PORT ANGELES — Ask 17-year-old Jeremy Fodge about “Smoke on the Mountain: Homecoming,” and he goes straight to the point.
“It’s jam-packed with emotion,” the teen said of the show opening tonight at the Port Angeles Community Playhouse, 1235 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Fodge, himself a pastor’s son, plays Dennis, a 23-year-old Marine Corps chaplain who ministered to soldiers fighting World War II.
When the play opens, it’s October 1945, the war has at last come to an end, and the baby boom has begun. We’re at the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in North Carolina, where the Rev. Mervin Oglethorpe is giving his last service before he and his pregnant wife, June, ride off to West Texas.
And though “Homecoming,” the season opener for the Port Angeles Community Players, is from another time and place, music director Penny Hall figures theatergoers will recognize themselves and their neighbors.
“Even if you’re not of the Christian persuasion, the characters are people you can alternately shake your head at and chuckle with,” she said.
“Everybody who’s been in a war will appreciate Dennis. Anybody who’s watched their savings get eaten up . . . or tried so hard to be a good mom and not quite measured up,” will relate to the people in this story.
Then there’s Stanley, played by Ron Jones.
“He’s the black sheep of the family. He’s been in jail . . . he left the family because he thought he was better than everybody,” Hall added.
And Mervin, the minister portrayed by Phil Morgan-Ellis, looks like a bumbler at first. “He turns out to be an incredible person,” said Hall.
The songs are irresistible, she said, even as Hall admitted she’s not the biggest fan of country music.
“It’s so darn fun to play. And it’s sweet . . . we are having so much fun,” putting on this show that “this should be illegal.”
“Homecoming” director Kathleen Balducci credits the rest of the cast for the show’s charm.
This is the third in a series of plays about the Sanders family — the Port Angeles Community Players staged “Smoke on the Mountain” and “Sanders Family Christmas” in 1994 and 1999, respectively — and Balducci said it fits this moment.
“Things are changing for all of them,” in the family, she said. “It’s a play about people who deal with their lives and their problems through their faith. There will be a tear here and there, but you’ll go out feeling good.”
In addition to directing, Balducci plays Miss Myrtle, a pillar of the church who observes everything: the action on stage as well as the reaction among the patrons.
“This is perfect,” she said. “I have no lines. I get to wear a good hat,” while watching the story and songs wash over the audience.
“It’s a very funny, very kind story,” Balducci said. “Grown men will weep. It’ll be fun.”
“Smoke on the Mountain: Homecoming,” written by Constance Ray with musical arrangements by Mike Craver, begins at 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday, and each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evening through Oct. 9. Matinee performances will be at 2 p.m. this Sunday and on Oct. 3 and 10.
Fridays through Sundays, tickets are $12 for adults or $6 for students and children; they’re available at Odyssey Bookshop, 114 W. Front St., and at the door while they last. Admission for all Tuesday shows is $6 at the door.
For information, visit www.PACommunityPlayers.com or phone 360-452-6651.
