Onstage at The Barn 50: NANCY ALLEN Shares Some Musical Memories

It's been 50 years now 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. Now, with the eminent retirement of Janie and John Chaffin and the theater's launch of its next half-century under the ownership of Norma Luther, we are recalling some fond Barn memories from a coterie of artists who've called the iconic venue home.

Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, the venerable venue that has mounted some of the best theater Nashville audiences have seen since its founding in 1967, celebrates its 45th anniversary this year (2012, when this series of interviews first ran). Since that day in 1967, when A. W. and Puny Chaffin opened "The Barn" Dinner Theatre, it has offered every audience exciting top quality professional theatre and a mouth-watering buffet, fairly groaning with Southern delicacies.

When The Barn opened in 1967, it was a thrilling time for the Nashville community hungry for entertainment offerings and "The Barn" has been serving that need for 45 years as one of the Nashville's unique landmarks: the city's first professional dinner theatre, where audiences have been treated to some top-flight comedies, musicals and mysteries in the four-and-a-half decades since then. to produce top-quality comedies, musicals and mysteries year-round.

In the process, Chaffin's Barn has provided employment to some of the best actors to be found on stages anywhere, launching careers for actors who have gained critical and audience acclaim all over the country. And during that time, 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." Chaffin's Barn has been the recipient of The First Night Lifetime Achievement Award and its shows, directors, choreographers and actors took home multiple First Night honors over the years.

Now owned by the second-generation Chaffins-John and Janie, who were recognized among Nashville's Top Entrepreneurs of 2012 by Business Leader Magazine-The Barn has touched the lives of many, both onstage and off-, and today our special series Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years continues with actress Nancy Allen, who first set foot on that magical levitating stage in a production of The Robber Bridegroom, directed by Rene Dunshee Copeland, which remains brilliantly etched in the minds of Nashville theatre-goers who were on-hand for the production.

Allen, who is now head of the musical theater program at Nashville's Belmont University, shares some of her memories of her first days at the Barn:

What was your first experience at Chaffin's Barn? I don't know if I'm first, but I'd like to be because the Barn Dinner Theater gave me my first professional role upon my arrival here in Nashville! It was magical and I will never, never be able to thank John and Janie Chaffin and Martha Wilkinson for their trust and generosity throughout the years. I played "Salome" in The Robber Bridegroom, directed by Rene Copeland, and which starred Martha Wilkinson, David Compton, Bobby Wyckoff, Buddy Draper, Richard Daniel, Brenda Sparks and many other of my favorite actors here in Nashville. What an experience that was and what fun we had!

What's your most vivid experience during your years at the Barn? My most vivid memory at the Barn-and there are many-may have to be my most recent performance at the Barn, doing I'll Be Seeing You by Lydia Bushfield and hearing the raccoon who lives in the vents start to burrow through during the scene when I find out my husband is M.I.A. During this heart-wrenching scene, all I could picture was the looks on those patrons' faces when a huge raccoon came crashing down on their heads.

Do you have any particularly funny memories you'd like to share with us? Well, any show with Martha Wilkinson is an absolutely blast from start to finish. I remember cracking up on stage in The Sound of Music when she had a wasp flying around her head and she included it in her prayers. Also remember her breaking me in scenes from Annie and Robber Bridegroom. She is incredibly funny; I also remember Jeff Boyet joking onstage in Annie during the scene when Mr. and Mrs. Mudge get their check-lots of fun and laughter as he presented something different every night to make us chuckle.

How about the Barn patrons-they're practically legendary-anything you recall about them? My favorite patron line will forever be, "Honey you should do this professionally" in the "enjoyed-it" line after a show.

Do you have any favorite foods from the buffet? I always eat olives before I perform and there were large green olives aplenty on the salad bar.

Nancy, is there anything else you'd like to add? Happy 45th, Chaffin's! I love you and all those who work there. Thanks for at least seven shows and almost 20 years of performing professionally in Nashville!

Editor's Note: On Monday, January 16, Janie and John Chaffin will be feted with a special retirement party, featuring memories, music and tributes from their admirers and fans, at the theater which will continue to operate under the Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre name.

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