The opening number of Rosebud Theatre’s summer musical roars out of the gate with a slap bass and a fiddle solo. The fact that it’s just a rehearsal makes no difference; the Cotton Patch Gospel band plays with skill and exuberance.
“The music just grabs you right off the first song and tears you right out of your seat,” says Rosebud Theatre’s resident Music Director Bill Hamm. “It pulls you into the story as well as any starter of a show I’ve ever seen. By the time that first song is over, audiences don’t want to be anywhere else but in that theatre.” Hamm knows this from personal experience. This is the third time the musical has been produced in Rosebud (the first was in 1991 and the second in 1998) and Hamm was in the band for both productions.
Cotton Patch Gospel is often described as Harry Chapin’s bluegrass musical. Chapin, one of the most influential popular songwriters of the twentieth century, is best known for Cat’s in the Cradle, Taxi, and All My Life’s a Circle. He was inspired by Tom Key’s one-man play based on the Cotton Patch Translations of the Bible by Clarence Jordan, and together with Russell Treyz, they wrote the play as we know it today.
The play is Jesus’ life set in modern-day Georgia. In the adaptation, Jesus is born in Gainesville and is lynched just outside of Atlanta by religious and political extremists. The story is vividly brought to life with the help of the Cotton Patch band and such songs as “Somethin’s Brewin’ in Gainesville,” “Goin’ to Atlanta,” and the soulful “Jubilation.”
Cotton Patch Gospel seemed like the perfect play for Rosebud Theatre’s audience back in 1991; however there was just one problem: Rosebud didn’t have a bluegrass band.
“We had to see if we had the horses to do it. We were all really green at this style of music,” says Hamm.
But they did it. They formed a bluegrass band called The Rosebud River Valley Boys from actors, rock ‘n’ roll, and classical musicians that lived beyond the production of Cotton Patch Gospel. They still get together to gig today.
This summer, to celebrate the theatre’s 30th Anniversary Season, Cotton Patch Gospel will once again grace the Rosebud Opera House stage—but with a twist. “This time, Morris had a vision to do it focusing on women telling the story,” Hamm explains. “You’ve got groups like the Dixie Chicks or the Good Lovelies doing a style of music with power and beautiful harmonies. We’ve got three very talented women in the Cotton Patch cast for this production. Amy Burks, Alixandra Cowman and Lauren De Graaf are all talented musicians, singers and actors.”
Hamm and resident company member Nathan Schmidt, reprise their roles on guitar and fiddle respectively. Joel Stephanson plucks the stand-up acoustic bass and talented newcomer Ryan Schroeder demonstrates his mastery of the banjo.
“The play works on so many levels,” says Hamm. “The music is so entertaining and it is really well knitted to the text. The story itself is an old one, and needs to be told in a way that causes us to pay attention.” He continues, “It is also a way of expressing our faith, with integrity, in a show that would work on any stage. It’s a well-paced, well-written piece of theatre that is filled with life.
“This is one of the best shows we’ve ever done here,” he sums up. “It’s well-paced. It has a full gamut of emotional expression. It is sad, poignant, funny, pensive; really a whole human experience. This is going to be something special – something the whole family can enjoy together.”
Cotton Patch Gospel runs May 31 - August 24, 2013 with matinee performances on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and evening performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
