Theatre Bristol Presents “The Mockingbird Sings”

Theatre Bristol presents The Mockingbird Sings: A Love Story about the musical influences on the 1927 Bristol Sessions on stage Sept 6-8 & 11-12

Theatre Bristol brings The Mockingbird Sings back to its ARTspace Stage September 6-8 & 11-12, leading into the 2024 Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion Festival with a special presentation of this uniquely Bristol recording sessions story with a uniquely Bristol-area cast. Tickets are on sale now for this limited engagement staged and live music presentation at Theatre Bristol’s website.
The Mockingbird Sings weaves a story of love and the history of country music leading up to the recordings and discoveries of Jimmie Rodgers, Pops Stoneman, The Carter Family, and many others. The Mockingbird Sings was written by Dr. Nancy Hamblen Acuff, Terry Harkleroad, and Sharon Cort.

Our Eddie Snow, played by Reece Wheeler, is at a crossroads, influenced by generations of music through his grandmother Eula Mae Broome, played by Susan McNabb. The wishes of his mother, Lucy Snow played by Samantha Beaird, come up against the time he’d rather spend playing music with friends Royal Campbell played by Reece Hilt, and Royal’s friends played by Katrina Compton and Carter Bresowar, and Arlee McKerr played by John Snyder.

King College student Mary Martha, played by Mary Ellis Glymph, tires of Ray English, played by Ned Zeiler, and falls for “our Eddie,” as narrator Martha Hawk calls him. With Mary Martha, Eddie finds his courage and ventures out to WOPI radio with announcer Troy, played by CanJoe* John, on to the Bristol recording sessions, and all the way to the Grand Ole Opry. Along the journey, Eddie gets schooled in the blues by the train porter Toney played by Freddy Heath, and inspired by an Old Codger played by Richard Albright.
Ralph Peer, played by Ned Zeiler, and Monique Peer, played by Baleigh McKeehan, travel to Bristol to record the music of Pops Stoneman played by John Snyder with Stoneman children Abby Cheek, Skylar Scheuer, and Kate Zeiler, Jimmie Rodgers played by Richard Albright, the Carter family with Barbara Walton as Maybelle, Martha Hawk as Sara, and Jeff Benedict as A.P., and one Eddie Snow. In a featured role, CanJoe*John is played by none other than CanJoe*John.

The Mockingbird Sings band includes music director Barbara Walton on upright bass, Dennis Farris on banjo and Jeff Benedict on banjo and mandolin, Rob Nicar and John Snyder on fiddle, Martha Hawk on autoharp, and John Snyder and Baleigh McKeehan on guitar.

Returning after 2023 sold-out houses, directing The Mockingbird Sings is director, Samantha Gray, and music director and musician Barbara Walton. They are supported by stage managers Bethaney Hilt and Reece Hilt, character and dialect coach Camille Gray, tech director Albert Tester, costume designer Katie Cheek, scenic artist Faith Walker, board operator Susan Zeiler. The Mockingbird Sings is presented by special arrangement with Terry Harkleroad and Sharon Cort.

With support from media sponsor 96.3 The Possum, The Mockingbird Sings will be on the ARTspace stage Friday, Saturday, and Sunday September 6-8 and Wednesday and Thursday September 11-12 for the weekend and days before the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion Festival. Tickets are $15 for adults plus fees and $10 for seniors and students plus fees, and are available at Theatre Bristol.

Theatre Bristol is pleased to present The Mockingbird Sings as part of its family-friendly 58th season of ARTspace and The Paramount Center for the Arts shows, including Mark Twain’s The Diaries of Adam & Eve, Aesop’s Foibles presented with River’s Way, The Rainbow Fish, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Scrooge! The Musical, A Tuna Christmas, PLAYtime in the ARTspace weekly, and Finding Nemo KIDS with The StART of Adventure Summer Camp.

Founded in 1965 by Cathy DeCaterina, Theatre Bristol is a community theatre serving all ages that also has the distinction as the oldest continually running children’s theatre in northeast Tennessee. Located on historic State Street in Bristol, it also serves southwest Virginia. Its Main Stage season consists of drama, comedy, and musical productions that take place in the 100-seat blackbox ARTspace and at the Paramount Center for the Arts. Theatre Bristol is a volunteer-operated community organization and invites you to get involved.
For more information, visit the Theatre Bristol website, follow TheatreBristolTN on Facebook, call 423-212-3625, or email.