Good theater will transport the audience from their soft seats outside the proscenium to another place at another time. The Legacy Theatre in Tyrone will present “Smoke on the Mountain,” through Feb. 22 and they hope to take audiences to Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant, N.C. in the 1930s.

The show is framed as a Saturday night gospel sing and the singers are members of the Sanders family. In addition to sharing their stories and beliefs, the Sanders family perform close to 30 traditional and bluegrass gospel songs.

“In those pre-Tennessee Valley Authority days, electricity was a luxury; gathering in at church to hear a traveling gospel group was a singular and exciting event,” said director Scott Bradley. “ ‘Smoke on the Mountain’ gives us a glimpse of what such an event may have been like in a typical North Carolina town.”

“Smoke on the Mountain” debuted in 1989 and has been performed countless times since then. It is one of the biggest hits in regional theatre history. The show is also unique in that each performer plays his or her own instrument, truly becoming the Sanders Family Singers.

“This production of ‘Smoke on the Mountain’ could not come at a more appropriate time; Americans in the late 1930s were struggling with finances, looking for work (or out of a job all together), or generally concerned about that state of our nation - topics that are just as relevant today as they were then,” said Bradley. “Hopefully, our ‘Smoke on the Mountain’ will provide Legacy Theatre audiences with that ‘welcome distraction’ and positive message for tomorrow that the gospel sings of old did for our grandparents.”

Bradley was the artistic director for the Jenny Wiley Theatre in Kentucky for six years where he directed over 25 large scale theatre productions and produced seven repertory seasons. he has also composed music for “Vintage Hitchcock - A Live Radio Play,” which was performed at the Legacy Theatre last fall.

The cast includes Mark W. Schroeder, making his Legacy Theatre debut, Mike Parker, who has starred in both “Forever Plaid” and “Plaid Tidings” at Legacy, Lamar Payne, an actor and director from the Newnan Community Theatre who recently starred as Felix in “The Odd Couple,” Todd Day, the regular bassist for the Legacy Theatre, Becky Clark, who has been a part of such Legacy shows as “Some Enchanted Evening,” “The Spitfire Grill,” and “Plaid Tidings,”Amy Bridges, last seen in “Vintage Hitchcock - A Live Radio Play,” and Amanda Bridgette, who has appeared in a number of shows including “The Spitfire Grill,” and “The Wizard of Oz.”

Showtimes for “Smoke on the Mountain” are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays with Saturday matinees at 3 p.m. on Feb. 7 and 14 and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. throughout the run. Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors or students and $15 for children ages 12 and under. Phone 404-895 - 1473

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