The Friday 5 (On Thursday): PSYCHO BEACH PARTY's Pitts and Turner

The summer theater season in Nashville begins tonight with a revival of Charles Busch's Psycho Beach Party, which turns the formulaic beach movie of the early 1960s on its ear with a skewed and definitely crazy take on the genre. Opening at the Darkhorse Theater - the latest offering from Bradley Moore's Music City Theatre Company - it features a talented cast bringing Busch's classically campy characters to life.

Today, you can get to know Gerald Pitts and Elizabeth Turner better, just before calling to make reservations to see the show!

Gerald Pitts

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theater? It was Romeo and Juliet as a freshman in college. The role of Balthasar. I think all of my lines were cut except one. I can only believe it was riveting and still discussed in acting class to this day.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? Not throwing up? I also like to pace around backstage with my earbuds in, and listen to one of two things: Sometimes, it will be a playlist I've made for my character (A lot of Dick Dale surf rock for Psycho Beach Party). Other times, I review my lines by listening to my pre-recorded line cues. Sometimes a stranger will see this, and think I am speaking to the air. Which I am.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? I was in one of those historical Outdoor Drama plays about Daniel Boone. I played a soldier named Jack Stewart, who is supposed to die at the end by gunshot. Even though the guns all fired blanks, the theatre used real gunpowder. It had rained the night before, and the powder got wet. Neither the gunshot, nor the 3 backup shots fired. Jack got to live for the first time in a forty-plus year run of the show!

What's your dream role? It used to be Hamlet, but that window may have passed. The good thing about aging, is you can now be cast in great roles in plays like Glengarry Glen Ross. I'd take pretty much anything in that show. I play a lot of creeps which is fun, but it might be nice to just play like an Atticus Finch or something.

Who's your theatrical crush? I don't think I really have that. I watch a lot of movies when I have time. For the most part, I watch them for performances that inspire me. Gary Oldman, Daniel Day Lewis, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Rockwell. I guess those are my crushes.

SUPER-SECRET EXTRA-SPECIAL BONUS QUESTION: Why should people come see Psycho Beach Party? It's not like a lot of other theatre you're gonna see. It mixes a lot of great elements. It's summer-y, set at the beach, and also full of high camp, murder, and mayhem. And Jenna Pryor as Chicklet, is maybe doing her best work ever!

Elizabeth Turner

What was your first "live onstage" taste of theater? It was in second grade during my elementary school's Thanksgiving pageant. I stood center stage and opened the show with an over-the-top "Jim! Jim! Come over here!" After that, whenever my principal would pass me in the hall, he'd smile and say, "Make way, a star is coming." He was so sweet. I think he saw I was bitten by the theatre bug.

What is your favorite pre-show ritual? Even if it's a straight play, I'll probably find a few minutes alone before curtain to stretch, do some vocal exercises, and shake out any jitters.

What's your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? I had some stomach bug during a college production of The Vagina Monologues where the whole cast stayed onstage for the entire show. It was a bar setup and I was the bartender, so I'd walk off like I was going to the stockroom, silently puke in the men's restroom next to the stage, pop a mint, and then come back on like nothing ever happened.

What's your dream role? It's a tie between Eliza Doolittle and Fanny Brice. I have a place in my heart for awkward, funny ladies. Go figure.

Who's your theatrical crush? I'm fortunate enough to be married to my all-time favorite costar (Tobias J. Turner). Toby's my Theatre Husband, but Lin-Manuel Miranda is my fictitious Theatre Boyfriend. I'm attracted to intelligence and talent, and they both have it in spades!

SUPER-SECRET EXTRA-SPECIAL BONUS QUESTION: Why should people come see Psycho Beach Party? If you like John Waters movies, this show will be right up your alley. It's 90 minutes of campy beach movie fun, just in time for summer. Plus, lots of handsome surf bums and pretty girls in swimsuits... the real question is, why shouldn't you come see our show?

About the show: Charles Busch's Psycho Beach Party - described by director Bradley Moore as "a campy, over-the-top comedy that blends the beach setting of Gidget with the insanity of a John Waters' movie" - is next up for Music City Theatre Company, playing Darkhorse Theater June 2-12.

In Busch's play, Chicklet Forrest, a teenage tomboy, desperately wants to be part of the surf crowd on Malibu Beach in 1962. One thing getting in her way is her unfortunate tendency towards split personalities. Among them is a black check-out girl, an elderly radio talk show hostess, a male model named Steve and the accounting firm of Edelman and Edelman. Her most dangerous alter ego is a sexually voracious vixen named Ann Bowman who has nothing less than world domination on her mind.

Jenna Pryor stars as Chicklet in MCTC's production, which also features Gerald Pitts, Sam Kell, Elizabeth Turner, Sarah Shepherd, Julia Nettles, Aaron Reynolds, Bryan Lelek, Shane Kopischke and Nathan Stultz.

Psycho Beach Party is the 13th production of Music City Theatre Company. Moore founded the theatre company in 2008, with the mission "to provide the Nashville community with thought-provoking, socially relevant work with a strong vision."

Busch's hilarious take on beach blanket movies of the 1960s has long been a favorite of Nashville theater audiences dating back to multiple productions at legendary director Dennis Ewing's iconic Actor's Playhouse of Nashville.

Showtimes for Psycho Beach Party are Thursday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 3, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 4, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, June 5, at 5 p.m.; Wednesday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m. Pay-What-You-Can performance; Thursday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 11, at 11:30 p.m. Pay-What-You-Can performance; and Sunday, June 12, at 5 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to each performance

Darkhorse Theater is located at 4610 Charlotte Avenue in Nashville. Tickets are $12 available in advance at www.mctc.ticketleap.com or at the door. Music City Theatre Company accepts cash and all major credit cards. Opening night tickets for $5 are available online only.

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