A Sanders Family Christmas at Chaffin's Barn

Alan Bailey and Connie Ray, creators of the near-iconic regional hit Smoke on the Mountain, also co-wrote this nostalgic holiday-themed musical that further explores the lives of a lovably sincere North Carolina family. Christmas Eve 1941 finds the country newly at war with Japan, and the Sanders clan will soon bid farewell to their only son, who’s shipping out with the Marines. Yet ominous times can’t dim the enthusiasm for the local annual Christmas celebration at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, where the Rev. Mervin Oglethorpe and the gifted Sanders family present a rousing and energetic sing-along of cherished gospel hymns and carols. The Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre revives the show with revivalist fervor under the direction of Tim Fudge and features familiar Barnsters such as Jaclyn Brown, Daron J. Bruce, Laura Marsh, Amanda Lamb and Derek Whittaker, plus two actors, B.J. Rowell and Will Sevier, making their Chaffin’s debut. Lest anyone doubt the regional popularity of this homey, rafter-raising kind of fare, The Center for the Arts in Murfreesboro will present its own version, opening Nov. 27 and continuing through Dec. 20.
Fridays-Sundays. Starts: Nov. 27. Continues through Dec. 20, 2009