A History of the Hunter Hills Theatre, 1956-1977

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses

Graduate School

12-1979

A History of the Hunter Hills Theatre, 1956-1977 Gary Buttrey University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Recommended Citation Buttrey, Gary, "A History of the Hunter Hills Theatre, 1956-1977. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1979. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3272

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected].

To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Gary Buttrey entitled "A History of the Hunter Hills Theatre, 1956-1977." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Theatre. Fred Fields, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Thomas P. Cook, Albert Harris Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.)

To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Gary Buttrey entitled 11A History of the Hunter Hills Theatre, 1956- 1977.11 I recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the re� quirements for the deqree of Master of Arts, with a major in Speech and Theatre.

Fred Fields, Major Professor

We have read this thesis a d recommend its

Accepted for the Council:

Vice Chancellor Graduate Studies and Research

lhc=s i..s 19 . 1388S ""p· 2

A HISTORY

OF

THE HUNTER H I LLS TH EATRE , 1 9 56-1 977

A Thesis

Presented for the Mas ter of Arts Degree Th e Un ive r sity of Te nnes see, Knoxvi l l e

. Ga ry Buttrey �cember 1 979

1·101845

ii AC KNOt�L EDGt�ENT The author wi s hes to expres s h i s s i ncere a pprec i at i on for the encouragement , gu i dance , and fru i tfu l a s s i stance gi ven by Profes sor Fred Fi el ds , Speech and Theatre Department .

He a l so wi s hes to express

grati tude to Drs . Thomas P . Cooke and Al bert Ha rri s , of the S peech and Theatre Department , for the i r hel pfu l s u g gestions and va l uab l e cri ti c i sm . Apprec i a tion i s al so extended to Mr . and Mrs . Rel Mapl es, Ga tl i n ­ burg , Tennessee , for al l owi ng the i r pri vate col l ect i on of Hunter Hi l l s Theatre to be exten s i vely stud i ed .

Mrs . Mapl es was parti cul arl y k i nd

and hel pfu l duri ng the try i ng ti mes connected wi th the early research wor k . Fi nal l y , t h e au thor i s espec i a l l y grateful t o h i s parents , Vernon and Ruth Buttrey of Fa i rv i ew , Tennessee , for the i r constant support and understand i ng .

iii ABSTRACT The purpose of th i s study was to i nvesti gate the h i s tory of the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre in Gatl i n burg , Tennessee , and to prov i d e an accurate account of the thea tre operati on from 1956 to 1977 .

Hunter

Hi l l s Theatre i s an ou td oor theatre l oca ted i n an i n creasi ngly popu l a r res ort area .

I t i s one of the mos t beautiful amph i theatres i n the

Southeas tern Uni ted States . The s tudy i s d i v i ded i n to fi ve chapters .

Cha pter I i n cl udes an

i n troducti on wi th perti nent i n formati on about the s i te sel ecti on and the constructi on of the amphi theatre .

Cha pter I I deal s chronol o­

g i cal ly wi th the fi rs t years the theatre operated , 19 56 -1959. Hi stori cal fac ts concern i ng the producti on of the ou td oor drama Chucky Jack are deta i l ed in Chapter I I .

I n the thi rd cha pter, the

i n termed i a te years , 1960-1965 , are presen ted .

The th i rd ch apter ·

offers h i s tor i c a l facts about the producti ons at Hunter Hi l l s sponsored by the t�a s h i ngton Bal l et , the "Mu s i c Under the Stars11 c oncert seri es , and the Un i on Col l ege Summer Mu s i c Fes t i va l .

Chapter I V offers a

chronol og i cal l ook at the opera ti on of Hu nter Hi l l s from 1966 to 1977 . The fi rst twel ve yea rs of summer repertory producti on s by the Uni vers i ty of Tennessee are deta i l ed i n Chapter I V .

The fi nal chapter , Chapter V ,

offers concl us i ons about the s tudy . The pri mary means and procedu res used i n data assembly for th i s s tudy have been newspa per accounts , magazi ne arti cl es , spec i a l theatre col l ecti ons , produ c i n g orga n i zati on 's records and fi l es , programs , and personal i n terv i ews wi th i nd i v i dual s associ ated wi th the th eatre over the yea rs .

iv Duri ng the course of the study , mater i a l s were col l ected rel ati ve to the twel ve years that the Uni vers i ty of Tennessee has operated the theatre .

These i tems of thea tre memorbi l i a i n cl ude

p i ctures , l etters , programs , and so on .

The mater i a l was pl aced

i n chronol ogi cal l y dated fi l e fol ders , wi th i ndex i n g and l abel i ng of i n format i on--i ncl ud i ng pi ctures- -properl y affi xed .

The · col l ecti on was

then presen ted to the Uni vers i ty of Tennes see Spec i a l Col l ecti ons L i brary to be conta i ned a s a permanent record i n the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti on .

A l i s ti ng of the i tems i n the c ol l ecti on

appears i n Appen di x I . Th i s s tudy s h ou l d hel p further the res ol ve that Hunter Hi l l s · Theatre has gi ven a great deal to those who have been a s s oc i a ted wi th i t over the years ; to the commun i ty , to the devel opment of Gatl i n burg , t o the s tudent of the drama , t o the Un i vers i ty of Tennessee , to the many i nd i v i du a l s who have worked in the opera ti on of the theatre i n vari ou s capaci ti es . I t i s hoped that thi s chron ol og i cal h i story of the theatre wi l l hel p i l l ustrate the arti s t i c achi evements wh i ch have been s o enri c h i ng and wh i ch are someti mes overl ooked when concern s for the theatre's fi nanc i a l sta b i l i ty are consi dererl.

v TABLE OF CONTENTS PAG E

CHAPTER I. II.

I NTRODUCT I ON .

1

THE CHUCKY JACK YEARS , 1956 - 1 959 .

4

1 9 56 .

8

1957 .

17

1 9 58 .

26

1959 . III.

THE I NTERMED IATE YEARS , 1 960-1 965

39

1 960 .

39

1961

40

1962 .

IV.

31

• ·

41

.

1 963

42

1 964 . .

42

1965 .

50

.

THE UN I V ERS I TY OF TENNESSEE YEARS, 1966- 1 9 77

52

.

52

1967 . .

58

1 968 .

63

1 9 69 . .

68

1966 .

1 9 70 . .

.

72

1971

76

1972 .

79

1973 .

83

1974 .

85

1975 .

.

89

vi CHAPTER

V.

PAGE 1 976

95

1 977

98

CONCLUS IONS

EPILOGU E

104

. . . . .

107

L I ST OF REFERENCES

108

APPENDI XES

110

.

APPEND IX I .

111

THE HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE SPEC IAL COLL ECTION

APPENDIX I I .

SCHEDULE O F PERFORMANC ES , SUMMER MUS I C

FEST IVAL , 1964 APPEND I X I I I .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

•

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

116

CHRONOLOGY OF HUNTER H I LLS PRODUCT I ONS ,

1 966- 1977 .

.

1 17

1 966- 1977

. . . . .

1 18

APPEND IX V .

MA I NTENANC E AND PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS , 1 966- 1977

123

APPEND IX V I .

SELECTED EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS TO HUNTER H I LLS

APPEND I X IV . -F I NANC IAL I NFORMATION , HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE ,

. . . .

. . . .

125

RESOLUT ION NO . 124 . .

. . . .

129

THEATRE , 1966- 1977 APP END IX V I I . VITA

. . .

.

.

131

vi i L I ST OF TABLES PAGE

TABLE I.

Great Smoky Mounta i ns Hi storical As soci ati on , 1 956

6

II.

Chucky Jack Staff and Ca st , 1956 .

13

I I I.

Chuc ky Jack Staff and Ca s t , 1957 .

20

IV.

Chucky Jack Staff and Ca s t , 1958

29

V.

Chuc ky Jack Staff and Cas t , 1959

33

Staff for the Summer Mus i c Fes t i va l , 1 964

47

Gatl i nburg Advi sory Counci l , Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1 966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

54

V I II .

Staff and Cast Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1 966

56

IX .

Staff and Cas t Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1967

61

X.

Staff and Cas t Hunter Hi l l s Thea tre , 1 968

65

Program , 2nd Theatre L abora tory at Hunter Hi l l s , 1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

67

XI I .

Staff and Cas t Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1969

69

XII I .

Staff and Cas t Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1 970

74

XIV.

Staff and C a s t Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1971

77

XV .

Staff and Cast Hunter Hi l l s Thea tre , 1972

81

XV I .

Staff and Cast Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1973

84

XV I I .

Staff and Cas t Hunter Hi l l s Thea tre , 1 974

87

XV I I I .

Staff and Ca s t Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1975

92

XIX .

Staff and Ca s t Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1 976

96

XX .

Staff and Ca s t Hunter Hi l l s Thea tre , 1 977

100

VI. VII.

XI.

1 C HAPTER I I NTRODUCTION The Hu nter Hi l l s Thea tre has been a unique theatre opera ti on s i nce i ts beg i nni ng .

I t has prov i ded enterta i nment events t o th ousands of

area res i dents and touri sts .

I t has served i n a number of d i fferent

capaci ti es , fl yi ng banners for produ ci ng organi zati ons of d i verse objecti ves . The fol l owi ng accounts of the l ocati on and construct i on of the theatre add to ou r unders tand i ng of the thea tre fac i l i ty .

The earl i e s t

news paper account expl ai ned where t h e new theatre wou l d b e l ocated in rel ati on to Gatl i nburg and s tated in part: A c ove on Greenbri er Road , four mi l es ea st of here and just off Hi ghway 73 wi l l be the s i te of the new ou td oor thea tre . . . . The s i te of the new theatre wi l l take advantage 'of the new 80 foot h i ghway wh ich l eads east of here and rel i eves traffi c from US Hi ghway 44 . 1 Bert V i ncent of The Kn oxv i l l e News -Senti nel v i s i ted the l ocati on wh i l e the theatre wa s bei ng cons tru cted and l ater qave hi s readers th i s account of the constructi on of the theatre . It i s l ocated to the l eft of the h i ghway and behi nd a h i l l . Bu l l dozers were tearing a four-l ane pa s s i n to the theatre s i te . Two hu ndred yards further up i s another entrance. . Al l the seats l ook toward the ta l l mounta i n pea ks i n the eas t . A tal l wooden temporary tower was erected where the stage i s to be . Engi neers ti ed a wi re to thi s tower , and s tretched i t over to where the seats are to be . then a man took the ot her end of the wire and wa l ked around , ma k i ng a perfect segment of a ci rcl e . Then he s tepped bac k the proper di s tance and made another , and .

1

.

11Gatl i nburg Te l l s Pl ans for Drama , ••· The Knoxvi l l e J ournal (Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see ) , Au qust 5 , 19 55 , p .

2 so on unti l al l the rows of seats were l i ned around on the h i l l s i d e wi th each seat equ al l y d i s ant from the s tage wi th al l other s eats i n that row .

�

Duri ng the fi rst s eason of i ts operati on , Ma l co l m Mi ll er , drama cr i t i c fo r The Knoxvi l l e Journal , qave th i s account of the theatre's i n ter­ esti nq features: I nnovati ons i n outdoor thea tre cons tructi on are the two 30-foot c i rcul ar turntabl es that fl ank each end of the 200foot wi de s tage The revol v i ng s tages hol d as many as n i n e scenes , ready for swi ft s i l ent changes , as requ i red . There are two 30-foot l i ght towers , one at each s i de . Seven ban k s of fl oodl i gh ts are u s ed. The l i g hti ng sys tem requ i res 11 mi l es of wi r i n g , ei ght mi l es be i nq neo prene covered wire , pl aced under cement , connect i ng the stage wi th the control room at the rea r top of the thea tre . Fi ve carl oads o f cement were u s ed i n the cons truct i o n , mos t.of i t for the ri s ers to accommodate the 2501 al umi num and pl a s t i c l awn type s eats . The 1000 car park i ng area requ i red 5000 tons of cru s h ed stone and 30 tank l oads of hot a s phal t . Po l i s h ed marbl e sl abs serve as d i v i ders i n the d ress i ng room s howers . I n d i v i du a l mi rrors for 100 pers ons are ava i l abl e i n the dre s s i ng rooms . The hund red s of costumes . . . are cl eaned wi t h the l ates t type of l aundry equ i pment, wh i ch i ncl udes a fa st­ 3 d ry i ng room . .

.

•

.

Mr . Mi l l er concl uded h i s account by stati ng that the total fac i l i ty represen ted a n i nvestment of $ 1 50 , 000 . Thes e facts gi ve us an i nsight i n to just what the people i n the area though t of the new theatre and the exci temen t wh i ch mus t nave been felt knowi nq that such a faci l i ty would become a part of the i r regi onal attract i ons and cu l tural offeri ngs.

2

11Strol l i ng wi th Bert V i ncent , '' The Knoxv i l l e News-Senti nel (Knoxv i l l e� Tennes see) , November 23 , 1 9 5 5 , p. 9. 3

11Mu s i c and Drama , ".The Knoxv i l l e·Jou rna l (Knoxvi l l e , Tennes s ee) , Augu s t 12 , 1 956 , p . 1 6-D .

3 Mr. R. L . Mapl es , who was the fi rst to env i s i on such a faci l i ty , pi cked the very l ap of Mt . LeConte as the s i te for the new theatre. Mr. John Li ppard , noted des i gner of amphi theatres from Charl otte , North Carol i na , des i gned the theatre and commented that i ts features wou l d b e uni que among outdoor theatre fac i l i ti es . The s ta k i ng out of the area that was to become the proposed outdoor I

amphi theatre too k pl ace i n the l ate summer of 1955 .

Work was hal ted

duri ng the fal l and early wi nter months and ta ken up aqa i n i n February , 1956 .

The construction of the theatre conti nued at a record brea k i ng

s peed and by the second week i n June of that year rehearsal s for the fi rst season ' s productions were bei ng hel d on the �ewly bui l t stage . The theatre was named for Kermi t Hunter , author of the ori g i nal h i stor i cal epic drama for wh i c h the theatre had been b u i l t . W i th these facts about the theatre faci l i ty i n mi nd , we can proceed wi th the chrono l ogi cal study of the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre .

4 C HAPTER I I THE C HUCKY JAC K YEARS , 19 56- 1959 The s i te was sel ec ted and the theatre wa s bu i l t for one purpose; to be the h ome of an ou td oor hi stori cal drama to be wr i tten espec i al l y for the area and t o prov i de a cu l tu ral offeri n g for area res i dents · wh i l e serv i n q as an attracti on for vi s i t ors to the regi on .

The i dea

for such a venture came from Mr . R . L . Ma pl es , l on g t i me Gatl i n bu rg res i dent and bus i ne s s man and , i n 1 955 , Pres i dent of the Gatl i n burq Chamber of Commerce .

He envi s i oned the project as an entertai nment

feature to meet the l ong need for such an attracti on for the vast number of vi s i tors who came i n to the Tennessee res ort duri ng the s u mmer months . He was fam i l i ar wi th the outd oor theatre operati on over the mounta i n i n Cherokee , North Carol i na , wh i ch had been presenti n g Unto These Hi l l s for s i x summers .

I t was h i s hope and pl an for the two operati ons to pool

s ome of the i r adverti s i ng i n order to bri n q more peopl e i nto the Great Smok i es area . venture .

Mr . Mapl es or gani zed a non -profi t a s s oc ia t i on to produce the

An early account of the assoc i ati on and i ts obj ecti ves read as

fol l ows: Pl ans for a $100 ,000 to $1 2 5 ,000 project wh i c h wou l d provide Gatl i n burg wi th a hi stor i ca l drama for next s u mmer's touri st season were ann ounced here today by R. L. �apl es , pres i dent of the Gatl i nburg Chamber of Commerce . Mapl es , a Gatl i nbu rg hotel owner , s a i d The Great Smokies Hi s tor i cal Ass oci ati on , I nc. has been organi zed as a n on-profi t corporati on to produce a drama wh i ch wi l l open next June and run for several years . . . . Al l proceeds above ex pen ses wi l l be used for the devel opment of the Great Smoky Mounta i n s area , Ma pl es said . . . . 11 I t i s ou r s i r.cere purpose t o work i n compl ete cooperati on wi th Unto These H i l l s and the Cherokee Hi s tori ca l As s oci ati on .

5 After several conferences wi th offi c i a l s of the Cherokee assoc i ation , we are confident we can . . . bri ng more people to the Great Smo k i es area , .. Mapl es s a i d . 4 �4r . Mapl es i dea began to p i c k up i nteres t and su pporters from al l around .

Soon announcements appeared about the Grea t Smo ky Mounta i ns

H i stor i cal Assoc i ation offi cers .

Mr . Mapl es served as Pres i dent.

Mr .

W . W . Mynatt , Gatl i nburg c i ty manager , was el ected V i ce Pres i dent and General Manager wh i l e Mr . W. L. Mi l l s , Pres i dent of Fi rs t Nati onal Ban k of Gatl i nburg , fi l l ed the Secretary and Treasurer pos i ti on .

Al l three

conti nued i n these pos i t i ons for the ent i re time that the Assoc i a t i on produced the drama . One of the first to s hare Wi l ma Mapl es , h i s wi fe .

nr.

Mapl es amb i t i ou s endeavor was Mrs .

She served i n a number of unoffi c i al capac i ti es

over the years and became one of the most important i nd i v i dual s to ever be assoc i a ted w i th Hunter H i l l s Theatre . In sol i c i ti n g s upport , an adv i sory board was set u p al ong wi th an honorary boa rd of adv i sors .

I nd i v i dual s serv i ng on these two boards

are named i n Tabl e I . One of these board members wa s Mr . Carl os Campbel l of Knoxvi l l e . He expressed h i s enthu s i as t i c approval for such a venture i n a letter to the assoc i ation pres i dent . Because of the importance of the movement and the . opportu n i t i es for commun i ty improvement that are present­ ed , I gl adl y accept the appo i ntment . Your Assoc i ati on i s

4

11 Gatl i nburg Tel l s Pl ans , " op . ci t .

6 TABLE I GREAT SMOKY MOU NTA I NS H I STO RI CAL ASS OC IAT I ON , 1956

Advisor y C ounc il Charl es H . Gu l l i ckson Jack Huff Mel v i n Johnson Bart Lei per Rev . Spu rqeon McCartt Hatti e M . .Ogl e

Wi l l i a m C. Pos tl ewa i te Stuart Reagan Joe Sharo Bru ce Hhal ey D i ck Hhal ey Tom Woods

Honorary Advisory Counc il El i zabeth B i s ho p , Gatl i nburg , Tennessee . Harry E . Bu chanan , Hendersonv i l l e , North Caro l i na M . M. Bu l l ard , Newport , Tennessee Ross Ca l dwel l , �1aggi e , North Caro l i na Carl os C. Campbel l , Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee Ralph Fros t , Knoxv i l l e , Ten nes see Harr i et C. Greve , Gatl i nburg, Tennessee Hon. Al bert Gore , Carthage , Tennes see Hel en M. Harri s , Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee Andrew D. Hol t , Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee Hon . Estes Kefauver , Mad i s onvi l l e , Tennes see A. J . Ki ng , Sevi ervi l l e , Tennes see Roy Led wel l , Sevi ervi l l e , Ten nes see Loye W. Mi ll er , Kn oxvi l l e , Tennes see Mar i on H. Muel l er , Gatl i nburg , Tennes see Al fred D. Maynders , Chattanoo ga , Tennessee W. E . Newe11 , Knoxvi 1 1 e , Tennessee Hon . Carrol l Reece , Johnson C i ty , Tennessee Mary U . Rothro ck , Knoxvi l l e , Ten nessee Edna Lynn Si mms , Gatl i nburg , Tennes see Guy Smi th , Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee Paul L. Soper , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see Laura Thornburgh , Gatl i nbur�, Tennessee Herbert S . Wal ters , Morri s town , Tennes see Robert H . Wh i te , Nas hvi l l e , Tennessee Source : Chucky J a ck Souven i r Program , 1956 , The Ma pl es Col l e ct i on , The Gatl i n bu rg Inn , Ga tlin burg , Tennes see .

7 to be compl i mented for th i s underta k i ng . . . . You have sel ected an excel l ent l ocati on for i ts presenta t i on . There are at l east four good reasons why I am gl ad to see thi s proj ect underta ken : 1 . I t wi l l bri ng a l ot of i nteresti ng p i oneer h i s tory to us and our v i s i tors . 2 . It wi l l hel p keep v i s i tors i n and near the Great Smo k i es a l i ttl e l onger. 3 . It wi l l hel p bri ng some add i ti onal v i s i tors who may not otherwi se have come , and 4. It wi l l permi t a number of i mportant commun i ty i mprovements from the profi ts from the drama . Stil l another advantage i s that i t wi l l g i ve empl oyment to a l arge number of l ocal peopl e i n presenti ng the drama . It i s a pl easure to have even so sma l l a part i n suc g a fi n' e underta k i ng , and I thank you for the pri v. i l ege . I t has al ready been noted that Kermi t Hunter was commi s s i oned to wri te the drama .

As one of the .l ead i ng outdoor theatre supporters and

pl aywri ghts of the day , havi ng al ready wri tten numerous such dramas i n ­ cl ud i ng Unto These H i l l s , h e was the best pos s i bl e cho i ce for the mammouth tas k. Dr . Hunter announced that the drama wou l d deal wi th the era from about 1780 to 1800 , when the State of Fran kl i n was establ i s hed by Jo hn Sev i er and others whose names are famous in Tennes see H i s tory , l eadi ng to the found i ng of Tennes see i tsel f. Dr. Hun ter soon deci ded to concen trate the plot on the character of John Sev i er , Tennes see's first qovernor .

The drama was ori gi nal l y

enti tl ed Nol i chucky Jac k , wh i ch was Governor Sevi er ' s Indi an n i ckname . Hunter had chosen Sev i er because h i s l eadersh i p i n I nd i an Fi ghti ng was ou tstandi ng , he founded the l os t State of Frankl i n and wa s hero of the

5

Letter , Carl os Campbel l to Mr. R. L . Mapl es , February , 1 956 , The Mapl es Col l ection , The Gatl i nburg I nn , Gatl i nburg , Tennes see.

8 Battl e of Ki ngs Mounta i n , wh i ch many h i s torians con cede to be the turn­ i n g po i n t of the Ameri can Revol uti onary \4a r . The ti tl e was . l ater s hortened and Chu cky J a ck became the drama to be presented i n the new theatre . I n a l ater arti cl e , Hunter expl a i ned h i s objectives i n wri ti n g the pl ay . Chu cky Jack, accord i ng to i ts au thor Kermi t Hunter , i s an effort to s how the chara cter of John Sev i er , the forces wh i ch pl ayed on h i m , the probl ems he fa ced , the deci s i ons he wa s forced to make . Bu t above al l , the pl ay i s a story of peopl e--the ord i nary human be i ngs our ancestors were , the i r hopes and dreams , the i r vast s trugg l es to defeat the wi l derness and bu i l d a great Ameri ca . I t br i ngs to l i fe i n a memorab l e sti rr i ng way the s t i rr i n g drama of the found i n g of a grea t s tate , and how th i s was a ccompl i s hed through the 1 i v. es of a few peopl e . John Sev i er's career covered some 50 years of the h i s tory of Eas t Tennessee . The pl ay dea l s wi th the peri od from about 1 782 to 1 796 , chosen be cause those were the matu re and v i tal years of h i s personal l i fe . 6 1956 I n the early spri ng of 1956 , the staff for the fi rst season ' s opera­ t i on was sel ected .

Kermi t Hunter was to be produ cer .

Dr . Samuel Sel d on ,

head of the Department of Drama t i c Arts at the Uni vers i ty of North Carol i na , was to serve as Produ cti on Advi sor. produ cti on ' s d i rector . des i gner.

Herman Mi ddl eton took on the task of s cene

Jay Ll oyd of New York C i ty and "The Ed Sul l i van Show" was

engaged as ch oreographer .

6

Mr . Robert Tedder wa s to be the

Other staff members were gradual l y i n corporated

" Fina l Kin ks I roned Ou t for Chu cky Jack Show , " The Knoxvi l l e Jou rnal ( Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee ) , June 1 7, 1956 , p . 12A.

9 i n to the product i on ' s operati on .

I t was deci ded the fi rs t season wou l d

begi n June 2 2 and pl ay ni ghtly through September 1 , except Sundays . Ticket pri ces .were set at $1 . 50 , $2 . 00 , $2 . 50 , and $3 . 00 .

Al l seats

were reserved . . These pri ces rema i ned in effect every yea r Chucky Jack was presented . Tryouts were hel d on Sunday, Ma rch 18, 1956 , at the New Gatl i nburg I n n , the hotel operated by Mr. and Mrs . Mapl es . speaki ng parts .

There were seventeen

A number of ro l es represented actual persons assoc i a ted

wi th the John Sev i er story .

Many of the mi no r rol es were des i gned to

be f i l l ed by aspi ri ng performers from the nei ghborhood area . To aid i n the sel ecti on of actors , some ha l f dozen heads of drama and speech departments of area col l eges served as vol unteer judges for the aud i tions .

There were cand i dates reporti n g from a number of s ta tes .

Wh i l e the arti stic s taff was busy sel ecti n g the performers and con­ struction conti nued on the theatre faci l i ty , others were work i n g to get the wo rd out about the Gatl i n bu rg outdoo r drama dep i cti ng earl y Tennessee h i s tory . Bert Lei per, publ i c rel ations d i rector for Gatl i n bu rg Chamber of Co mmerce , was h i red to head up the pu b l i c i ty and promoti on campa i gn . conti nued i n thi s pos i ti on throu gh the fi nal season of Chucky Jack .

He Mr.

Lei per made use of a number of i n teresti ng as pects of the thea tre i n al l h i s promoti ons .

The fo l l owi n g news i tem poi nts th i s out:

When the theatre was des i gned , the number of seats came out exactly 2 501 . "If we ' d tri ed to plan that , i t wou l dn 't

10 have worked out , " s a i d Ma pl es . Bert Lei per . . . wa s qu i ck to ma ke use of the odd seat as an atten tion grabber . ? The ori g i na l product i on recei ved an enormous amou nt of publ i ci ty , a s d i d the Chu cky J a ck produ cti ons each year .

Duri ng the 1956 season ,

arti cl es about Hunter H i l l s Theatre and the Chu cky Jack story appeared i n the fol l owi ng publ i cati on s ;

Ameri can Ma ga z i ne; Ameri can Motori s t

Maga z i ne; As hevi l l e C i ti zen - As hev i l l e , North Caro l i na ; B i l l board C i n ci nnati , Ohio; Chattanooga News- Free Pres s - Chattanoo qa , Tennes see; C i nci nnati Post - C i n ci nnati , Oh i o; Co mmerci a l Appea l - Memph i s , Tenn­ essee;

Courant - Hartford , Connecti cut; Dal l as News - Da l l as , Texa s ;

The Demo crat - Greensboro , North Caro l i na ;· The Democrat - Lebanon , Tenness ee; The En terpri se - Harl an , Kentu cky; The Even i n q Star Wash i ngton , D . C.; Free Pres s - Ki n s ton , North Carol i na ; Greenevi l l e Sun ­ Greenev i l l e , Tennessee; Heral d Tri bune - New York , New York; Hol i da y Ma gaz i ne; Hotel Wo rl d Revi ew - New York , New Yo rk; The Journal Every­ Even i n g - Wi l m i ngton , Del aware; The Journal and Senti nel - Wi nston Sal em , No rth Carol i na ; Maryvi l l e Times - Maryv i l l e , Ten nes see; Memph i s Press­ Scimi tar - Memph i s , Tennes see; The Mes senger - Uni on C i ty , Tennes see; The Morn i n g Star-Tel egram - Fo rt Wo rth , Texa s ; The Morn i n g Sun Ba 1 ti more , Ma ryl and; The Na s hv i 1 1 e Tennes sean - Na s hv i l l e , Tennes see; The New York Times - New York , New York; News - Durant , r4i s s i ss i ppi ; News - Wel don , North Carol i na ; The News Journal - Murfrees boro , Tennes see;

? "Gatl i nburg Growi ng Wi th Many Add i t i onal R �creati on Fa ci l i ti es , " The Knoxvi l l e Journal ( Knoxvi l l e , Ten nes see ) , Apr1l 1 , 1956 , p . 14A .

11 The Oa k Ri dger - Oa k Ri dge , Tennes s ee; The Regi s ter - Des Mo i nes , Iowa; Star Journal - Long I s l and , New York; Travel U . S . A. Magazi ne; Tri bune - Thomasv i l l e , North Carol i na; Was h i naton D . C . News - Was h i ngton , D . C. ; and Worl d - Tu l s a , Okl ahoma . In add i tion , the comic s tri p " John Sev i er , ' No l i chucky Jack , ' An Ol d Gl ory Story , .. by Ri ck Fl etcher and Athena Robb i ns , was synd i cated by The Chi cago Tri bune and carri ed i n th itty-s i x papers over the Uni ted States .

Al so , l ocal l y 1 1 Chucky Jack ' s A-Comi n , 11 drawn by B i l l Oyer , ran i n

The Knoxv i l l e News -Senti nel i n twen ty-four i nstal l ments beg i n n i ng i n May 1956 , and was sol d as a . comi c book at the theatre fro m 1956-1 9 59. One of the mos t i nnovati ve types of publ i c i ty was used when the Great Smoky Mounta i ns H i s tori cal Associ ati on purchased a trackl ess trai n to transport v i s i tors to and from the theatre .

The fol l owi ng news account

expl ains : A Trackl es s Tra i n manufactured by the Na ti ona l Amu s emen t Dev i se Company , . Dayton , Oh i o , made a n overl and j a u n t from Dayton to Gatl i nburg , Tennes see , l as t week to bal l y (s i c ) the new Kermi t Hunter epi c drama Chuck Jac k . . . . The tra i n , compri s i ng a Di esel type ocomoti ve and two cars , wi l l be used . . . to trans port patrons to the out­ door theatre l ocated four mi l es from the heart of Gatl i n­ burg . Deal i nvol ved $1 5 , 600. 8

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The trai n conti nued to operate unti l Ju l y , 1 9 59 .

I t became qu i te a

touri s t del i ght and carri ed thousands of patrons each year from hotel s and res taurants to the theatre .

I t i s pres ently s ti l l i n use i n Gatl i nburg ,

used dai l y by cus tomers vi s i ti ng the s hops i n the downtown area .

8

11 Nat i ona l 's Tra i n Bal l y for Gatl i nbu rg ' s Outdoor Drama , " The Bi l l ­ board Maaazi ne , March 3 1 , 1 9 56 , p . 20 .

12 Bebe Kay Lus her wa s h i red as costumer .

She and Mrs . Ma pl es ,

a l ong wi th severa l vol unteers from the commun i ty , worked ni ght and day i n the basement of the New Gatl i nburg Inn , sewi n q on the 400 costumes to be u s ed i n the product i on .

Al l were ori g i nal des i gns and requ i red

constant up-keep and repa i r over the years . Di rector Tedder s e l ected h i s cast and rehears a l s began at 8 a . m . on the morn i ng of June 2 , 19 56.

A l i st of the fi rst company s taff and cast

appears in Ta bl e I I . Gun by Ru l e , reporter for The Knoxvi l l e News -Senti nel , v i s i ted the theatre duri ng the fi na l week of rehears a l s .

H i s report of the acti vi t i es

du ri ng those l as t few days before the open i ng he l p to po i nt out the ded i ca­ ti on and enth u s i asm of those i nvol ved in the first year acti vi ties . The hustl e and bustl e of l a s t mi nute prepara ti on was u pon Chucky Jack when The News Senti nel vi s i ted l as t week . Producer R . L . Mapl es had a host of deta i l s besett i n q h im , the mos t i mmedi ate bei ng t h e l ate d i s covery that' the stage woul d have to be covered wi th aspha l t that day . Al so the numbers to be stenci l ed on the seats . Di rector Bob Tedder s ti l l d i dn ' t know whether the scri pt wou l d f i t wi th i n the ti me l i mi ts . Severa l of the actors were sti l l wrestl i ng wi th thei r l i nes and the cha racteri zati ons of the famous fi qures they were to portray . El ectri ci ans swarmed over the huge l ayout of Hunter Hi l l s Theatre str i n gi ng wi re , tes ting l i ghts , s i gnal s , sound system and phones . Set ma kers were busy w i th hammer and bru s h i n the spac i ous works hop beneath one wi ng of the pl u s h dres s i n g rooms wi th ti l ed baths, numerous was h bowl s and i nd i v i dual ly l i ghted mi rrors . But the work was a l l go i n g forwa rd wi th vi gor and assuredness that the fi rs t pre vi e�tl of Chuckv Jack Tues day n i ght wou l d fi nd everythi n g i n i ts proper pl ace , every cue memor i zed--the who l e bus i ness ready to present to the publ i c for wh i ch i t wa s crea ted . 9

9

"You Wi l l Rel i ve Era of Pi oneers a t Chucky J ack , " The Knoxv i l l e News ­ Senti nel ( Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see ) , June 17 , 1956, p . C-3 .

13 TABLE I I CHUCKY JAC K STAFF AND CAST , 1956

STAFF Di recto r - Robert Tedder Mus i c - Jack F . Ki l oatri ck Techn i ca l Di rector � D . C . �1u l l i ns Production Advi ser - Samuel Se l don Dance D i rector - Wi l l i am Lewi s Setti ngs - Herman Mi d dl eton Chora l D i rector - Robert Strobel L i ghti ng - Raymond Pu sey Pro perti es - John E . Hanby Cos tumes - Bebe Kay Lusher . Choreographer - Jay Ll oyd Stage Ma nager - Tom Keati ng As s i s tant Costumer - El i zabeth Savage As s i stant State Manager - Nate Way 11 No One Has �la rked Harder1 1 - Mrs . �4i l ma Ma pl es

CAST El i zabeth Savage Henry Joyner James Maddux James Mee Wa l ter Sumner Betty Ro bi n son Bryan Harri s Ph i l Pl easants Hal Chri sti ansen Maxi ne Kennedy Norma Sykes John Stoya Don Moore Hershel Netherton An i ta Barker Dorothy Donal dson Frank l i n Moody Donnel l Stoneman Burt Breazea l e Gertrude Denni s Pa t Gi bson John Fau l kner Nate Way Agnes Ha nby Ri chard Herd Martha M . Lewi s Frederi c Hinter Mar i am Obensch a i n Peter Banus Hel en Proffi tt Vi ncen t Denn i s John Turner Al Sha kl eton Robert StrobeT Ri chard Bunti ng Joseph i ne Sharkey

Judy Sm i th Emeran Way Hazel Way George Proffi tt J i nmy Gal bra i th Rob i n Yergi n Ri ch ard \4ay James Byers Cl aude Da l ton Kenneth Fau l k Joe Harv i l l George McLa i n J. T . Owenby Edd i e Reece James Shu l er Howard Vogel G i no Aversa Ann Brewer

Ethel Capps El l en Carey Patri ci a Cooper John Cri pps Teta Eubank Patri c i a Frank Deborah Jouri tt Frederi ck Kaugman Bi l l Lewi s Terence Murphy Ra l ph Rob i nson Robert Sc hwa rtz Ph i l l i pa Simpson Mary Sn i der Ann Ta l l ey

Sou rce : Chucky Jack Souven i r Program , 1956, The Ma pl es Col l ect i on , The Gatl i nburg Inn, Gatlin burg , Tennes see .

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14 Mr . Ru l e con ti nued h i s arti cl e by s ta ti ng what the production mea nt to the vari ou s i nd i v i dual s . To Mr . �1apl es and the Great Smoky Mounta i n s H i s torical Commi s s i on , i t is the real i zati on of a dream that started more than a year ago wi th the sel ect i on of the s i te . . . . To Kermi t Hunter , the author , Chucky Jack , i s the corwn i n g achi evement o f a l i fe devoted l argely to the creati on of ou tdoor drama To D i rector Tedder , Chucky Jack i s i n h i s own word s , 1 1The bi ggest cha l l enge I ' ve ever faced , and we have the fi nest cast I ' ve ever worked wi th . There are 75 men and women here a l l wi l l i ng to press hard to the i r tas k . I hope we can bri ng a l l the drama tha t i s i n the scri pt . .. To the vari ous members of the cas t , Chucky J ack i s an opportun i ty to be heard and seen by thou sands of peo pl e . For some i t doubtl ess wi l l be a step toward Broadway or Hol l ywood . To l ots and l ots of guys named Joe , Chucky Jack h a s been a job-- pl a sterers , 9ardeners , el ectric i ans , carpen­ ters , ma sons , engi neers . The y have had a hand in getti ng the s how ready . To the peopl e of Gatl i nburg and i n a l arger sense to the peopl e of Eas t Tennes see and \�es tern North Carol i na , Chucky Jack i s an attract i on that i t i s hoped wi l l bri ng in more and more touri s ts to an area where the touri st trade i s one of the stronqest forces of economy. To you who may be read i ng thi s , Chucky Jack i s a s how , a drama based on the l i fe of Tennessee's fi rst governor , John Sev i er . . . . I t i s a l so an opportun i ty for a fami l y outi ng , a pl easant summer even i n g experi ence for young and ol d . 10 •

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The mu si c for the show was wri tten by Jac k F. Ki rkpatr i c k , who had wri tten the score for Unto These Hi l l s .

Ori g i na l l y wri tten for s ymphon i c

orches trati on to be recorded by the Knoxvi l l e Symphony Orchestra , i t was chan ged to organ accompan iment because there were not enough members of the symphony avai l abl e in the summer of ' 5 6 to make the record i ng . Final l y , the mus i c was recorded at the Sequoyah Hi l l s Presbyteri an Church i n Knox vi 1 1 e wi th Maur i ce Doug 1 as Pederson p 1 ayi ng the r-1oe 1 1 er orn,an a t the church .

10

The s i ng i n g was done by the Knoxv i l l e Col l ege Octet .

11You Wi l l Rel i ve Era , 1 1 op. ci t .

15 There were no records kept of the ded i cati on s peech gi ven openi ng n i ght.

However , Ma l co l m Mi l l er , wri ti ng for The Knoxv i l l e Journal recorded

wha t took pl ace on that fi rst open i ng n i ght at Hunter Hi l l s . Edward A . Humme l , superi ntendent of the Great Somky Mounta i n s National Pa rk , was mas ter of ceremon i es . He presented Reverend Spurgeon McCa rtt , of Gatl i n burg Method i s t Church , who ga ve the i nvocati on a t 8 : 28 p. m. Hummel then i n troduced Mr . and Mrs . R . L . Ma p l es , payi ng Mr . Map l es a gl owi n g tri bute as the dri v i n g force that made Chucky Jack poss i bl e . As pres i den t of The Great Smoky Mountains H i s torical Associ a t i on , Inc . , he fi nanced the con s truct i on of the theatre . After Kermi t Hunter , the au thor of Chuckl Jack , and Mrs . Hunter were presen ted , Knoxvi l l e's Ra ph W . Fros t was i n troduced . H e read the ded i catory address . 1 1 Mr . Mi l l er conti nued wi th a review o f that f i r s t performance . The drama i s we l l paced . Scene changes bl end i nto each other , thanks to the two revo l v i n g s ta ges and the i n ter­ ven i ng act i n g area s . Costumi nq i s au thenti c and col orfu l � the dances are s p i ri ted , al though some of.them approach the techni que of Rus s i an bal l et rather than the da nces of the area and per i od . Performances of the en t i re cast are excel l en t , from the v i brant narrati on of Henry Joyner to the characteri zati ons beg i nn i ng wi th " Samu el Doa k" to the "Mrs . Bl ount" of Dorothy Donal dson . Wal ter Sumner i s br i l l i ant i n the l ong, tax i ng rol e of "J ohn Sev i er;" Norma Sykes i s convi nci ng as " Catheri ne Sev i er;" Ri chard Herd i s a grand vi l l i an as "John Ti pton;" and Freder i c Wi nter i s an appeal i ng "Ol d Ta s sel , " the fa i thfu l I nd i an . Chucky Jack shou l d g i ve pl ea sure to audi ences through many summers i n Ga tl i n burg . 1 2 Other rev i ews o f that f i r s t season ' s producti on heaped prai s e o n the efforts of the ori gi nal s taff a nd cas t .

11

Mr . Alfred Mynders of The

" r1u s i c and Drama , " The Knoxvi l l e Journal ( Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee ) , June 24, 1956, p . 13A . 12

I bi d .

16 Chattanooga Times reported: The drama abounds in thrills but coiTillendable restraint is shown . . . . There are numerous Hunter touches. For instance, a stranger introduces himself to a leading character. The man has a little boy by the hand and the boy wears a coon-skin cap. The man says 11I am Crockett, and this is my son David.11 Loud applause from the audience The fine cast was letter-perfect, showing The costuminq the skillful direction of Robert Tedder. defies description. The linsey gowns of the women in beautiful shades, the buckskin and hunting jackets of the pioneer hunters fill the three stages with colors which blend into the qreen of the foothills of the Great Smokies. The dances are unique and the musical back­ ground, by Jack Kilpatrick, the Cherokee Indian who wrote the music for Unto These Hills keeps the mood of the frontier. The narrator is Henry Joyner, who did a similar service for Unto These Hills and who appeared in Walt Disney•s picture David Crockett. 13 .

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The first season continued with favorable acceptance, good attendance, _excellent publicity and promotion efforts, and the drive and excitement generated by any theatrical production. The drama was highly successful in its first outin�.

Things had gone

smoothly and it appeared the show would become the yearly attraction that Mr. Maples had envisioned.

The final performance of the original cast was

given on September 1, 1956. In the fall of that year, Mr. Maples made the following facts about the first season public in an open letter to the people of Gatlinburg. As of the Season of 1956 on the payroll of Chucky Jack were 125 people, and of this number 85 were in the cast. This group consisted of college students, university professors, professional actors and others in crowd scenes. They came from many states over the country. The payroll of the 1956 season was $65,000.00 plus, of

13 11N.ext to News,11 The Chattanooqa Times (Chattanooga, Tennessee), June 23, 1956, p. 4.

17 wh ich mo st was spent i n Gatl i n burg . These peopl e were al so hou s ed and fed here . Some 45,000 peopl e saw thi s s how i n 1956 and many were i n thi s area for that sol e purpose . Pract i cal ly everyone wi th hous i ng fa ci l i ti es i n . the v i c i n i ty to l d u s persona l l y of th i s add i t i onal bus i ness . So , wi th t h i s b i t of i n formati on, we ga ther the s how d i d an awfu l l ot of good and we are certa i nly expecti ng it to exceed any and a l l expectations in the seasons to come . 14 .

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It l ooked 1 i ke-'{;huck--y.·-Jac k was on i ts way to becomi ng a 1 1 hi t . 1 1 .

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'1 957

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W i th one 11 good 11 season beh i nd them, the Chucky Jack peopl e were ready to j ump i n to the acti v i t y of the second sea son wi th con ti nued hope for success i n a l l areas of the theatre operati on . Des pi te �he optimi sm generated by the first 11 good1 1 season, there were probl ems wi th the producti on .

For one th i ng, the scr i pt had never

ful l y sati sfi ed many who were a s soci ated wi th the producti on .

Th ere were

probl ems wi th i ts l ength, some the characters weren ' t drawn rea l i s ti cal l y enough, and many o f the scenes �ved much s l ower than they s hou l d . The mus i c was another unac ceptabl e el ement .

·

I t was dec i d ed early i n

the pl ann i ng that l i ve organ accompaniment wou l d be provi ded for the second season .

The en t i re mu s i cal score was rewri tten by Dr . Ki l patr i c k .

A

s peci a l l y tra i ned chorus was added as we l l . More dance segments were needed.

A new open i ng scene depicting a

Creek I nd i an dance ba sed on ceremon i a l dances of the tri be wa s wri tten to hel p i n add i n g spectac l e to the show .

Mark Ryder of New York s erved as

the choreographer .

14

Letter, Mr . R . L. Ma pl es to the Ci ti zens of Gatl i nburg, Fa l l , 1956, The Ma p l es Col l ection, The Gatl i nburg Inn, Gatl i n burg, Tennes see .

18 Herman M i dd l eton, who s erved as the fi rs t seas on's scene des i gner, ·was sel ected to d i rect Chucky Jack the second year. served as h i s a s s i stan t .

Charl es A . Horton

Mi ddl eton concentrated on h i ri ng an acti ng

company that wou l d be even better than the fi rst year ' s compa ny. tryouts at the t hea tre on Apri l 6 , 1957 .

He hel d

Pri or to that da te, however ,

Mi ddl eton met wi th pro specti ve ca s t members i n Charl o tte and Chapel Hi l l , North Carol i na; Barberv i l l e and Lou i sv i l l e, Ken tucky; and other l oca l es v i s i ted by h i m and Horton .

Concern i ng the tryou ts and ca s t i ng, i t was

la. te r reported : Mr . M i d d l eton covered more than ei ght s tates i n h i s que s t for ta l en t . Three thousand mi l es l ater h e found the pl ayers for C hucky J ack . They came from Kentucky, Del aware, North Carolina, Pennsyl van i a, New York, New Jersey, Fl orida, and Tennes see . . . . . Amo ng them i s Leonore Doroma l , a schoo l teacher 5 and n i ece of the Pre s i dent of .the Phi l l i ppi nes . 1 The sel ecti on of the actor to pl ay John Sev i er wa s of part i cu l ar i nterest to Knoxv i l l i a ns .

A na ti ve son was chosen for the rol e.

Al though

he was a l ready l i v i ng in New York and work i ng as an actor there, he returned to h i s home s tate for the a s s i gnment .

Pa t F i el ds, wri ti ng for

The Knoxvi l l e Journa l , gave the fo l l ow i n g facts about the sel ect i o n of the actor for the l ead role for the 1957 ca s t: John C. Cul l um, pi cked by Middl eton for the ti tl e ro l e _after travel i ng some 3000 mi l es . . . and l i s ten i ng to more than 300 readi ngs of the part, i s a nati ve of Knox­ vi l l e . On ly s i x feet-one i nch i n hei ght , he wi l l never­ thel ess have no troubl e fi l l i ng the moccas i n s of the p i oneeri ng John Sev i e r .

15 T h e Gatl i nburg Press (Gatl i nburg, Tenness ee), Augu s t 2 9, 1957, The Ma pl es Co l lecti on, The Gatl i nburg I nn, Gatl i nburg, Ten nessee .

19 An accompl i s hed young acto r , j u s t ma k i ng a name for h i ms el f on the New York stage , Cul l um was re­ commended for t he part by Dr. Pau l So per , who watched h i s ta l en t grow in Un i vers i ty of Tennes s ee and Carousel Theatre producti ons . 16 John Cul l um l a ter became the mo st succes s fu l actor to ever have worked on the Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre s tage .

He cont i nued h i s career i n

thea tre after the 1957 season and i n 1975 won the Tony award for Bes t Actor i n a Mu s i cal for h i s ro l e i n the mus i ca l �henondoah, .

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Selecti on of the 1957 cas t was fi nal l y compl eted and rehears a l s began June 3rd wi t h the open i ng performance s chedu l ed for June 21s t . The staff and ca s t for the s econd s eason are l i sted i n Tabl e I I I . One o f the ta s k s fac i ng Mr . Hu n ter i n h i s rewri tes was t o create new names for s ome of the h i s tori ca l pers onage s presen ted i n the f i rst year•s s cr i pt .

Des cendants o f men named i n some of the more uncompl imentary

rol es were threaten i ng l aw su i ts i f someth i nq was not done to change the i mage of thei r rel at i ves as depi cted i n the produ ct i on.

Thes e were the

characters John Ti pton , who became Enos B radford (a f i cti ci ous name) , and Joe Carney , who became Joe Hami l ton in the scri pt rev i s i on . Mr . Map l es rema i ned acti ve duri ng the preparati on per i od for the 1957 season .

Bes i des fu rn i s h i ng a hors e for John Cu l l um to r i de as Tenn essee•s fi rs t governor--and teach i ng h i m to r i d e i t- -Mapl es has eng i neered many i mprovemen ts on approaches to the mou nta i n arena. ihe park i n g l ot has been enl arged and pl ann i n g made for eas i er man agemen t o f crowds . Thousands of hol lyhocks pl anted cl ay banks l i n i ng the pa rki ng area are in bloom thi s year for the So are 1100 scarl et sage and 3000 petu n i a fi rst t i me .

16

11New Faces , B i 9 Men Due For Chucky Jack Opener , .. The Knoxv i 11 e J ourna1 (Knoxv i l l e , Ten nes see} , June 16 , 1957, p. lOA.

20 TABLE I I I CHUCKY JACK STAFF AND CAST , 1957

STAFF Di rector - Herman Mi ddl eton Mu s i c - Jack F . Ki l patri ck Choreographer - Mark Ryder As s i stant Di rector - Charl es A . Horton Choral Di rector - Robert Strobel Propert i es - John E . Hanby Stage Manager - Tom Keati ng Techn i cal Di rector - D . C . Mu l l i ns Cos tumes - El i za beth Savage 11No One Has Worked Harder11 - Mrs . Wi l ma Mapl es CAST Henry Joyner John Shel don Thomas Dorsey Mark Ryder Wi l bur Dorsett John Cul l um Dav i d As hburn Carl Ka i ser Ann Mendel sohn Ann Dumaresq Del wi n Dusenbury Carrol l Bri tch Nate Way Ri chard Benson Mary Kate Johnson Les ter Badenoch V i ncent Denni s Dan i el Li nney Ri chard Bunti ng Syl v i a As hby Al v i n Strom

Suzanne Kozak Newton Neely Max i ne Keati nq Jack Pearl man Larry Gu pton Emma Sue Phel ps Mary Lee Al dridge Peggy Carrol l R i chard Col e Gertrude Denni s Lyd i a Dorsel l Al l en Entz John Fau l kner Larry Gupton A�mes Hanby Joe Harvi l l e Susan Horton Kenneth Ki l l i brew Dan i el Li nney Gerry Matthews Amel i a Middl eton Charl es N i col l

Mari am Oberscha i n Joyce Og l e Hi l ma Ogl e Emma Sue Phel ps George Profi tt Al Shackl eton James \oJa 1 ker Hazel Way Emeran Way N i na �Jheel ey Dav i d Dors ett Mary Dors ett J i mmy Gal bra i th Dav id Middleton Kathy M i ddl eton Ri c hard Hay Robert Yerg i n Stamps Brock Cl aude Da l ton Robert Engl i s h Au s t i n Green Hal Pi ttard

Edd i e Reece Carl Sel tzer J i m Shul ar Wi l l i am Stone Jemima Ben-Gal Har vey Bernard Carol e B i ns Anne Brewer �1ary Carri gan John Cri pps r�yron Curt i s Susan Horton L i 1 1 i an Smi th Elenore Fi tz-Gerald Richard Fi tz-Gera l d Fri tz Hes s Barbara Hol tzman Timothy LaFarqe Charl es Ni col l Harol d Pi ttard Lou i s e Shel ton

Source : 11Mus i c and Drama , .. The Knoxv i l l e Journal ( Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see ) , June 23 , 1957 , p . 3 -A .

21 pl ants set out th i s s pri ng . Rhododendron , i n i ts natura l sett i ng , i s coo perati ng . 11 l t ' s go i ng to be a qreat season for everybody-­ aud i ences and pl ayers al i ke , 11 the producer bel i eves . 11And we ' re al ways on the l ookout for new i deas from other areas where the outdoor drama has been estab l i s hed l onger . 11 Nati ves of Ga tl i nburg seem to fi nd members of the acti ng · profes s i on 11fi t i n here l i ke homefol ks . 11 1 7 Mrs . Mapl es and Bert Lei per were . concerned wi th another endeavor wh i ch was to have worl d wide effects . of John Sev i er .

They began by compi l i ng names of decendants

Before the season began they had names of decendants i n

various parts of the country and abroad .

I t was soon announced tha t a

fami l y reu n i on of the Sevi er fami l y wou l d take pl ace .

One such announcement

i nd i cated that 300 fami l i es from 36 states and Was h i ngton D . C . , Mex i co , Austra l i a , and Turkey wou l d be i nv i ted to the gatheri ng to be Ju l y 2 -4 . As guests of the As soc i ati on , they woul d be treated to a s pec i a l s howi ng of Chucky Jac k and Governor Frank Cl ement wou l d be the gues t s pea ker for the affa i r .

Thi s was the beg i nn i ng of the popu l ar Sev i er Fami l y Reun i ons

wh i ch are sti l l bei ng hel d . There were 2 , 000 i nteres ted fqnS i n attendance on .the 1 9 57 season open i ng ni ght .

Aga i n , favorabl e rev i ews were g i ven .

Chucky Jac k opened here ton i ght under beauti fu l star-l i t s ki es and wi th a l arge crowd i n attendance . The audi ence was very enthu s i as t i c and the performance moved smoothl y . Henry Joyner served as narrator , and d i d a n espec i a l l y fi ne job . John Cul l um , o f Knoxv i l l e , i n the rol e of John Sev i er , gave a mov i ng portrayal wh i ch wa s a d i sti nct h i t wi th the aud i ence . Wi l bur Dorsett , i n the rol e of Samuel Doa k , has an espec i a l l y good vo i ce . Al l the pri nc i pa l members of the cas t gave outstand ing performances .

17

11 New Faces , B i g �1en , 11 op . c i t .

22 The costumes were col orfu l and beaut i fu l . Changes of stage sets were made q u i ckly and the dances were very effecti ve , and the audi ence reaction was spl end i d . 18 The fi rst major cas t change wi th i n a season occurred duri ng the s econd year of product i on .

On July 23 , i t was announced that Knoxv i l l e ' s Sue Carol

Dav i s wou l d ta ke over the ro l e of Bonny Kate Sev i er wh i ch had been ori g i nal l y ass i gned to a New York actress , Ann Mendel sohn . Mi s s

No reason was g i ven for

Mendel sohn ' s departure . By the f i rst of Augu s t , reports began to appear of i ncreased attendance

over the past year .

The s how was drawi ng some 20 percent more peopl e .

�1apl es fel t that Chucky Jack was the "only ma,jor cu l tur�l offeri ng i n Eas t Tennessee" and was pl eased to report that on a g i ven n i ght " of 170 au tomobi l es counted in the theatre park i ng l ot , 1 2 5 of them were from out of s tate . " 1 9 The excel l ent publ i ci ty for the s how conti nued to b e a major con tri but i on to the i ncrease i n attendance .

In The Nas hv i l l e Tennessean

Sunday Maga z i ne a cover story rel ated the benefi ts that a summer outdoor theatre prov ided for actors and actresses i nvol ved i n such producti ons . Barbara Hol tzman i s a young dancer-actress . Yet she does not po und hot pavement between Broadway d i rector ' s offi ces nor does s he wa i t near an anx i ou s Hol lywood tel ephone . . . . Barbara , a 20-year-o l d graduate of New York ' s Metro­ po l i tan Bal l et s chool , has d i scovered the Tennessee­ Kentucky-Carol i na -Vi rg i n i a " pagean t ci rcu i t . " She d i dn ' t ma ke the d i scovery al one . Several hundred young men and women from every corner

18

"Chucky Jack Opens Under Starry S ky , 11 The Knoxv i l l e Journal ( Knox­ v i l l e , Tennessee) , June 22 , 1957, p . 1 2 . 19

11Attendance Increa s i ng at Chucky Jack Pl ay , " The Chattanooga News - Free Pres s ( Chattanooga , Tennessee), Augu s t 6 , 1 967 , p . 5.

23 of the country are wi nd i ng u p the i r f i rs t summer • s work i n the bl ossomi ng outdoor drama i ndustry . Some are untra i ned nov i ces but the majori ty are col l ege kids testi ng techni ques l earned on a hundred stages from Seattl e to Sebri ng . They earn at l east $45 a week . They fi nd ou t what i t • s l i ke to put on s i x s hows a week--week after week--before l i ve , cri ti cal aud i ences who pay hard co i n to get i n . Some , l i ke Barbara , �0e members of the Chucky Jack cast at Gatl i nburg . In the same art i cl e , Herman M i ddl eton was quoted on other l earn i ng aspects of such theatre .

He al so made comments on the aud i ences

attend i ng outdoor theatre product i ons . 11He pl ay to more than 50 , 000 persons duri ng a s ummer , .. says Herman M i dd l eton , Chucky Jack d i rector . · 11�le mu st g i ve these peopl e a good , profess i onal performance . .. Middl eton admi ts that s ummer theatre aud i ences have a tendency to be 11more ki nd l y.. than the usual audi ence . .. In . one of our e_ a rl i er performances one of our • Ind i ans • l os t h i s breechcl oth duri ng a dance routi ne , .. Middl eton sa i d . 11Nobody l aughed and by tactfu l use of our l i ghting we managed to get h i in offs tage . Every now and then , too , one of our prop gi rl s gets caught on s tage when the l i ghts come on . . . 2I Even wi th thi ngs worki ng as smoothly as they seem to have been wi th the med i a coverage , i ncreased audi ences , and good performances , there were probl ems keepi ng the product i on from total succes s .

One of these

probl ems appears to have been the l ack of l ocal support .

In an open

l etter to Gatl i nburg peopl e , Sue Cox po i nted out th i s probl em: The ci ti zens of Gatl i nburg have rece i ved a g i f t . Have we accepted i t graci ously? Are we proud o f the $200 , 000 i nvestment that has been made to bri ng to

20

11Where It Pays to Pl ay , .. The Nas hv i l l e Tennessean Sunday Magaz i ne

( Nas hvi l l e , Tennessee ) , August 18 , 1 957 , p . 1 2 . 21

Ib i d . , p. 1 3 .

24 the border of our ci ty one of the h i ghest forms of cu l tu ra l enterta i nment--110ur Chucky Jack11 ( s i c ) drama . Our summer v i s i tors who know about i t and s ee i t are pl eased . For everyone that knows about and sees i t , there are about ten who know noth i nqabou t i t , and don • t see i t . Why s hou l d we want our v i s i tors to s ee thi s drama ? What can i t mean to each of u s persona l l y? The season of 1956 afforded 45 , 000 persons the opportun i ty of see i n g the drama . The opera t i ng cost l as t year was $75 , 000 . Noth i ng gai ned --nothi ng l os t fi nanc i al l y , except the $25 , 000 that was requ i red to open the drama . Th i s year the drama i s doi ng 20% more bu s i nes s . Mos t bus i ness peopl e of Gatl i nburg know that th i s organ i zati on i s a non -profi t , c i v i c venture , i ncor­ porated under the l aws of Tennes see i n such a way that al l net profi ts over and above the ori g i na l i n vest­ ment and cost of operation , wou l d go to i mprove Gatl i nburg . I f we peopl e of the town ta l k our drama and sel l the i dea i n our hotel s , motel s , res taurants , s erv i ce s tati ons , g i ft s hops , etc . , l i ke the peopl e of the Chero kee ta l k Unto These H i l l s , we can i ncrease that tota l recei pts of $75 , 000 to $1 7 5 , 000 yearly and thus in three years time we can add to $ 50 , 000 a season for town improvements . 2 2 A ti c ket sal es promotion campa i gn began .

Award s of $ 1 5 . 00 , 1 st pri ze ,

and $5 . 00 , 2nd pri z e , were g i ven to busi nesses sel l i ng the mos t ti ckets each week .

The categori es were Restaurants and Shops , Motel s more than

ten uni ts , Motel s ten uni ts or l es s , and Hotel s . The second s eason had i ts fi na l performance on September 1 s t and by September lOth news of financ i a l trou bl e i n the annual production of the s how was made publ i c . fi nanc i al su pport .

A meet i ng was hel d to d i scuss the need for

The meeti ng was announced i n The Knoxv i l l e News -

Senti nel . A commi ttee of ten has been appo i n ted to study the pos s i b i l i ti es for sav i ng Gatl i n burg • s outdoor

22

11Let I s Accept Our G i ft :·� The Gatl i n bu rg . Press Ul�tl tnbur9 , Tenn-:·· · ' essee } ? ·· August 1 � 19 57 , . p, 3 , · · · · · ·

25 h i stori cal drama , Chucky Jac k , wh i ch i s s ti l l i n the red fi nanci al l y . Peg O ' Bri en was named chai rman at a meeti ng i n the C i v i c Center here l as t ni ght cal l ed by The Great Smoky Mou nta i n s H i s tor i cal As soc i ation . R . L . Mapl es , pres ident of the as soc i ation , was not present for the meet i ng . Kermi t Hunter , who acted as s po kesman , said Mapl es tol d him he thought the peopl e wou l d s peak more freel y i f he were not present . 23 Later , another commi ttee was named to en l i s t fi nanc i a l and l ocal support of the Chuc ky Jack drama .

Serv i ng on th i s commi ttee were

Brownl ow Reagan , Sue Cox , Di ck Wha l ey , B i l l Po stl ewa i te , Tom Woods , Hatt i e Ogl e , J i m Trotter , Joe Hagewood , Pau l Cox , Van Og l e , Rev . Charl es Mapl es , Tommy Hughes , Woody Luther , and Al an Stal cu l p . By October 10 , pl ans were announced for the fund ra i s i ng campa i gn : Pl ans for ra i s i ng $60 , 000 to fi nance the presentatt�m of Chucky Jack duri ng the 1 958 season were formu l ated · at a meeti ng of the Chuck¥ Jac k Sponsor i ng Commi ttee Monday even i ng i n the Ci v 1 c Aud i torium. The 20 commi ttee members and guests devel oped pl ans for expandi ng i ts acti v i ti es , assumi ng res pon ­ s i b i l i ty for su pervi s i on and execu t i on of the s how , a s tepped -up promoti onal program , w i n n i ng wi der su pport and securi ng the sol i d bac k i ng of area bus i ness and c i vi c i nterests . A re-exami nati on of the pl ay i tsel f was d i scu ssed , wi th the i dea of ma k i ng i t more appeal i ng and i nteresti ng to al l cla s ses of vi ewers . Some thought was gi ven to al so setti ng u p on the theatre grounds a d i spl ay of cra ft produ cts made i n the East Tennessee area i n order to stimul ate i nterest i n these products . 24 The accoun t conti nued wi th the announcemen t that "many fi rms i n surrou ndi ng commu n i t i es and in Knoxv i l l e wi l l be as ked to contri bute to the

23

"Chucky Jack Fol d i ng Feared , " The Knoxv i 1 1 e News -Senti nel ( Knox­ v i l l e , Tennessee ) , September 1 0 , 1 957 , p . 1 1 . 24 The Gatl i n burg Press ( Gatl i n burg , Tennessee ) , October 10 , 1957 , The Mapl es Col l ecti on , The Gatl i nburg Inn , Gatl i nburg , Tennessee .

26 fu nd . "

It wa s al so i nd i cated tha t "descendents of John Sev i er .

wi l l be g i ven an opportu n i ty to contri bu te to s u pport the h i s tori ca l drama based on the l i fe of the i r i l l u stri ous forebearer . .. Al though there are no more accounts of the acti v i t i es of the Sponsor­ i ng Commi ttee or the campa i gn and fund ra i s i ng , i t mu s t be assumed tha t e i ther the i r efforts were s ucces s ful or the fi nanc i a l bac k i ng was found el sewhere and by other means .

On February 2 , 1 9 58 , i t wa s announced i n

The Knoxv i l l e News -Senti nel that the Great Smoky Moun ta i n s Hi stori ca l As s oci ati on wou l d be presenti ng Chucky Jack aqa i n i n the s ummer of 1 9 58 . . '1 958 Al thoug h the fi nanc i a l cri s i s of the ' 57 season had dampened s p i ri ts somewhat , members of the As soc i ati on l ooked forward to ma k i ng the th i rd s eason the bes t yet .

Aga i n , they had l earned from the second season many

th i ngs they cou l d use to an advantage i n i mprov i ng the produc ti on . The open i ng was s et for June 20 and as early as February Kermi t Hunter wa s aga i n streaml i n i ng the scri pt i n an effort to bri ng i t under two hours i n performance , i nc l ud i ng a 1 5 mi nute i ntermi s s i on .

Repres entati ves

of the Assoc i at i on were screen i ng actors in New York i n an effort to get some of the bes t profes s i onal ta l ent ava i l abl e . Dur i ng the f i rs t two s easons Chuc ky Jack had pl ayed to 80 , 000 but l arger crowds were needed .

The Associ ation had determined that i t wou l d

have to attract 100 , 000 peopl e per season to keep u p wi th expenses .

They

had a l ong way to go to reach that goa l , but they used the same dri ve and determi nati on that had gotten them through the f i rs t two seasons and conti nued to be encouraged about the future . The thi rd person to hol d the pos i ti on of di rec tor was a young Texan

27 He came to Hunter Hi l l s wi th more experi ence i n

named Edgar Loes s i n .

outdoor drama than any of the prev i ou s d i rectors and had hel ped d i rect Unto These H i l l s duri ng that producti ons fi rst three years .

Chuc ky Jack

was the fi fth ou tdoor drama he had d i rected . Loess i n hel d l ocal aud i ti ons �1arch 3 1 at the New Gatl i n burg I nn . Pri or to that the screen i ngs i n New York had ta ken pl ace .

I n al l more

than 300 peopl e were aud i t i oned . There i s some i nd i cati on that John Cul l um was offered the ro l e of John Sev i er aga i n .

One early account of the casti ng efforts i ndi cated

that Mr . Cul l um was "now i n New York and pl ann i ng for a job i n summer s toc k . n 25 In searc h i ng for his cas t , Loes s i n i nd i cated that he pl anned to use '

many Uni vers i ty of Tennessee s tudents i n the producti on .

Thi s was the

fi rst menti on of Un i vers i ty of Tennessee drama students performi ng at the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre . Joseph Card i , a profes s i onal actor from New York , became the f i rs t non - Tennessean to pl ay the ro l e o f John Sev i er . from the Ne i ghborhood Pl ayhouse in New York c i ty .

He came to Gatl i n burg Others i n the th i rd

season cast i ncl uded Mark Sev i er , a d i rec t descendent of the state ' s fi r s t governor .

I n the rol e o f James Sev i er , s o n of Chuc ky Jac k by h i s f i r s t

wi fe , Mark was a profess i onal actor who had mos t recentl y been i nvol ved i n producti on s at the Al l ey Theatre i n Hou s ton . The d i vers i ty of the cas t aga i n th i s year prov i ded i n teres ti ng news copy .

They came from Was h i ngton , South Da kota , Fl ori da , and �·1assachu setts

25

" New D i rector Ta kes Hel m of Chuc ky Jack , " The Knoxv i l l e Journal

( Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee ) , Apri l 1 7 , 1 958 , p . 3 .

28 as wel l as Scotl and , Engl and , Spai n , and Canada .

I t was reported that ,

36 had prev i ou s l y appeared in outdoor dramas and 3 5 had TV product i on experi ence .

Sti l l , others were of var i ed non performing occupati ons

such as bas ketba l l coach , TVA eng i neer , farmer , hous ewi fe and so on . The staff and cast for 1958 are l i sted i n Tabl e I V . Wi th the cas t i n g compl eted , Loes s i n began rehearsal s o n J une 2 . The box offi ce opened earl i er than usual .

On May 29 , Mapl es

reported that the advance ti c ket orders and i nqu i r i es for the com i ng season had far surpassed such i nqu i r i es for the prev i ou s two producti ons of the drama � Two new a pproaches to gett i ng l ocal su pport and i nteres t were tri ed . One i nnovat i on was the Gatl i nburg Area Ni ghts .

The Assoc i ation i nv i ted

re s i dents of the Gatl i n burg area to the fi nal two dress rehearsa l s free of charge .

Al so , addi ti onal b ox offi ces bu i l t .to resembl e covered wagons

were pl aced abou t the town and ti c ket des ks were promi nent in the hotel s and motel s . I n the area of adverti sement , members of the cast a ppeared at vari ous functi ons and estab l i s hments to promote the produc ti on .

Si ngers and

dancers , for exampl e , made appearances i n Knoxv i l l e to drum up support . By the time the press was i nv i ted to rehearsal s , the number of overal l changes in the producti on were ev i den t .

Mal col m Mi l l er concentrated

on these changes i n h i s rev i ew for The Knoxvi l l e Journa l . Wi th the cast of pri nci pal s reduced from 29 to 13 , the personnel of ensembl es cut from 93 to 38 , and the drama rev i sed and shortened so that i t moves more exped i t i ous l y , thi s season ' s vers ion of Chucky Jack i s con s i derably improved over the two prev i ou s producti ons . No l onger l i sted as pri nc i pa l s are the Narrator , Cree k Ind i an C h i ef , Creek War Dancer , Wi l l i am Cocke ,

29 TABLE IV CHUCKY JAC K STAFF AND CAST , 1 958

STAFF Mus i c - Jack F . Ki l patr i c k Add i t i onal Mus i c - Charl es F . Bryan Di rector - Edgar R . Loess i n Choreographer - Wi l l i am H . Hooks Scen i c Des i gner - Herman Middl eton Organ i st - Lou Ann Wi l l i ams �1u s i c D i rector - Robert Strobel L i ghti ng Di rector - Robert Hennon Property Master - Wayne Begl ey Techn i c a l Di rector - John E . Hanby Costumes - Max i ne Keati ng Product i on Stage Manager - Nate Way Stage Manager - Thomas Keati ng Sound Eng i neer - A . T . Henderson Ass i stant Techn i ca l Di rector - Cl i fford Smi th El ectri c i a n - John Lambrecht CAST Joseph Card i Katheri ne L i nd James Maddux Ri chard Herd V i ncent Denn i s Mayme Wal ker Rogers ��h i tener Mark Sev i er Zona Gogel Nate \�ay Fl oyd Herzog Fernando Mel endez Ros s Apperson Cl aude Da l ton Gertrude Denn i s John Faul kner Aus t i n Greene

·

Agnes Hanby Joe Harv i l l Roxanne Maddux Mari an Joyce Oben Sc ha i n Judi th Smi th Wanda Lynn Smi th Emeran Way Hazel Way R i chard Way Kim ��hi tener Ed Reece John Cri pps John Dav i s Gary Dutton Richard Fi er John D . Hera l d

James R . Howel l John Kovach Paul t�ard Robert B i n k l ey Bobbye Carson Ga i l Col vard Merv i n Croo k Robert Dav i es Richard L . Dav i s Robert Gwal tney Hel en Hopk i ns Wi l l i am K . Howel l Mary Mc Ever Nancy McGeorge Lei l a Mi l l er Nancy Og l e Jerry Overal l

Mary Poe John Ri bbl e Paul �lard Ca ro 1 !�hi tener Rogers \�h i tener

Source : Chucky Jack Souveni r Program , 1958 , The Mapl es Col l ecti on , The Gatl i nburg Inn , Gatl i nburg , Tennessee .

30 Joe Hami l ton , Charl otte Robertson , Suzy , John Hatts , El i jah Ki rt , Sheri ff Puqh , Jeff , Joshua Mudd , and Secretary to B l ount . Much of the narration i s read by Nate Way , al though Katheri ne L i ne , James t·1addu s , Ri chard Herd , and Mayme Wal ker narrate duri ng the performance . . . . New dances have been added wh i ch contri bute engag i ng­ ly to the Col on i a l atmos phere and spi r i t of the h i stori cal pl ay . . . . The s i ng i ng ensembl e i s effecti ve throughout the . . denouement of the epi c . 26 Dud l ey Brewer wri t i ng i n The Knoxv i l l e Journal al so fel t the production was grea tl y i mproved over the previous efforts .

H i s rev i ew reads i n part :

Aud i ence reacti on was enthu s i as t i c and h i ghly favorabl e among those who had seen the product i on before as wel l as those v i ewi ng i t for the fi rst time . Author Kermi t Hunter has streaml i ned the s pectac l e i n some res pects , s i mpl i fy i ng i ts acti ons and remov i ng confu s i ng el ements , ma i n l y by the el imi nati on of superfl uous characters . 27 Another cri t i c poi nted out , 11 I f you th i n k you have s een Chucky Jac k , th i n k aga i n .

And don ' t be l ate for the s how i n 1 9 58 . " 28

Mr . Loes s i n summed up the rea sons why there were so many c banoes i n the · ·,

. .....

. ,

1 958 producti on . In doi ng the s how th i s year , we i n a s ense s tarted al l over by rewri ti ng many scenes and reca sti ng many of the l ead i ng rol es . We tri ed to profi t from the cons tructi ve cri ti c i sm we recei ved from many of the res i dents of Gatl i nburg and g i ve them a s how of w h i c h . they wou l d be proud . 29

26

"Mus i c and Drama , .. The Knoxv i l l e Journal ( Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee ) , June 23 , 1958 , p . 8 . 27 Journal

" Chuc k Jack Pl ay Has Acti on , Song and Dance , " The Knoxv i l l e Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see ) , June 20 , 1958 , p . 27 .

28

" Chucky Jack Opens Season wi th Favorabl e Comments , " The Sev i er County Ne\'IS -Record ( Sev i erv i l l e , Tennessee ) , June 26 , 1958 , p . 1. 29

Ibi d .

31 O n J u l y 1 3 , a n arti cl e appeared i n The Knoxv i l l e News -Senti nel compar i ng the area outdoor dramas and as ked , "Wh i c h Is Bes t ? "

Of the

Chuc ky Jack product i on and the Hunter H i l l s Theatre , the arti c l e s tated : Whi l e al l the drama s are h i stori cal to a deqree , Chucky Jac k , at Gatl i n burg , i s the most cons i s tentl y so . . . . Chucky Jack i s a l so the most cohes i ve be­ cause of the smal l spea ki ng cas t . . . . Three year ol d Chuc ky Jack . . . may have the best backstage faci l i ti es--dres s i ng rooms , prop storage , refurb i s h i ng departments and the l i ke . Al so , i t has a revo l v i nqs tage . 30 The f i na l performance of the 1 958 season was September 1 .

The

season ended wi th the general feel i ng that thi ngs came together duri ng the th i rd season better than ever before .

Loes s i n had done a tremendou s

j o b i n pu l l i ng t h e s how together i n al l respects .

T h e pos s i bi l i ty of a

fourth season was assured on September 18 , wi th the Gatl i n bu rg news paper carryi ng the fol l owi ng statement by Mrs . Mapl es : Mrs . R . L . Mapl es , wi fe of the producer of Chuc ky Jack s a i d today , " We are pl ea sed wi th the s eason ; ChUCky Jac k operated ' i n the bl ack ' th i s year , and wi l l reopen the l ast Fri day in June , 1959 . 1 1 Mrs . Mapl es s a i d that aud i ences for the 1 9 58 season were estimated at a total of 40 , 000 persons . She added , "�le apprec i ate the hel p g i ven th i s year , as in the past , by Gatl i nburg peopl e . n 3 1 \'

1959 A s the Chuc ky Jac k producti on entered i ts fourth season , the Associ ati on conti nued i ts s truggl e for survi val .

The 1 958 season had been more

s ucces sfu l than prev i ou s years , but the 1959 season wou l d be the one

30

" Wh i ch Area Drama Is Bes t? Eas h Ha s I ts Cl a i m To Fame , 11 The Knox­ v i l l e News -Senti nel ( Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee ) , July 1 3 , 1958 , p . E-1 . 31

" Pl eased Wi th Season Chucky Jack Wi 1 1 Reopen Next June , 1 1 The Gatl i nburg Press ( Gatl i nburg , Tennessee ) , September 18 , 1 9 58 , p . 1 .

32 to determ i n e the fate of the show . I t appears that few changes were made i n the producti on for i ts fou rth outi ng .

There i s no mention i n any of the news paper accounts

of rewri tes or maj or changes in the s cri pt .

The mus i c and dances re­

mai ned the s ame as i n the 1 958 producti on . Mr . Nate Way t Knoxvi l l e theatre buff t too k on the job o f d i rector for the fourth year ' s producti on .

He , al ong wi th h i s wi fe and two sons , had

appeared in al l three prev i ou s season s . In add i t i on to pl ayi ng Governor Cas ewel l , Mr . Way had served on the producti on s taffs as As s i s tant Stage Manager i n 1956 and Producti on Stage Manager in 1 9 58 .

He wa s an excel l ent cho i ce for the demandi ng ta s k .

Aud i ti ons were hel d Apri l 1 1 , a t the theatre . are l i sted in Tabl e V . for the 1 959 cas t .

The s taff and cast

There were no out o f s tate aud i ti ons or screeni ngs

Th i s may have been due to a cu t back i n pre-open i ng

expenses , a des i re to use more l ocal tal ent i n the major ro l es , or , perhaps , the fa ct . that Mr . Way worked fu l l time a s an engi neer for TVA and wa s not free to travel the coun try screen i n g appl i cati ons .

The season

was set to run from July 1 9 to September 6 wi th s hows at 8 : 1 5 p . m . , as in the prev i ou s season s , n i ghtl y except Sunday . ''Gatl i nburg Ni ght , " whi c h s tarted i n 1958 wa s con ti nued .

Area

res i dents were i nvi ted to attend , free of charge , a June 17th and a June 18th dres s rehearsal . There wa s a great dea l of exc i tement about the fourth year ' s open i ng n i ght , perhaps more than i n the pa st years .

Tennes see ' s Go vernor Bu ford

El l i ngton and Kentucky ' s Governor Chand l er were sc hedu l ed to a ppear . Al so on the program was Un i vers i ty of Tennessee Pres i dent-el ect Dr . Andrew

33 TABLE V CHUCKY JACK STAFF AND CAST , 1 9 59

STAFF Di rector - Nathan E . Way Choreographer - W i l l i am H . Hooks Seen i c Des i gn - Herman Mi ddl eton . Techn i cal D i rector - John E . Hamby Costumer - Max i ne Keat i ng Organ i s t - Mrs . I r i s Newman Mu s i c Di rector - Robert Strobel Li ghting Des i gner - John N . Lambercht Property Mas ter - Wayne Begl ey CAST Ed Sturd i vant Sue Carol Dav i s J i m Maddux V i ncent Denn i s Pat Perry Burnet Hobgood · Emeran Way Bonn i e Bach Chuck Oakl ey Charl es Jones John Ri bbl e Robb Gwal tney John Jel l i corse Bob Dav i es

John Shehan B i l l Weesner Mi ckey Proffi tt Ronn i e Whal ey Bobbye Dav i es Jeanne Ginacen Dav i d Hugg i n Charl es Ketron Roxanne Maddux �1aryl i n Mi l l er Steve Mi l l er Bob Mooty John Ri bbl e Nancy Ri bb l e

Norma Dean Smi th Jacquel i ne Snyder Charma i ne Strudi vant Mary Hope Stewart Don Dav i es Johnny Blysdael Dan Capozzol i Larry Hus ky Paul rlhal ey B l anche Wha l ey John Heal d D i c k Hobl i tzel l B i l l Mos s Ron Random

Noel Thomas Art Wi daws k i Stamps Broc k Mimi Broc k Gertrude Denni s J i m Gal bra i th Agnes - Hamby Di ane Hus key Bernard Ci nger Iri s Newman Mari am Obenscha i n George Proffi tt Al Shackl eton Hazel Way R i c h ard Way

Source : Chuc ky Jack Souven i r Program , 1 9 59 , The Mapl es Col l ecti on , The Gatl i n burg Inn , Gatl i n burg , Tennes see .

34 Ho l t as mas ter of ceremon i es .

Pat Fiel ds reported on the governor ' s

v i s i t i n The Knoxv i l l e Journa l . Gov . Buford El l i ngton kept 11a campa i gn prom i s e 11 to­ n i ght i n ma k i ng the curta i n-ra i s i ng s peech for Chuc ky Jac k , epi c Tennessee drama at Hu nter Hi l l s Theatre here . --vr promi s ed our good fri end , Mr . Map l es , . . . duri ng a l i ttl e Tennessee s ki rm i s h- -Apri l to November of l as t year--that I ' d b e bac k th i s year for the Chucky Jack open i ng as governor of the s tate , .. El l i ngton s aid . 11Th i s i s on l y one of many campa i gn promi ses I have been gl ad to fu l l fi l l s i nce ta ki ng offi ce--there wi l l be others . .. Dr . Andrew Hol t , on l y yesterday named next pre s i dent of the U n i vers i ty of Tennes see , drew appl ause from the crowd - -and every seat in the g i ant amphi theatre was fi l l ed - -when he rose after the governor sat down and sa i d , 11 Never before has Tennes see had a governor who cou l d ma ke that s hort a s peec h . I ' m s ure we are al l gratefu l . .. Both Dr . Ho l t and Governor El l i ngton remarked on a report that 110n l y one of every s i x cars 11 j anmi ng the park i ng l ot at the theatre 11Wa s from Tennessee-. .. Both urged the Tennesseans present to 11S pread the good word 11 to nei ghbors about the pl ay wh i ch dep i cts such an important part of the state ' s heri tage . 3 2 The weather was noteworthy for the 1959 s e ason open i ng n i ght .

I t was

reported that the aud i ence 11 Shi vered under coa ts and bl ankets . . . but they cl a pped the i r hands v i gorou s l y in apprec i ation of an a ppea l i ng per­ formance . .. 33

The weather prompted Dr . Ho l t to i nform the crowd that 11 th i s

new theatre i s real l y n i ce , but we haven ' t got the heati ng sys tem worki ng properly ton i ght . n 34 Favorabl e rev i ews of Chucky Jack were ca rri ed i n l ocal papers agai n ,

32

11 El l i ngton Keeps Promi s e , Attends Chucky Jack , 11 The Knoxv i l l e Journa l ( Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see ) , June 20 , 1959 , p . 5 . ·

33

11 Sh i veri ng Aud i ence Harms U p to Hel l -Paced Chucky Jac k , .. The Knox­ v i l l e Journal ( Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee ) , June 21 , 1959 , p . AS . 34

Ibi d .

35 fo l l owi ng the open i ng n i ght performance .

They menti oned that Ed

Sturd i vant was su perb voca l l y and · was an admi rabl e John Sev i er . d i s p l ayed dash and strud i ness of a forcefu l fron ti ersman .

He

I t was

suggested that al l who attended the engros s i ng presenta t i on of Chuc ky Jack woul d l eave the theatre feel i ng greatly rewarded . · The 2nd John Sev i er Fami l y Reun i on wa s hel d i n Gatl i nburg on August 26-28 .

Attend i ng the producti on of Chucky Jac k was the h i ghl i ght of the

two day meet i ng .

Senator Es tes Kefauver was the guest s pea ker to the

over 200 " Sevi ers " attend i ng from 20 states , Turkey and Mex i co . Th i ngs seemed to be go i ng wel l for Chucky Jac k and the Great Smo ky Mounta i ns H i stori cal As s oc i ation unti l the Jul y 4th performance rol l ed around .

The trac kl ess tra i n , wh i c h had been i n operati on s i nce 1956 ,

was i nvol ved i n a tra g i c acci dent on that date .

The Knoxv i l l e News -Senti nel

carr i ed the fol l owi ng account of the acc ident : The Chucky Jac k mi nature tra i n overturned en route to the Hunter H i lls Theatre ton i ght and e i ght of some 2 0 persons aboard were i nj ured , at l east o n e seri ous l y . Wi tnesses s a i d the tractor-drawn , open-a i r veh i cl e h i t a wet s pot on Sta te H i g hway 73 about a quarter of a mi l e east of here , and turned over on i ts s i de , pi tch i ng some pass engers ou t . The tra i n ta kes s pecta ­ tors to and from the Chuc ky Jack h i storical pl ay . . . . J i mm i e Dav i s , 18 , Rt . 1 , Morristown , dri ver of the tra i n , extreme s hoc k . Young Dav i s was so unnerved by the accident , the fi rst i nvol v i ng the tra i n i n more than two years of o perati on , that he wa s thrown i nto hys teri a i n wh i c h , wi tnesses sa i d , he s eemed to be " rel i v i ng " i t . . . . The tra i n turned over o n i ts s i de bu t rema i ned i n the road . 3 5

35

"8 Injured as Chucky Jack Tra i n Overturn s , " The Knoxv i l l e Ne\'ls -Sent i nel ( Knoxvi l l e , Tennes s ee ) , July 5 , 1959 , p . 1 .

36 Later , a number of l aw s u i ts were brought upon the Associ a t i on by the vi ctims of the wreck .

There are no reports of any of the s u i ts

ever go i ng to court , �ut no dou bt the tra i n i n ci dent and the en su i ng costs i n vol ved i n the repa i r of damages contri buted to the deci s i on to d i sconti nue producti ons of Chucky Jack when the fourth season ended . The fin a l performance was September 6 , but i t was n ' t unti l January 14 , 1960 , that the di sconti nua nce of the production was announced publ i cl y . Chuc ky Jack wi l l not reopen i n 1960 , i t was announced today by R . L . Mapl es , pres iden t of the Great Smoky Mounta i n s H i s torical Associ ation , produc er of the out­ door drama s i nce 1956 . Attendance has not bu i l t up over the pa s t fo ur yea rs suffici entl y to warra nt conti nuati on , .. Ma p l e s sai d . 11 Year l y cos ts have exceeded $55 , 000 for each 10-week season , i n cl udi ng payrol l for casts numberi n g some 75 persons , many of them na tiv e Ten nes seans , .. Mapl es sa i d today . He added that there are no defi ni te pl ans i n mind for fu ture u s e of the theatre , but in di ca ted 110n l y someth i ng wh i ch wou l d benefi t the C i ty of Gatl i nburg and the area surround i ng i t11 wi l l be con s i dered . •

The arti cl e conti nued wi th some in teresti ng facts about the peopl e who had been as soci ated wi th the drama over the pas t four years . S i nce i ts open i n g i n 1956 , Hunter ' s Gatl i n burg pro­ ducti on has had 4 d i fferent actors for the ti tl e rol e . Wa l ter Sumner of Cha ttanooga wa s the fi rst C hucky Jack , fo l l owed in 1 957 by John Cul l um of Kn ox­ vi l l e , in 19 58 by Joe Cardi of Cal i forn i a , and in 1 959 Ed Stu rdi vant of Mi ssi s s i ppi . Vi ncent Den n i s , the jov i a l i n nkeeper wi th the ori g i n a l cas t , ha s rema i n ed in that rol e throughout

37 the pl ay • s run . H i s wi fe has pl ayed mi nor rol es each year . Nathan Way of Knoxvi l l e , has been seen each year i n the cast as Governor Ri chard Caswel l of North Ca rol i na . H i s wife has pl ayed va rious ro l es , and the i r son Ri chard was the young 11 Davy Croc kett 11 of the product i on . Tom Kea t i ng of Knoxv i l l e has rema i ned as Stage Manager throu gh the 4 years and h i s wi fe has served as cos tumer. 36 There wa s an effort made by two members of the Sev i er cl an to get the drama operat i ng aga i n or to fi nd a buyer for Hunter Hi l l s Thea tre .

Cora

Ba l es Sev i er and Nancy Madden of Was h i ngton , D . C . , sent a l etter to members of the Sev i er fami l y i n wh i ch they stated some i nteres t i ng facts about the �huc ky Jack drama . Members of the Sev i er Fami l y s pread over the 50 s tates and ma ny fore i gn countri es wi l l want to know the bac k ­ ground o f the presentat i on o f th i s ou tdoor drama wh i c h pl ayed to approxi mately 175 , 000 persons and wh i c h mi ght aga i n be rees tabl i s hed as one of the outstandi ng enter­ ta i nment featu res of the most-v i s i ted nati onal park area in the Un i ted States . Aoproximately four mi l l i on persons come to the area eac h year . . . . It takes approx imatel y $25 , 000 to open the show each season , and i f th i s sum cou l d be �rov i ded , the pl ay might aga i n be pres en ted . Mr . and Mrs . R . L . Mapl es concei ved the i dea of the show , and Mr . Map l es borrowed $200 , 000 , mortga g i ng h i s New Gatl i nburg Inn and h i s dude ranch to bu i l d the outstand i ng ou tdoor theatre nestl ed in the mounta i ns . I t has three revol v i ng stages and comfortabl e s eats for 2 , 501 persons . He bel i eved the dramatic story of the beg i nn i ngs of Ten ness ee , and the fi rst steps towards crea t i ng a Un i ted States much l arger than the ori g i nal thi rteen col on i es , wou l d be as thri l l i ng to v i s i tors to the area as i t was to h i m . There has never been any questi on that the s how was an arti s t i c and en terta i nmen t succes s . I t s cas t and staff o f

36

11Chucky Jack , H i s tor i c Pl ay , Hi l l Not Reo�en Th i s Year , 11 The Knoxvi l l e Jou rnal ( Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee ) , January 14 ! 1 960 , p . 9 . ---

38 techn i c i ans total ed 75 persons . F i ve ou t of every s i x cars parked i n the huge park i ng l ot duri ng performa nces bore ou t-of-s tate l i cense pl ates . If you know of anyth i ng you can do , or i f you have any contacts wh i c h wou l d be usefu l i n ma k i ng th i s s how a fu ture attracti on i n the Great Smo ki es National Park area , pl ease contact r1r . and Mrs . R. L . �1a pl es , New Gatl i nbu rg Inn , Gatl i nburg , Tennes see . The tel ephone number i s 436-51 33 . The thea tre , fu l l y equ i pped , i s . pres ently for sal e a t $250 ,000 , l ess than i ts co st. 37 On January 19 , 1 9 60 , Mr . Ma pl es sent a l etter to i ndi vidual s who had i nqui red about performi ng i n the 1960 producti on .

The l etter i s

reprinted here : Dear Chucky Jac k Cast Member · He regret to announc e that Chuc ky Jack wi l l not open th i s summer of 1 9 60 . Mrs . Ma pl es and I appreci ate very much your l oya l ty and ded i cated work i n l ast Summer ' s producti on , and we part i c u l arl y apprec i ate the efforts of those of you who have been wi th us s i nce the s how opened i n 1956. I am su re al l of Ga tl i nburq- wi l l mi ss the Chucky Jack peopl e . Many of you have wri tten to u s , or to Nate Way , i n ­ dic ati ng your in terest i n be i ng wi th the show aga i n thi s Summer . �Ie hope you wi 1 1 accept th i s note a s an an swer to those l etters . We extend our k i ndest personal regards , and wi l l l ook forward to see i ng any of you who miqht be i n Gatl i nburg a t any time i n the future . Si ncere1y yo•trs , Re11 Mapl es 38 After fou r yea rs of operati on , the Hu nter Hi l l s produc t i on of Chucky Jack cl osed .

Th i s wa s not , howev er , the end of the theatre ' s acti vi ties

and co ntri buti ons but merely the beg i nn i ng .

37

Letter , Cora Ba l es Sevi er and Nancy Madden to Members of the Sev i er Fami l y , The Mapl es Col l ecti on , The Gatl i nburg Inn , Gatl i nburg , Tennes see . 38 Letter , Rel l Ma pl es to Pa st Company Members , The Mapl es Col l ecti on , The Gatl i nburg Inn , Gatl i nburg , Tennes see .

39 CHAPTER I I I THE · I NTER�1EDIATE YEARS , 1960- 1965 The Chucky Jack drama was no l onger bei n� produced .

The Great Smoky

Mounta i ns H i stor ical Assoc i at i on was no l onger i n the bus i nes s of produc i n g pl ays and the Hunter H i l l s Theatre was wi thout an attracti on to use i ts s tage . The i nformati on reported i n the Sev i er Fami l y Reun i on l etter that the I t has al ready

theatre was for sal e may have been an erroneous s tatement .

been stated that Mr . Ma p l es was the pri nc i pal fi nanc i a l su pporter of the theatre du ri ng the years Chucky Jack was produced there .

Therefore , the

theatre became a rental property owned by Mr . and Mrs . Mapl es .

There are

no other i ndi cations that the Mapl es attempted wi th any aggres s i on to sel l the theatre .

Ins tead they l eased the theatre to groups who wa nted to

produce shows there .

The Mapl es al so encouraged new attempts to establ i s h

conti nu i ng summer attracti ons .

Th i s was the case i n the years 1960- 1965 ,

before the theatre was gi ven to The Uni vers i ty of Tennessee . 1960

The Was h i ngton Ba l l et had expressed a des i re to perform at the beauti fu l outdoor theatre i n the mou nta i n s on s everal di fferent occa s i ons . I n the summer of 1 960 , the f1apl es l et the Was h i ngton Bal l et present four performances at Hunter Hi l l s Theatre . On Ju l y 1 2 and 1 5 , the 3 5 member bal l et group performed Swan Lake , Etal age , and Raymonda , a so l o number Troubador , by the co-di rector of the Bal l et , �·1r . Fredri c k Fran kl i n , and two duets , Bl ack S\'1an and Syl vi a .

40 The other two n i ghts , J u l y 13 and 14 , s aw performa nces of three duets , a sel ecti on from The Nutcrac ker Su i te , Beau Da nu be , and Syl vi a and three company numbers Les Sylph i de , the Hans Chri s t i a n Anderson fa i ry ta l e dance , Ch in ese Nightengal e and the modern H i -Spri . Mus i ca l accompan i ment for the ba l l ets was provi ded by twenty-fi ve members of the Knoxvi l l e Symphony orches tra . The performances were schedu l ed for B : 30 each ni ght . from $2 . 00 to $4 . 00 in the res erved secti ons .

T i c kets ranged

In an attempt to get mo re

ch i l dren i n teres ted i n attend i n g , the Ba l l et trou pe offered seats to ch i l dren under 12 i n any secti o n for $1 . 00 . I t i s i n teres ti ng to note that " the Wa shi nqton Bal l et performances here are schedu l ed in the Pres i dent of the Uni ted States s ummer mu s i c program . .. 39 There were no rev i ews q i ven of the ·bal l ets and very l i ttl e news coverage.

However , Mrs . Ma pl es a ttended the performances and recal l s that

they were beauti fu l l y execu ted and extremely appea l i nq vi sual l y on the stage at Hunter Hi l l s .

The aud i ences weren • t l a rqe , s he reca l l s , and

there wa s never any des i re by the bal l e t grou o to use the thea tre aga i n . ' '1961 Fol l owi ng the performances by the �la s h i ngton Ba l l et i n 1960 , the Hun ter Hi 1 1 s Theatre rema i ned 11dark11 unti 1 1962 .

At that time a new

organ i zati on started another effort to pres en t yearly summer attracti ons .

39

11 Ba l l et to Gi ve Vari ed Program , .. The Sev i er County News -Record ( Sev i ervi l l e , Ten nes see ) , J u l y 7 , 1960 , � .-,.

41 1962 The organ i zati on was cal l ed "Mu s i c Under The Stars . ''

I ts obj ecti ve

was to bri nq b i q name enterta i nment to the eas t Tennes see area in the form of a seri es of mu s i cal concerts .

Promotion Di rector for the

organ i zati on wa s Mr . Robert Frost of Knoxv i l l e .

Al so i nvol ved in the

endeavor wa s Mr . Max Johnson , serv i ng as one of the d i rectors of the organ i zation .

Mr . Johnson stated that the attracti ons sl ated for the

1 962 season were sel ected i n an effort to test the Gatl i nburg market. I f the season was successful , a 10-week l i ne up of top attracti on s \'Jou l d be pl anned for the next summer . The f i rst of the three concerts schedu l ed for the summer of 1962 was Jose Mel i s and h i s orchestra , the grou p wh i ch had gai ned na ti onal atten ti on on the Jack Parr TV s how . Mi tchel l Tri o , a fol k s i ng i ng grou p . June 25-30 .

On the same bi l l wa s the Chad They were schedul ed to appear

T i c kets sol d for $3 . 50 ( rows 1 throuqh 12 ) , $3 . 00 ( rows 13

throuqh 2 1 ) , $2 . 50 ( rows 22 through 27 ) , and $ 1 . 50 ( rows 28 and u p ) . A rev i ew of the fi rst concert by the Mel i s troup s tated that a number of seats were vacant .

I t conti nued wi th the i mpres s i on that

the en terta i ners had g i ven the aud i ence the bes t pos s i b l e s how and the appl ause for the group was encourag i nq . 40 The second attracti on of the seri es brought Andy Wi l l i ams to Gatl i n burg .

40

Al ong wi th an 18 p i ece orches tra and several featu red acts ,

" Jose and Tr i o Here Through Satu rday , a Rea l Jumpi n ' Show , " The Sev i er County News -Record ( Sevi erv i l l e , Tennes see ) , Jun e 28 , 1962 , �-

42 Mr . Wi l l i ams appeared on J u l y 6 and 7 . On July 1 7 and 18 p i a n i st L i bera ce stage .

appeared on the Hunter H i l l s

He brought a fu l l orches tra al ong wi th h i m and wa s apparen tly

the bi gges t success of the three offeri ngs .

Peopl e who attended recal l

that every seat i n the theatre wa s ta ken for both performances .

It

was the fi rst time there had been " Stand i n g Room On l y " a t the Hun ter H i l l s Theatre . Despi te the res ponse to the a ppearance of the great L i bera ce the Mu s i c Under The Stars seri es faded i nto obl i v i on and was never heard from aga i n .

There were no more concerts schedu l ed and no more

attempts to bri ng b i g name enterta i nment s ponsored by " Mu s i c Under The Stars . "

When the curta i n came down on the concert seri es , i t stayed down unt i l 1 964 .

There was no acti v i ty at the thea tre duri ng 1 963 .

In 1 964 ,

however , one of the mo st amb i t i ous theatri cal endeavors to ever ap�ear on the Hun ter Hi 1 1 s stag.e was organ i zed . 1964 On February 13 , 1 964 , The Gatl i n burq Press announced the p l ans for Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre for the s ummer .

Un i on Co l l ege i n Barberv i l l e ,

Ken tuc ky , a Method i s t supported sen i or l i beral arts i nsti tut i on l ocated 140 mi l es from Gatl i n burg , l eased the faci l i ty for a program they ca l l ed thei r "Summer �1us i c Fes t i val . ..

Fi fty members of the schoo l ' s Mus i c

Department moved to the resort c i ty to conduct the comb i nati on producti on-academi c underta k i ng .

The announcement i nd i cated that New York Metro ­

po l i ti an Opera Company stars as we l l as i nternati onal l y known Broadway

43 s tars wou l d perform wi th outstand i ng mus i c students fi l l i ng i n the chorus rol es and compri s i ng the orc hes tra . Cl assrooms were bu i l t under the dres s i nq rooms for the s tudy ses s i ons and c l as s meeti ngs .

Academi c courses were offered i n

Appl i ed Mu s i c (most fi el ds ) , Opera Works hop , Vocal L i tera ture , Conducti n g , Theory Semi nar , Orc hes tra , Smal l Ensembl es , Mu s i c Research Semi nar , Pl ay Producti on , D i recti ng , and the opportun i ty to perform i n profes s i onal producti ons . Among the product i ons schedul ed were Okl ahoma ! , Tasca , The Mi kado , and The Bartered Bride .

Al ong wi th these producti ons , s pec i a l perfor-

mances by groups and i nd i v i dual s were broug ht in for Sunday even i ng appearances . . These attracti ons i ncl uded Frank Fonta i ne , The Book of Job , Ski tch Henderson , Dave Bru�eck , Reynard , the Fox , and The Memph i s Symphony.

Th i s amb i t i ous season was schedu l ed to beg i n June 27 and

conti nue through September 7 . a ppears i n Append i x I I .

A compl ete schedu l e of performances ·

The Burn i ng House , schedul ed for August 23 ,

was an ori g i nal ba l l et-opera by Al an Hovhanes s .

Mr . Al l en Hughes ,

bal l et cri t i c for The New York T i mes came to Gatl i nburg espec i al l y to attend the prem i ere . By mi d June , the operati on was i n ful l swi ng and ready to present the shows schedu l ed .

I t s hou l d be noted that the performances were

a l l executed on the stage wi th the Chucky Jack set s ti l l presen t . An arti c l e appeari ng June 1 8 announced the guest arti s ts and gave some i nd i cation of the compl ex casting sc heme . Caro l yn Jac kson of the St . Lou i s Mun i c i pal Opera and member of the vo i ce facul ty at Oh i o Uni vers i ty , s i ngi ng the l ead a s Laurey together wi th Caro l Gerbrandt , facul ty member of Tabor Col l ege , Kansas , as Curl ey .

44 Morel y t1ered i th , Metropol i tan Opera bari tone , wi l l portray Scarpi a i n Tosca wi th Francesca Roberto , soprano , Gol dvos ky Grand Opera , doi ng Tosca . James Wai nner , tenor , Gol dovs ky Grand Opera , wi l l s i ng Cavaradossi . The schedul e wi l l al ternate between Okl ahoma ! and Tosca throug h July 5 . Gi l bert and Sul l i van ' s The Mi kado wi l l enter the sc hedu l e on July 6 wi th Smetana ' s The Bartered Bride ma k i ng i ts i n i ti a l appearance o n August 11 and 12 . Mered i th wi l l s i ng i n the fi rst 5 performances of Tosca to be fol l owed by Hugh Edgerton , pl ace wi nner i n the Metropol i tan Aud i t i ons , on July 5 . Ron Bottcher , bari tone , New York C i ty Center Opera , wi l l pl ay the th i rd Scarp i a beg i nn i ng on Augu s t 20 . Dr . Maxwel l ( D i rector of The Mu s i c Festi val ) wi l l fol l ow Wa i n ner as Cavarados s i wi th Robert Nagy , di sti n­ gui shed tenor of the Metropol i tan Opera , ta k i ng th i s ro l e on Augu s t 20 . El i zabeth Mosher , soprano , San Franc i sco Opera Company , wi l l p l ay Tosca Ju l y 30 through Augu s t 20 wi th Lynn Owen , soprano , Gol dovs ky Grand Opera , fol l owi ng through September 7 , the c l o s i ng n i ght . 41 The Summer Mu s i c Festi val fol l owed the trad i ti on set by the Chuc ky Jack promoters and hel d Gatl i nburg Area N i g hts al l owi ng res i dents to attend final rehearsal s free of charge before each major producti on . These n i ghts were a l so the producti ons to wh i c h the press was i nv i ted as wel l as rad i o and tel ev i s i on personnel , ci ty and coun ty offi c i a l s , and spec i a l guests of the col l ege . Okl ahoma ! opened on June 27 .

Al l producti ons

Tosca opened on June 28 .

were accompan i ed by a fu l l orchestra in res idence and a c horus of s tudent voca l i sts .

Curta i n time was 8 : 1 5 p . m. for al l performances .

opened on J u l y 7 .

The Bartered Bride opened August 1 1 .

began , a great deal of l oca l adverti s i ng wa s carri ed out .

Mi kado

After the season Th i s i ncl uded

ads such as the one shown i n Fi gure I .

41

11More Top Stars Added for Mus i c Festi val , 11 The Sev i er County News- Record ( Sevi ervi l l e , Tennessee } , June 18 , 1964 , p . 16 .

45

ON STAGE OKLAHOMA ! Mondays and Saturdays THE BARTERED BRIDE Tuesdays and t�ednesdays TOSCA ( i n Engl i sh ) Thursdays and Fri days at the SUMMER �1USIC FEST IVAL Hun ter H i l l s Theatre - 8 : 1 5 p . m . - Gatl i nburg , Tenn . TICKETS :

General Admi s s i on $2 . 00 - $ 2 . 50 ; Reserved Seats $3 . 00 . Chi l dren 1 8 years and under $ 1 . 00 any seat when accompan i ed by parents . Ti cket Box Offi ce . l ocated on the Parkway oppos i te Ogl e ' s Department Store or purchase t i c kets at the Theatre Ti c ket Off i ce after 6 : 00 p . m . Phone reservati ons 436-559 1 .

SPEC IAL SUNDAY SHO�J - AUGUST 30 - 8 : 1 5 P . M . The B i n gham Tri o and The Homes teaders Present A FOLK FEST IVAL Featuri ng Fol k Mus i c and Coun try Mus i c

Fi gure I .

Sampl e Ad for The Summer ��u s i c Fes ti val

Source : The Sev i er County News -Record ( Sevi ervi l l e , Tennes see ) , Augu st 27 , 1964 , p . 4.

46 Each n i ght the aud i ence was g i ven the opportun i ty to purchase a beauti ful l y des i gned and smartl y styl ed souven i r program . mes sages from Governor Fran k Cl ement , Mr .

W.

I t conta i ned

S . Mi l l s , Mayor of Gatl i nburg ,

and Dr . Mah l on A . Mi l l er , Pres i dent of Uni on Col l ege .

In h i s mes saqe ,

Governor Cl emen t contri buted a poem abou t the thrus hes of Tangl ewood and expressed h i s hope that the Summer Mus i c Festi val at Hunter Hi l l s wou l d be a conti n u i ng cul tural enr i ch i ng exper i ence ava i l abl e to a l l who cou l d attend .

The program al so conta i ned a word about the past producti ons

at Hunter Hi l l s and expres sed the des i re of the col l ege to ma ke Hunter H i l l s the permanent summer home of the col l ege ' s sc hool of mu s i c .

There

were b i ographi cal s ketches of the guest arti sts � nd a number of p i ctures i n the program a s wel l .

The staff as l i sted i n the program appears i n

Tabl e V I . There i s no doubt that the s ummer of 1 964 was an i ntri gu i ng and extremel y amb i ti ous theatre concept .

Al l i nd i ca t i on s are that everyth i ng

was hand l ed i n a h i ghly profes s i onal manner .

The casts were superb

and ded i cated to g i v i ng thei r audi ences the most po l i s hed performances they cou l d .

But wha t of the aud i ences ?

Was Grand Opera ri ght for the

area and the peopl e v i s i ti n g Gatl i nburg i n the summer of 1 964? are i nd i ca t i ons tha t i t was not .

There

I n a l etter to the edi tor of The Sev i er

News -Record , Mr . Ed Mi l l er d i scussed the attempt of Uni on Co l l ege to establ i sh a l ead i ng cul tural center of the Southeas tern Uni ted States . He gave h i s impres s i ons of what the Summer Mu s i c Festi va l meant to Sevi er County and poi nted out the l ac k of support by area res i dents .

47 TABLE V I STAFF FOR THE SUMMER r�US I C FESTI VAL , 1964

D i rector

Or . Dona 1 d J ay t·1axwe 1 1 Un i on Co l l ege Ba rbervi l l e , Kentu cky

Bus i ness Manager

Mr . Wi l l i am S . Mu rphy Un i on Uni vers i ty Barberv i l l e , Kentucky

Stage Di rector and Des i gner

Mr . J . Robert Mi nser Un i vers i ty of Wi c h i ta \ii ch i ta , Kansas

Stage �·1a nager and Cos tume Des i gner

Mr . Thoma s E . Jones Ma ryv i l l e Col l ege Maryv i l l e , Tennes s ee

l i ghti ng Techn i c i an

Al v i n Strom Ph i l adel phi a , Pennsyl van i a

Mu s i c D i rector

Mr . Bernard L . li nger Un i on Col l ege Barbervi l l e , Kentu c ky

Mus i c D i rector

Mr. Al l an Eugene Green Un i on Col l ege Barbervi l l e , Kentucky

Choru s D i rector

Mr . Denn i s Jackson Un i on Col l ege Barbervi l l e , Kentucky

Ass i s tant Stage Manager

Earl Fos ter , J r . West Pa l m Beach , Fl orida

As s i stant Techn i ca l D i rector

Henry Z i ngg Barbervi l l e , Kentucky

Source : Summer Mus i c Festiva l Souven i r Program , 19 64 , The Hunter H i l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti on , Spec i a l Col l ecti ons li brary , The U n i vers i ty of Tennes see , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee .

48 An opportun i ty has been afforded Sevi er Counti ans on two occas i ons for attrac tions of great magni tude and once aqai n the opportun i ty beckons . I f pus hed as i d e or i gnored we may wel l be tal k i ng i n years to come o f : "what might have been . " The Summer �1u s i c Festi val has mos t l i ke l y sel ected Sevi er County for three reasons : 1 . I ts ideal b l end i ng of moun ta i ns and weather ; 2 . I ts famed outdoor theatre ; 3 . Its i ndus tri ous fri end l y peopl e . Leaders of th i s organ i zati on have brought to our area hund reds of peopl e from 32 states l argel y o n our reputati on . I t appears , however , that to some extent we have l et them down . Take the Sev i er Coun ty n i ght when admi s s i on for l ocal peopl e was s i mpl y the presentati on of a Tenn . drivers l i cens e . Attendance for Okl ahoma ! and Tasca found many empty seats when there cou l d have been s tand i ng room on l y . . . . Wi th i n the shadows o f our maj estic mounta i ns are gathered some of the countri es finest young mus i c i ans . Today they pl ay for Sevi er County ; tomorrow the worl d . Do your part to s ee that Sev i er Coun ty becomes synonymous wi th Tangl ewood , Interl ochen , Aspen , Sante Fe and other festi val s now i n operati on . Al l ow i t to happen ! Hel p i t to happen ! See that 'i t happens ! 42 Th i s l ac k of su pport may have caused the cance l l ati on of some of the Sunday spec i a l s hows .

These cancel l ati ons i ncl uded Ski tch Henderson ( set

for Augus t 2 ) , Dave Brubec k ( on August 9 ) , and The �-1emphi s Symphony ( schedul ed for Augus t 30) . Other s pec i a l s hows were effected by the weather . performance of Reynard , the Fox was ra i ned out .

The Augus t

16

I n the case of The Book

of Job , however , i t was announced that i n the event of ra i n the performance woul d be hel d in the Gatl i nburg C i v i c Aud i tori um .

42

" Letters to the Ed i tor , " The Sev i er Coun ty News -Record ( Sevi ervi l l e , Tennessee ) , J u l y 9 , 1 964 , p . 2 .

49 Mr . Frank Fonta i ne t the comed i an known as "C razy Guggen heim" on the Jackie Gl eason TV show t did appear in two shows on July 12 . A mati nee wa s gi ven at 3 : 00 p . m . t and the second s how wa s a t 8 : 1 5 . Al l i nd i c ati ons are that he was wel l recei ved .

Thi s was one of the

few mat inee performances ever g i ven at Hunter H i l l s Theatre . Mr . W . S . Mu rphy t Bu s i nes s Manager for the fes ti val t wrote to the ed i tor of the News- Record as the sea son drew to an end .

I n hi s

l etter he expres sed the col l ege ' s a pprec i at i on for the hospi tal i ty and s upport g i ven the fes t i val by the c i t i zens of Gatl i nburg and Sevi er County .

He conti nued wi th the fol l owi ng :

Espec i a l l y do we thank Gatl i nburg Press and Rad i o Station WSEV for thei r prompt and effi ci ent serv i ces and news coverage . To the res taurants t and motel s and hotel s t the g i ft ·s hops t the taxi cab compani es t the ci ty and county and state offi c i al s t we want - to s ay " thanks a mi l l i on . .. To the F i rs t Bapti s t Church and the Fi rst Method i s t Church we owe a deep debt of grati tude for ma k i n g thei r phys ical pl ants ava i l abl e for numerou s Festiva l c l asses a s wel l as spec i a l fel l owsh i p servi ces for our ent i re s taff and s tudent body . We are a l l very apprec i ati ve of the opportu n i ty wh i c h we have had to be a part of your commu n i ty through you r c i v i c and serv i ce cl ubs and you r churc hes . 43 In conc l ud i ng t Mr . Murphy expressed the hope that the fes ti val wou l d retu rn i n 1965 . On September 16 t Mr . Murphy a ppeared a s gues t s pea ker at the L i ons C l u b meet i ng in Gatl i nburg . The Summer Mu s i c Fest i val .

43

He made sta tements a bout the futu re of H i s speech s tated i n part :

" Letters to The Ed i tor t .. The Sev i er County News-Record ( Sevi ervi l l e , Tennessee ) , September 3 , 1964 , p . 2.

50 11t�e are l eav i ng wi th the idea that we wi l l be back . .. He went on to say that the fes ti val was l es s than a success from the stand -po int of t i c kets sol d , and i ncome neces sary to susta i n a program of thi s magni ­ tude . 11 1 t was antici pated , 11 he . s ai d , 11that our f i rs t season here wou l d be d i ffi cu l t , but publ i c su pport fel l bel ow our budget anti c i pati ons for the f i rs t yea r . · If we are to conti nue i n Gatl i nburg we wi l l have to f i nd some sort of fi nanc i a l support and underwr i ti ng . The projec t i n these earl y s tages i s just ! 1 nanc i a l l y two dema ndi ng for a smal l cal l ege . 11 4 •

•

•

·

The retu rn of the Uni on Col l ege Summer Mus i c Fes t i va l to the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre never mater i a l i zed .

The s taff , cas t , and crew returned

to Barberv i l l e , Ken tucky , in l ate September and were never heard from aga i n .

They had come i n l i ke l i ons and l eft l i ke l ambs .

There were

never any other news i tems concern i ng the retu rn of the festiva l . ·.

' 1 96 5

-..

The s tage of the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre was dark duri ng the summer

of 1965 .

In December , however , the fol l owi ng announcement changed

the dest i ny of Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre : Un i vers i ty of Tennessee i s the rec i p i en t of a g i ft 11made-to-order11 for future devel opment and expans i on of the Fine Arts Depa rtment , i t was announced thi s week by Dr . Edward J . Bol i ng , v i ce pres ident for devel opment . Mr . and Mrs . R . l . Mapl es o f Gatl i nburg have made an outri ght gi ft to the Uni versi ty of the Gatl i nburg ' s Hunter H i l l s Theatre , val ued at $300 , 000 . The Theatre and property i ncl udes the 2600-seat ( s i c ) outdoor arena wi th three s tages --a permanent 60-foot center s tage and two revol v i ng 30-foot s i d e s tages--

44

11 Fu ture i n Doubt for Summer Campus and Mu s i c Fes ti val , .. The Sev i er County News -Record ( Sev i ervi l l e , Tennes see ) , September 17 , 1 964 , p . 1 .

51

·

a conces s i on area , parking fac i l i ti es for more than 1 , 000 cars , and approx imatel y 20 acres of val uabl e mounta i n l and . 11Th i s i s a tremendous gi ft , and i t refl ects Mr . Mapl es ' 1 ong -time interes t i n and su pport of the u n i vers i ty , .. Dr . Bol i ng sai d . Ma pl es attended UT from 1 928 to 1 932 . . . . Arrangements for the g i ft were made through the UT Devel opment Offi ce , wi th C harl es Bra kebi l l , executi ve di rector· i n charge of g i fts and g rants , s pearhead i ng the negotiati ons . UT Pre s i dent Andrew Hol t sat i n on at l east one conference wi th the Maol es couol e before the q i ft was cons urrmated . 11 l t w i l l mea n so much to pr e sent and future students to know not only that UT has s uch a f i ne fac i l i ty at i ts d i s posal , but that i t i s l oc ated i n thi s h i s tori c and appeal i ng s ett i ng . Rel l and �Ji l ma Map l es have made pos s i bl e the expans i on of UT ' s statewi de campus i nto one of the mos t beauti fu l parts of our state , .. Dr . Hol t sai d . 4 5

45

" Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Donated to U -T , " The Mountai n V i s i tor

( Gatl i nburg , Tennes see ) , December 1 9 , 1965 , p. 1 .

52 CHAPTER IV TH E UNI VERS ITY OF TENNESSEE YEARS , 1966- 1977 Si nce 1 966 the Hunter H i l l s Thea tre has been a part of the tota l theatre program at the U n i vers i ty of Tennessee .

Th i rty- two producti ons

have been staged i n vo l v i ng more than f i ve hundred student performers . Many s tudents have worked a t Hunter Hi l l s Theatre season after season for up to s i x consecu t i ve years . on s tage and off .

They have worked i n vari ous capaci t i es ,

Th i s total i n vo l vement has been a l earn i ng experi ence

of a s u per i or nature not ava i l a bl e i n any c l assroom . For easy reference and to avo i d repeti t i on i n the yearl y secti ons , a number of Append i xes are used to present facts about the Uni vers i ty years at Hunter H i l l s .

Append i x I I I co�ta i ns a chronol ogy of the

product i ons at Hunter H i l l s Theatre , · 1966-1977 .

Append i x IV l i sts

fi nanc i a l s ta tements concern i ng operati ng and sal ary expen ses and sal es revenue for the Uni vers i ty of Tenness ee years .

Append i x V

. l i s ts ma i ntenance and property i mprovements and repa i rs over the years .

Contents of the rema i n i ng appendi xes are g i ven i n the yearly

section mo st appropri ate to the subject . 1966 When the g i ft of the thea tre to the Un i vers i ty of Tennessee was fi na l i zed , U n i vers i ty offi ci a l s i nd i cated i n the newspa per accou nts that there were no defi n i te pl ans for the theatre at that time .

Mr .

Fred F i el d s , Associ ate Professor of Speech and Thea tre , d i d have a pl an for i t , however , and he wa s qu i c k to present hi s sugges tion to Mr . Ed Bol i ng .

As ear l y as January , Mr . Fi elds had expres sed an

53 . i nterest i n present i ng student producti ons each summer at Hunter Hi l l s Theatre .

I n i t i a l } y these producti ons wou l d be an · exten s i on _ of the

Carousel Theatre producti ons on the Knoxvi l l e campu s .

Th i s new

venture i nto outdoor summer stoc k producti ons woul d be a l earn i ng and , accord i ng to Mr . F i el ds , a tra i n i ng experi ence i n theatre producti on u n i que to any other col l ege or un i vers i ty i n the Southeas tern Uni ted States .

By Apri l , Mr . Fi el ds had convi nced the neces sary powers to g i ve

h i s i dea a chance duri ng 1 966 , as the fol l owi ng news rel ease expl a i ned . The fi rst step i n what wi l l eventual l y become an exten ­ s i ve and un i qu e enterta i nment program wi l l be l aunched by the Uni vers i ty of Tennessee at Gatl i n burg ' s Hunter H i l l s Theatre th i s summer . Dr . Herman E . Spi vey , U -T ' s Academi c V i ce Pres i dent , said twel ve to fourteen performances of the popu l ar Broadway mus i cal Ann i e Get Your Gun wi l l be pres ented at the 2500 seat outdoor theatre start i ng Ju l y 2 2 . The pl ay wi l l be presented under the auspi ces of U-T ' s famed Carousel Theatre and wi l l be d i rected by Fred Fiel ds , Carousel Di rector and U-T drama profes sor . 46 Mr . · F i el ds was soon named Managi ng Di rector for the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre and conti nued i n that pos i ti on each summer for the next el even years . I n the meantime , an adv i sory cou nc i l was formed to hel p wi th fu ture l ong range pl ans for the new acqu i s i ti on .

Th i s counci l was

composed of U n i vers i ty of Tennes see peopl e and Gatl i nburg bu s i nes smen and c i v i c l eaders .

I t was fel t that the backi ng of the c i t i zens of

Ga tl i nburg was essenti a l to the success of any operati on at Hunter Hi l l s . Members of the Adv i sory Board are l i sted i n Tabl e V I I .

46

"Ann i e Get Your Gun To Be Produced at Hunter Hi l l s , " The Moun ta i n V i s i tor (Gat l i nburg , Tennes see ) , Apri l 17 , 1966 , p . 5 .

54 TABLE V I I GATL INBURG ADVI SORY COUNCIL , HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1966

EXECUT I VE COMMITTEE Mr. Bud Lawson , Chai rman The Mr . Mr . Mr .

Rev . Leroy Carter Mrs . Mari a Tate Mr. Zeno Wa 1 1 J i m Gerdi ng Thomas J . Keat ing M r . Bruce J . Whal ey W. L . Mi 1 1 s Mr . Tom Woods

Mr . Fred Fi el ds Mr . J u l i an Harri s s Mr . Wi l l i am J . Morgan Dean Lawrence Si l verman

MEMB ERS

Mr. Jack Arth u r , Sr. Mr. Fred C . Atchl ey Mr . J . Pri tch ard Barnes Mr . W. E . Burnette Mr. Cl aude Conner The Rev . C . K. De rri ck Mr. Wi l l i am Dych Mr . Dougl as J . Ferg uson Mr. George W . Fry Mi ss Debora h S . Ful ton Mr . Ed Henson Mr . J ack Huff Mr. L . C . H unter Mr. Eugene Hus key Mr . A . B . Langdon Mr . Roay Ledwe 1 1 Mr . Roy J . Mapl es

Mr . Jerry r�cCutchan Mrs . Hatt i e McGi ffi n Mr. Jack t4i 1 1 er Mr . W . W . Myna tt Mrs . T . J . O ' Bri en Mr . Earl W . Ogl e Mr . Carl yl e Potter Mr . Wi l l i am Postl ewai te Mr . Lewi s P . Re agan Dr . Ral ph S h i l l i ng Mr . Ray D . Ti dwel l Mr . Orl i e Trentham Mr . Hugh Trotter Mr . J ames Trotter Mr . Di ck Whal ey Mr . H ubert Whi ttl e Mr . Tom A . Wi ndrom

Source : Handout Prog ram , H unter Hi l l s Theatre , 1966 , The Hunter H i l l s Theatre S peci al Col l ecti on , Uni vers i ty of Ten nessee Spec i a l Col l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee .

55 I t was deci ded by the Carousel Theatre Board that the Hunter H i l l s producti on of An ni e Get Your Gun coul d be staged at the Carousel fol l owi ng i ts outdoor producti on at the new theatre .

The show wo ul d be

presented i n Augus t as the l a st pl ay of the Carousel Theatre s umme r season . Duri ng the spring the fi rst producti on was cas t .

The s t aff and

cas t for th i s fi rs t Uni vers i ty of Tennessee production at Hunter H i l l s are l i sted i n Tabl e V I I I .

On · JuJ y 13 � the _ co� pany ' was hol d i n g · a dres s

rehea rsal at the theatre i n Gatl i nburg . Adverti s i ng acti vi ti es i n cl uded 75 , 000 fu l l co l or brochures di stri buted i n the Gatl i n burg area and ma i l ed to vari ous out-of-town l ocati ons .

Two

ti cket booths were set up i n the downtown Gatl i n burg area and an attracti ve coed dressed l i ke Ann i e Oakl ey ci rc ul ated i n the area s preadi ng the word about the Uni vers i ty of Tennes see Hunter H i l l s Theatre ' s new a ttracti on .

Joan Long , who starred i n the producti on , was pi ctured

on the cover of The Gui de , Ten nes see ' s l eadi ng to uri s t magazi ne on travel i n the s tate .

It was noted i n that pub l i cati on that H unter H i l l s Thea tre

wa s the mo s t beauti fu l and best equi pped amphi theatre i n the South . The tradi ti on of 11Gatl i n burg N i ght11 was carri ed on and July 14 wa s the schedu l ed date . The company was not i n res i dence at the theatre duri ng the 1966 season .

I n s tead , they commuted each ni ght to and from the theatre by bus .

Each ni ght the troupe met at Ayers Hal l and trave l ed to Gatl i n burg . The return tri p was made afte r the production each eveni ng . Ti cket pri ces for the fi rst Uni vers i ty of Tennessee producti on was set at $2 . 00 for adul ts and $ 1 . 00 fo r s tudents .

T� ere were n0 re served

seats -- the fi rst time thi s type of seati ng arran gement had been i n i ti ated at Hunter Hi 1 1 s .

56. TABLE V I I I STAFF AND CAST HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1966

STAFF

Managi ng Di rector - Fred Fi el ds Mus i ca l Di recti on - Charl es Hunni cutt Choreographer - Dorothy Fl oyd Cos tumes - Larrai ne Dowel l House Manager - Wi l l i am Mo rgan

CAST

Lewi s Bol ton J u l i e Cooper Teres a Loef Doug Al l en Bob McCra ry Ronal d Down er Anne Hemb ree Jenni fer Bal l ew Ted Roberts Woody Harri man Joan Long Geoffrey Greene Jenni fe r Greene N anette Ewa rt Wi l l i am Ewart Henry Gui gon Patri ci a Cunni ngham Dot Mc�1ahan Chuck Guthri e Tom Col l i ns Joe Ti pton Crai g Ful l er Bi l l Tapp J ane Parker Laura Hi xon El i zabeth Carri ger Jul i e Cooper

Vi cki Dowel l Becky Greene Del l a Gui gou J u l i a H i c kman J une Hake Vi cki Johnson Sherry Ki ng Te res a Loef Sus an Merri tt Anne Mi l l er Kathee Mo rrow Conni e Pres ent Debby Rogers S tephani e Weems Kathy Wel ch Terry Li gon C . L . Peters Li ss i e Aus ti n DeAnna Smi th Burrel l Patri ci a Green Anne-Dal e Gui nn Rayna Hake Caro l Jenk i n s I rena L i nn Les l i e Matthews Al l en Bratten Jeff Col l mann

Ben Ha rvi l l e Guy Keeton Jack Lane Bi 1 1 Mas ters Ronni e B . Smi th Pete Sti l es

Source : Handout P rogram , Hu nter Hi l l s Theatre , 19 66 , The Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Speci a l Col l ection , The Uni vers i ty of Tennes see Speci al Col l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see .

57 Mr. Fi el ds had been wi se i n choos i n g Ann i e Get Your Gun .

It

was a l i gh t mus i cal comedy wi th fami l i a r songs and funny s cenes . h ad a great appeal to touri s t audi ences . was i deal .

It

The ou tdoor moun tai n setti ng

I t s houl d be noted that the Chucky Jack set rema i ned on

the s tage for the producti on . Revi ews i n Th e Beacon raved about the producti on .

Gary Cormwe l l

wrote about the overal l profes si onal i sm and coordi nati on of the vari ous as pects of the product i on .

Gai l Meadows commented on the natural

mo untai n s ett i ng and the beauty of the outdoor theatre for s uch enter­ tai ni ng and l i gh t hearted s hows . A udi ences fo r the producti ons grew s teadi l y over the s hort peri od that the theatre operated i n 1966 .

Many Gatl i n burg peopl e fe l t that

the average attendance was far and away the mos t s ucces s fu l effort i n the h i s tory of the theatre .

Bad weathe r , however , made a dent i n

the th i rd week of the production .

Neverthel ess , 15 , 000 a ttended the

1966 produ cti o n and pl ans for a s econd season began . The Advi s ory Counci l met on October 6 . and outl i ned p l ans for the 1967 s eason .

Mr . Fi e l ds was pres ent

I t was h i s hope that th ree

mu s i cal s an d a fo l k pl ay , parti cul arly appropri ate to the mo unta i n setti ng , coul d be pres ented by a res i dent . company .

He fe l t that th i s

s ort o f s ummer program cou l d become hi ghly i mportant tra i n i n g for drama and mus i c s tudents and make the Uni vers i ty of Tennes see i n ternati onal l y known .

It was hi s opi n i on that popu l ar and wel l known mu s i ca l comedi es

i n producti ons wel l executed i n a l l areas of producti on coul d be the greates t s i ngl e factor i n mak i ng the Hunter H i l l s campus a va l uabl e educati ona l and cul tural asset .

He s uggested to the counci l that the

58 196 7 s ummer program b e a commerci al a n d profes s i onal theatre offeri ng des i gned to attract the wi des t pos s i bl e audi ence in the Gatl i nburg 1 1 peak 11 season . There were other meeti ngs of the Advi sory Co unc i l duri ng the fa l l of 1966 .

Other programs and s ugges ti ons for the Hunter Hi l l s Th eatre

were menti oned .

None recei ved as much i nteres t as the 11theatre i dea , u

however , and none were presented wi th more i ns i gh t and amb i ti on .

By

the end of the year , i t l ooked l i ke a s econd season of Un i vers i ty of Tennes see theatre at Hunter Hi l l s woul d be rea l i zed 1967 On January 28 , i t was announced that pl ans for the 1967 s ummer s eason at Hunter Hi l l s had been fi nal i zed . The Uni vers i ty of Tennes s ee i s pl anni ng a l arger and bi gger offeri ng at Gatl i nb urg ' s Hunter Hi l l s Theatre for the s ummer of 196 7 . Pl ans for the s hows were announced at an adv i sory commi ttee meet i ng hel d Tues day . U . T . Pres i dent Andrew Hol t , al ong wi th Fred Fi el ds and Wi l l i am J . Morgan , presented the year ' s s l ate of th ree mus i cal comedi es and a fo l k pl ay deal i ng wi th l i fe i n the mo unta i ns before Gatl i nburg became a famous resort town Rehearsal s are now under way i n the mus i c for the shows . The s eri es wi l l beg i n i n June wi th exact dates to be announced soon . S tudents at the Uni vers i ty as we l l as establ i s h ; d theatri cal personal i ti es wi l l be used i n cas ti ng . 4 •

.

.

.

The s eason was set to run June 30 through September 4 . remai ned the s ame as for the 1966 season .

Ti cket pri ces

The fo ur pl ays offered were

( 1 } a shorter vers i on of Anni e Get Your Gun , ( 2 } the popul ar Okl ahoma ! , ( 3 } the wel l - known mus i cal Carouse l , and ( 4} a mus i cal adaptati on of

47

n u . T. Pl ans Four Shows at Hunter Hi l l s i n 196 7 , 11 The Mounta i n Vi s i tor (Gatl i nburg , Tennessee l , January 28 , 1 96 7 , p·. 2 ·;

59 the story of Barbara Al l en , Dark of t h e Moon . pl ayed on Wednes day and Fri day ni ghts . and Th urs day and Saturday ni ghts .

Anni e Get Your Gun

Okl ahoma ! was s taged on Tues day

Carousel was pres ented on Sundays

and Dark of the Moon was the offeri n g each Monday ni ght .

Th i s fourth

p l ay qui ckly became a favori te and was i ncl uded i n every s ummer ' s repertory except 1 9 7 3 and 1 9 77 . By earl y February , there were pl ans bei ng made to l ease the Gatl i n burg-Pi ttman Hi gh School .

The s chool was wi thi n wal ki ng di s tance

of the theatre , and wo ul d be s u i tabl e for student hous i ng and food servi ce .

Arrangements were made wi th the Sevi er County Board of

Educat i on for the fac i l i ty and i t became the l i vi ng quarters for the company , not only for 1 96 7 but for each year a fter that through 1 974. An added attracti on duri ng the 1 96 7 season was the U -T S i ngers . Thi s i nternati onal l y known mus i cal group gave up thei r tradi ti onal European tour in order to become the chorus-i n- res i dence .

Adverti se­

ments i ndi cated the Uni vers i ty of Tennes s ee ' s Hunter Hi l l s Theatre presented The Uni vers i ty of Tennes see Si ngers i n associ ati on wi th The Un i vers i ty of Tennes see Theatres performi ng i n the fo ur producti ons . The Si ngers al so prepared a program of appropri ate mus i c and vis i ted a di fferent Gatl i nburg ch urch each Sunday morn i ng .

Thi s was done as

an expres s i on of the apprec i at i on to the peop l e of Gatl i nburg for thei r s upport of the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre . On March 8 , the fol l owi ng i n formati on abo ut tryouts for the 1967 company was avai l ab l e :

60 He wi l l hol d tryouts for acti ng , danci ng , and s i na i nc:t rol es for Hunter Hi l l s summer program for 1967 on Apri l 2nd at 1 : 30 P . M . and Apri l 3rd at 7 : 00 P . M . at the Uni vers i ty Cen ter on the U . T . Campus . These tryouts wi l l be i n the ma i n bal l room . The young peopl e who are sel ected for rol es i n these pl ays and who wi l l compri se the res i dent company wi l l be gi ven room , board , and the opportun i ty to work at the rate of $ 1 . 2 5 per hour i n vari ous jobs at the theatre u p to a maxi mum of 40 hours per wee k . Students are not pa i d for performances . 48 Th i s arrangement for theatre rel ated work and sal ary proved to be successful and conti nued for a number of years .

There were hourl y-rate

changes and honori a arrangements i n operati on duri na some of the summers . The staff and cast for the 1967 season are l i sted i n Tabl e I X � Rehearsa l s were conducted duri ng the Spri ng quarter a t UTK and the company moved to Gatl i nburg during the fi rs t week of June . Gatl i n bu rg res i dents cont i nued to offer support and hel p .

The

Adv i sory Counc i l col l ected $2 , 000 . 00 i n donati ons to be used for hou s i nq staff members .

In May , Mrs . \�i l ma Mapl es donated al l the costumes

from the Chucky Jack show to the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre .

Many of them

were re\'JOrked and used i n the 1967 producti ons . The Open i ng Ni ght was somethi ng s pec i a l i n 1967 , as reported i n the fol l ow i ng news i tem . A 11 brea k a l eq ! 11 ·t el egram from Howard Ba ker , Jr . , set the atmos phere for the open i n g of UT ' s Hunter Hi l l s Open A i r Theatre June 29 . Exci tement i nten s i f i ed backstage as promi nent guests were i ntroduced . · Attendi ng the performance were former Senator Hubert L Wal ter , cha i rman of the Board of Trustees of the Uni vers i ty ; Tennessee Commi s s i oner of Publ i c Servi ce Casey Pentecost � Tennes see Di rector of

48

Letter , Fred F i el ds to Mr . Royce Handl er , Ma rch 8 , 1 967 , The Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ection , The Uni vers i ty of Ten n­ essee S pec i a l Co l l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee .

61 TABLE I X STAFF AND CAST HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1967

STAFF Manag i ng Di rector - Fred Fiel ds As s i s tant to the Di rector - Woody Harriman Mus i cal . Di rector - Guy A . Boc kman C horeographer - Dorothy Fl oyd As s i s tants - Anne-Da l e Gu i nn , I rena Li nn Techn i c a l D i rector and Stage Manager - Wayne B . Durham Li ghti ng Di rector - Al Strom As s i s tant - Ri chard Way Cos tumes - Lorra i ne Dowel l , Hel en So p er Busi nes s and Promoti on Manager - Lo i s Reagan Spec i al Consul tant - Wi l l i am Morgan House Management - Wi l l i am Morgan , J r . , Dwi ght Magnuson , Tom McCa i n , Gl enn Tran tham , Charl es Sl ater

CAST Ben Harv i l l e Gene Cas h Anne-Da l e Gu i nn I rena Li nn Jac k i e Hri ght Peter .tunbrose Cl i nt Brewer Harry Turner C . L . Peters Kathy Wel ch Leon Gray Pat Mi l l i rons Betty Ownbey Charl es I . I rv i n Lewi s Bol ton Handa Coul ter Avi �1ajor Karen Shepherd

Barbara Lewi s Tony Bou l et Steve Li b i n f1ark Li nder Mi ke �ul l i n s Harry McP.ae Denni s W i n kl er Carl York L i nda Ayers Mimi Cazana Patri c i a Fraser Sarah Gi nsbu rg Phyl l i s Johnson Margaret Lester Suz i Nel son �ary Kyl e Rau l s ton Phyl l i s Shettl es Pau l a Wi l l i ams

Source : Handout Program , Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1967 , The Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti on , The Uni vers i ty of Tennes see Spec i a l Col l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee .

62 Veteran Affa i rs Joe Hutchens ; and Dr . Joe Copel and , pres i den t of Maryv i l l e Col l eae . . When Dr . Andrew Ho l t , Master of Ceremon i es , i ntro­ duced the commi ttee of Gatl i n bura • s l ead i nq bus i nes smen who hel ped s upport the theatre , t he crowd of over 1 , 000 Gatl i nbu rg res i dents a ppl auded hearti l y but not nearly as enthus i asti cal l y as the pl ay cas t d i d when Fred F i el ds , managi ng d i rector , and Dr . Guy Bockmon , mus i cal conductor appeared on s ta�e . 11They are j u s t too terri fi c for words ! 1 1 s a i d o n e dancer . . Dr. Hol t , who termed the four pl ays 11mas terpi eces 11 , u rged each quest to bri ng ten others to the theatre . I ncreas i ng by mul t i pl es of ten , he fi gured a future attendance of one mi l l i on . 11That wou l d be j us t fi ne wi th us , 11 he boas ted ami d appl aus e and shouts from the cas t . · . . . Senator Ba ker summed the succes s of the pl ays i n h i s te 1 egram . 11 I know you wi 1 1 do yours e 1 ves proud , 11 he 1 sa i d . 49 ·

Aga i n favorabl e revi ews were soon forth com i n g for al l four pro­ ducti ons .

Ann i e Get Your Gun rema i ned the favori te .

Many fel t that the

1 6 p i ece orc hestra was one reason for the succes s of the s hows .

H i dden

from the audi ence , they performed each n i ght i n the l arge l og bl ockhouse that rema i ned on s tage from the Chucky Jack set .

Most of the mus i c i ans

commuted to Gatl i nburg from Knoxv i l l e each n i gh t . . Thi rty-fi ve peop, e part i c i pated i n the fi rs t annual Drama Teachers Laboratory , conducted at Hunter Hi l l s duri ng the s ummer of 1967 . The works hop i ncl uded three days , J u l y 10-12 , of ses s i ons devoted to i mprovi ng the parti c i pants • understand i ng of theatre producti on . Emphas i s was pl aced on pl ann i ng the producti on , sel ecti on of the cas t , and unders tand i ng the i mportance of effecti ve techn i cal as pects .

A

brochure from the 1967 workshop i s con ta i ned i n the Spec i a l Col l ecti on .

49

11UT Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 11 The Summer Beacon ( Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee ) , July 7 , 1967 , p . 6 .

63 The weather cau sed a great deal of concern duri ng the 1967 season . Ra i n poured on numerous even i ngs caus i ng the cancel l at i on of performances . I n al l more than a fu l l week of producti ons were cal l ed on account of ra i n .

Thi s , natural l y , cut i nto the box-office i nta ke and cau sed

concern when d i scus s i ons of the next season were conducted . Pl ans were i n i ti ated , however , i n the early fa l l for another year of Uni vers i ty of Ten nessee Theatre at Hunter Hi l l s . 1 968 The Adv i sory Counc i l for Hunter Hi l l s con ti nued to operate .

The i r

operat i on was primari l y i n a 11name onl y11 capac i ty , however , and the pl anni ng and executi on of the Hu nter Hi l l s Theatre became the res pon s i ­ b i l i ty of the Manag i ng Di rector , Mr . Fred Fiel d s .

Worki nq d i rectl y wi th

the V i ce Presi dent • s offi ce , Mr . Fi el ds reported the budget , fi nanc i al requests , · and pl ans for each season , worki ng i ndependently of the Speech and Theatre Department.

Th i s arrangement conti nued unti l . 1973 . These

Du ring the 1968 season a renovati on of the theatre too k pl ace . changes i ncl uded the stage area s and . the l i ghti ng faci l i ti es . March , the work was underway .

By mi d

The stoc kade setti ng for Chucky Jack

was renovated in order to provi de a neu tra l set .

The spi ked po i nts were

el imi nated and what had been the bl ockhou se and the Church hou se became two el evated stages known as the bl ockhou se staae and the u pper stage . Mr . Fi el ds des i gned the stage renovati ons .

There were now seven stages

on wh i ch to perform . Cred i t for courses i n Speech and Theatre wa s offered to members of the casts of the three pl ays schedul ed duri ng the 1 968 season . was the first time such cred i t had been avai l abl e .

Th i s

Enrol l ment i n the

64 cl asses was through reg i strati on i n the eveni ng school Extens i on Di v i s i on .

Four courses , Speech 31 1 0 , Speech 3 1 20 , Speech 441 0 , and

Speech 461 0 , were taught to twenty students . Pl ans for the th i rd season conti nued n i cely duri ng the Wi nter quarter .

By Apri l , the sched u l e had been set and tryouts were hel d

Apri l 1 3 , 1 4 , and 1 5 . Camel ot , and Everyman .

The s hows schedul ed were Dark of the Moon , The performances were set for July 4 through

September 2 , n i qhtly except Mondays .

The staff and cas t for the 1 968

productions are l i sted in Tabl e X � The s econd annua l Theatre Labora tory was pl anned for fi ve days , beg i nn i ng July 1 5 .

The ourpose of the l aboratory wa s outl i ned i n

the brochure announc i ng the event . The purpose of the Laboratory i s to prov i de an i ntens i ve peri od of tra i n i ng i n theatr i cal producti on and other s peech acti v i t i es (debate , etc . ) for teachers who may have l i ttl e tra i n i ng but are neverthel es s respons i bl e for d i rect i ng these acti v i t i es i n the i r res pec t i ve schoo l s . Al so the Laboratory wi l l benefi t teachers who des i re an opportun i ty to l earn new methods and � rQced ure� , �nd the i nstructi on wi l l as s i s t teachers in a · s imol · i fi ed approach to p l ay producti on and presentati on . The program wi l l provi de parti c i pants wi th tra i n i ng i n acti ng and d i recti n9 , wi th a n emphas i s on handl i ng the · young actor on the h i gh school l evel . Instructi on , by members of The Un i vers i ty of Tennes see Theatre Staff , wi l l emphas i ze method s the teacher-d i rector may empl oy to el imi nate certa i n techn i cal probl ems concerned wi th s et con structi on , cos tumes , l i ghti ng and stage properti es . The course i s pl anned to return the teacher-di rector to h i s school better qual i fi ed to produce pl ays of excel l ent qual i ty effecti vely wi th a mi nimum of tec h n i cal i nvo l vement . S O

so

Broc hure on the 1 968 Laboratory , J u l y 1 5 - 1 9 , 1 968 , The Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti on , The Uni vers i ty of Tennes see Spec i a l Col l ecti ons L i brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee .

65 TABL E X STAFF AND CAST HUNTER H I LLS THEATR E , 1968

STAFF D i rector - Fred Fi el ds Assi stant to the Di rector - Davi d Styl es Mu s i c Consu l tant - Guy A . Bockman Mu s i ca l Di rectors - Jeanne Everette , Leon Gray Choreogra pher - Dorothy Fl oyd As s i s tants - Anne Dal e-Gu i nn , I rena L i nn Techn i ca l D i rector and Staae �1imaaer - Lewi s Bol ton L i ghti ng Di rectors - J i m s; i ndel l : Al Strom Sound - Dav i d Mc in tos h Costumes - Lorra i ne Dowel l Bu s i ness and Promotion Manager - Dav i d Styl es Spec i al Cons u l ta nt - Wi l l i am Morgan . House Mana gement - Da v i d Styl es and Staff Foreman Phys i cal Pl ant - Loy Ownby CAST

Ben Harvi l l e Barry Sm i th Anne-Da l e Gu i n n Roberta Hood Jacki e Wri g ht Al l en Bratten Kathy Wel ch Robert Hutchen s Madel yn Gri ffi th Donna Ea k i n Ronny Vena b l e Dan Owenby Judy Shep herd Lance Cooper Leon Gray . �1a rga ret Lester C l a i re Lander Carl York Le\'li s Bol ton

Shel i a Bai 1 ey Cami l l i a Greer Shel by Ba ker Harl an Hambri g ht Mary Lynn L i ttl ej ohn Jon Lutz Caro l yn McCammon Pat Morgan Suzi Nel son Debby Roqers Joan Shepherd Karen Shepherd Al an · Sherrod Vance Sherwood Barry Smi th C i ndy Sutton Stephan i e �Jeems Kathy l·Jhi te Lynn Yates

Source : Handou t Program , Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre , 1968 , The Hunter H i l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ection , The Uni vers i ty of Ten nes see Spec i a l Co l l ecti ons L i brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

66 Other members of the Speech and Theatre facu l ty who part i c i pated i n the worksho p i ncl uded Dr . Tom Cooke and Dr . Cl ark Roqers .

The

program for the f i ve day conference appears i n Tabl e X I . The 1 968 season progressed smoothly and wi th few confl i cts . three producti ons were wel l recei ved and the aud i ences grew .

Al l

Obser­

vati ons of the attendance records i nd i cated that duri nq the 1 968 s ea son :

( 1 ) from the Col l ege of Educa t i on , some 40 graduate

students came to Hunter Hi l l s for a semi nar i n drama , ( 2 ) 2 , 51 7 students attended the three product i ons u s i ng the i r student act i v i ti es card for t i c kets , ( 3 ) word-of-mouth advert i s i ng brought peopl e from every area of the s tate , as we l l as thou sands of ou t of s tate v i s i tors , . ( 4 ) seve ral l arge grou ps of d i sadvantaged students attended , i ncl ud i ng Head Start Program part i c i pants who had never seen a s tage pl ay before , ( 5 ) more than one hundred h i gh school s tudents from throughout the state v i s i ted the theatre duri ng the i r parti c i pa t i on i n the Choral Camp on the Knox v i 1 1 e campu s , ( 6) 130 s tudents of the Knoxv 1 1 1 e Co 1 1 eqe U pward Bound Program s aw the producti ons , ( 7 ) two groups from the Knoxv i l l e s ummer recreati on program attended , ( 8 ) 1 5 d i fferent conference grou ps based on the Knoxv i l l e campus were at the theatre , ( 9 ) Maryv i l l e Col l eg e bused grou ps of more than f i fty persons twi c e to Hunter H i l l s producti ons , ( 1 0 ) performances of Everyman were attended by twenty-fi ve church groups , and ( 1 1 ) ma i l orders for t i c kets began to come from al l over the Un i ted States .

Unfortunately , pauci ty of attendance fi gures

for the other s easons prevented the i ncl u s i on of such deta i l s concern i ng attendance wi th i n the other yearl y s ecti ons of th i s s tudy .

67 TABLE X I PROGRAM , 2ND THEATRE LABORATORY AT HUNTER H I LLS , 1 968

Monday , Ju l y 1 5 , 1 968 9 : 00 a . m . - 9 : 30 a . m . 9 : 30 a . m . . - 10 : 00 a . m . 1 0 : 30 a . m . · - 1 1 : 30 a . m . 2 : 00 p . m . - 4 : 30 p . m . 7 : 30 p . m .

Reg i s trat i on , Lobby Greystone Hotel Wel come and Ori entati on Tour of Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Faci l i ty Academi c Ses s i on - Greystone Techn i ca l Rehearsal Ses s i on - Theatre

Tuesday , Ju l y 1 6 , 1 968 . 10 : 00 a . m . - 1 2 : 30 p . m . 2 : 00 p . m . - 4 : 30 p . m . 8 : 30 p . m .

Rehearsal Ses s i on - Theatre Academi c Ses s i on - Greystone Performance Dark of the �1oon

Wednesday , Ju l y 1 7 , 1 968 1 0 : 00 a . m . - 1 2 : 30 p . m . 2 : 00 p . m . - 4 : 30 p . m . 8 : 30 p . m .

Rehearsal Ses s i on - Theatre Academi c Ses s i on - Greys tone Performance Camel ot

Thursday , July 18 , 1968 1 0 : 00 a . m . - 1 2 : 30 p . m . 2 : 00 p . m . - 4 : 30 p . m . 7 : 30 p . m . - 10 : 00 p . m . 10 : 30 p . m .

Rehearsal Ses s i on - Theatre Academi c Ses s i on - Greystone Academi c Ses s i on - Greystone Dress Rehearsal - Everyman

Friday , J u l y 1 9 , 1 968 1 1 : 00 a . m . - 1 2 Noon 2 : 00 p . m . - 4 : 30 p . m . 8 : 30 p . m . 1 0 : 30 p . m .

Spec i al Ses s i on - Greystone Academi c Ses s i on - Greystone Open i ng Performance - Everyman Pos t Performance - Cri ti que Laboratory F i n a l e - Greystone

Source : Brochure on the 1 968 Laboratory , July 1 5 - 1 9 , 1 968 , The Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i al Col l ecti on , The Un i vers i ty of Tennessee Spec i a l Col l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

68 The 1 968 season ended on September 2 , wi th a s pec i a l Monday n i ght performance of Camel ot .

Mr . F i e l ds l oo ked forward to another summer of

theatre acti v i t i es at Hunter Hi l l s in 1 969 and so d i d many others . 1969 Two produc ti ons were schedu l ed for the 1969 season .

Dark of the Moon ,

by now a two-year veteran , was set for Monday , Wednesday , and Fri day n i ghts .

Li ' l Abner , based on the famou s comi c s tri p by Al Capp , was

schedu l ed for Tuesday , Thursday , and Saturday n i ghts . " dark" on Sunday n i ghts .

The theatre was

T i c ket pri ces remai ned the same as i n the pas t

year . Tryouts for the 1 969 company ·were hel d r�arc h 28 , 29 , and 30 . . As usual there was a l arge turnou t .

The studen ts recogn i zed the growth

and devel opment poten tial of Hunter Hi l l s Theatre and were ah'lays enthus i asti c about a s ummer i n Gatl i nburg . 1 969 s eason are l i s ted in Tabl e X I I .

The s taff and cast for the

Aga i n , rehearsal s were conducted

duri ng the Spri ng quarter and the company moved to Gatl i n burg i n earl y June . One i nteres ti ng change occurred duri ng the 1969 season .

The seati ng

arrangement was reduced from 2 , 50 1 ori g i nal seats to approx i matel y 1 , 800 . Al though the attendance i n the pas t years had been good , i t had never reached fu l l capaci ty , and Mr . Fi el ds knew that by reducing the number of seats the royal ty charges for the pl ays presented wou l d be reduced . The aud i ences , whi ch averaged around 1 , 000 peopl e per performance for the fi rs t three years , cou l d sti l l be accOI11TlQ dqted wi thout an,y prQbl ems wi th the reducti on i n seati nq capaci ty .

69 TABLE X I I STAFF AND CAST HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1 969

STAFF D i rector - Fred Fi el ds Mus i c Consu l tant - Guy A . Boc kman Mu s i cal Di rector - Carl J . York Choreographer - Anne-Da l e Gu i nn Ass i stant - Ben Harvi l l e Techn i cal Di rector and Stage Manager - Jon Lutz Costumes - Lorra i ne Dowel l As s i stants - Al i ce Bratten , Debbi e Lutz Li ghti ng Di rector - Dav i d Kri ebs Sound - Di ck S huttl eworth Bus i ness and Promotions Manager - Barry Smi th House Manager - Barry Smi th and Staff Foreman , Physi cal Pl ant - Loy Ownby CAST

·

Ben Harv i l l e Rob i n Kemppa i nen Gi nny MacCol l Ava l yn Pai nter Li anne Kress i n Ernest Fos ter Lance Cooper Shel i a Bai l ey Rob i n Kemppa i nen Jo Hutchens El l en Lu ttrel l Ronny Venabl e Dan Owenby . Becky Greene Jack Dowel l Al l en Bratten Anne-Da l e Gu i nn Charl otte Headri ck Ki t Ewi ng Larry Cl i fton Sal l y Co pel and Jan Cordel l Kaye Dav i s

Dan i el Dev i tt Pam Eaves John Foster Harl an Hambright Betsy Henkel Jul i a H i c kman Pri sci l l a Hobday Arny Ho l l oway Tom Jones Jan Kratschmer Jon Lu tz Carol yn McCammon Suzi Nel son Judd Newman Bec ky O�t1ens Yvonne Ous l ey Larry Rogers Al an Sherrod Betty Shuttl eworth Susan Stani fer Kenneth Steel e Ruthanne Tayl or Carl York

Source : Handout Program , Hunter H i l l s Theatre , 1 969 , The Hu nter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i al Col l ection , The Uni vers i ty of Tennessee Spec i a l Co l l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee .

70 Over the years a l arge number of l etters arri ved at D r . Andrew Ho l t ' s offi ce i n s u pport of the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre effort . l etter arri ved duri ng 1969 .

One such

After pra i s i n g Dr. Ho l t ' s l eaders h i p as

Pres ident of the U n i vers i ty of Tennes see and commenti ng on the l ong drawn favorabl e attent i on the athl eti c depa rtment had brought to the u n i vers i ty , the wri ter added the fo l l owi ng : There i s an enti re l y d i fferent area , and a mos t wel come one , whi c h i s bri ngi ng favora b l e attenti on to the U n i vers i ty . I refer to Hunter-Hi l l s Theatre and the outs tand i ng wo rk Fred F i el ds has done in that very fine faci l i ty . Peopl e v i s i t i ng Ga tl i n bu rg , who have seen the pl ays pres ented there for the past three years , have been l av i s h i n the i r pra i s e of the producti ons . Peopl e s ee these pl ays who wou l d never see an athl eti c event . It i s doing a great deal to enhance the Un i vers i ty ' s i mage throughou t the Uni ted States . I appl aud Mr . Fiel ds , and a l l the tal ented peopl e worki ng wi th h i m . I wi s h there had been a s i mi l ar set-up when I was a s tudent there , treadi ng my hour on the boards . . . . I have to l d Mr . F i e l d s how impres s i ve I thi nk Hu nter Hi l l s Theatre i s , but I thought you shou l d a l so recei ve thanks from u s al l for ena bl i ng him to have such a fi ne opportuni ty . I hope you wi l l expres s my apprec i ation to a l l these peopl e and accept my persona l thanks for ma k i ng the Un ivers i ty such a su peri or i n sti tu t i on . 5 1 Letters o f th i s type conti nued to b e recei ved over the years . Excerpts from other l etters of apprec i ati on are presented i n Append i x · VI . Al though Dark of the Moon was h i g h l y succes sfu l on the Hunter Hi l l s stage , the 1969 producti on of L i ' l Abner was more appeal i ng to the s ummer aud i ences .

L i ' l Abner proved so s ucces sfu l , add i t i on a l performances

had to be schedu l ed .

51

By the first of Augu s t , the schedu l e was changed

Letter , Mr . D i c k Lane to D r . Andrew Hol t , 1969 , The Hunter H i l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ection , The Uni vers i ty of Tenn es see Spec i al Col l ecti on s L i brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee .

71 to i nc l ude Fri day n i ght performances of Li ' l Abner i n add i t i on to the Tuesday , Thu rsday , and Saturday n i ght presentati ons .

Over the

past three years , Dark of the Moon had become a l most synonymou s wi th Hunter Hi l l s .

I t was d i fficu l t to cu t bac k on the producti on of th i s

yearly favori te , bu t i t proved to be benefi c i a l to attenda nce to do so i n 1 969 . The regu l ar season ended on August 29 , bu t a spec i a l performance of Dark of the Moon wa s al ready schedu l ed for l a ter i n September . The Tennes s ee Theatre Assoc i a ti on hel d i ts second Tennessee Theatre Conference i n Gatl i n burg on September 1 1 , 1 3 , and 14 .

The program

i nc l uded a cook-ou t at Hunter Hi l l s for al l attend i ng and a s pec i a l presentation o f Dark o f the Moon o n September 1 3 .

Wel l known Broadway

and Ho l lywood actress , Mi l dred Dunnock a ttended the conference and s pec i a l showi ng of Dark of the Moon .

Later , her comments on the

produc t i on were pu bl i shed . Las t n i ght I wen t to see the pl ay . I d i d not part i cu l arl y l oo k forward to i t . I ' ve seen perhaps s i x producti ons ( of Dark of the Moon ) and qu i te hones tly I don ' t l i ke amateur theatri cal s . I don ' t honestly care about go i ng to a s how unl es s i t offers me someth i ng very spec i al . I wan ted to go , because I thought I wou l d get a feel i ng of wha t thi s group i s l i ke , and I wou l d get some sense of who I wou l d s peak to th i s afternoon . But I d i dn ' t anti ci pate the performance . I was absol u tel y capti vated . I t has done someth i ng for me--far over and beyond the opportu n i ty to come here and s pea k to you . It gave me a rev i ved sense of the exc i tement , the sati s fact i on of bei ng in a pl ay . There were moments l a st ni ght when I was not s i tt i ng back wa tch i ng . Of cours e , the s etti ng i s so extraord i nary --and to come i nto that theatre wi th that scene ta ki ng pl ace on the moun tai n , I thought , Oh how marvel o u s - - how extraord i nary that here i n th i s mou nta i n sett i ng someth i ng can be done that can never be done on the Broadway s tag e .

72 Those young peopl e had two or three moments of such marvel ou s ensembl e work that i t seemed to me there mu st be someth i ng go i ng through them and out to the audi ence and comi ng back to them . . . . Somehow or other i t wa s absol utely right . Everythi ng about l ast n i ght was ri ght . And then the s how was over , and the peopl e came out , and someone sa i d , I had tears i n my eyes . They were so enthu s i at i c ! And i t wa sn ' t j u s t pretty ma nners . I t was rea l . They l oved i t l ast n i gh t . And I l oved i t- -and I am so tough . I am so bored wi th so much of the stuff that I see . . . . Wel l , you can say they are marvel ously tra i ned . Yes , they were--but there was someth i ng extra l a st n i ght . 52 No doubt there were many others who agreed wi th Ms . Dunnoc k ' s comments .

The Theatre Conference proved to be h i ghly successfu l and the

s pec i a l performance at Hun ter Hi l l s certa i n l y contri bu ted . The s pec i al performance of Dark of the Moon ended the 1 969 s eason . Pl ans for 1 970 , however , were started i mmed i atel y . 1 970 Wi th the achi evements of four seasons beh i nd h i m , Mr . · Fi el ds was abl e to pl an the 1 970 season wi th few compl i cati ons .

I t was dec i d ed

early . i n the year that three of the most popu l ar s hows of past years wou l d be presented duri ng the summer of 1 97 0 .

These i nc l uded both s hows

from the 1 969 season , Dark of the Moon and Li ' l Abner , al ong wi th one of the mos t popu l ar mus i ca l s of a l l times , Okl ahoma ! .

Duri ng the 1 967

s eason Okl ahoma ! had proved to be an excel l ent cho i ce and a h i ghly a ppeal i ng show a l together . Casti ng i n early spri ng and rehears i ng on the Uni vers i ty of Tennes s ee campus duri ng the S pri ng quarter was aga i n used i n preparati on for the 1 970

52

''Mi l dred Dunnock Loo ks at the Dark of the Moon , " The Tennessee Al umnu s , December 1969 , p . 21 .

73 season .

The s taff and ca s t for 1 970 are l i sted i n Ta bl e X I I I .

Soon ful l col or brochures were ava i l ab l e al l over the s tate announci ng the fi fth season of mu s i cal enterta i nment under the s tars .

Li ' l Abner

pl ayed each Tuesday and Fri day , Dark of the Moon too k the s tage on Thursday and Okl ahoma ! was s taged on Wednesday and Saturday .

The three shows

a l ternated on Sunday even i ngs and there were no performances on Mondays . Sunday performances of Okl ahoma ! were g i ven on Ju l y 5 , J u l y 26 , and August 1 6 .

Sunday performances of Dark o f the Moon were s et for June 2 1 ,

July 12 , August 2 , and Augu s t 23 .

L i ' l Abner was presen ted on Sunday

June 28 , July 1 9 , and August 9 . There wa s an i ncrea se i n ti c ket pri ces duri ng the 1 970 season . Adu l t t i ckets were $2 . 50 and s tudent ti c kets were $ 1 . 50 .

Th i s was

the first change i n t i c ket pri ces s i nce the f i rs t curta i n went up i n 1 966 . By open i ng n i ght , al l the producti ons were ready for the apprec i ati ve crowd of fi rst n i ghters . throughout the summer .

The performances were al l wel l recei ved The season of shows for 1 970 proved to be a

wi nn i ng season i n every way producti on and arti sti c wi se . Duri ng the 1 970 season , Uni vers i ty of Tennessee students i n the company were g i ven the opportun i ty to ta ke a Speech a nd Theatre course at Hunter H i l l s .

The course wa s Speec h and Theatre 3141 , Outdoor

Repretory Thea tre , and was offered for three hours cred i t .

Th i s was

the first time that co l l eoe cred i t wa s ava i l abl e for worki ng at Hunter H i l l s Theatre .

74 TABLE X I I I STAFF AND CAST HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1 970

STAFF Di rector - Fred F i e l d s As s i stant to t h e Di rector , Company Manager - Ben Harv i l l e Mus i ca l D i rector - James Bri mer Assi s tan t - Wi l l i am Brockmei er Mus i cal Consul tant - Guy A . Boc kman Choreographer - Anne-Da l e Gui nn Costumer - Lorra i ne Dowel l Ass i stant - Al i ce Bratten Li ghti ng , Sound D i rector - Al an Sherrod Stage Ma nager - F . Harl an Hambri ght Bus i ness and Promotion Manager - L i nda Lashbroo k House Manager - Li nda Las hbrook and Staff Foreman , Phys i cal Pl ant - Loy Ownby CAST Kenneth Steel e Stephen F . Archdeacon Al We i tzel Dav i d Jones Tom Jon es Carolyn Rogers Robi n Kemppa i nen Mi chael Rus sel Rebecca A . Mclaugh l i n Ronny Venabl e Shel i a Ba i 1 ey Judd Newman Jack Dowel l Lance Cooper S i d ney Arno l d Cl aude Peters F . Harl an Hambri ght Yvonne Mi chel l e Ou sl ey Stan Sel l s Rebecca L . Owens Lai nne Kres s i n Becky Greene Betsy Hen kel

Suz i Nel son C harl otte Headri c k V i ctoria Grey Jo Dos ter Bonny Ba ker Sam Dal ton R i c k Overton Dav i d Byrd Amy Ho l l oway Debby Rogers El l en Luttrel l Al l en Bratten Maura Fl anagan Paul ette Park Cynth i a Robertson Li anne Kres s i n Lori Al l en Lauri e Grefe Caro l yn Mclammon Handa John son Steve Fau st Barry Smi th

Source : Handout Program , Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1 970 , The Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ection , The Uni vers i ty of Tennessee Spec i al Col l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes s ee .

75 The thea tre i tsel f became more and more popu l ar wi th v i s i tors and area res i dents .

In a l etter to Mr . Fi elds , one of these h i gh l y

pl eased patrons gave h i s i mpres s i on of the thea tre a n d grounds . Las t week my wi fe and I had the pri v i l ege of a ttend i ng the open i ng performance of Okl ahoma ! and we are so gl ad we went ! . . . They i nv i ted us to come to the theatre and see for our­ sel ves what was bei n g offered . Our menta l pi cture of the Hunter H i l l s Theatre fac i l i ti es was a cl eari ng i n the wi l derness wi th perhaps temporary type seati ng for the patrons . When we drove i n to the parki ng l ot we sti l l d i d not rea l i ze what a beauti ful s i te awa i ted u s beyond the ti cket off i ce . The l ovely grounds , s o carefu l l y tended and l andsca ped perfectly for the terra i n defi n i tely adds to the charm of the theatre s i te . The stage , seati ng arrangement , fl ower beds , even conces s i on s tands are attracti ve . Al l of th i s doesn ' t j ust " happen 11 we rea l i ze that some ded i cated peopl e mus t be i nvol ved i n ma k i ng th i s poss i b l e . Okl ahoma ! was a s \'/el l presented as any s how we have seen and was del i ghtful entertai nment . The performers , from s tars to chorus members s eemed to pour thei r hearts and soul s i n to the producti on wi th the resul t that everyone enj oyed i t thoroughJy. These peopl e mus t work very d i l i gen tly to come -up wi th a perfect performance , even on the fi rs t n i gh t . In order to accompl i s h th i s they mu st have a great di rector ! . . . th i s wa s most ev i dent . We j u s t wanted to say i n our own way . . . congratu l a­ ti ons to you and al l the ta l ented peopl e who have a part i n ma ki ng Hunter Hi l l s Theatre ava i l abl e to th i s commun i ty . You can b e sure we are " s pread i ng the \t�ord " and wi 1 1 be there for each new show . 5 3 •

•

•

The thea tre faci l i ty has al ways been an i mpres s i ve s i te for peopl e attend i ng for the f i rs t time .

In 1 970 i t was certa i n l y enchanti ng .

Comments l i ke those expres sed a bove were not rare . The 1 970 s eason cl osed on August 29 wi th a fi na l Saturday even i ng performance of Okl ahoma !

53

Letter , A . W . Patterson to Mr . Fred Fi el ds , June 22 , 1970 , The Hunter H i l l s Theatre Spec i al Col l ection , The Un i vers i ty of Tennessee Spec i a l Co l l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

76 1971 Three pl ays were offered duri ng the 1971 s eason .

These were Dark

of the Moon , Okl ahoma ! , and The Sound of Mu si c , another s eason of bl oc kbuster producti ons .

The Sound of Mu s i c pl ayed on Tuesday and

Dark of the Moon was presented on Thu rsday ni qhts .

Fri day ni ghts .

Okl ahoma ! was the attraction on Wednesday and Saturday n i ghts .

The

three s hows al ternated on Sunday eveni ngs , as the three had ·done i n 1970 , and the theatre was 11dark11 on Monday n i ghts .

The Sound of Mus i c pl ayed

on July 4 , J u ly 2 5 , and Augu s t 1 5 , for i ts Sunday performances .

Dark

of the Moon Sunday performances were June 20 , J u l y 1 1 , Augus t 1 , and Augu st 22 . August 8 .

Okl a homa ! pl ayed on Sunday n i ght on June 27 , J u l y 1 8 , and There was a spec i a l Monday even i ng performance of The Sound of

Mus i c on July 5 .

The season ran from June 18 to Augu s t 28 .

Ti cket

pri ces for the 1 971 season were set at $2 . 50 for adu l ts and $ 1 . 50 for students , the same pri ces that were charged i n 1 970 . Aga i n duri ng 1971 tryouts were conducted duri ng the S pr i ng quarter . Rehearsal s were a l so underway duri ng the quarter and the company moved to Gatl i nburq around the f i rs t of June .

The s taff and cas t are l i s ted

i n Tabl e X I V . Du ri nq the season thi ngs progressed pretty much the same way they had for the pas t f i v e s easons .

The s hows al l went off on schedul e ,

the performances were commendabl e , and the producti ons were h i ghly enterta i n i ng .

One rev i ewer borrowed a l i ne from Okl ahoma ! i n stati ng

that everythi ng was up-to-date at Hunter Hi l l s Theatre .

The same

cri ti c l i s ted the fol l owi ng h i gh l i ghts of the Okl ahoma ! production :

·

77 TABLE X I V STAFF AND CAST HUNTER HILLS THEATRE , 1971

STAFF D i rector - Fred Fi el ds Company Manager , Techni cal Di rector - Robert Lyon , J r . Mus i cal Di rector - Carl York Mu s i cal Consu l tant - Guy A . Boc kman . Choreographer - Anne-Da l e Gu i nn Costumer - Lorra i ne Dowel l Stage Manager , Ass i s tant Techn i cal Di rector - James Harri son Li ghti ng and Sound Di rec tor - Al an Sherrod Busi ness and Promoti ons Manager - Ka thari ne Pearson As s i s tant - Vernon Brads haw Property Mi s tresses - Amy Hol l oway , Li anne Kres s i n House Management - Pearson and Staff Foreman , Phys i cal Pl ant - Loy Own by CAST Al i ce Bratten Bonn i e Baker Wi l l i am Broc kme i er L i bby Carro 1 1 Kathl een Cov i ngton Nancy Johnston Debb i e Cunni ngham Dav i d Jones Chri s Smi th Becky Greene Beverly Gwi nn Sam Dal ton John Lu tz Mary Jane Harv i l l Jul i a H i c kman Li anne Kres s i n Amy Ho l l oway Ronny Venabl e Chri s Keefe Cynth i a Robertson Nancy Law R i c k Overton Nancy Le i chsenn i ng Lance Cooper Anne-Dal e Gu i nn Susan Stani fer Georgene Steven s Al l en Bratten . Shel i a Bai l ey S i dney Arnol d Mary Ann B i l bro Al l en Bratten Nancy Boone Dav i d Byrd

Steve Fau s t Geoff Greene Steve Hambaugh Joe Hyder Tom Jones Dav i d Manner Steve �1arti n Bo b McGee Ri c k Terry Henry Gu i goe Joe Lewel l ing Da l e D i c key Jul i e Ogl e Andrew Vader Bruegge Al �Ie i tzel Judy Chernoff Sarah Tanner Lori Hen l ey

Source : Handout Program , Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1971 , The Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti on , The Un i vers i ty of Tennessee S pec i a l Co l l ecti ons L i brary , Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee .

78 Carry-away memori es : Choreography of the dream bal l et , wardrobe , and danc i ng of Al l en Bratten and Lance Cooper i n the ba l l et fi ght . Thei r timi n g i s masterfu l . . Lead .. dancers i n the Dream Bal l et are Anne-Dal e Gu i nn , Al l en Bratten and Lance Cooper . The en ti re company s i ng i ng a med l ey of Okl ahoma ! h i t tunes . A who l esome even i n g of enterta i nmen t , somethi ng for each member of the fami l y . 54 As the s eason drew to a cl ose , Mr . F i el ds commented tha t the year had been one of the best s i nce the Un i vers i ty of Tennes see operati on of Hunter Hi l l s Theatre began .

The box-off i ce i nta ke wa s on the i ncrease ,

i n compari son to other years , and the weather had cooperated more than usua l .

I t was reported that there was only one compl ete ra i n out the

ent i re season . The Tennessee Thea tre Conference was hel d i n Ga tl i n burg i n September . The cas t of The Sound of Mus i c was reas semb l ed and gave a s pec i al perfor­ mance for the peopl e attendi ng the conference . was a youn

Among those i n attendance

man who performed on the stage of Hunter H i l l s i n 1957 .

John Cul l um was a s pea ker at the Conference .

Mr .

I t wa s h i s fi rst vi s i t to

Hunter Hi l l s s i nce h i s days a s John Sev i er i n Chucky Jac k .

H e recal l ed

the many fond remembrances of that season i n conversati ons wi th the cast members and gave al l of them words of encouragemen t . Fo l l owi ng the s pec i a l performance o f The Sound o f Mus i c , the thea tre was put to s l eep aga i n only to be awakened i n 1972 wi th new shows , new faces , and renewed exc i tement .

54

" Everyth i ng Fine With Okl ahoma ! , " The Knoxv i l l e- News - Senti nel ( Knoxv i l l e , Ten nessee ) , August 1 , 1971 , p . F-5.

79 1972 The 1 9 7 2 season i ncl uded one of the mo s t famous mu s i c al s of the Ameri can thea tre , Hel l o , Dol ly! , the peren n i a l favori te , Dark of the Moon , and a Shakes pearean comedy , A M i d s ummer Ni aht ' s Dream .

Th i s was one of

the mos t amb i ti ous and di verse schedul e of offer i ngs ever pl �nned .

The

seas on ran J u n e 16 through September 2 wi th performances each ni g h t except Mondays .

Hel l o , Dol ly! o pened on Fri day , June 1 6 and p l ayed each Thursday

and Saturday and on Tuesdays June 20 , 27 , J u l y 4 , 25 , and Augu s t 1 5 and on Sundays June 2 5 , J u l y 1 6 , Augu s t 6 , and Au gu s t 2 7 and one Monday ni g h t performance o n J u l y 3 .

Dark of the Moo n opened on Su nday J u ne 1 8 and

. pl ayed eac h . Wednesday and Fri day and on Sundays J u l y 2 , 23 , and Aug u s t 13 .

A M i d s ummer N ight ' s Dream was advert i s ed as a maj o r prod ucti on and

pl ayed on Sunday J u l y 9 , Tuesday J u l y 11 , Tuesday J u l y 18 , Sunday J u l y 30 , Tuesday Augu s t 1 , Tues day Aug u s t 8 , Sunday Aug u s t 20 , Tuesday Aug u s t 22 , and Tuesday Augu s t 2 9 .

Ti c ket pri ces were i ncreas ed for the seventh season

to $3 . 00 fo r adu l ts and $1 . 7 5 for s tudents . As i n prev i ous years , the s hows were cast duri ng tryo u ts i n the S pr i ng quarter .

Rehearsal s conti n u ed unti l t i me to move to the mou n ta i n s fo r

the summer .

An arti cl e i n the Uni vers i ty of Ten n e s s ee ' s Da i ly Beacon

expl a i ned the rehears a l set- u p . Students havi ng n i gh t cl asses i n the Human i ti e s B u i l d i n g have probably seen va r i ou s bl ac k - l eotarded fi gu res d o i n g l ea ps and twi rl s down the hal l s or have heard vo i ces s i ng i ng " Hel l o , Dol l y , " and " Ro c k of Age s . " Res t a s s u red that they are not fi gments of the i ma g i na­ ti on , b u t thi s yea r ' s Hunter Hi l l s Thea tre company re­ hears i n g for the s ummer season . . . .

80 The 48-member company , composed l argely of UT students , i s under the di recti on of Fred Fi el ds for the seventh season . The s hows were cast at the beg i nn i ng of th i s quarter , and the com g� ny has been rehears i ng every day s i nce that time . ·

The staff and cast for the 1 972 season are l i s ted i n Tabl e XV . A facel i ft of sorts was g i ven the theatre pri or to . the 1972 open i ng producti on .

Adverti s i n g s i gns were updated and add i ti onal d i recti onal

markers were des i gned . bl ue .

The new col or scheme wa s orange , wh i te , and

These s i gn s were used to ma rk the entrance to the .theatre parki ng

l ot from U . S . 73 and 441 and a t strategi c l ocati ons . in the Gatl i nburg area to ass i s t those i n search of the theatre .

The we l l graphed s i gns

and markers not onl y added to the wel l -groomed l oo k a t the theatre , but were snappy atten t i on getti ng dev i ces .

The draft d rawi nqs of these

new s i gns and markers are i ncl uded i n' The Hun ter H i l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ec t i on . I t shoul d be noted that mus i ca l accompan iment for the s hows wa s prov i ded by a sma l l mus i c en sembl e each season .

After the 1967 season ,

when a 1 6 p i ece orches tra pl ayed , the mu s i cal ensembl es rema i n ed sma l l i n s i ze but l a rge i n a b i l i ty .

The orchestra for the 1972 season , for

exampl e , was composed of twi n pi anos , ba s s , percus s i on , fl ute , and banjo . The mus i c i ans were under the di rection of James Brimer , Mus i c Di rector for the 1972 season , and i n cl uded Geoff Greene , Marcus Shi rl ey , Wi l l i am Pearson , Del i a Ha l l ums , and Becky Greene .

55

11Hunter Hi l l s Shm>�s Set , 11 The Dai ly Beacon ( Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee ) , May 1 , 1 972 , p . 4 .

81 TABLE XV STAFF AND CAST HUNTER H I LLS TH EATRE , 1972

STAFF D i rector - Fred F i el d s Company Manager a n d Techn i cal Di rector - Ben Harv i l l e As s i s ta n t Tec h n i c a l Di rector - Wi l l i am Pearson Mu s i cal Di rector - James Brimer Choreogra pher - Anne-Dal e Gu i nn Cri s s As s i s tant - Al l en Bratten Wardrobe Mi stress - Rebecca Greene Li ghti ng D i rector - Al an Sherrod Bus i ness and Promoti on Di rector - Ka thari ne Pearson As s i s tant for Bu s i ness - Al i ce Bratten As s i s tant for Promotion - Kitty Wel c h House Manager - Pearson , Ownby and S taff Foreman , Phys i cal Pl ant - Loy Ownby As s i s ta n t - Cl arence Ros e CAST Kathl een Covi ngton· Bonny Ba ker Kenneth Loes c h Cl ay Coury Amy Ho l l oway Andrew Vorder Bru egge Ski p Covi ngton Betti e Lee Mason Shel i a B a i l ey Rebec ca Greene Ronny Venabl e Robert Hutchens Steve Marti n Chri s Smi th Joe J efcoat S i d ney Arnol d Al l en Bratten Jack Center

Lance Cooper John Lee Lee Ou sl ey Stan Sel l s J i m S teffan i a k Joe Hyd er L i sa Bri negar Patti Bryant Madelyn Gri ffi n Del i a Ha l l ums Nancy Johnson Li anne Kres s i n Lau ra McCammon Jean McMaster J ayne Morgan Cynth i a Robertson Judy Rye Ki tty Wel c h Jenny Lou �Joods

Source : Handout Program , Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre , 1 97 2 , The Hu n ter H i l l s Thea tre Spec i a l Col l ec t i on , The U n i vers i ty of Tenn essee Spec i a l Col l ec ti ons L i b rary , Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see .

82 The Uni vers i ty Cen ter Ticket Offi ce sol d ti ckets fo r the producti ons duri ng the 1 972 season .

Uni vers i ty of Tennes see students co nti nued to

use their acti vi ti es cards to a ttend the product i on s free of addi ti onal charge .

The Center al so sponsored buses to Hunter H i l l s at di fferent

times duri ng the summer . One · of the mos t i nteres t i ng thi ngs to ever occur at Hunter H i l l s took p l ace duri ng the 1 972 season .

The Uni vers i ty of Tennes see Publ i c

Rel ati ons Bureau sel ected the Hunter Hi l l s story for the subject of a tel evi s ion spec i al , fi l med at the Uni vers i ty of Ten nessee duri ng the earl y rehears al s and l ater at the theatre .

Fi l mi ng actual l y s tarted on Apr i l 3

and conti nued , at vari ous times , unti l September 3 .

Early rehears al s , set

con s tructi on , costume bu i l di ng , dances , each facet of the _ prepara t i on per i od was h i g h l i ghted in the s how .

A co l l age of scenes- - i n tervi ews ,

commen tari es , rehearsal s , performance s hots-- presented the s hows mes saqe . The program was enti tl ed 11Mr . Fi el d s , Th i s Cantel ope I s For You . ..

The

ti tl e was taken from an ori g i na l l i ne used by one of the company members i n pres enti ng a bi rthday g i ft to Mr . Fie l ds .

Al so , Mr . Fi el ds had once

joking l y rema rked that he wo u l d bu rst heads l i ke cantal opes if the per­ formances d i d not meet wi th h i s expectati ons . The tel evi s i on spec i a l on Hunter Hi ll s wa s s hown on one coiTIYlerc i a l sta t i on i n each tel evi s i on market across the s ta te .

I t recei ved a great

deal of favorabl e response from the v i ewers and there were a number of requests for a rerun of the program .

The fi l m a l so won 1 st Pl ace

nat i onal l y i n a con test sponsored by the Ameri can Col l ege Publ i c Rel ati ons Assoc i a t i on .

The program was f i rst ai red on May 13 , 1973 .

83 1973 Hel l o , Dol ly! proved to be a bi g h i t at Hunter Hi l l s , j us t as i t had been on Broadway , and i t wa s one of the f i rs t s hows sel ected for i ncl u s i on i n the 1973 season .

One of the s hows not i nc l uded was Dark

of the Moon , the fi rst time s i nce 1 967 that the show had not been a maj or product i on at the summer theatre .

Mr . F i el ds fel t that a s eason

that d i d not i ncl ude Dark of the Moon was appropri ate for 1973 .

The

other s how on the b i l l for 1973 was a ch i l dren ' s theatre cl as s i c , The Wi zard of Oz .

Dol ly and Oz were the on ly mus i cal s presented i n

1973 , wi th Dol ly ta ki ng over the stage on Wednesday , Fri day , and Sunday n i ghts and The Wi zard of Oz bl owi ng i n on Tuesday , Thursday , and Saturday n i ghts .

I t a l l started each even i ng at 8 : 30 .

Hel l o , Dol ly! opened on

June 15 and The Wi zard of Oz opened on June 1 6 . Those s tudents sel ected for i ncl u s i on i n the 1973 company began rehearsal s , as was by now s tandard operating pro cedure , duri ng the Spri ng quarter .

The staff and cas t are l i sted i n Ta bl e XV I .

The 1973 s eason marked the fi rst s eason that Hunter Hi l l s operated under the l ogo of The Uni vers i ty of Tennessee Theatres .

Th i s ti tl e had

only recentl y been adopted to i ncl ude a l l theatre acti v i t i es s ponsored , fi nanc i a l l y and otherwi se , by the Speech and Theatre Departments .

I n s tead

of conducti ng bu s i ness through the V i ce Presi dent ' s offi ce , Mr . Fi el ds

·

now channel ed al l acti ons and dec i s i ons for Hunter Hi l l s Theatre through th i s new di v i s i on of the department . Hel l o , Dol ly! and The W i zard of Oz were both recei ved we l l and hea ped more l aurel s on the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre operati on .

The Wi zard of Oz

d i d not recei ve the acc l a i m that had been hoped for i t , however , and

84 TABLE XVI STAFF AND CAST HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1973

STAFF D i rector - Fred F i el ds Mu s i c D i rector - James Thomas Brimer Techn i ca l D i rector and Stage Manager - Chri s topher Sm i th Assi s tant Tech n i ca l D i rector - And rew Vorder Bruegge As s i s tant Stage Manager - Geoff Greene Choreographer . - Anne-Dal e Cri s s As s i s tant Choreographer - Al l en Bratten Wardrobe Mi stres s - Lorra i ne Dowe l l As s i stants to the Wardrobe Mi s tres s - Rebecca Greene , John Lee L i ght i ng D i rector - Al an Sherrod Box Offi ce and T i c kets - Al i c e Bratten Promoti onal D i rector - Susan Kemppa i nen House Management - Bra tten , Kemppa i n en , Ownby , and Sta ff Foreman , Phys i ca l Pl ant - Loy Ownby CAST Ka thl een Jordan Cov i ngton Debra Street Mi chael Jerni gan John Craven Ka thy Bres ee Ma rk Young John Lee Yvonne Ous l ey Laura Edwa rds Sue Ri patti Robert Reg i ster Robert Hutchens Fred L i n kenho ker Bo b Wi l son Steven Gregory Patri c i a Ba i l ey Patri c i a Brantl ey Andrew Vorder Bruegge Robert Breed i n g Debbi e Bul l ock Jackson Center funy Cowa rt

·

Steve Erwi n Jane Ferguson Stephen Fos ter Mary Gi l es Jenn i fer Greene Stephen Gregory Davi d Ke i th Joe Jefcoat Ri ck Layton Steve Lobert i n i Owen Lua 1 1 en Mlanda �1oore Fonda Payne Patsy Powers Luci Reeve Sue Ri pa tti Ki tty Wel ch Al l en Bratten Margaret Wheel er Jacki e Wi 1 1 ard John Ruch Terry Mclemore

Source : Handou t Program , Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1973 , The Hunter H i l l s Theatre Spec j a l Col l ecti on , The Un i versi ty of Ten nes see Spec i a l Col l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see .

85 attendance was not al ways wh at it might have been fo r another mus i cal A h i gh l y succes sfu l producti on at the Uni vers i ty

on the order of Do l ly.

of Tennes see Knoxv i l l e campus preceded the Hunter Hi l l s production of the show and was the reason the s how had been i ncl uded i n the season ' s offeri ngs . On Au�u s t 2 5 , the fi nal n i gh t of performan ces for 1973 , a spec i a l presentati on took pl ace . of Dark of the Moon .

The res i dent company gave a s pec i a l performance

The s how was ded i ca ted to Mr . Fi el ds wi th thanks .

Thi s s tudent conducted " s pec i a l " was d i rected by Robert Hutchens , wi th mus i ca l d i rect i on by Joe Jefcoa t .

Al l en Bratten was res pons i b l e for the

choreography , l i ghti ng was by Al an Sherrod and cos tumes by lorra i ne Dowel l . Each s tudent had contri bu ted someth i ng to the s pec i a l producti on for Mr . Fi el ds , a person they al l consi dered to be very spec i a l . I n the fal l of 1973 there was a change i n the course cred i t gi ven for performi ng at Hunter Hi l l s .

Speech and Theatre course 31 41 was

chanqed to a theatre cou rse wi th the s ame number and the ti tl e wa s changed to Outdoor Repretory Producti ons .

Three hours of cred i t was offered .

Al so , theatre course 41 41 was added .

Th i s was an upper di vi s i o n course

number wi th the same ti tl e and the same number of credi ts g i ven .. 1974 The 1 974 season was schedul ed to run June 14 through P.ugu s t 31 . Two producti ons were i ncl uded i n the season ' s offeri ngs , So uth Pac i fi c and Dark of the Moon .

In addi tion , a new seri es was l aunched .

The

fol l owi ng statement froM the 1974 broc hures ex pl a i ns the new endeavor .

86 Thi s summer , a new seri es of pl ays wi l l be pres ented on week-ends after the regu l arly schedul ed producti ons . THEATRE AFTER THEATRE begi ns at 11 : 30 p . m . on Fri day and Saturday even i ngs , and offers a change of pace from the 8 : 30 performances . These productions wi l l fea tu re the acti n� and di recti nq ta l ents of students and profess i onal s from the company and the Knoxvi l l e commu n i ty . Da tes and performa nces i ncl ude : Cel ebrati on July 26 and 27 , a theatre di rector ' s works hop producti on . August 2 and 3 , the York cycl e comed i es Au gus t 9 and 10 , the Pl ay Group ' s Nbp! --a new env i ronmenta l p i ece Au gust 16 and 1 7 , and to e announced Au gust 24 and 25 . 56

"

Cel ebrati on wa s al so presented at 8 : 30 on Ju l y 19 and 20 . The staff and cast who res i ded at the Hunter H i l l s campus du ri n g the 1974 summer are l i s ted in Ta bl e XV I I . Ticket pri ces were set at $2 . 50 for adul ts and $1 . 50 for s tudents . Th i s was a reduction from the 1973 pri ce for adul t ti ckets . Da i l y bus servi ce to Hunter H i l l s Thea tre from Knoxv i l l e was provi ded by Autrey Bus Li nes i n Knoxvi l l e . I n add i t i on to the major producti ons and the new Theatre After Thea tre seri es , a thea tre di rector ' s works �op was condu cted at Hunter H i l l s duri ng . the 1974 season . Th i s was the fi rst such meeti ng s i nce 1969 . The purpose of the works hop was outl i ned as fo l l ows : The Un i vers i ty of Tennes see ' s Hun ter Hi l l s Thea tre Di rector ' s Workshop has been i ns t i tu ted for teachers or theatre di rectors who des i re to improve the qual i ty and appeal of the pl ays they produce wi th and for . young peopl e . For new i ns i gh ts , we provi de an i n ten s i ve peri od of tra i n i ng i n producti on wi th a s i mpl i fi ed a pproach to theatre- -one wh i ch i s actor-centered . I n s tructi on by members of the Un i vers i ty Thea tre Staff wi l l g i ve emphas i s to methods the teacher-di rector may eMpl oy to el i mi nate much of the overpoweri n g amount of techn i cal d i ffi cul ti es encountered in l i qhti ng , sets , furn i ture ,

56

Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre Brochu re , 1974 , The Hunter H i l l s Thea tre Spec i a l Col l ecti on , The Un ivers i ty of Tennessee Speci a l Col l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

87 TABLE X V I I STAFF AND CAST HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1974

STAFF Di rector - Fred Fi el ds As s i s tant to Di rector , Company Ma n ager - Rona l d Venabl e Mu s i c Di rector - James Thomas Bri mer Choreographer - Al l en Bratten Cos tumer - Rebecca Greene Li ghti ng Des i gner - Al l an Sherrod L i ghti ng Techn i c i an - Bi l l Hearn Techn i cal Di rectors , Stage Managers - Geoffrey Greene , Andrew Vorder Brugge Busi nes s and Promotion Manager - Rona l d Venabl e Box Offi ce and House Manager - Al i ce Bratten Secretary - Rebecca Bonar Foreman , Phys i cal Pl ant - Loy Ownby CAST Cammy Roberts Cheri Roberts Steve Shi el ds Tom Jones Kathl een Jordan Rhoads Mark Younq Susan Nuss baum Steven Erwi n Wi l l i am Vi ttel l i Chri s Grabenstei n R i c k Spi vey Stefan A . Marti n J i m Gi l patrick Dav i d Frey Steve Fos ter Dougl as Ec kert Robert E . Wi l son Jerry Nei l l Ri c k Layton Joe Jefcoat Dav i d Coobs

Al Wei tzel Dona l d Thorne Don Thomas Ken Loesch Rebecca Bonar Bonny Ba ker Pat Ba i l ey Mary Shel ton Martha Vauahn Laura Edwards r�ary Gi 1 es Jul i a H i c kman Donna Hi ggi ns Wrene l�oo 1 1 ey Sal ly McCl a i n Jayne Morgan Terry �1orri s Judy Rye Rob i n �Jh i tehead L . �adelyn Gri ffi th

Source : Handou t Program , Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1 974 , The Hu n ter Hi l l s Theatre Sped al Cal l ecti on , The Uni vers i ty of Tennes see Spec i a 1 Cal l ecti ons Li brary , Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see .

88 props , etc . The Workshop i s des i gned to return the teacher-di rector to h i s group better equ i pped and qua l i fi ed to produce pl ays of excel l ent qual i ty wi th a mi n i mum of techn i ca l i nvol vement and expen s e . 57 Di rectors of the 1 974 works hop at Hunter Hi l l s were Thomas P . Cooke and Fred F i e l ds , Associ ate Profess ors of the Departmen t of Speech and Theatre .

Gues t l ecturers were Ra l ph G . Al l en , Professor and Head of

the Department ; Wanda l i e Hens haw , Assoc i a te Profes sor ; Robert Cothran , Associ ate Profes sor ; and Robert Fi el ds , As s i s tant Professor.

The

broc hure for the 1 974 works hop i s i ncl uded i n the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti on . Agai n du ri ng the 1 974 season , as i n prev i ous years , a great deal of work was done i mprov i ng the theatre faci l i ty .

Th i s i ncl uded repl ac i ng

worn out l umber throughout the stage areas , exten s i ve repa i rs on bu i l d i ngs and s tage areas , new roofs on some of the . b u i l d i ngs , pl umb i ng repa i rs , and repa i rs i n the dres s i ng rooms and s taff room areas . add i t i on , Mr . F i el ds des i g'ned a new forestage .

In

I ts con structi on al l owed

the acti on of the pl ays more i ntimate appea l and made projecti on for the performers eas i er .

As men ti oned i n the open i n g comments for th i s

chapter , a l i s t of ma i ntenance and property i mprovements and repa i rs over the years i s l i sted i n Append i x V . The maj or producti ons , the Theatre After Theatre schedu l e , the Theatre Di rector ' s Workshop , and the qeneral day to day routi ne i n ­ vol ved i n outdoor repertory theatre kept the staff and cas t extremel y busy and ded i cated a l l season .

57

On Augu st 3 1 , the f i nal curta i n came

Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Di rector ' s Workshop Brochure , 1 974 , The Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i al Col l ecti on , The Uni vers i ty of Tennes see Spec i a l Col l ect i ons Li brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

89 down on the 1974 season . In the fa l l of 1974 the thea tre courses offered at Hu nter Hi l l s were changed agai n .

Course number 3 1 41 became 3 1 53 for four hours

cred i t and 41 41 became 41 53 for fou r hours cred i t .

Thes e courses were

fi rs t offered i n the Spri ng of 1 97 5 and conti nued to be offered through the 1 977 season . 1975 In ma k i ng pl ans for the 1 97 5 season , Mr . Fi el ds ran i n to a number of obstacl es .

The bi ggest one bei ng a l arge cut back i n opera ting funds .

As early as February , Vi ce Chancel l or Wa l ter Herndon had sugqested to Dr . Al v i n Ni el son , Dean of the Col l ege of L i bera l Arts , that the 1975 summer season at Hunter Hi l l s be cancel l ed .

Th i s request was made i n

l i qht of a su bstant i a l l oss i n operati on expend i tures i n 1 974 ( see Append i x IV ) and the budget pi cture for the Uni vers i ty i n 1975 .

It

wa s strongly suggested that only four weeks o f producti ons b e pl anned , i f any . The sugges t i ons were d i s courag i ng to Mr . F i el ds and others {nteres ted i n conti nui ng the Hun ter Hi l l s operati on .

In a l etter to the Head

of the Departmen t , Dr . Ral ph Al l en , Mr . F i el ds expressed h i s concern over the proposed cancel l a tion of the lOth season .

He made the fol l owi ng

propos al wh i ch was eventual l y accepted . . . . The past n i ne years of tri al -and-error and experimentati on have taught us a great dea l and cl early i nd i ca ted more than ever the vast potenti al of th i s faci l i ty . I t i s harrowi ng to have a ten-year effort , i nto wh i c h so many have put so much , so endangered . The academ i c as pec ts of our theatre program i n Ga tl i n ­ burg have i ncrea sed over the past n i ne years , and i t i s now a v i tal part of the academ i c program .

90 Bei ng aware of the cruc i a l fi nanc i a l s i tuat i on the Uni vers i ty faces , I have been try i n g to dev i se ways i n wh i ch expenses at Hunter Hi l l s can be cut . We have al ready pl anned to reduce the season by two weeks . We wi l l have a smal l er company . Unfortunate l y , I feel that i t wi l l be necessary to expl a i n to those students who are al l owed to attend that they wi l l have to expect to rece i ve l es s compen sat i on for the work that they do and that they wi l l have to 11 g i ve 11 more to the U n i vers i ty of Tennessee for the pri v i l e9e of bei ng i ncl uded i n the res i dent company . That i s to say , I th i n k i nteres ted s tudents who real i ze the val ue of the Hun ter Hi l l s experi ence wi l l contri bute thei r serv i ces to the theatre i n exchange for the i nval uab l e l earn i ng experi ence they recei ve as members of the res i dent company . . . . I do hope that the admi n i stration of the Uni vers i ty wi l l cons i der wi th great care the val ue of Hunter H i l l s Theatre as a means of touch i ng a qreat segment of the peo pl e of Tennessee and of the Uni ted States , and real i ze the profound l earn i ng experi ence i t is for our students . Wi th these th i ngs i n mi nd , I wou l d l i ke to propose a crash program for Hunter Hi l l s Theatre for the s ummer of 197 5 . I wou l d l i ke to urge . a season just s hort of ei ght weeks � o pen i ng on Ju l y 3 and runni ng unti l August 23 . I bel i eve that we can prepare a carefu l budget wh i ch can be reasonably kept wi th i n the bounds of our box offi ce i ncome . Furthermore , I thi n k that we might search for and fi nd some fu nds from outs i de the Uni vers i ty wh i ch wou l d hel p keep our program al i ve . I thi n k that cancel l i ng Hunter Hi l l s Theatre wou l d be a trag i c mi stake . 58 Others came to the support of the Hunter Hi l l s operati on . G . Al l an Yoemans wrote to Dr . Wal ter Herndon in Apri l of 1 97 5 .

Professor In h i s

l etter he revea l ed h i s strong feel i ngs that the con ti nual commi tment of the Un i vers i ty theatre program to profess i onal producti ons l eft a . great need for an operation l i ke Hunter Hi l l s , where student actors and actresses were gi ven product i on experi ence .

58

He al so expressed h i s

Letter , Fred Fi e l ds to Dr . Ral ph Al l en , February 24 , 197 5 , The Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti on , The Uni vers i ty of Tennessee Spec i a l Col l ecti ons L i brary , Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see .

91 bel i ef that graduate and undergraduate students pl aced a great dea l of importance on the avai l a b i l i ty of the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre i n the i r dec i s i ons about theatre careers and attendance at the Un i vers i ty of Tennes see . Mr . Wi 1 1 i am L . r�i 1 1 s· , t.1ayor of Gatl i nburg , brought forth a C i ty of Gatl i n burg Resol uti on urg i ng al l ci ti zens of the resort ci ty to support the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre and expres s i ng a pprec i a t i on to the Uni vers i ty of Tennes see for the pa st n i ne years of h i gh l y enterta i n i ng theatri cal producti ons .

The Resol u t i on i s presen ted i n

Append i x V I I . Fi nal l y , i n Apri l , a l etter from the theatre facu l ty to Dr . Herndon outl i ned Mr . F i el ds ' pl ans to cut the budget , have a smal l er company , and operate fewer weeks .

The Uni vers i ty fi nal l y agreed to the proposal

and Mr . Fi el ds and staff were abl e to operate i n 1 975 . By May , the s taff and cast �a � been sel ected . Ta bl e XV I I I .

They are l i sted i n

The pl an ca l l ed for the s eason to open · an \Ju l y 3 wi th ..

Dark of the Moon , wh i ch woul d pl ay Thursday and Sunday n i ghts .

Then ,

on July 4 the Tuesday and Fri day n i ghts offering , The Fantasti c ks , had i ts open i ng , wh i l e the th i rd major product i on , You ' re a Good Man , Charl i e Brown , opened on July 5 and conti nued pl ay i ng on t�ednesday and Saturday n i ghts .

Al l seats were aga i n general admi s s i on and were set at $2 . 50

for adu l ts and $ 1 . 50 for students . The company for the 1 97 5 season l i ved i n the theatre .

The

Gatl i n burg-Pi ttman Hi gh School \'las not l eased for the i r use i n 197 5 . The performers were pa i d $35 . 00 a week for food for a per i od of five and one hal f weeks .

The move to the thea tre d i d not occur unti l June 25th .

92 TABLE XVI I I STAFF AND CAST HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1975

STAFF Di rector - Fred F i e l d s Mu s i cal Di rector - James Brimer Choreographer and Dance Master - Al l en Bratten · company Manager/Promotion Di rector - Robert Hutchens Box Offi ce Manager - Al l en Bratten Stage Manager/Techn i cal Di rector - Jerry Nei l l Ass i stant Techn i cal Di rector - Andrew Vorder Bruegge L i ghti ng and Sound Di rector - B i l l Duncan Costume Coord i nator/Wardrobe Mi s tress - Mary Gi l es Foreman , Phys i c a l Pl ant - Loy Ownby CAST John Ferguson Andres Vorder Bruegge Sal l y McC l a i n Donna Hi ggi ns Betty Cannon Ri chard Spi vey . Steve \�oods Betty Cannon Carol Goans Jul i e Harri s Bi l l Hague Mary Gi l es Edwi n Abernathy

Nancy Norton Ri chard K. Green Stephen Fos ter Mary Hampton Davi d Frey Doug Eckert Mary Armour · Kathel een Jordan Rhoads Ken Loesch Robert Hutchens Sam Dal ton Judy McDonal d Ron Hi cks

Source : Handout Program , Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre , 1975 , The Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti on , The Un i vers i ty of Tennessee Spec i a l Col l ections L i brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

93 The extreme measures ta ken by the s tudents and staff to be abl e to operate brought a fi ghting spi ri t to the operation and the theatre personnel .

A sol i d wi l l to ma ke the season success fu l had

produced a h i gh mora l e among the company members .

The annual enchantment

wi th the outdoor theatre seemed to be more preval ent than usual . Company Manager Robert Hutchens gave h i s impres s i on s of the faci l i ty to the Su nday Ed i tor . of the News -Senti nel : "There i s no pl ush curtai n , no frescoes cei l i ng , no private box for favored spectators , but i t i s d i ff i cul t to imag i ne a more spectacu l ar or beauti fu l theatre than UT ' s Hunter Hi l l s in Gatl i n burg . " I t i s a rare combi nation of natu ra l mountai n beauty and modern theatri cal de s i gn . Surrounded by some of the mo st awe some peaks in the Great Smo ki es , ei ght di fferent pl ay i n g areas are si tuated oppos i te a terraced semi -c i rcl e of seats . " I n s tage l i ght , two e l evated stages seem su spended i n space , anchored to earth on l y by the v i ew of Mount . LeConte i n the bac kground . n on e i ther s i de of the stage , revol v i ng tu rnta b l es provi de rap i d change of scene . The ma i n stage , outl i ned wi th heml oc ks , cl osely . approx imates the tradi t i onal p i c ture-frame stage . nAnd the add i ti on of a forestage i n 1974 provi des an i n timate proxi m i ty that i s unusual i n ou tdoor drama .n 59 I n the area of theatre improvemen ts , the 1 975 season s aw the i n sta l l a ­ t i on of a new . l i ghti ng control sys tem .

The con s truct i on of two l i ghti ng

towers was compl eted in 1 974 but was not i n use unti l the 1975 sea son . Mr . Fiel ds , who had desi gned the new l i ghti ng arrangemen ts , l a ter commented that the i mprovements al l owed for "a scope that i n cl udes every­ thi ng from a magn i fi cen t spectacl e to a subdued sol i l oquy . " 60

59

" Hun ter Hi l l s U n i que in i ts Setti ng , " The Knoxv i l l e News-Sent i nel ( Knoxvi l l e , Tennessee ) , June 22 , 1975 , p. 3 . 60

I bi d .

94 The theatre company for 1 975 s ponsored a Fol k Fes ti val at Hu nter H i l l s on Sunday , Augu s t 3 .

Arts and crafts , da nce ex hi bi t i o ns , two

' pl ays , and an ol d-fas h i oned pork barbeque were a l l i ncl uded i n the one day fes t i val .

The focus of the festival wa s on the cul tural . heri tage

of the Southern Hi ghl ands . $2 . 50 for s tudents .

Ticket pri ces were $4 . 00 for adu l ts and

Uni vers i ty of Tennessee s tudents wi th a cti vi t i es

cards were admi tted free of cha rge .

Part i c i pants i n the festi val

i ncl uded the Ru therford County Dancers , pres en ti ng cl ogg i ng and other ethnic dances .

The barbeque wa s ca tered by the Un i vers i ty of Tennes see

Facu l ty C l ub i n Knoxvi l l e and was not i nc l uded i n the admi s s i o n ti cket . A mounta i n pl ay produced by The Pl ay Grou p , a profes s i onal al ternati ve theatre company , and d i rected by Mary Jane McGhee of Knoxv i l l e , fol l owed the Sunday n i ght production of Dark of the Moon . The sma l l but h i gh l y ta l ented company di scovered that they had three 11 h i ts 11 on the i r hands .

The s taff was happy to annou nce an

extens i on of the season through August 1 7 . The 1975 s eason had been a succes s .

Duri ng the fa l l quarter

Mr . Jack C . Bus h , Vice Pres i dent of Bush Brothers and Company of Dandri dge , Tennes s ee , contr i buted $ 1 , 500 . 00 to the Un i vers i ty of Tennes see to be used to establ i s h an account en ti tl ed 1 1The Hunter Hi l l s Support Fund . ..

The

fund s were to be us ed for fu ture seasons at Hun ter H i l l s . I n the conc l udi ng remarks about the 1 975 sea s on , i t s hou l d be no ted that i n J anuary of that year , Mr . Fred Fi el ds had contacted various grou ps and i nd i v i dual s requ esti ng that they join the Hunter Hi l l s company i n cel ebrati ng the i r lOth year of opera t i on .

He con tacted Ma r i an Heard

of the campu s Craft House about the po s s i bi l i ty of a craft s how and/or demonstrati on .

Buck Ewi ng , Tyson Art Bu i l d i ng , was questi oned about an

95 art exh i bi t .

The pos s i bi l i ty of a ga l a i nvol v i ng t h e Uni vers i ty Opera

Theatre wa s pres ented to Ed Zambara of the Mus i c Department .

There was

a sugges ti on to Wi l l i am J . Morgan , of the Uni vers i ty Center , that a vari ety of enterta i nment by vari ou s Uni vers i ty groups mi ght be pl anned . Mrs . Carol i ne Shel l wa s as ked to bri ng the Uni vers i ty Dance Theatre to Hunter Hi l l s for s pec i al perfo rmances .

The pos s i bi l i ty of a m i d-summer

concert by the Knoxv i l l e Symphony Orchestra was presented to Conductor Arpad · Joo .

Al l these i deas and sugges ti ons recei ved negati ve res ponses

from the i nd i v i dual s contacted . The i r

reasons were vari ed and were

ma i n l y concerned w i th prev i ous commi tments for the summer months . The 1975 s eason had started wi th l i ttl e ho pe , d i scourag i ng words a bout fi nances and budgets , and pred i cti ons of doom .

I t ended , however ,

wi th renewed enthus i asm , pra i se and favorab l e rev i ews , and a f i rs t time ever " profi t •• i n sal es revenue over operati ng expens es ( see Append i x IV ) . 1976 I n February , Mr . F i el ds began pl ann i ng for the 1 1 th season of outdoor theatre product i ons .

I n i ti a l l y he was cons i deri ng several s hows .

I n an effort to present var i e ty , he con s i dered Our Town , Pi opi n , The Boy Fri end , and The Ark of Safety.

When tryouts were hel d i n

March , the pl ays sel ected were · Guys and Do l l s , Dark of the Moon , and The Sound of Mus i c . The staff and cast for the 1976 season are l i s ted i n Tabl e The season ran June 24-August 1 4 .

XIX.

The Sound o f Mu s i c pl ayed on

Wednesday and Saturday ni ghts , Guys a nd Dol l� on Tuesdays and Fri days , and Dark of the Moon on Thursdays and Sundays .

I t wa s noted i n the

96 TABLE X I X STAFF AND CAST HUNTER HILLS TH EATRE , 1976

STAFF Di rector - Fred F i el ds Mu s i c Di rector - James Brimmer Choreographer and Dance Ma s ter - Al l en Bra tten Company Manager/Promoti on Di rector - Robert Hutchens Box Off i ce Manager - Al l en Bratten Stage Manager/Techni cal Di rector - Steve Wes tfi el d L i ghti ng and Sound Di rectors - Ka t i e Shaw , Steve Woods , Mary Gi l es Costume Coordi nators - Mary Gi l es , Judy Rye Cos tume Consul tant - Mari anne Cu s ter Foreman , Phys i cal Pl ant - Loy Own by CAST Karen Etzel Al l i son Gross Andrea Smi th J ane Burke Donna J . Chapman Richard Spi vey B i l l Hague Debra Freeberg Susan Gl aze Jay Newl on Donna Kay Ad ki n s Da l e D i c key John Butl er Kri s Mcl l wa i ne Ri chard Stafford Carol Goans

Stephen A . Marti n Frank P . Harri s Gordon P . Street Ri c hard Johnson Becky Anderson Jan Davi s Carol Morgan Dav i d Coobs Chri s Graben s tei n Steven Lewi s T . Al l en Lawson B i l l Smi th Lee Wi ttenberg Steven Wes tfi el d Steve Woods Robert Hutchens

Source : Handout Program , Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre , 1976 , The Hunter H i l l s Theatre Speci a l Col l ection , The Uni vers i ty of Tennessee Spec i a l Col l ec t i ons Li brary , Knoxvi l l e , Ten nes see

97 brochure announc i ng the season that i t was part i cu l arly appropri ate for Dark of the Moon to be presented duri ng the nati on ' s B i cen tenn i a l . Admi s s i on pri ces were $3 . 00 for adul ts and $1 . 50 for students .

Group

rates were ava i l abl e upon request . The company presented three excel l ent producti ons i n keep i ng wi th the reputati on s et by prev i ous compa n i es . became the favori te offeri ng .

The Sound of Mu s i c qu i c kly

I n 1971 a production of The Sound of Mus i c

had been one o f the b i ggest box off i ce drawfng producti ons ever s taged at Hunter Hi l l s .

Mr . Fiel ds hoped to repeat the succes s of that s eason ' s

producti on wi th h i s 1976 producti on , and he d i d . was not the on ly popul ar s how .

But The Sound o f Mu s i c

Favorabl e rev i ews and enthu s i as ti c

aud i ence res ponse greeted every producti on of al l three offeri ngs al l summer . I n Augu s t , an arti cl e i n The New York Times about the Great Smo ky Mounta i n s Nati onal Park i nc l uded . the fol l owing . menti on of the Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre : Some of the fi ner thi ngs found around Gatl i nburg l i e to the eas t of the town , a l ong the north s i de of the park . One of these i s Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , fi ve mi l es out on State Rou te 73 , where the cas t , made u p of Uni vers i ty of Tennessee s tudents , proves n i ghtly that outdoor theatre is al i ve--and wel l . The offeri ngs th i s summer i nc l ude Guys and Dol l s , The Sound of Mu s i c , and Dark of the Moon . Assumi ng there 1s no Ra i n of the S ky , curta i n t i me 1 s 8 : 30 Tuesday through Sunday . The actors often have to compete with a tree frog choru s , bu t the competi ti on i s wel l worth s eei ng . The producti ons are s taged so that the vi s i tor can see three s hows in as many n i ghts . 61

61

"Gimcrack Bl ooms Ami d the Smo k i es , " The New York Ti mes ( New Yor k , New York ) , Augu s t 1 , 1 976 , Secti on 10 , p . l.

98 Ded i cat i on to the theatre and the season hel ped the students put in the neces sary 14 to 15 hours each day .

They res i ded i n the dres s i ng

rooms whi ch had been remodel ed to serve as quas i -do rmotori es .

A new

k i tchen was bu i l t so the students cou l d combi ne resources and prepare food i n a sel f-styl ed food serv i ce set up . .

.

When the 1 976 season came to a cl ose , al l the students agreed that the i nconven i ences and work had been wel l worth i t .

They al l expres sed

an i nterest in return i ng for the 12th year of producti ons at the outdoor theatre fac i l i ty and the Gatl i n burg area . 1 977 There were many dou bts about the theatre operati ng i n 1 977 . F i el ds became i l l and cou l d not conti nue as the Manag i ng D i rector .

Mr . There

were pres i s tent doubts as to fi nanc i a l bac ki ng from the Un i vers i ty for a 1 2th season .

The fi nal word that a season woul d be produced in 1 977

was not announced unti l �ear the end of the wi nter quarter .

When the

pl ans were fi nal i zed , they i ncl uded s everal i n teres t i ng changes . Most of the changes were i nnovations of the new Manag i ng D i rector , Dr . Thomas P . Cooke of the Speech and Theatre Department , who had agreed to serve as Manag i ng Di rector for the 1 977 season . I n sel ect i ng the s hows to be i ncl uded , Dr . Cooke dec i ded on three pl ays not prev i ou s l y presented at Hun ter Hi l l s .

The s hows were Jesus Chri s t

Supers tar , a roc k opera depi cti ng the l ast week of Chri s t ' s l i fe , Indi ans , advert i s ed as a Wi l d Wes t s pectacu l ar , and Smo ke on the Moun ta i n , an ori g i na l drama wh i ch repl aced the popu l ar Dark of the Moon as the season ' s fo l k theme producti on .

I t was reported that " the pl ays were sel ected be­

cause of the i r ensembl e nature and because they bl end so wel l wi th the

99 natural spl endor of the Hunter Hi l l s amphi theatre . " 62 Supers tar pl ayed on Wednesday and Saturday ni ghts . performed on Tuesday and Fri day eveni ngs . was staged on Thursdays and Su ndays .

I nd i ans was

The ori g i nal mou nta i n pl ay

The stage wa s "dark" on Mondays .

News paper rel eases announced that Jesus Chri st Superstar wou l d open the season June 24 , 25 � and 26 , and then beg i n i ts regu l arl y schedul ed Wednesday and Saturday n i ght performances . product i on schedu l ed for Ju l y 4th .

There was al so a s pec i al

I nd i ans was advert i s ed to open on

June 28 and 30 before beg i nn i ng i ts regu l ar schedu l e .

Smo ke on the

Mounta i ns opened on Ju l y 3 . Other changes i nc l uded a new curta i n time and h i gher admi s s i on charges .

Curta i n t ime for the 1977 season was set for 8 : 45 .

The change

in time was schedu l ed to al l ow " patron s a l i ttl e more time to enj oy thei r Summer afternoons and to ta ke advantage of the l ate Summer sunset . " 63 Adm i s s i on was $3 . 50 for adu l ts and $2 . 00 for students .

Un i vers i ty of

Tennes see students conti nued to enjoy free admi s s i on with act i v i ties cards .

There were al so group rates , s pec i al Sen i or C i ti zens n i ghts ,

and Chu rch group n i ghts for Jesus Chri st Supers tar . Aud i ti ons were conducted on March 27 and 28 i n the Human i ti es Bui l di ng on the Uni vers i ty of Tennessee campus i n Knoxv i l l e .

Severa l

members of Knoxv i l l e ' s Pl ay Group Theatre were i ncl uded i n the res i dent company .

The s taff and cast for the 1977 season are l i s ted i n Tabl e XX .

62

" Hunter Hi l l s Sets Product i ons , .. The Gatl i nburg Pres s ( Gatl i nburg , Tennes see ) , Apri l 1 9 , 1 977 , Secti on B , p . 6. 63

Ibid.

100 TABLE XX STAFF AND CAST HU NTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1977

STAFF D i rector - Tom Cooke Mus i c D i rector - S teve Young Choreographer/Dance Capta i n - Charl es Rag l and Theatre Manager - Donal d Thomas Box Offi ce Manager/Promoti on Di rector - Chri s Gra ben s tei n Stage Manager - Thompson Marks Techn i ca l D i rector - Joe Hammond L i gh t i n g Des i gn - Jo Wel l born Sound Des i gn - Greg Lawson As s i s tant - Lowrance Touri ng Sound Cos tumes - Kathy Burch CAST Mi chael Ba i s h Preston Bates Fred Branch Terry Brown Chri s Brown Bi l l Brockmei er Stacey Cooke Jon Craven Da l e D i c key Carol Goans Chri s Grabenste i n

Joe Hammon d

Donna Kel sey Hal Jern i ga n Don Jones James Logan J . B . Marks Myke Mi l l er

Tom Parkh i l l Mac P i rkl e Steve Porter Kati e Prange Charl es Rag l and Davi d Reed D i c k Rei ss Ki m Stockda l e Beth Stubbl efi e l d Ma x Stubbl efi el d Lynn Weaver Steve Petty Da v i d R i c kard Bruce Harvey Scott Li ps comb Mary Jan �1cGee Sharon Marl owe Ka theri ne Newl on

Source : Handou t Program , Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , 1977 , The Hun ter H i l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti o n , The Un i vers i ty of Tennes s ee Spec i a l Col l ecti ons L i brary , Knoxvi l l e , Tennes s ee .

101 Whi l e the company was rehears i ng the shows on the Knoxv i l l e campus , workmen were busy i n Ga tl i nburg g i v i ng the theatre a facel i ft .

There

was a l ot of dama ge to the fac i l i ty duri ng the wi nter , caused by the e l ements .

The e s t i mates for compl ete renova t i o n s ran as h i �h as

$ 50 , 000 , but i n an effort to s pare such an el a borate expense , repa i rs The sea t i ng a rea was the

were made u s i ng a much sma l l er i nves tment . pri mary concern .

The el eva ted secti ons were beg i nn i ng to s how s i gns

of the years , the concrete was crumbl i ng .

Work was compl eted by June .

See Append i x V for more i nforma t i o n a bout the property i mprovements for the year . Ga tl i nburg and Sev i er Co� nty res i dents were i nv i ted to spec i a l dress rehearsal s for free .

An 1 1 : 30 p . m . prev i ew for Jesus Chri st

Superstar and Smoke on the Mounta i n was schedu l ed .

The prev i ew for

I nd i ans was offered at 8 : 45 on June 27 . The res i dent company was hou sed at the theatre a s they were i n

1975 and 1976 . Techn i ca l l y the b i ggest con s i derati on . for the s eason was the sound system .

Hand hel d mi crophones were used i n Jesus Chri s t Superstar

and add i t i on a l mi kes were an asset to the other

p roducti ons .

Ampl i fi ca t i on

of the rock grou p mu s i c i ans a l so contri bu ted to the Superstar product i on . When open i ng n i ght came , so d i d the ra i ns . rehearsal peri od had been p l a gued wi th ra i n .

I n fact , the two week

The open i ng of Supersta r

wa s postponed three d i fferent times because of ra i n .

When the weather

fi na l l y d i d permi t the season to beg i n , a l l three producti ons were we l l recei ved .

Of part i cu l a r i nterest was the ori g i na l product i o n ,

Smoke on the Mou n ta i n .

The s how had been concei ved and wri tten by

102 members of the company wi th the Pl ay Group ' s pl aywri ght in res i dence , Dav i d Mc intosh , provi d i ng the final scri pt .

Ma teri a l from previ ous

Pl ay Group producti ons were i ncl uded in the new pl ay . mounta i n songs provi ded the mu s i ca l accompanimen t .

Bal l ads and

The story and

i dea of the pl ay was to present some of the stori es , · songs , and peopl e of the mounta i ns , thei r spi ri t and cul ture .

A press rel ease

on the producti on offered an i n s i ght i nto the sta g i ng of the s how . Trad i t i onal mountai n work ges tures --butter churn i ng , weav i n g , l og cabi n bui l d i ng--a l so are depi cted , a l ong wi th front porch story tel l i ng . Mary Jane McGee creates the character of an ol d mounta i n woman who chants wi th the aud i ence , tel l i ng stori es about her l i fe and home in the mounta i ns . Smo ke on the Mounta i n traces the mounta i n cul tu re back to the early Cherokee l egend of Stonecoat , the fi rs t med i c i ne man . A hermi t wanti ng to be l eft a l one wi th h i s wi sdom and knowl edge , Stonecoat i nfl i cted pa i n and d i sease on Ind i ans who dared to come near h i s mounta i n hi deaway . The Cherokees captured the med i c i ne man and made h i m s i ng h i s song of knowl edge . Legend records the event as the Chero kees ' i ntroducti on to knowl edge and wi sdom . 64 Publ i c i ty for the 1977 ' season was wel l carri ed out .

Restaurants and

s hops in the downtown area of Gatl i nburg made i nformation about Hunter Hi l l s Theatre ava i l abl e to thei r v i s i tors .

Th i s means of adverti s i ng

and spread i ng the word had al ways been a part of the advert i sement program at the theatre , but i n 1 977 a · parti cu l ar push was on to keep l ocal support at a h i gh l evel a l l summer . Group rates to peopl e attend i ng conventi ons and conferences were a l so g i ven extra added attenti on by the publ i c i ty staff .

64

11 Smo ke on the Mounta i n Dri fts Down to Hun ter H i l l s , 11 The Knoxv i l l e News -Senti nel (Knoxvi l l e_ , Tennes see ) , July 3 , 1977 , p . G-2 .

103 The 1977 season ended as i t had s tarted--wet .

An exten s i on of

one week of product i ons was added duri ng August and ra i n caused the cancel l ati on of many of the add i t i ona l n i ghts .

The 1977 season had

offered d i fferent type producti ons , a number of i n terest i ng changes , and the opportun i ty for more students to enjoy and know the Hunter H i l l s Theatre experi ence . Th i s s tudy ends wi th the cl ose of the 1977 season .

Concl us i on s

a bout t h e opera t i on o f Hunter Hi l l s Thea tre over t h e years are presented i n Chapter V .

104 CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS The Hun ter Hi l l s Thea tre has experi enced a va r i ety of thea trical fare in the f i rs t twenty-two years of i ts exi s tence .

Produc ti ons on

the outdoor s tage have i ncl uded every type of enterta i nmen t offeri ng from h i stori c ep i c drama to roc k opera .

There have been producti ons

of mus ical s , Shakespea rean comedy , mora l i ty and rel i g i ous dramas , chi l dren ' s thea tre producti ons , Greek traqedy , ori gi nal works , ba l l et , grand opera , ex perimental thea tre , and famous arti sts i n concert . In add i t i on to the major wo rks presented by the Uni vers i ty of Tennes see each s ummer s i nce 1966 , a number of wo rks hop producti ons have . been concei ved and s taged by the s tudent actors eac h s ummer . Profess i onal enterta i ners , u n i vers i ty drama students , ama teur performers , a l l have graced the s tage at Hunter H i l l s .

A l a rge number

of students from the Uni veri s ty of Ten nes see who have worked at Hunter Hi l l s are now engaged in var i ous endeavors wi thi n the profes s i onal theatre wo rl d i n New York and el sewhere .

These i n cl ude Carol Jenki ns ,

who wa s at Hunter H i l l s i n 1966 and who i s currently seen on tel evi s i on da i l y i n a l ead i ng soap opera , Bi l l V i tel l i , who i s pres ently appeari ng on Broa dway i n the mu s i ca l Grease , Tom Jones , Ronny Vena bl e , Shel i a Bai l ey , Cl aude Peters , Stan Sel l s , Lai nne Kres s i n , Barry Smi th , who were a l l i n the 1970 company , Wi l l i am Brockmei er , Nancy Johnston , Chri s Smi th , John Lutz , Mary Jane Harvi l l , Jul i a Hickman , Joe Hyder , Steve Martin , and many others . The growth and devel opment of the s tudents and staff members can be i l l ustrated by a qu i ck l oo k at two i nd i v i dual • s --Mr . Ben Harvi l l e and

105 Ms . An ne-Dal e Gu i nn Cri ss--contri buti ons to the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre , operation duri ng the Uni vers i ty of Tennessee yea rs . Mr . Harvi l l e was l i sted as one of the ma l e dancers i n the 1966 production of Ann i e Get You r Gun--the fi rst Uni vers i ty of Tenness ee product i on at Hunter Hi l l s .

In 1967 he was the fi rst student to pl ay

John , the Wi tch Boy , i n Dark of the Moon , a rol e he repea ted i n 1 968 , 1969 , and 19 70 .

Al so , i n 1969 he served as As s i s tant Choreographer

and wa s the Ass i s tant to the Di rector in 19 70 .

He was not wi th the

company in 1971 , but retu rned in 1972 as the Company Manaqer and Techni cal Di rector.

In 1972 he al so d i rected one of the maj or producti ons ,

A Mi dSummer ' s Ni qht Dream , the on l y Shakespearean pl ay ever i ncl uded i n the summer s c hed u l e .

Mr . Fi el ds served a s h i s As s i s tant Di rector .

Anne-Da l e Gu i nn Cri ss worked wi th the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre compan i es from 1966 unti l 1973 .

She began as one of the danc i ng gi rl s i n the

1966 production of Ann i e Get Your Gun .

In 1967 and 1968 s he served a s

an Ass i stant to the Choreographer and s he appeared i n Dark of the Moon both years as wel l .

I n 1969 , s he became the C horeograp her and conti nued

to serve in that important staff pos i tion through the 1973 season . S he worked ei ght conti nuous seasons and gave her choreograph i c ta l ents to producti ons of Ann i e Get Your Gun , Carousel , Okl a homa ! , Li ' l Abner , The Sound of Mu s i c , Hel l o , Dol ly! , and The Wi zard of Oz .

She was al so

a featured dancer in many of the s hows . Two i nd i v i dua l s who contri buted grea tly to the success of the Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre operation from 1966 throu gh 1977 s hou l d be menti oned here--Mr . James Brimer and Mr . Loy Ownby .

Mr . Bri mer wa s Mus i cal Di rector

i n 1970 and aga i n i n 1972 , 1973 , 1 974 , 1 975 , and 1976 .

No one person ,

except Mr . Fred F i e l ds , can be cred i ted wi th more ded i cati on to the Hunter

106 H i l l s Theatre duri ng the Uni vers i ty of Tennes see years than Mr . Brimer . Hi s ori g i n a l mus i c for Dark of the Moon and h i s excel l ent d i rection and accompaniment in the area of the vari ous mus i c ensembl es are unsurpassed . He added profes s i on a l i sm and experti se to the shows each year of h i s a s soc i a ti on . Mr . Ownby has s erved as the Phys i ca l Pl ant Foreman s i nce 1966 . The on l y s taff person h i red on a yearly bas i s , Mr . Ownby i s respons i bl e for the ma i n tenance and u p keep of the theatre duri ng the s ummer months and the rest of the year as wel l . Any theatri c a l operati on as u n i que a s Hunter H i l l s al ways seems to be i n dou bt when d i s cu s s i ons of the fu ture pers i s t . ca se wi th Hunter H i l l s as th i s s tudy i s concl uded .

Such i s the

Hopefu l l y the future

wi l l conti nue to see the theatre opera ti ng ea ch summer u nder the produc i n g banner of t h e Uni vers i ty of Tennes s ee Theatres .

I t i s a theatre operati on

wh i ch g i ves so much to those who have the opportun i ty to be a part of i t . The Un i vers i ty , the s tu den ts i n theatre , the peopl e of Gatl i nburg and Knoxv i l l e , the s ta te of Tennes see , and the thousands of v i s i tors to the theatre each year wou l d a l l mi ss the acti v i ti es a t Hunter Hi l l s Thea tre a g reat deal more than i s probably real i zed s hou l d the s u p port and operati on be d i s conti nued . I t i s hoped that thi s h i s tori cal survey may serve to g i ve i n s i ghts i nto the i mportance of the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre .

The experi ence of a

summer at Hunter Hi l l s Theatre can only be rea l i zed when v i ewed . a s the tota l l y mea n i ngfu l experi ence i t becomes to a young , energet i c , tal ented theatre hopefu l .

So many t i mes those who are i ns trumental i n determi n i ng

the fate of an operati on as u n i que as Hunter Hi l l s do not cons i der these a s pects of the opera t i on .

107 E P I LOGUE On January 26 , 1978 , one week after the fi nal typ i ng of th i s thes i s was compl eted , i t was announced i n The Knoxvi l l e News -Senti nel that the Hun ter H i l l s Theatre wou l d not be opera t i ona l duri ng the s ummer of 1978 .

Chancel l or Jack Reese made the announcement after

reported meeti ngs wi th Dr . Robert Landen , dean of the L i beral Arts Col l ege , and other offi ci al s . dead .

The arti c l e s tated that the theatre was

The fi n anci a l s i tuation over the years had produced defi ci t

s pending whi ch .' the ·. uni vers i ty cou l d no l bnger underwri te .

Vari ous

i ndi vi dual s � and. departmental · spokesmen were cons ul ted about the deci s i on . There were no p l a n s gi ven for future u s e of the faci l i ty . On February 6 , 1978 , a l etter to the ed i tor i n the Da i ly Beacon d i s cu s s ed the fee l i ngs of theatre s tudents at the Un i vers i ty of Tennes see over the c l o� i ng of Hunter Hi l l s Theatre .

The l etter s ta ted that

the outdoor fac i l i ty wou l d probab l y never be sel f-s u ffi cen t , that The C l arence Brown Theatre operates wi th a defi c i t budget a l l the t i me , that the theatre was h i g h l y benef i c i a l to the Uni vers i ty and es pec i a l l y to the s tudents , and that the s tudents were wi l l i ng to hel p i n any way poss i bl e to keep the theatre opera t i o na l .

The l etter wa s s i gned by the

Thea tre Students Assoc i ati on . The wri ter hopes that thi s 1 1 C l os i n g 11 of the Hunter Hi l l s Theatre i s o n l y temporary and that future s ummers . wi l l once aga i n fi nd the summer even i ngs at Hunter Hi l l s fi l l ed wi th Un i vers i ty of Tennessee s tudent performers and the s ound of mu s i c .

L �ST OF

REfERENCES

109 L I ST O F RE FERENCES B i l l board Maqaz i n e .

March 3 1 , 1956 .

The Chattanooga News - Free Press . The Chattanooga T i mes . Frost , Bob .

Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

Gatl i nburg , Tennes s ee .

August 6 , 1967 .

June 23 , 1956 .

Chattanooga , Tennes see .

Phone I n terv i ew .

The Gatl i nburg Pres s . April 19 , 1977 .

C hattanooga , Tennes s ee .

October 18 , 1977 .

Augu s t 29 , 1957 through

G i l bert , Bob . Pri vate I n terv i ew . 467 Commu n i cati ons B u i l d i ng , Uni ver­ s i ty of Tennes see , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see. October 10 , 1977 . Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ecti on . The Un i vers i ty of Tennessee Speci a l Col l ecti ons L i brary , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see . The Knoxv i l l e Journa l . January 14 , 1960 .

Knoxv i l l e , Tennes s e e .

The Knoxv i l l e News -Senti nel . throug h Ju l y 3 , 1977 . The Mapl es Col l ecti on .

Knoxv i l l e , Tennes s ee .

· November 23 , 1955

The Gatl i n burg I nn , Gatl i nburg , Tennes see .

Mapl es , Wi l ma . Pri vate I n terv i ew . es see . October 19 , 1977 .

The Gatl i nburg I nn , Gatl i n burg , Tenn­

The Mounta i n Vi s i tor . Gatl i nburg , Tennes see . January 28 , 1967 . The Na shvi l l e Tennessean . The New York T i mes .

Augu s t 5 , 1955 through

December 19 , 1965 through

Nas hvi l l e , Tennes see .

Ne\'J York , New York .

Pearson , Kathar i n e . , Pri vate I n terv i ew . Tennessee . October 20 , 1977 .

Augu s t 18 , 1957 .

Augus t 1 , 1976 . The Yogart Shop , Knoxv i l l e ,

The Sev i er County News - Record . Sev i erv i l l e , Tennes see . through September 17 , 1964 . The Tennes s ee Al umnus .

June 26 , 1958

December , 1969 .

The Un i vers i ty of Tennes see Dai ly Beacon . 1967 through· May 1 , 197 2 . Way , Emeran . Pri vate I n terv i ew . October 4 , 1977 .

Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

Ju l y 7 ,

The Real ty Grou p , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

APP END �XE S

111 APPEND I X I THE HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE SPEC IAL COLLECT I ON The fo l l owi ng i s a l i st of i tems present ly conta i n ed i n the Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre Spec i a l Col l ec t i on , the Uni vers i ty of Ten nessee Spec i a l Col l ections L i brary , Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see . These i tems were found , cat a l ogued , l abel ed , and i ndexed a s a part of the thes i s s tudy .

1966 Handout Program , Ann i e Get You r Gun Newscl i pp i ng - revi ews , U . T . Dai ly Beacon , J u l y 1 5 , 1966 ( 2 ) Cover pi cture and arti c l e , The Gu i de maga z i ne , Ju l y , 1966 Recommendati ons of the Hun ter H i l l s Advi sory Counci l , boo k l et , December , 1966

1967 Handou t Program , Okl ahoma ! Handou t Program , Carou sel Hando u t Program , Dark of the Moon Handou t Program , Anni e Get You r Gu n 1967 Season Announcemen t Ma i l er Brochure , Fi rst Annua l Theatre Laboratory Copy of l e tter to Mr . Royce Hand l er from Fred Fi el ds , March 8 , 1967 1967 Season Brochure Mi nute s and Report of the Hunter Hi l l s Adv i sory Counci l meeti ng , January 17 , 1967 Newsc l i pp i n g - rev i ew , U . T. Summer Beacon , J u l y 7 , 1967 Mi nutes of the Hunter H i l l s Advi sory Counc i l meeti ng , February 22 ,

1967

Copy of l etter to Mrs . Wi l ma Ma pl es from Fred Fi el ds , June 1 , 1967 Copy of l etter to Mrs . Wi l ma Mapl es from Dr . Andy Hol t , June 7 , 1967 Letter to Hun ter Hi l l s Theatre from Al bert Gore , June 28 , 1967 Newscl i pp i n g - arti cl e , The Knoxv i l l e News -Senti nel , J u l y 2 , 1967 Newscl i ppi ng - p i cture , The Knoxv i l l e News -Senti nel , J u l y 30 , 1967 Newscl i ppi ng - arti cl e , The Knoxvi l l e News -Senti nel , July 30 , 1967 15 8 x 10 gl ossy p i c tu res of Carous el

1 12 1968 Report on H u nter Hi l l s Commi ttee meet i ng Handout Program , Dark of the Moon 1968 Season Brochure (2) Copy of l etter to Dr. Andrew Ho l t from Fred F i el ds , January 17 , 1968 Ori g i na l l etter to Fred F i e l d s from Dr . Andrew Ho l t , January 26 , 1968 Prel imi nary Programm i n g Report Thea tre and Conference Bui l d i ng , September 17 , 1968 12 news rel eases on the 1968 season ( type cop i es ) 13 8 x 10 co l or p i ctures of Camel ot 5 8 x 10 b l ac k and wh i te pi ctures of Came l ot 3 8 x 10 col or p i ctures of Everyman 2 8 x 10 bl ack and wh i te publ i c i ty pi ctures of Everyman Brochure , 1968 Theatre Labora tory

1969 Copy of l etter to Dr . Andrew Hol t from D i c k Lane , ( no date ) Copy of l etter to D i c k Lane from Dr . Andrew Ho l t , March 29 , 1969 Art i c l e on Hunter Hi l l s from The Tennessee Al umn u s , December , 1969 Copy of out of s ta te Ma i l i ng L i s t for Hunter Hi l l s Theatre publ i c i ty Handout Program , Dark of the Moon ( 2 ) Handout Program , Li 1l Abner (2) Brochure on Hunter Hi l l s Theatre Laboratory , Ju l y 14 - 18 , 1969

1 970 Ori g i na l l etter to Mr . F i el ds from A . W . Patterson , June 22 , 1970 1970 Sea son Brochure ( 3 ) Handout Program , Dark of the Moon ( 7 ) Handout Program , L i 1 1 Abner (2) Handou t Program , Okl ahoma ! ( 2 ) 7 8 x 1 0 gl ossy p1 ctures of Agamemnon ( works hop production )

1971 Newsc l i pp i n g - rev i ew , Knoxvi l l e News -Senti nel , Augu s t 1 , 1971 1971 Season Brochure ( 2 Handout Program , Okl a homa ! ( 7 ) Handout Program , The Sound of Mus i c ( 2 ) Handout Program , Dark of the Moon (4 ) 1 1 5 x 7 bl ack and wh i te pi ctu res of Okl a homa ! 6 8 x 10 g l ossy pri n ts of Okl a homa ! 1 8 x 10 col or pi cture , Okl a homa !

113 1972 Newscl i ppi ng , U . T . Dai ly Beacon , arti c l e , June 20 , 1972 Newsc l i ppi n g , U . T . Dai ly Beacon , arti cl e , May 1 , 1972 9 des i gn s for s i gn changes Addres s l i s t of Hunter Hi l l s Company , 1972 News c l i ppi n g - arti cl e , Knoxv i l l e News-Sen t i nel , June 18 , 1972 Newscl i ppi ng - revi ew , Knoxvi l l e News -Senti nel , June 25 , 1972 Newscl i pp i ng - arti cl e by Wi l ma Dykeman , no date Handout Program , Hel l o , Dol ly! ( 4 ) 1972 Season Brochure (8) Handou t Program , Dark of the Moon ( 2 ) Handout Program , A Mi dsummer N i ght ' s Dream ( 4 )

1 973 Handout Program , spec i a l s tudent producti on of Dark of the Moon ( 2 ) Ori g i na l l etter to Mr . F i el d s from R i c hard Boyd , May 14 , 1973 Handout Program , Hel l o , Do l ly! ( 4 ) 1973 Season Brochure (8) Handout Program , The Wi zard of Oz ( 2 ) 18 8 x 1 0 gl ossy pi ctu res of Hel l o , Dol ly! 11 8 x 10 g l ossy pi ctures of The Wi zard of Oz

1 97 4 Brochure on Hunter Hi l l s Theatre D i rector ' s Works hop , J u l y 29Augus t 4 , 1974 ( 2 ) Copy o f l etter to Dr. Ral ph Al l en from Fred Fi el d s , January 14 , 1974 ( 2 ) Newsc l i pp i n g - art i cl e , The Knoxv i l l e News - Senti nel , J u l y 14 , 1974 ( 2 ) News cl i ppi ng - art i cl e , The U . T . Da i ly Beacon , J u l y 23 , 1974 L i st of Hunter H i l l s Theatre Performi ng Company , 1974 Ori g i nal cop i es of contract wi th The P l ay Gro u p , Augu s t 19 , 1974 Handou t Program , Dark of the Moon ( 3 ) Handout Program , South Pac i fi c (3 ) 1974 Season Brochure (4) 1 Contact Sheet ( pi ctu res ) b l ack and whi te of Cel ebra t i o n 5 Pho t ographs , b l ack a n d whi te of Cel ebrati on

1975 3 copi es of a l et ter to Dr . Ral ph Al l en from Fred Fi el ds , dated February 24 , 1975 Newscl i ppi n g , arti cl e - The Knoxv i l l e News - Senti nel , June 22 , 1975 ( 2 ) Ori g i nal l etter to Mr . F i e l d s from Al an P . Sherrod , March 18 , 1975 Copy of newscl i ppi ng from New York Times , August 1 , 1975 Newscl i pp i n g - arti cl e , Knoxv i l l e News-Sen t i nel , no date Newscl i ppi n g - pi cture , no date 2 n ewscl i pp i ngs - The U . T . Dai ly Beacon , no date

114 Copy of l etter to Dean Nei l sen from Wa l ter Herndon , February 13 , 19 7 5 Copy of arti cl e i n · southern ·l:: i v i nq magaz i ne , J u l y 19 7 5 Copy of l etter to Mr . Arpod Jbo · from Fred F i e l d s , January 23 , 1975 Copy of Memorandum to Mi c key B i l brey from J . Barry Bri ndl ey , September 9 , 1975 Copy of l etter t o Dr . Wal ter Herndon from G . Al l an Yoemans , Apri l

16 , 1975

Ori g i na l l etter t o Fred Fi el d s from Lorayne Les ter , Apri l 10 , 1975 Copy of l etter t o Dr . Herndon from Speech and Theatre Facu l ty , Apri l 1 5 , 1975 Copy of l etter to Dr . Jack E. Reece from W. L . Mi l l s , March 3 , 1975 L i st of 1975 S taff and Company Ori gi nal l etter to Hunter H i l l s Theatre from Howard Ri chardson , Augus t 14 , 1975 Ori g i n a l l etter to Fred F i el d s from Jack E. Reese , May 19 , 1975 Ori g i na l l etter t o Fred Fi el d s from Carol i ne Shel l , March 1 1 , 1975 Copy of l etter t o Mari an Heard from Fred F i el ds , - January 23 , 1975 Copy of l etter t o B u c k Ewi ng from Fred Fi el ds , January 23 , 1975 Copy of l etter t o Ed Zambara from Fred F i e l d s , January 23 , 1975 Copy of l etter t o Wi l l i am J . Morgan from Fred Fi el d s , J anuary 23 , 1975 Copy of l etter to Carol i ne Shel l from Fred F i el ds , January 23 , 1975 L i s t of D a r k of t h e Moon cas t L i s t o f Fan ta s t i cks cas t L i s t o f You ' re a Good Man , Charl i e Brown cast L i s t of Hunter Hill s Theatre season , 1975 Handout Program , Dark of the Moon , The Fan ta s t i c ks , You • re a Good ' Man , Charl i e Brown 1975 Season Broch u re ( 9 ) 1 8 x 1 0 bl a c k and wh i te pi cture of Dark of the Moon

1976 1 8 x 10 g l ossy pi ctu re of The Sound of Mus i c Ori g i n a l agreemen t between U . T . and C i nderel l a Gi rl Pageant Newscl i pp i n g , arti cl e - The Knoxv i l l e Journa l , June 2 5 , 1976 Newsc l i pp i n g , arti c l e - The Knoxv i l l e News -Senti nel , June 20 , 1976 Newscl i pp i n g , arti cl e - The Knoxv i ll e News- Senti nel , Aug u s t 1 , 1976 L i s t of Hunter Hi l l s Theatre company , 1976 Copy of l etter to Howard Ri chardson from Fred F i el ds , February 18 , 1976 Ori g i nal l etter to Fred Fi el d s from Howard R i c hardson , J anuary 17 , 1976 A Proposal t o Secure t h e Future of t h e Hunter H i l l s Thea tre (3 cop i es ) no date 1976 Season Brochure ( 2 ) Handout Pr6 gram , The Sound of Mu s i c , Dark of the Moon , and Guys and Do l l s ·

1 15 1 977 Newscl i pp i n g , rev i ew - The Knoxvi l l e News -Senti nel , J u l y 3 , 1977 Newscl i pp i ng , arti cl e - The Knoxvi l l e News -Senti nel , no date Newscl i pp i ng , arti cl e - The Sev i er County News - Record , Apri l 19 , 1977 Company l i s t , 1977 S taff l i s t , 1977 Newsc l i pp i n g , arti cl e - The Knoxv i l l e News -Sen t i nel , June 5 , 1977 ( 2 ) Newscl i ppi n g , arti c l e - The Wes t S i de Story , Apri l 28 , 1977 Ori g i na l l etter to Chri s Grabens tei n from Ray Bl anton , May 3 1 , 1977 6 8 x 10 g l o s sy pi ctures of I nd i a n s Add i ti onal Mater i a l Letters from aud i ence members , arranged chrono l og i cal ly i n a s i ngl e fol der . Mi scel l aneous p i c tures conta i ned i n one fol der .

. . 116

APPEND I X I I SCHEDULE OF PERFOR��NCES , SUMMER MUS I C FEST IVAL , 1964 June June June June July July July July July July Ju l y July Ju l y Ju l y July July Ju l y July Ju l y July July July Ju l y July July July July

27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-8 9-10 11 12 13 14- 15 16-17 18 19 20 21-22 23-24 25 26 27 28-29 30-3 1

Okl a homa ! Opens Tasca Opens Tasca Oklahoma ! Oklahoma! Tasca Tasca Oklahoma ! Tasca Oklahoma ! The Mikado Opens Tasca Ok l a homa ! Frank Fonta i n e Okl ahoma ! The Mi kado Tasca Oklahoma ! The Knoxvi l l e Symphony Okl ahoma ! The Mikado Tasca Okl ahoma ! The Book of Job Oklahoma! The Mikado Tasca

Au gust 1 Au gust 2 Augu st 3 August 4-5 Augus t 6-7 .August 8 August 9 August 10 Augus t 1 1 -12 Au gust 13-14 August 1 5 August 1 6 August 1 7 Au gust 18- 1 9 Au gust 20-21 Augus t 22 August 23 August 24 August 25-26 Auqust 27-28 Au q ust 29 August 30 Au gust 31 September 1 -2 September 3-4 September 5 September 6 September 7

Okl a homa ! Ski tch Henderson Okl ahoma ! The Mikado Tasca Oklahoma ! Dave Bru beck Okl ahoma ! Th e Bartered Bri de Tasca Okl ahoma ! Reynard , the Fox Ok l ahoma ! The Bartered Bri de Tas ca Okl ahoma ! The Bu rning House Oklahoma! The Bartered Bride Tasca Okl ahoma ! The Memph i s Symphony Okl ahoma ! The Bartered Br i de Tasca Okl ahoma ! Tasca Okl a homa !

APPEND I X I I I CHRONOLOGY OF HUNTER H I LLS PRODUCTI ONS , 1966- 1977 YEAR

DATES

MAJOR PRODUCT IONS

1966

J u l y 15 - 16 , 18 - 23 , 25-30

Ann i e Get Your Gun

1967

June 30 - September 4

Dark of the Moon , Ann i e Get Your Gun , Carousel , Okl ahoma !

1968

Ju l y 4 - September 2

Dark of the Moon , Camel ot , Everyman

1969

June 25

Dark of the Moon , Li ' l Abner

1 970

June 18 - August 29

Dark of the Moon , Li ' l Abner . Okl ahoma !

1971

June 18

August 28

Dark of the Moon , The Sound of �1u s i c , Okl ahoma !

1972

June 16

September 2

Dark of the Moon , Hel l o , Dol ly! , A Mi d s ummer N i gh t ' s Dream

1973

June 15 - August 25

Hel l o , Do l ly! , The Wi zard of Oz

1974

June 14 - August 21

Dark of the Moon , South Pac i fi c

1975

Jul y 3 - Augu st 2

Dark of the Moon , You ' re A Good Man , Charl i e Brown , The Fanta s t i c ks

1976

June 24 - Augu st 14

Dark of the Moon , The Sound of Musi c , Guys and Doll s

1977

June 24 - August 7

Jesus Chri s t , Suoerstar , I n d i ans , Smoke on the Mou ntai n

Note :

-

-

-

August 23

The dates l i sted here are the ori gi nal l y schedul ed dates and do not i ncl ude the exten s i ons that were added to many season ' s schedu l e . When the i nforma tion was ava i l abl e , the extens i on dates are g i ven i n the y�arl y secti ons of the text .

' 1 18 APPEND I X IV F I NANC IAL I N F0Rt-1ATION , HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , 1966-1977 The fol l ow i n g i nformation was prov i ded by Mr . Loyd R. Lewi s , Aud i tor Treas urer , 301 Andy Hol t Tower , Un i vers i ty of Tennes see , Knoxv i l l e . Informati on was ava i l ab l e o n l y for the years 197 1 , 1972 , 1973 , 1974 , 197 5 , and 1976 . I ncome 1971 Ti cket Sal es l53,'"924 . 50 Student Acti v i ty Fee 4 , 245 . 00 Conces s i on s 6 , 136 . 1 5 Total I ncome $64 , 305 . 65 Expens es Conces s i ons Wages , Goods Sol d 2 , 663 . 52 Promoti onal Brochures and Pos ters 3 , 032 . 20 S i gn s and Ti c ket Booth 1 , 477 . 30 Adverti s ement 494 . 2 5 : Tota l Promoti onal Exp . 5 , 003 . 75 Mea l s and Lod g i ng Expenses 14 , 79 1 . 56 Mea l s 2 , 450 . 00 Lod g i n g 17 ,241 . 56 Total Mea l s /Lodgi ng Product i on Company Honora ri ums 14 , 703 . 44 Tra n s portati on 931 . 72 Scenery and Props 95 1 . 01 Roya l ti es 4 , 670 . 90 Mu s i c/Mu s i ca l D i rector 1 , 800 . 00 991 . 39 Cos tumes Cos tumer 1 , 500 . 00 Choreograp hy 1 , 500 . 00 Techn i ca l Di rector 1 , 200 . 00 Di rector 7 , 624 . 98 600 . 00 L i ghti n g D i rector 1 , 257 . 30 Ti ckets/ Programs 800 . 00 Temporary Bookkeeper 161 . 70 D i rectors Travel 269 . 56 Ma ke-Up Tel ephone 914 . 16 -0Equ i pment 350 . 00 Theatre Ma i ntenance 162 . 74 Mi s cel l aneou s $40 , 388 .90 Total Prod . Exps . $65 , 297 . 73 Total Expenses Net I ncome { Loss )

{$

1972 1973 '$49,'"827 . 28 l'39,'"089 . 00 4 , 299 . 00 3 , 177 . 00 4 , 901 . 30 3 , 977 . 89 $59 , 027 . 58 $46 , 243 . 89 2 , 152 , 86

2 , 262 . 26

2 , 121 . 15 1 , 800 . 00 446 . 77 4 , 367 . 92

1 , 804 . 07 994 . 00 571 . 05 3 , 369 . 12

14 , 165 . 87 2 , 300 . 00 16 , 465 . 87

14 , 223 . 01 2 , 300 . 00 16 ,523 . 0 1

1 6 , 948 . 9 1 16 , 423 . 41 847 . 00 786 . 90 1 , 132 . 33 690 . 43 12 , 03 5 . 00 5 , 188 . 40 1 , 800 . 00 1 , 900 . 00 527 . 9 1 1 , 547 . 76 1 , 000 . 00 1 , 000 . 00 1 , 700 . 00 1 , 800 . 00 1 , 200 . 00 1 , 800 . 00 4 , 449 . 70 7 , 649 . 95 600 . 00 600 . 00 822 . 67 1 , 045 . 57 800 . 00 800 . 00 168 . 00 1 12 . 00 59 . 30 139 . 1 2 69 1 . 69 672 . 32 325 . 00 102 . 09 132 . 33 422 . 21 413 . 43 113 . 88 $42 , 7 94 . 04 $45 , 653.27 $65 , 780 . 69 $67 , 807 . 66

992 . 08 ) { $ 6 , 753 . 1 1 ) { $21 , 563 . 77 )

1 19 I ncome Ti c ket Sa l es Student Act i v i t i es Fee Conces s i on s *Camel ot ( ti c ket i ncome on l y ) Total I ncome Ex�enses Conces s i on s Wages , Goods Sol d Promoti onal Meal s and Lodg i ng Mea l s Lodgi ng Opera t i o n a l Expenses Tran s porta t i on Te l ephone Equ i pment Theatre Mai ntenance Contract Serv i ces Mi s cel l aneous Production Expens es Scenery and Props Roya l t i es Mus i c and Scri pt Costumes Ma ke-Up Sal a r i es Sal ari es/Cast Honorari ums Costumer Choreography Techn i ca l D i rector D i rector Li g h t i n g D i rector Temporary Book keeper Mu s i cal D i rector Tota l Expenses , Summer Total Camel o t Expenses Total Expenses Net I ncome ( Los s )

1974 1975 1976 fj"/,835 . 50 l28,728 . 50 '$48,573 . 50 4 , 1 61 . 00 4 , 146 . 00 3 , 252 . 00 4 , 080 . 45 2 , 994 . 00 3 , 687 . 9 1 .. Q3 , 424 . 50 � a '!"' $46,076.95 $35, 868 . 50 $58,937. 91

2 , 447 . 56 3 ,897 . 60

1 , 969 . 72 2 , 662 . 1 5

-0 4 , 6 18 . 2 5

17 , 628. 58 2 , 300 . 00

- 0-0 -

-0 -0 -

582 . 09 670 . 84 2 , 844 . 80 40 . 00 120 . 00 784 . 43

479 . 64 228 . 63 -0 -0 -0 520 . 91

694 . 49 728 . 87 -0 -0-0 13 . 26

791 . 93 3 , 974 . 75 294 . 17 663 . 41 19 . 08

79 . 51 3 , 665 , 00 2 19 . 83 -0 -0 -

1 , 925 . 5 1 4 , 827 . 67 254 . 2 1 1 , 108 . 70 -0 -

17 , 869 . 52 1 , 348 . 00 854 . 62 2 , 097 . 76 7 , 250. 00 1 , 029 . 13 825 . 00 3 , 830 . 00

10 , 280 . 40 -0 -0 -0 4 , 602 . 50 -0 3 15 . 00 1 , 248 . 00

1 5 , 618 . 00 900 . 00 -0 900 . 00 7 , 136 . 25 300 . 00 -0 3 , 500 . 00

$72 , 163 . 27

$26 , 27 1 . 29

$42 , 525 . 2 1

- 0-

-0-

$72 , 163 . 27

$26 , 27 1 . 29

$44 ,3 7 5 . 64

( $26 ,086 . 32 ) $ 9 , 597 . 21

$ 14 , 562 . 27

1 , 850 . 43

* Benefi t performance for the 1976 season presented at The Carou sel Theatre , December , 1975 .

120 The fol l ow i n g i nformat i on \'las prov i ded by Mr . J u l i an Forres ter , Theatre Manager , Speech and Theatre Department , 208 McC l ung Towers , The U n i vers i ty of Tennessee , Knoxv i l l e . ·

Accura te i nforma t i on from before 1974 i s i mpos s i b l e to obta i n on s hort noti ce . Si nce 1 974 the fi nanc i al pi ctu re i s rou g h l y a s fol l ows :

1974

OPERAT I NG Expens es : I ncome : Bal ance :

1975

1976

$26 ,271 35 , 868 $ 9 , 597

$44 , 357 58 , 937 14 , 462

1 974

1975

1976

$27 , 298

$25 , 507

$35 , 000

$72 , 163 46 , 076 ($26, 086)

1977 $56 , 780 38 , 850 ($17, 930)

EQU I PMENT , CONSTRUCTI ON

Note :

Thes e expens es covered :

a) b) c) d) e)

bu i l d i n g two l i ght towers bu i l d i n g a d i n i ng/ k i tchen faci l i ty n ew d i mmer system new forestage mi scel l aneous construct i on and equ i pment

· ovERHEAD , MAI NTENANC E These costs average $20 , 000 a year over t h e l as t 4 years a n d i nc l ude sal ari es , wages , u ti l i t i es , supp l i es and ma i ntenance costs of the 12 month opera t i o n of ma i nta i n i ng the faci l i ty . TOTAL I NCOME ( Annual Average ) TOTAL EXPENSES ( Annual Average )

$44 , 000 50 , 000 29 , 000 20 , 000

Opera t i n g Equ i pment Ma i ntenance*

$99 , 000 *Note :

Ma i ntenance costs are probably much l arger , for we o n l y suppl i ed costs ava i l ab l e from the P hys i ca l Pl ant bookkeeper .

121 The fol l owi ng i nformation was provi ded by Mr . Harol d B. Wh i tehead , Di rector of Fi nance , 403d Andy Hol t Tower , Uni vers i ty of Tennes see , Knoxvi l l e .

1 966 Sal ari es Operating

$ 4 , 6 15 . 26 33 , 815 . 09

Tota l Expenses

$38 ,430 . 35

Sal ari es Operati ng

$36 , 926 . 39 44 , 058 . 37

Tota l Expenses

$80 , 984 . 76

Sal ari es Operati ng

$ 9 , 879 . 20 43 , 508 . 60

Total Expenses

$53 , 387 . 80

Sa l ari es Operati nq

$ 1 1 , 257 98 49 , 780 . 51

Total Expenses

$6 1 , 038 . 49

Sal ari es Opera ti nq

$ 1 1 ,451 . 30 52 , 1 22 . 97

Total Expenses

$63 , 574 . 27

Sal ari es Operati nq

$ 9 , 599 . 92 57 , 502 . 87

Total Expenses

$67 , 102 . 79

Total Sal es

$ 1 7 , 03 1 . 02

Total Sa l es

$35 , 379 . 26

Total Sa l es

$27 , 5 16 . 98

Total Sa l es

$44 , 579 . 71

Total Sal es

$56 , 925 . 30

Tota l Sa l es

$63 , 305 . 42

1 967

1 968

1969 0

1 970

1971

122 1972 Sal aries Operati ng

$ 8 , 733 . 04 63 , 775 , 56

Total Expenses

$ 72 , 508 . 60

Sal ari es Opera t i n g

$ 9 , 070 . 35 73 , 282 . 65

Total Expen ses

$ 82 , 3 53 . 00

Sal a r i es Operati ng

$ 7 , 249 . 36 72 ' 75 1 . 45

Total Expenses

$ 80 ,000 . 81

Sal aries Opera t i n g Restri cted

$ 3 , 700 . 00 27 ,08 1 . 37 8 , 985 . 00

Total Expen ses

$ 39 , 766 . 37

Sal ari es Operati ng

$ . 6 , 422 . 08 43 , 228 . 60

Total Expenses

$ 49 , 650 . 68

Total Sa l es

$ 59 , 867 . 53

Total Sal es

$45 ,02 1 . 17

Total Sal es

$ 3 5 ,329 . 17

Total Sal es

$ 43 , 372 . 90

Total Sal es

$ 52 ,6 2 1 . 26

Total Sal es

$ 33 , 337 . 64

1973

1974

1975

.

1976

1977

�

Sal ari'es Operati:ng Total Expenses

{J- r

$ 4 , 300 � 00 ·, ' 2-7 ,689 . 45 I $ 3 1 , 989 . 45

123 APPEND I X V MA I NTENANCE AND PROPERTY IMPROVEr1ENTS , 1966- 1977 1966 No i n formati on ava i l ab l e . 1967 No i nfo rma t i on ava i l ab l e . 1968 Renova ti on o f s tage area , change from Chucky Jack set to neutral s et , new s tage areas avai l a b l e . N o e s t i mate o f cost ava i l abl e . 1969 C hange i n s ea t i n g area , reducti on i n s ea t i ng No es t i mate of cost avai l a bl e . c apac i ty . 1970 N o i n forma t i on av i a l abl e . 1971 No i nfo rma t i on avai l a b l e . 1972 Advert i s i ng s i gns , d i recti onal s i gn s , entrance s i gns , constru cted and pl aced at s trategi c l oca ti ons . No estimate of cost ava i l ab l e . 1973 Constru c ti on of i n formati on and ti c ket booth for down town Gatl i n burg . Tota l cost - $270 . 00 . 1974 Rep l acements - worn out l umber i n s tage areas ; repa i rs - bu i l di ngs , new roofs , pl umb i ng , d re s s i n g rooms and s taff areas ; cons tru cti on - new fores tage . No e s t i mate of cost ava i l a bl e .

124 1975 Cons tructed two l i ght towers . Tota l cost - $25 , 507 . 27 , i ncl ud i ng l i ghts , l abor , equ i pment , and so on .

1976 Constructed ki tchen and d i n i ng fac i l i ty; · remode� ed the dres s i ng rooms for l i vi ng quarters . Total cost - $27 , 298 . 46 .

1977 Repa i r con s tructi on and renovation of seati ng area . No estimate of cost ava i l abl e . Note : Over the years a number of repa i rs and i mprovements have been made each summer . These j obs were u s u a l l y part of the s tudent work a s s i gnments and were carri ed out by the members of the res i dent company . Pauci ty of i nformat i on a bout the amount of money expended for re pa i rs each year and the renovat i on s and i mprovements each year prevents i ncl u s i on of spec i fi c jobs compl eted each s ummer . Information concern i ng the cost of the repa i rs and con s tructi on for the 1 973 season , the 1975 season , and the 1976 season was s u ppl i ed by Mr . John C . Parker , Assoc i ate D i rector of Admi n i s trat ion of the Phys i ca l P l ant , Uni vers i ty of Tennes see , 2233 Vo l un teer Boul evard , Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see .

125 APPEND I X V I SEL ECTED EXC ERPTS FROM LETTERS TO HUNTER H I LLS TH EATRE , 1966-1977 Than ks a mi l l i on for your wonderfu l wo rk at Hunter Hi l l s thi s summer ! Under . ci rcumstances wh i ch might have di scouraged many of us , you conducted a program whi ch was tru l y profes s i onal . . Al l of us are i ndeed gra teful to you for your l eadershi p i n thi s proj ect , --and to the many tal en ted pl ayers and s i ngers who capti va ted the i r audi ences at each performance and won i n numerab l e fri ends for the Uni vers i ty of Tennessee . A . 0 . Hol t , Presi dent Uni vers i ty of Tennessee September 22 , 1 967 Wi l l you pl ease extend my hearty congratu l ati ons to al l who may have had any part i n pl anni ng the F i rst Annual U N I V ERS ITY OF TENNESSEE THEATRE LABORATORY FOR SECONDARY TEACHERS . Th i s workshop provides a tru l y s i gn i fi cant project for our Hunter H i l l s Thea tre . A . D . Hol t , Pres i dent Uni vers i ty of Tenn essee Apri 1 4 , 1 967 Last Monday n i ght I s aw and heard the Un i vers i ty Production of Dark of the Moon at Hun ter H i l l s . It was excel l ent and a fine crowd wa s there . How wonderfu l that our Uni vers i ty wi l l be known for such a fi ne performance . I am gl ad to see the Un i vers i ty s tres s i ng drama , art , and mu s i c . Too l ong our on l y adverti semen t has been footba l l . I l i ke sports but we need cu l ture · and I th i n k Dr . Soper and Or . Fie l ds are doi ng an excel l en t work and deserve every encouragement we can offer them i n equ i pmen t , staff and fu nds . Th i s was qu i te a profess i onal performance , each pha se excel l ent and the to tal far a b o v e wh at o n e co u l d expec t . Ethel D . Marti n Augu s t 21 , 1 967 I spent a week in Gatl i nburg earl y in July , and duri ng that time , i n spi te of the i ncl ement weather , s aw you r producti on of both Ann i e Get Yo ur Gun and Okl a homa ! I enjoyed both mu sical s . Okl ahoma ! has al ways been one of my favori tes , and your group d i d i t beautiful l y , smooth , effecti ve cos tumi ng , n i ce c horeography , s i ngers to whom i t was a pl easure to l i s ten . Ei l een Magee Bogal usa , Lou i s i ana Auqust 13 , 1 967

. 126 We enjoyed more than we can pos s i b l y say the dres s rehearsal of Dark of the Moon on Saturday , June 24 , 1967 . The s how and the mi d ­ n i ght s n a c k wi th you and our s tudents made the meeti ng of t h e Al umn i Board of Governors an overwh e l mi ng succes s . Al umn i l eaders are s ti l l ta l k i ng about the excel l ent work wh i ch you are do i ng at Hunter Hi l l s . Joseph E . Johnson Execu ti ve As s i s tant to the Pres i den t , U n i vers i ty of Ten n ­ essee , J u l y 5 , 1967 May I congratu l ate you and a l l members of the U n i vers i ty of Tennes see Hunter Hi l l s programs u pon you � excepti onal achi evements of thi s summe r . Es pec i al l y , I wi s h to comment o n Dark o f t h e Moon wh i ch i s tru ly a n extra -ord i nary product i on . You have bl ended the bal l ad and sett i ng i nto a deeply mov i ng and i nvo l ved experi ence for the audi ence part i c i pants . I was i ntri gued wi th a Wa s h i ngton performance of Dark of the r1oon many , many yea rs ago ( I don ' t know i f that prod uction reached Broadway ) ; however , the Hun ter Hi l l s production far s urpa s s ed my memory of the earl i er even t . A s you know , a l l o f the Hunter H i l l s programs th i s summer are good ; however , Dark of the Moon i s so u n i quely a part of the i ndi genous cu l ture and envi ronment that i t seems to be the epi tome of perfect i o n at Hunter Hi 1 1 s . The Uni vers i ty i s fortunate to have th i s excel l en t exten s i on of i ts programs i n Gatl i nburg . Lura M . Od l and , Dean Col l eqe o f Home Economi cs Uni ve r s i ty of Tennessee Augus t 9 , 1967 Congratu l at i ons to you , the cas t , and other s taff members for such a superb presentati on of Dark of the Moon ! On August 22 , 1968 , I a ttended a performance of th i s pl ay and was greatly i mpre s s ed . I thorough l y enj oyed every mi nute of i t . I t i s evi dent that many hours of effort have been expended i n ma k i ng i t so ou tstand i ng . Pl ease convey to a l l concerned my tha n ks and a pprec i a t i on for such a fi ne even i ng of enterta i nmen t . Mary M . Cabe Cartersv i l l e , Georg i a Augu s t 2 7 , 1968 For the l as t few years we have been comi ng to Gatl i nburg j u s t to see one of you r pl ays . We espec i a l l y enj oyed your Camel ot l as t year . Ruby E . Boyl Bri s tol , Tennessee June 24 , 1969

. J. 27 Tha n k you for a l l ow i n g u s t o 11 S i t- i n . 11 These young unsoph i s t i cated boys and g i rl s a l ways turn a Broadway s how i nto a fres h , a ppea l i ng , enterta i n i ng pi ece under you r s k i l l fu l and mag i c touch ! Bravo ! The red and wh i te petun i a s are a handsome touch - - remi nds me of V i enna where they have hang i ng bas kets of petu n i a s on the street l amp-po s ts ! Another bravo ! Muri el and Gus tave Croc kett Mounta i n , Tennessee J une 1 9 , 1969 See i ng the pl ays a t Hunter Hi l l s was the h i gh l i ght of our vacati on ! Than k you for the t i c kets and for your ki ndness to Shannon . Best wi s hes to you and the trou pe . V i rg i n i a Mclau g l i n Normandy , Mi s s i s s i ppi July 1 , 1970 My fami l y from Fl orida was enchan ted , as was I , a t the s p i ri t , das h , a nd a l l -arou nd profes s i ona l i sm of your company and the pres en ta ­ ti ons . Dark of the Moon con ti nues to be the fi nest producti on of that pl ay that I have ever seen and the performance of Ben Harv i l l grows deeper from year to year . I thought the two wi tches were parti cu l arl y fi ne th i s year--worthy of Broadway . I l i ked you r new ABNER very much and th i n k he. has rea l l y fi ne s tage presence and a person a l i ty that reaches out and takes hol d . Spec i al congratu l a t i ons to you for bu i l d i ng such a fi ne en sembl e and my s i nceres t best wi s h es that i t wi l l con ti nue to grow and expand under your tru l y fi ne d i rect i o n . John R i c hards Knoxvi l l e , Ten nessee Au�ust 26 , 1 97 0 O n behal f of t h e UT- KC Summer Proj ect I wou l d l i ke t o t h a n k you for al l owi n g our c h i l dren to a ttend Hun ter Hi l l s Thea tre . The ch i l dren throug h l y enj oyed the product i on of Li ttl e Abner and the tri p to Hunter H i l l s . I t i s very i mportant for these ch i l dren to undergo experi ences such a s t h i s pl ay . I especi a l l y a pprec i ate you r understand i ng of thei r needs and of the spec i a l probl ems encountered i n deal i ng wi th them . Hunter Hi l l s has been a very i mportant part of our program th i s summer . Gary L , Scott , Di rector Summer Commun i ty Act i on Program Knoxvi l l e , Tennes see Augus t 6 , 1 970 Thanks for a marvel ous time . There was no empty fl a ttery in my verd i ct that Okl a homa ! was far more enjoyabl e i n Gatl i n burg than on Broadway . · Robert l� . Dan i el Gamb i e r , Oh i o J u l y 2 5 , 1 970

128 The en ti re cast pl ayed the i r parts excepti onal l y wel l and the l ead vo i ces s howed pl enty of ta l en t . It was a del i ghtfu l even i ng and i t mus t be a source of sati s facti on to your departmen t to devel op the h i g h degree of ta l ent d i s p l ayed . Nel son P . Dow C l i nton , South Caro l i na J u l y 6 , 1 970 My daughter and wi fe , Lynn e and Jo , j o i n me i n extend i ng to you and your wonderfu l l y fi ne company at Hunter Hi l l s our warm thanks and deep a pprec i a t i on for an enchanti n� even i ng , l as t n i ght wi th Dark of the r�oon . What a beauti fu l l y haunti ng and s en s i ti ve t h i n g it is! I t seemed to us to be even better than l as t Summer ' s excel l en t producti on . Sam Dal ton i s a grea t preacher , and I s u s pect he wi l l get even better as the Summer progres ses . We can ' t even bear to th i n k about Ben Harv i l l e ever l ea v i n g that show . . . h e ' s worth the ---tri p up there , h i msel f . Congratu l ati on s on a great s ta rt to a fi ne new s eason ! Al Yeoman s Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee June 26 , 1970 Than k you on beha l f of a l l of u s in Ch i l dren ' s I n tern�t i onal Summer Vi l l ages for you r generos i ty in g i v i ng u s a d i scount on the Hunter H i l l s t i c kets . The younges ters enjoyed Dark of the Moon very muc h , and I mu s t say I th i nk Hunter H i l l s i s the i deal s etti n g for such a pl ay . Thanks aga i n for hel p i n g to ma ke the i r v i s i t here a memorabl e one . El i za beth Shrader Knoxv i l l e , Tennessee August 1 0 , 1 9 7 1 O n beha l f of t h e 3 5 vi s i ti ng Japanese Soc i a l S tu d i es teachers , we · at the Di v i s i on wou l d l i ke to than k you for an excel l ent producti on of Da rk of the Moon . After hav i ng d i scussed the p l ay a t l ength wi th our Japanese v i s i tors , i t was fel t that a defi n i te sense of 11 exc i tement 11 had been c rea ted by the c haracters . To c reate such a fee l i ng amo n g peopl e heretofore unfami l i ar wi th Appa l a c h i a n h i s tory and fol kl ore wa s , i ndeed , the true mark of an excel l en t producti on . Nancy McCormac k and Susan Forouzesh Knoxv i l l e , Tennes see September 3 , 1 974 Ever s i nce that wonderful open i ng ni ght of South Pac i fi c I have i ntended wri ti ng to tel l you how muc h . . . I enjoyed your spl end i d produc t i on . The d i rec tion , the s tag i ng , the vo i ces and acti ng a l l add up to a del i ghtfu l show . I kept thi n k i ng how many " enchanted even i ngs .. you have g i ven us throug h the years . Dav i d Harkness Augus t 5 , 1974

129 APPEND I X V I I RESOLUT ION NO .

124

A RESOLUT I ON EXPRESS I NG APPREC IAT I ON TO THE UNI VERS ITY OF TENNESSEE AND HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE FOR CONTRI BUT I ONS TO THE COMMUN ITY AND URG I NG ALL C I T I ZENS TO SUPPORT HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE WHEREAS ,

HUNTER H I LLS THEATRE , an ou tdoor thea tre l ocated i n Gatl i nburq wa s ori g i na l l y constructed for the produc t i o n of the pl ay Chucky Jack and ;

WHEREAS ,

through · the graci ou s g i ft of Mr . and Mrs . R . L . Ma pl es , Hunter H i l l s Theatre was donated to the Uni vers i ty of Tennessee i n 1965 and ;

WHEREAS ,

s i nce 1 966 Hunter H i l l s Thea tre has presented ou ts tand i ng theatr i ca l producti ons duri ng the s ummer sea sons for res i dents and v i s i tors al i ke , and ;

. WHEREAS ,

these produc t i ons offer a un i que en terta i n i ng and cul tura l experi ence to those attend i ng and ;

�

WHEREAS ,

Hunter H i l l s al so prov i des a val uabl e l earn i nq experi ence for those part i c i pati ng , and ;

WHEREAS ,

Hunter Hi l l s Theatre shou l d be su pported by the bus i nesses and res i dents of Gatl i nburg ;

NOW , THEREFORE , B E IT RESOLVED THAT THE C ITY O F GATL I NBURG : SECT I ON 1 .

Tha t a pprec i a t i o n be expres s ed to the Uni vers i ty of Tennessee and to Hunter H i l l s Theatre for thei r outs tand i ng contri b u t i o n s t o the Gatl i nburg area .

SECTION 2 .

That the Un i vers i ty of Tennessee and Hunter Hi l l s Thea tre be encouraged to conti nue the theatre experi ence i n the Gatl i nburg area . ·

SECTION 3 .

. SECT ION 4 .

That al l res i dents and bu s i nesses of the Ga tl i nburg area be encouraged to attend , s upport , and publ i ci ze Hunter H i l l s Theatre . That a copy of th i s reso l ut i on be forwarded to �1r . Fred F i e.l ds , D i rector of Hunter H i l l s Theatre , and to Dr . Edward Bol i ng , Pres i dent of the Un i vers i ty of Tennes see .

130 SECT ION 5 .

That thi s reso l u tion s hal l take effect immed i ately upon i ts pas s age .

WILLIAM L . MI LLS , MAYOR DATE

JOE WARD BOOTH , RECORDER DATE

Apri l 8 , 1 975

Apri l 8 , 1975

131 V ITA Gary Buttrey was born i n Frankl i n , Tennes see i n Wi l l i amson County . He grew u p i n the ru ral part o f the county i n �a i rv i ew , Tennes see . He attended el ementary school s i n that c i ty and was graduated from Fa i rv i ew H i qh School .

After gradua t i on he entered Aus t i n Peay State

Uni vers i ty i n C l a rk s v i l l e , Tennes see .

He served two years i n the

Un i ted States Army between h i s second and . th i rd year but graduated from Aus t i n Peay after a ttend i ng fou r years w i th a Bachel or ' s degree i n Speech and Theatre and Bu s i ness Admi n i strati on . Mr . Buttrey has worked w i th a number of orga n i zati ons i n h i s profes s i onal career i n theatre .

These theatre groups i ncl ude the

Jenny Wi l ey Summer Mus i c Theatre i n Pre s ton s burg , Kentucky ; the Encore Cabaret Theatre , C i rcl e Theatre , Theatre Nashvi l l e , and the Barn D i nner Theatre al l i n Nashvi l l e , Tennes see ; the Hopk i n s v i l l e Commu n i ty Theatre i n Hop k i nsvi l l e , Kentucky ; the Fort Campbel l Commun i ty Theatre , Fort Campbel l , Ken tucky ; and the Fort Hood Commun i ty Theatre , Fort Hood , Texa s .

He has been empl oyed on the enterta i nment s ta ff of Cul vermere

i n Branchv i l l e , New Jersey ; the Hope As hworth Agency i n Na s hv i l l e , Tenness ee ; and the Casti ng Company i n Memph i s , Tenn essee . Mr . Buttrey enrol l ed i n the graduate school a t the Un i vers i ty of Tennes s ee i n September , 1976 .

He pl ans to work i n Theatre Management

and Admi n i strati on a fter graduati on .