JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

Jonesborough Repertory Theater’s stage, dark since October 2002, will return to light tonight at 8 with its premiere performance of “Maggie’s Getting Married.”

Directed by Kathleen Brannon Buttolph, the Norm Foster comedy stars Maggie Florence as Maggie Duncan, Kathy Smith as Wanda Duncan, Nancy Hope Major as Cass Duncan, Wayne Lundberg as Tom Duncan, Mike Lilly as Axel Wilkie and Rob Russell as Russell MacMillan.

The theater has not been dark due to lack of interest. JRT’s last production, “Toward the Setting Sun” by Jon Ruetz, played to sold-out audiences. The difficulty was in finding a director to take on the sometimes stressful and time-consuming duties of shepherding a play into production, JRT President Brian Ponder said.

Luckily for JRT, Buttolph, who has a theater background, was thinking about attending graduate school to study directing. First, she wanted to get a feel for what the work entailed, so she volunteered to help at JRT.

“We started auditions the next week,” she said. Except for a short Christmas break, she’s been working 60-hour weeks ever since.

“I dream about the play at night,” Buttolph said. “If I’m not doing it, I’m thinking about it.”

“She’s put an awful lot into it,” Major added. “It shows when we come into rehearsal.”

Apparently the work suits her. She’s signed on to do the rest of the season and has put her graduate school plans on hold. The theater board hopes to raise funds to bring Buttolph on full time as artistic director. For now, though, everyone associated with JRT works as a volunteer.

The payback is the fun they have, Major said.

“The cast members are so congenial,”she said. “I’m glad we’re getting our giggles out so we can do what we need to do on stage.”

Volunteer Joe Florence and his crew have built the set. Members of the Jonesborough Community Service Center have cleaned and put the finishing touches on some of the improvements made to the theater since 2002.

And, according to Ponder and Buttolph, the town of Jonesborough has “embraced” the theater.

“The town has been so encouraging and supportive,” Buttolph said. “They just really are excited and supportive. There’s a lot of enthusiasm about the show.”

To demonstrate their support, area businesses are offering specials for ticket holders. Theater patrons may present their tickets at Galloway’s Bistro 105 tonight and Saturday to receive a free appetizer with the purchase of an entree.

The Parson’s Table and Eureka Hotel also are providing a special Valentine’s Day Weekend package in cooperation with the theater.

Following tonight’s opening, Main Street Cafe will serve coffee and desserts to theater patrons and will host a meet-the-cast party.

Article courtesy of johnsoncitypress.com

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