After 30 years of on-stage antics, Don MacPherson still can't believe the Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre has been around so long. "We're
doing what we love to do," said MacPherson, who co-owns the theater
with his wife, Pat. "I think that's the big part of it. We're unique in
the sense that we do new shows every year, so it's not like we're doing
the 10th year of a particular show where you get bored or jaded."
The
show is a tribute to vaudeville and old music halls, and includes
audience participation and unrehearsed moments. More than 36 original
musical comedies have premiered at the theater since it opened in 1977,
and many of them have played in other theaters nationwide. This season's comedies include: "That's Ridiculous! - 30 Years of Hilarious Musical Comedy ... All in One Night!” staged Monday, Wednesday and Friday; a tribute to old-time music hall entertainment. "A Knight's Tale and Other Acts of Superficial Foolishness," staged Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; a fairy tale comedy adventure.
The city of Gatlinburg named the theater a historical treasure. "We've
got people coming back who remember seeing us as children, and now
they're back with their children," MacPherson said. "You can never
imagine in a 30-year span you're going to get that. We're
proud of the fact that with a live theater like this, you have theaters
that have opened, closed and changed hands," he said. "We've seen it
happened hundreds of times. To stay open and have the audience still
like it and appreciates it is very encouraging."
Besides MacPherson, other performers include his son Chris, Janice Snider, Destiny Woods and Tim Coleman. Woods came to the theater two years ago as one of its youngest cast members. "I
had done some musicals and stuff in college, but nothing ever like
this," she said. "When I first came here, I had never seen the show
before. I had never seen anything like it and fell in love with the
theater, and it had a great cast."
"They give us a lot of
freedom," Snider said. "I think that's one thing that made us so
unique. We're always coming up with something new."
The cast members agree audiences react to shows differently. "Sometimes
people are too intimidated to laugh unless someone else laughs first,"
Coleman said. "One night we had a subdued audience that wouldn't laugh
at all, and we didn't think they were enjoying it. We used to go
outside to greet people after the show and this one guy shook my hand
and said, 'I did what I could to keep from laughing out loud.'"
MacPherson said the theater has had many offers over the years to move, but it is something they never considered.
So what do they expect in the next 30 years?
"We'll all still be here," Coleman said with a laugh.
"We
got a new generation coming up," MacPherson said. "As long we're able
to be successful to keep it operating, we plan to keep going for a
while.