‘Smokey Joe’s Café‘ Caps Theatre Bristol’s 43rd Season

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Theatre Bristol will seal its 43rd season with a song.
Check that.
Forty classic songs from the pens of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller via “Smokey Joe’s Café” caps Theatre Bristol’s 43rd season.
Slated to open June 5 and run through June 21, the whirlwind musical revue features no story but dancing and music aplenty.
“It’s just timeless music,” said Emily Anne Thompson, Theatre Bristol’s executive director and also director of “Smokey Joe’s Café.”
Roll call. There’s “On Broadway,” “Yakety Yak” and “Charlie Brown”; “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock”; and “There Goes My Baby.” Those were hits for George Benson, The Coasters, Elvis Presley and The Drifters.
“They don’t write songs like these anymore,” said Chris McVey, a veteran actor whose deep baritone chimes in on “Charlie Brown.”
During a spirited full dress rehearsal for a few onlookers on Tuesday night, the considerably varied cast performed as if a crowd of thousands were watching.
Early on, a quartet tackled “Young Blood” with equal parts cool and collective talent. McVey numbers among the four.
“I grew up listening to this stuff,” McVey said. “It brings back childhood memories for me.”
Therein lies part of the appeal of “Smokey Joe’s Café,” Thompson said. The rousing show offers nostalgia for those who lived through the 1950s and ’60s and a bit of a pop culture history lesson for those who did not.
“Oh gosh, for anyone who knows the show, [nostalgia] is the appeal,” Thompson said. “It’s a flashback to really good music.”
And really good music demands really good voices. Theatre Bristol features flocks of them in the show.
For example, Kingsport, Tenn.’s Sierra Allen rattled the rafters on “Saved,” which closes out the show’s first half. Backed by the show’s entire cadre of talent, Allen sang as if boarding a bus to heaven and her soul counted on it.
“There’s some amazing voices,” Thompson said. “They do a wonderful job.”
Just sit and marvel as Jon Luttrell takes on a sumptuous “Loving You.” While Allen shook the soul, Luttrell may shiver a few spines with his rendition of the song that Elvis Presley hit with in 1957.
Oh yeah, amazing voices for sure.
“It’s like a dream some true for me singing harmonies with so many people who can sing,” McVey said. “The entire cast is great. Dollar for dollar, they are the best, the talent that’s in this show.”
Take note. As opposed to some productions of such musical revues, accompanying music will be played live. Meaning, there are no tapes of music playing. There is a four-man band, just out of sight backstage.
“It’s live,” McVey said. “And it’s just fun. These songs are fun.”
One look at McVey just minutes before rehearsal began reflected exactly that. Animated, strong handshake, resonant voice and a grin that said, “Let the show begin!” pointed to McVey’s obvious excitement.
Better still …
“When the audience leaves,” McVey said, “they’ll be singing these songs.”

IF YOU GO
What: “Smokey Joe’s Café”
When: June 5-6, 13-14 and 19-21
Where: Theatre Bristol, 512 State St., Bristol, Tenn.
Admission: $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, $8 for children under age 12
Info: (423) 968-4977
Web: http://www.theatrebristol.org

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .