Encore Musicals to present 'Sanders Family Christmas'

Dec. 16—Encore Musicals will bring bluegrass and family into one with its presentation of "Sanders Family Christmas" at 7 p.m. Dec. 16-17 and 2 p.m. Dec. 18 at Third Baptist Church, 527 Allen St.

The show, which is a sequel to the off-Broadway musical "Smoke on the Mountain" written by Connie Ray and conceived by Alan Bailey, will continue to explore the history of the Sanders family legacy.

"This is the second of a series of three," said Tan Mayhall, who plays Pastor Mervin Oglethorpe of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in the show. "In the first series, ...this pastor had invited this bluegrass-gospel family to come to the church; and they come in and they are quite different in style from the Baptist church, so they create quite a stir."

"Smoke on the Mountain" was put on previously by Back Alley Musicals, Encore's predecessor, while Encore put on the third show, "Smoke on the Mountain: Homecoming," in 2018.

This show, Mayhall said, picks up at the beginning of World War II.

"Pearl Harbor had just happened, and the boy that's in the family is about to (go) off to the Marines," he said. "He's about to go off to war, and several people in town are about to go off to war

(around) Christmastime."

"In the first (show), you really get to know the people," said Joe Bob Pierce, who plays Burl Sanders, the father of the Sanders family. "In the second one, we take on themes of family undergoing the effects of cultural and historical change.

"It feels deeper and more emotional; but of course the flip side of that is the joy and happiness and the poignancy of the Christmas season all kind of impinge at the same time on this play. ...I think that comes through in the dialogue and in the characters."

One of the unique attractions about the show is most of the cast will be playing the music on instruments themselves, which Pierce said is "very characteristic" for the bluegrass music genre.

"For us to be able to really create the sound between ourselves really is an advantage," Pierce said. "I think we've figured out a way to do it that compliments our voices and brings out the singing, the songs, the music in a really profound way."

"For the audience, I think, (it'll) feel like you are there and you are in this church," Mayhall said. "And that's the way I treat it as a pastor — they're the congregation and we're coming in and getting to play off of that ...."

The show was to take shape during the holiday season in 2021, but was put on hold due to some members of the cast coming down with COVID-19.

"This is a whole year of waiting to bring this to the stage," Mayhall said.

The production features several returning cast members from Encore's production of "Smoke on the Mountain: Homecoming" including Mayhall, Pierce and cast member Loré Renner North — who've enjoyed being able to reprise their roles for all three shows in the Sanders family series albeit in different storylines.

"It's great," Mayhall said. "We were talking about that when we came to this (show). It really feels like a family getting back together. ...The three of us have been with the characters for quite some time now, and they're a tremendous lot of fun."

"It's been a real advantage to play the same character because I have sort of lived in Burl's world," Pierce said, "...It happens within the context of other actors who are in the play, and we have all developed a way of relation that we can anticipate, most of the time, how the other roles are going to respond to our acting.

"It actually feels very comfortable."

Mayhall and Pierce hope that the audience who come spend time with them and the cast this weekend will have "a fun time."

"It's upbeat; it's fun to watch; it's engaging," he said. "...Come see it. We have a blast; the audience has a blast; everybody's loved it the last two (shows)."

"One of the advantages is that we have a bit of a following of people who are familiar with the Sanders family, us (having) done the (other) shows before ...," Pierce said, "yet, in a another way, if you're just walking in for the first time and participating; it's a fairly intimate experience. ...We do sort of break that fourth wall and there is an interaction with the audience.

"I hope they walk away with some sort of tune in their head, something that they've liked, some part that someone has done that was meaningful to them (and I hope) they walk away with a realization that even though people are imperfect, we're basically good and can do beautiful things."

Tickets are available at encoreowensboro.com.