JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

The Jonesborough Repertory Theatre will present "I Love a Piano," featuring the music of Irving Berlin, with shows Feb. 11-13 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. A Sunday show at 2 p.m. is sold out. (Contributed/JRT)

While Jonesborough Repertory Theatre's "I Love a Piano" has a cast of 19, the real star is a piano.

 

 The musical opened last weekend at JRT and continues this weekend. An extra Valentine's Day show has been added, meaning performances will be held Thursday, Friday, Saturday and twice on Sunday.

 

 The production covers about 50 years through the music of Irving Berlin, with a rotating cast of singing characters. Jennifer Schmidt, herself a huge fan of Berlin's music, is the director.

 

 "It's about the life of this piano as it touches the lives of people throughout several decades," she said. "There are songs from each era, and they all have something to do with what was going on in that era.

 

 "We have stuff from the '20s in a speakeasy during Prohibition, through the Great Depression, World War II and finally into the 1950s.

 

 "The piano has a defect, a note that's messed up, and it has an effect on the lives of the people in the play. The characters all change but the piano is constant. It moves through the lives of different people."

  

The musical revue was conceived by Ray Roderick and Michael Berkeley, with all music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It has had a successful run on Broadway and only last year became available to community theater. Schmidt, the mastermind behind JRT's annual "1940s USO Show," was thrilled to get it.

  

"It's got 63 songs and only runs an hour and 50 minutes, so it really moves along," she said. "And there's dialogue. It's got some really funny moments. It's very cleverly written. You get very involved in what's going on on stage."

  

The original script called for six people, "which is ridiculous," Schmidt said with a laugh. "We use 19 and we still get very tired."

  

Kristin Smith, who choreographs the "USO Show" each year, has that role here as well. The cast includes Schmidt and Smith as well as Josh Baldwin, Ben Bolt, Shelley Bolt, Bob Browning, Michelle Chapman, Shanon Frazier, Janette Gaines, Marvin Glover, Roxanne Logan, Jon Luttrell, Hannah Miller, Becca Miller, Richard Nave, Shelyne Ponder, Sharon Squibb, Adrian Thomas and Pam Williams.

  

Band members include Kellie Brown, Rob Brown, Stacia Brown, Barb Knisley, Jonathan Reed, Zachary Ross, Lucas Schmidt and Travis Welch.

 

 Schmidt has a deep appreciation for Berlin's music, having been a piano teacher for 25 years.

 

"People can relate to his music," she said. "That's the way he composed. And he loved our country. He was a Russian Jew who emigrated to this country and he wrote over 1,500 songs. We've decorated the lobby with pictures of Irving Berlin."

  

While the show has come together well, it hasn't been easy, thanks to the bad weather. It was a tough situation for new artistic director Jonathan McCarter in his first production at JRT.

  

 "He has just jumped into this," Schmidt said. "He's done anything and everything he can do to help us. The weather has been very frustrating. We've missed rehearsals because people just couldn't get out, then we were off for Christmas break, then we came back and still had weather, but I'll tell you I've never had a cast that worked this hard, because we've had to recoup the time we lost.

  

"When we do the summer 'USO Show' it's very relaxed as we pull it together. This has been very different. It's been a real challenge. We're tired, but everyone has really stepped up."

 

 The show is sponsored by Ken Ross Architects and Johnson City Power Board.

 

 Showtimes are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 6. The Sunday 2 p.m. show is sold out.

  

"We are really pleased with the great response and gracious that the cast has agreed to do an additional show on Valentine's Day," McCarter said, "since the 2 p.m. performance has been sold out for several days."

  

Tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. For information on tickets or to make a reservation, call the Historic Jonesborough Visitors Center at 753-1010.

  

For more information about the show, call JRT at 791-4440 or visit www.jonesboroughtheatre.com. The Jonesborough Repertory Theatre is located at 125½ W. Main St., across from Jonesborough Presbyterian Church, next door to the Historic Eureka Inn.

 

Article courtesy of johnsoncitypress.com