, in the sounds, the props people, the stage manager,” Loy said. “All of that has to work together or this thing just doesn’t work, doesn’t gel.”
Music to back up the three on-stage performers will be provided by a six-piece band that will remain visible to the audience throughout the show.
“So that draws the audience, to be able to see them play,” Loy said. “It’s not just piano, it’s just not a canned music. There’s six live, professional musicians that are going to be performing.”
The show runs Oct. 12-14 and 19-22 at the playhouse.
“It’s a blend of the blocking, the costumes, the lighting, the sound — the fact that we’ve got live music, live musicians — all of that together,” Mayberry said. “It’s an energy.”
