Opening: Travel to North Carolina in Monroe

"Smoke on the Mountain" blends bluegrass and gospel in a story from the soul of Middle America. Herald staff The people at Sky Performing Arts call "Smoke on the Mountain" a musical cross between "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Oh Brother Where Art Thou." The show opens tonight for a run through Oct. 26 at Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe. With book by Constance Ray and musical arrangements by Mike Craver and Mark Hardwick, "Smoke" blends bluegrass and gospel with a story from the soul of Middle America. Set in 1938 in a North Carolina Baptist church, "Smoke" carries lots of satire and friendly ribbing imbedded with messages about the nature of rural Baptist life with a hint of the kind of underlying humor you might find in repressed societies. Sky's cast seems well-suited to take up the characters of the traveling... [read full story]