THE GOLDEN PLATEAU: Celebrating Cumberland County Playhouse's 50th Year

When it comes to celebrating milestones, perhaps none is more exciting than a theater company that was created to bring the arts to a rural part of the USA and has persevered - flourished, even - to become one of the nation's most respected theatrical organizations. Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse, founded by Broadway veteran Paul Crabtree and his formidable wife, Mary, way back in 1965, celebrates its 50th season this year, with an impressive array of onstage offerings designed to highlight the company's strengths, recall its stellar history and to welcome home many of the people who've brought life to the CCP stage during its first half-century.

Bringing theater to the people of the Cumberland Plateau was a challenge in 1965, no doubt about that, and you have to think: Did anyone expect CCP to still exist - no, it thrives and continues to grow and innovate - in 2015? It's a story that demands to be told as its audiences from all over the country come "home" year after year to witness the company's achievements.

Over the coming months, we'll be sharing some of the fondest, funniest and most moving memories shared by many CCP alumni as we commemorate the company's golden anniversary. We kick off the celebration today with remembrances from Daniel W. Black, Jessica Wockenfuss, Lar'Juanette Williams and Brenda Sparks. As they take us down memory lane, you're likely to feel like you're right there in Crossville, being treated to the transformative, transporting work of 2013 First Night Honoree Jim Crabtree and his team - his family, really - still focused on creating art in the middle of Tennessee...

Daniel W. Black is a CCP stalwart, virtually growing up onstage, and has already opened the company's first production of the golden anniversary season, starring with Patti Payne and Jason Ross in Lori Fischer's Barbara's Blue Kitchen: In 1995 and '96 the Playhouse hosted TennFest: It was a summer filled with threee separate shows running, outdoor entertainment and activities for the whole family! I was still new to the theater, an intern. The amount of people that showed up was mind blowing! I'll never forget that. I could see, even then, that CCP was loved by all...I knew then that I wanted to be a part of this wonderful place. I celebrated my 20th affiliated year with CCP just two weeks ago. When I look back at it all, I smile and think, "What a rush...I'm still here...home!"

"Family" is the one word I would use to describe this place!

Jessica Wockenfuss is based in New York City, but spent a summer in Tennessee in 2012, playing Ginger Rogers in the Playhouse production of Christopher McGovern's Backwards in High Heels: Opening night of Backwards In High Heels - when I walked out on stage for the opening monologue and received entrance applause...to feel that amount of love, energy, and support was amazing!

Lar'Juanette Williams was most recently on the CCP stage playing Effie Melody White in Dreamgirls, but back in 2001, she was playing Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!, which provided her with a particularly delightful memory: Cumberland County Playhouse's Hello, Dolly!, 2001 - The look on music director Al Fisher's face when I broke out into a scat and director Abby Crabtree loved it. A look of mortification that I'll never forget. I explained, "Hey, how often does a full figured African-American woman get to dance around on stage with 12 fine white boys that fall to her feet. Nothin' left to do but scat!"

I am the producer and director I am today as a direct result of what I learned from my mentor and friend Jim Crabtree! His standard for excellence made me strive to always present the best. Training under Jim alone has yielded me opportunities to produce great works all throughout east Tennessee for the chancellor of the University of Tennessee, mayors in three different cities, and some of our state's most influential people. Jim is a very difficult person to understand and work for at times, but that fire pushes us all to excellence. I will always treasure Jim Crabtree; he means the world to me.

Brenda Sparks' memory evokes the image of Jim Crabtree's formidable mother, the late Mary Crabtree, about whom the stories are plentiful thanks to her long history of performances and productions at CCP: There are so many [memories]! How to choose? The most memorable thing ever said to me was by Mary Crabtree herself. For my CCP debut, I was hired to direct a production of Over The River and Through The Woods.

Mary Crabtree had already been cast as one of the grandmothers. When I arrived in Crossville, I was warned by some well-meaning Playhouse regulars that Mary had not been directed by anyone other than her late husband Paul or one of their children in years. She was a quirky, yet intimidating, character. I had such immense respect for her career and what she had built on the plateau, but I knew I had to direct the show, and that meant every member in the cast.

We definitely locked horns in the beginning. It wasn't a contentious relationship, but there was definite friction there as she tested my mettle. I'm not sure when or why the tides turned in my favor. But before moving into the theatre for tech. rehearsals and after an individual character meeting with her, she pointed at me and said, "Not since the late Bud Abbott has there been such a great comedic mind." I believe she worked with Mr. Abbott. I took it as a compliment.

Over the years, it has struck me odd that she didn't say Lou Costello. I am rarely considered a straight man. Regardless, it was one of the most memorable things anyone has ever said to me in the theatre. From that day forward, we got along famously. I directed her again in the same show, and it was like butter. Maybe because I knew she trusted me, maybe because she knew I trusted her. Either way, she was a remarkable woman and I consider myself lucky to have received such high praise from her.

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