BWW Interviews: Onstage at the Barn: Memories From the First 45 Years with Lane Wright

In the 45 years since Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre-the venerable venue that has mounted some of the best theater Nashville audiences have seen-first burst upon the scene as the professional dinner theater in Tennessee's state capital, hundreds of actors, directors, choreographers, music directors and musicians have pursued their craft on the magically levitating stage.

Founded by A. W. and Puny Chaffin, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre-now owned by Janie and John Chaffin, the second generation of the theatrical family, who were recently recognized among the city's most successful entrepreneurs-The Barn has offered every one of its audiences professional theatre and a mouth-watering buffet that groans with Southern delicacies.  And the number of patrons who have partaken of that groaning board and who have delighted at the onstage antics of some of the finest actors to be found anywhere would likely boggle the mind. Suffice it to say, thousands upon thousands of people have watched such stage luminaries as Michael Edwards, Dietz Osborne, Nancy Allen, Mark Delabarre and Martha Wilkinson bring to life some of the theater's best-known comedies, musicals and mysteries.

Since 1967, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre has been hailed as one of the Top 25 tourist attractions in Nashville, "Best Buffet" and "Best Place to See a Play" in The Tennessean's annual Toast of Music City contest and in Nashville Scene's "Best of" as one of the top three "Best Places to See a Play." In addition, Chaffin's Barn was the recipient of The First Night Lifetime Achievement Award and its shows, directors, choreographers and actors have taken home multiple First Night honors over the years.

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actor Lane Wright, one of Nashville's most easily recognizable actors, who most recently starred in The Rainmaker and right now is onstage at Nashville's Z. Alexander Looby Theatre in The Disappearance of Janey Jones, presented by Tennessee Women's Theater Project (which is directed by Maryanna Clarke, herself a Barn alum).

What was your first experience at Chaffin's Barn? My first experience at Chaffin's Barn would have been as an audience member back in the early 1970s when I was a teenager. I took a Saturday morning class at Nashville Children's Theatre when I was around 15 or so, and a couple of the teachers were also in a production of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians at the Barn which I went to see. I went to several other productions back in those days, and I still have the programs for a couple of them.

What's your most vivid memory of working there? I've got lots of vivid memories, but the most meaningful, I guess, was this past summer during The Rainmaker, sitting on the stage in the middle of the show and realizing how comfortable and at home I felt there. I'd been going through a period of self-doubt and uncharacteristic stage fright for a couple of years, and that show really got me back on my feet as an actor, thanks to that entire cast, and especially our director, Sam Whited.

What's the funniest experience you had at the Barn? There have been several, but the one that comes to mind first was during The Odd Couple, when I was supposed to hold out a plate with a pickle on it and Ken Thompson as Oscar was supposed to hit the plate and send the pickle up in the air. One night he hit the plate with such force that the pickle landed not on the onstage poker table but with a smack in the middle of a couple's table in C section. Sadly, we never quite replicated that feat on a subsequent night.

How about interactions with patrons at the Barn? I'm sure I won't be the only person mentioning him, but to me Mr. Bob Lee summed up all that is great about the patrons at the Barn.  He was present for every performance, usually several times, and he made you feel like you were part of his family (and in a way, I think we were).  I don't know of many theatres with a season subscriber whose funeral would be as well attended by so many actors from that theatre.  I know all of us who worked at the Barn during his life miss him with every show we do.

What was your favorite foodstuff on the buffet? This one's easy: the apple strudel, especially when topped with the soft serve ice cream they used to have. Yum! 

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