BWW Reviews: A SCATTERED, SMOTHERED AND COVERED CHRISTMAS at Nashville Dinner Theatre

You really must give credit to Kaine Riggan: the man has recreated one of downtown Nashville's best-known nightspots into a beautifully appointed live theater venue, somehow doing a thriving business in an economy that, at best, may be described as "dire." Add to that noteworthy achievement the fact that his A Scattered, Smothered and Covered Christmas is a delightful holiday-season repast, a down-home good time that even the most cynical audience member can enjoy.

The new and improved Nashville Dinner Theatre has rightfully claimed its spot in historic Printers' Alley, in the space once and always renowned as The Boots Randolph Theatre, and has been doing brisk business with Riggan's humorous and heartfelt ode to Christmas at a Waffle House near Murfreesboro. Starring 1970s sitcom icon Joyce DeWitt as Rita, the waitress with a heart as big as the whole outdoors, A Scattered, Smothered and Covered Christmas features a sprightly, well-written (if overpopulated) script by Riggan, brought more vividly to life by a score that features a bevy of terrific tunes crafted by some of Music City's most accomplished songwriters.

Riggan's script finds a rag-tag group of holiday orphans (of all sorts) making their way in the middle of a snowstorm (well, a snowstorm as we know them to be in the Mid-South) to seek refuge on Christmas Eve at the Waffle House. Riggan's characters are sharply drawn and it's easy to tell them apart, but the show's primary weakness is that there are simply too many people in the house. There are several subplots that could be easily eliminated to ensure an easier-to-follow tale that would move far more quickly. For example, there's a group of orphans making their way to Nashville for a midnight mass - and the nun who is chaperoning them - who could easily be cut, along with a one-time country music star (impressively sung by Lisa Dotolo) whose storyline goes absolutely nowhere.

Clearly, DeWitt is in her element as the sweetly drawn Rita, with a charming earthiness that is altogether accessible and the actress possesses a genuine ability to hold the audience's rapt attention with her finely tuned performance. And while her Southern accent sounds a bit more stagey than the more natural ones surrounding her onstage, she nonetheless is on-target with her deft portrayal.

Giving DeWitt a run for her money - while displaying impeccable timing and the swift delivery any sitcom star would die for - is Kay Gobbell as Peggy, the world-weary Waffle House waitress who's mother to five ne'er-do-well sons (including Vance Nichols as Steven Tyler, her daft 26-year-old) and who just doesn't have time for a man, a new romance or customers who take too long to decide what they want. Gobbell's damn good, y'all!

To DeWitt's good fortune, Riggan (who wears many hats in this production as writer/director and grand poobah of the new theater) gives an able supporting cast that includes some of Nashville's best-loved stage veterans. Danny Proctor (as a well-meaning, good ol' boy truck driver who sings like an pro), Cinda McCain (once again threatening to steal every scene in which she is featured) and Charles Howard (believable as a defrocked, alcoholic preacher struggling with a special set of demons at holiday time) head the cast list that also includes some Nashville stars of newer vintage, who give outstanding performances, including the uber-talented Memory Strong (as budding songstress Summer Shey), Rusti Rae (as an otherwordly ambassador with the voice of an angel) and Jessica Thomas (as a tough-talking mother-to-be who can belt out a tune with the best of 'em). The remaining cast members (particularly John Kennerly, Jerry Ashley, LaQuita James, Will Butler and Tyler Ashley) give amazingly focused performances and it's easy to lose oneself in the whole wonder of the holidays atmosphere created by the playwright and his determined cast.

- A Scattered, Smothered and Covered Christmas. Written and directed by Kaine Riggan. Presented by Nashville Dinner Theatre, on Printers' Alley in Downtown Nashville. Through January 2. For futher details about the company, visit the website at www.nashvilledinnertheatre.com.

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