THE FRIDAY FIVE: Adkins, Campbell and Pitt from THE PHILADELPHIA STORY

Inspired by BroadwayWorld.com's Friday Six, welcome to BroadwayWorld Nashville's latest installment of The Friday Five: five questions designed to help you learn more about the talented people you'll find onstage throughout the Volunteer state. This week the spotlight shines on Maggie Pitt, Jaymes Campbell and Susan Adkins - The Philadelphis Story's Tracy Lord and C.K. Dexter Haven and the director of Lakewood Theatre's production opening in Old Hickory this weekend.

Susan Adkins

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theater? I attribute my love of theater to the Beatles. When I was 11, the Beatles came to Atlanta and I begged my Dad to take me to the concert. Of course he said no, but instead he took me to see South Pacific. I was mesmerized. The music, the beautiful set with Bali Ha'i in the background, the lights, and Nurse Nellie washing her hair, on stage! From that day on I was hooked. But there were no opportunities for a kid that was too shy to even try to be in a school play. It wasn't until I was in college that I had my first role, as Brer Rabbit in The Adventures of Brer Rabbit. The rest is history.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? I love the circle up. Every theater group I have worked with has some form of it. It gives me a feeling that I am a part of one big entity, and that for the next couple of hours or so, we will be doing something unique and amazing and nothing else matters.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? When I lived in Georgia, our theater group did three different one act plays every Saturday night in the summer. One week, we had two actors drop out at the last minute, one was in the show I was directing and one was my friend's, a show I was not familiar with. I took both roles, learned both of them in about four days and both shows went on. Could I do that now? No way!

What's your dream role? Well if I could sing, I would love to play Auntie Mame. And, of course, Mama Rose in Gypsy. I always wanted to play Amanda in Glass Menagerie, even when I was young enough to play Laura. I think I'm drawn to roles where the women are a little off-kilter.

Who's your theatrical crush? Man, I always wanted to be Elaine Stritch, the Queen of Broadway. I idolized her for so long. She was so brazen and honest, I can just imagine how she would be working on a production. I never got to see her perform live, but everything I did see her do was brilliant. She was an actor that embodied every role she played and nothing was forced.

Jaymes Campbell

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theater? My first live onstage taste of the theater was when I was four years old and I had a small part in a local play. I was a blue jay and I had very few lines but it must have been enough to help me recognize the energy of the medium.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? My favorite pre-show ritual is to open my jar of Vicks and breathe it in as I clear my head of any lingering thoughts from the day. I always try to give my character development its due respect and somehow the Vicks became a part of the routine.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? My most memorable "the show must go on" moment is without a doubt the time I went out on stage and the rubber on the heel of my shoe had worn off. As a girl onstage was handing me my microphone, my heel slipped causing me to fall flat on the stage. I managed to grab a hold of the microphone and the girl was pulling on it to try and help me up. While trying to stand, my heel slipped again causing me to roll around on my back while still holding the microphone. The music was playing and I was missing the opening of my song as the girl yelled, "What are you doing?!"

When I was finally on my feet again, I didn't miss one step of the remaining choreography but the entire song was replaced by laughter from everyone who saw it.

What's your dream role? I'm so glad you asked this one. Anyone who knows me knows what a fan I am of The Philadelphia Story and C. K. Dexter Haven has been a dream role of mine for many years. When I saw that Lakewood was holding auditions for the play I thought about attending even though my schedule wasn't quite open to it. It was Zoe Garner (who plays Dinah) and my family who urged me to go for it and I'm grateful because it's been a wonderful experience.

Who's your theatrical crush? I've had a crush on Judy Garland since age eleven. In a perfect world, she calls me at home.

Maggie Pitt

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theater? My first time onstage was as a rat in the Nutcracker when I was six years old, but my first theatrical play was Treasure Island with Circle Players in 2007. I played a male sailor with a painted-on stubble beard, and I died twice on stage in the span of five minutes. I had an absolute blast and made a lot of good friends during that show.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? My main pre-show ritual is to run lines, either with myself or with my castmates if I have time. It's comforting just to check that they're still in my head, even if it's closing night.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? It was actually an invited dress rehearsal for Noises Off in which I played Poppy the stage manager. A bucket with an axe in it should have been set on stage right before Act 2, but it wasn't (partly my fault). No one realized it until one of my castmates came looking for the axe (which is hugely important in Act 2). I had an opportunity, so I left the stage to look for it. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because soon only one cast member was left onstage. Somebody finally found the axe, but we still needed the bucket so I tried to hide my face behind my binder onstage and mouth to the stage manager "Bucket! Bucket!" He interpreted it as "Band-aid" and thought I was injured and needed a first aid kit. Eventually the bucket was located before the scene that it was needed, and the rest of the show went pretty smoothly. Moral of the story: check your props.

What's your dream role? I haven't really focused on particular dream roles, just character qualities I would like to play, although I think Tracy Lord counts as a dream role for me now. Before this show my most recent acting aspiration was to play someone angry and sarcastic, but playing Tracy blows that right out of the water.

Who's your theatrical crush? It's a toss-up between Richard Armitage and Benedict Cumberbatch. Yes, they mostly do film but Richard Armitage was in The Crucible last year and Benedict Cumberbatch was in Frankenstein a few years ago so they count in my book. Both are fantastic actors with deep resonating voices and beautiful British accents. I could watch and listen to them all day.

About the show: Lakewood Theater Company presents its second show of the 2015 season with the classic The Philadelphia Story, beginning Friday, April 17, and running through Sunday, May 3.

Directed by Susan Adkins (most recently seen on the Lakewood stage in The Red Velvet Cake War, Lakewood's 2014 season Best Show winner), this Broadway hit starred Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord, of the Philadelphia Lords, a headstrong and spoiled daughter of the privileged. Divorced from C.K. Dexter Haven, she is engaged to a successful young snob. A society weekly sends a reporter and female photographer to cover the wedding arrangements. Tracy finds herself growing interested in the reporter Mike Connor, and following the pre-wedding bash, they take a moonlight swim and are then surprised by Dexter and the fiancé. The following morning her intended smugly forgives her, enraging Tracy, who breaks off the engagement.

Connor offers to marry her, but she turns him down and remarries Dexter, the real love of her The Philadelphia Story stars Nashville actors Maggie Pitt as Tracy Lord, and Jaymes Campbell as C.K. Dexter Haven. Rounding out the cast are Zoe Garner, Jessie Williams, Jonathan Hunter, George Amer, Michael Welch, Anne Tracy, Michael Rex, David Polk, Logan Dowlen, J D Young, Alex Georgeadis, Jessica Young, and Wilson Reed.

Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, with Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm. Ticket prices are $14 for adults, and $10 students/seniors/military. Tickets can be obtained at www.TicketsNashville.com; a limited amount of reservations are available through the Lakewood box office at (615) 847-0934. Group rates are available. Lakewood Theatre Company is located at 2211 Old Hickory Blvd., Old Hickory.

For more information on this and all of Lakewood's 2015 season, visit the website at www.lakewoodtheatreco.com.

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