The Greene County Players cast members are ready to bring to Festival Hall the upcoming musical, Smoke on the Mountain. Standing L-R are Sherry Shutze, Tommi Ward, Glad Kreimann, Dona Franks, Debbie McCown, John Copeland and Gene Yaws. Seated are Mary-Katherine and Jeremy Skidmore.

Yessiree, bobtail, “Smoke on the Mountain” will again delight audiences with a return engagement at Festival Hall in downtown Greensboro starting Thursday, Feb. 27.  Many in the community requested the Greene County Players to continue the run of the popular show two years ago. Now finally it is back!  So, all you hand clappers and foot stompers, dust off your Sunday best and come on out to the Sanders family first annual Saturday night sing at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church situated in the mountains of North Carolina.

The year is 1938 when family gospel singing groups like the LeFevres, the Happy Goodman family, and the Gaithers toured the church circuit and earned a few dollars leading congregations in the worship of the Almighty, the purest pleasure known to the rural South.  Mt. Pleasant’s forward-thinking Pastor Oglethorpe wants to lead his congregation into modern worship, so he has enlisted the help of Burl and Vera Sanders along with their young’uns.  The pastor’s vision seems such a perfect plan, but in reality, the sparks are going to fly when two church spinsters dig their heels in at the sacrilege of gospel music and, heaven forbid, dancing!

The original cast returns to their endearing roles under the direction of Carolyn Fears and Music Director, Michael Wells. Artistic Director John Copelan reminds everyone, “We built risers early on to ensure that every person in our 150-member audience has an intimate theater experience. Plus we are anticipating new improvements in the sound system to be in place for our 2014 season opener.” You don’t want to miss this crowd-pleaser, which runs Feb. 27, Feb. 28 and March 1 with a 7 p.m. curtain. The matinee on March 2 starts at 2:30 p.m. Call Greensboro’s own Festival Hall at 762-474-4228 to reserve tickets priced at $20 and $15.