All in the Family: Haywood County Arts Council presents Sanders Family Christmas at HCC
By Michael Beadle
Journey back to Christmas Eve, December 1941. The United States has just entered World War II after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, and emotions run high as families say goodbye to their sons, who must go off to train for war.
The Sanders family has gathered at the local Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church to share some holiday music and fellowship one last time before young Dennis Sanders ships out to boot camp.
Get ready for a toe-tappinÕ, heartwarming good time as Sanders Family Christmas comes to the Haywood Community College auditorium for one special night Ñ 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 Ñ as a Christmas gospel musical drama that has sold out venues throughout the Southeast since 1999. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and $15 per person in groups of 15 or more. The show, which is sponsored by the Haywood County Arts Council, comes from the Cumberland County Playhouse in eastern Tennessee.
Sanders Family Christmas is the sequel to Smoke on the Mountain, another family musical starring many of the same characters, which came to Haywood County last year as a resounding success.
ItÕs not necessary to have seen Smoke on the Mountain in order to understand Sanders Family Christmas, explains Susie Curtis, a Haywood County Arts Council board member helping to promote the show.
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Just as a refresher, though, this latest production stars Mama Vera and Burl as the mother and father, twins Dennis and Denise, Uncle Stanley and Aunt June, and Rev. Oglethorpe. They all play musical instruments ranging from piano and autoharp to guitar and mandolin to bass and accordion. The setting for the show is a small, rural community church celebrating the Christmas story as told in the Gospel of St. Luke.
But this is no regular Christmas for the Sanders family. Soon, they will have to say farewell to Dennis and cherish those precious moments spent together. ItÕs a theme that may resonate even more this holiday season with a war raging in Iraq and an unusually destructive hurricane season that has left many families torn apart, losing relatives, and struggling to rebuild their homes.
In those times, the church often becomes an important gathering place, Irvin added.
Sanders Family Christmas is touring this fall throughout the Southeast and includes performances in Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee. The show usually sells out, so those interested in tickets are strongly urged to order early. For more information about Sanders Family Christmas or to order tickets, call the Haywood County Arts Council at 828.452.0593 or stop by the Arts Council office and art gallery at 86 North Main Street in downtown Waynesville.
