See Smoke on the Mountain - Too Late

The first show of the closing run for "Smoke on the Mountain" presented by the Sherman Community Players was sold-out on Thursday, as are the rest this weekend.

A maximum-capacity audience filled the Finley Cultural Center on Thursday night. Instead of turning more away, Director Ron Cassady was able to accommodate a few more people in chairs near the back of the theater, which is fitting for a story set in the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. It is a tactic to which some small, local churches actually resort when faced with the good fortune of an audience too large for the venue.

The Finley Cultural Center provided a fine acoustic environment for over two dozen traditional, gospel songs under the guidance of Musical Director Scottie Johnson. For people who grew up attending church before the 1960s, the songs evoke nostalgia.

These traditional gospel songs have been dropped from the set-list of many churches for more contemporary Christian music, but over the last fifty years, they have been preserved by many genres of American music such as rhythm and blues to country and bluegrass. The title of "Smoke on the Mountain" was even derived from a gospel song.

The show on Thursday was stacked with a fine array of live-musicians, raised social issues through the simple telling of the story, and provided some refreshing comic relief. One audience member related how some were coming back for a second and third-viewing of this season's first show, which depicted the Sanders family struggling to survive in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina during the late 1930s, historically referred to as the Great Depression.

Depicted in "Smoke on the Mountain" was not only the economic struggle of the Sanders family, but also the issues of incarceration and alcoholism.

The live music and the energy of the cast provided for a fantastic evening that respectfully made time for serious moments because of the sobering, social issues that "Smoke on the Mountain" raises.