C-N Theatre Debuts Comedy

On Thursday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m. in Gentry Auditorium, theater students will premiere their new production, The Man who came to Dinner. CLW credit will be given to all students who attend the performance that night. Additional performances are scheduled for November 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. and November 16 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $2 for students, $5 for adults, and $10 for families."The Man who came to Dinner" is co-written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. According to Destry Cloud, who plays a lead character in the production, the play is about a famous radio wit, Sheridan Whiteside (Cloud), who comes to visit the household of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley during one of his lecture tours. When he reaches the house, he slips on a patch of ice on the front step and breaks his hip, leaving him incapacitated at the Stanley house for at least two weeks. During his time at the house, many of his famous and strange friends come to visit him. His secretary, Maggie Cutler, falls in love with a local newspaper editor/reporter, Bert Jefferson. Whiteside feels he must end the relationship between the two so that they can continue their work.

"Love is more valuable than fame, and having someone famous in your house is a bad idea," commented Cloud about the morals of the play.

The cast consists of Cloud (Sheridan Whiteside), Rachel Nave (Mrs. Stanley), Trey Daughtery (Mr. Stanley), Rachel Percy (June Stanley), Wyatt Miles (Richard Stanley), Jon Coffee (John), Gretchen Hill (Sarah), Hannah Wilson (Miss Preen and singer girl), Dr. Sheridan Barker (Dr. Bradley), Kyrie Gordon (Mrs. Dexter), Jenna Medley (Mrs. McCutchison and singer girl), Jennifer Tramel (Maggie Cutler), Hannah Oliver (Harriet Stanley), Tyler Mills (Bert Jefferson), David Morton (Professor Metz), Chris Patton (Expressman and Radio Technician), Danielle Schlafer (Lorraine Sheldon), Andrew Glibbery (Sandy), Michael Wooden (Beverly Carlton), Gloria Greene (Westcott), Andrew Cox (Banjo), and Hilary Morris (singer girl).

"I am very excited that Dr. Barker is participating! There will be some other Carson-Newman professors littered throughout the play, so look for them as well! Also, I am glad that there are more freshman joining in, and I think that it is really cool that David Morton, who is a senior in high school, is joining us," said Cloud.

For many of the students, the work on this play is their first time working with Kyle Biery, the new theater professor and director.

"The show is very funny and several of the actors are placed in situations they haven't really explored before. It is my first show with the new director and the adjustment process is going very well," said Jennifer Tramel, who plays Maggie Cutler.

Biery, however, is a common face around campus. He taught as an intern professor 10 years ago and has been involved with Carson-Newman's theater productions heavily, working with the annual Homecoming musical, Lyric Theater. He was working as an adjunct professor at Walter State when the position for director here became available. He also helped direct Lyric Theater's The Secret Garden this year.

The cast is facing a time crunch for this play because of all the events that have been occurring on campus this semester. They will have only a mere 12 weeks of rehearsal to get the play memorized and perfected.

"It will be interesting to see if it will energize them or freak them out. Hopefully, it will do a little bit of both," laughed Biery. "The time frame and cramming things in is all a part of theater," he added.

According to Cloud, the relatively large cast chose to do the play because of its added humor and the fact that it was a well-known comedy.

"I like big casts. Sure, it is tough for Kyle to keep up with us, but I like having a lot of people around," said Cloud.

Theater tickets can be purchased at the C-N Bookstore Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. or at the Gentry Auditorium beginning one hour prior to the performance. For additional information, call 865-471-3539.