All the world's a stage…"
So said William Shakespeare, and it is especially so in Washington Parish. From the early days, our forebears were putting on and performing in shows and pageants. And it wasn't just at Peter Pan, a magical summer tradition and program featured in my column last summer. Fantastic local talent is found on the stage community-wide with schools the training ground.
Digging through material at home, it was mesmerizing to journey back in time in the world of local entertainment. I uncovered in my mother's things an early local play - "Girl Shy" presented by the Junior class of Franklinton High School on March 20, 1941. A member of that class, Momma treasured her program. The cast included Bobby Carter as Tom Arsdale; Yvonne Stafford as Babs Sanford; Delos Johnson, Jr.; as Oke Stemson; Hilda Stafford as Aunt Caroline; my mother Margie Nell Brumfield as Peaches Carter; Lyda Yates as Birdie La Verne; Mildred Daniel as Asma; Roy Foil as Chuck Mayo; David Stringfield as Dean Marlow; Anna Belle Davenport as Sylvia Webster; Bill Varnado as Anthony Arsdale; and Paul Trigo as Alfred Tennyson Murgatoyd. A three-act play, it was directed by Lillian B. Conerly with assistant directors Alma Richardson and Ora Marie McLain.
But my father Cecil Ellzey trumped my mother time-wise in Tylertown, having participated in the senior play at Tylertown High School five years earlier, in 1936. In his files, I discovered the official play book for Spooky Tavern by Jay Tobias, one of Denison's Select Plays, published in 1932 in Chicago. It was "A Mystery Farce in Three Acts" in which my dad played the part of Blackie Simms, a former henchman.
Decades later, my parents also preserved premier pageant material; Franklinton Frontiers was held in 1961 at the old Franklinton High School Football Stadium, in celebration of Franklinton's Centennial. My mother participated as a New Frontier Belle.
The presentation included the following episodes and scenes: 1. Prologue, which included the Coronation, The Discovery, and The Land of the Choctaw; 2. The Early Pioneers, which included the West Florida Disputes, The Wagon Trains, and Revolt, Independence and Annexation!; 3. Early Franklinton, which included Faith of Our Fathers, Old Hickory and His Mountaineers, Bickham's Gift, A Volume In Black, and Readin', Writin' and 'rithmetic; 4. Turn of the Century, which included The Gay 90's and It's Fair Time in Franklinton and Washington Parish!; 5. A New Era, which included World War I and The Roaring 20's; and 6. The Later Years, which included World War II, The Atomic Era, and Space!! Will it-Or-Won't it?? The Finale featured the entire 348 member cast - 348 local participants!!
A community teeming with theatrical and musical talent, Franklinton boasts many naturals on the stage. So, it came as no surprise to learn that in 1987 the Franklinton Community Theatre was formed by industrious locals who had the desire to bring regular theatre productions to town. In law school at the time, I was otherwise occupied, but my parents kept me apprised of the excitement about town. Officers of the first board of directors included Joann Thorp, chairman; Millie Walther, secretary; Sherri Goss, treasurer; Kay Bell; Moggie Bickham; Irma Canfield; Judy Carter; Barbara Chitwood; Don Ferguson; Wanda Nelson; Anita Rubie; Debbie Sylvest; Wallace Willard; Jennifer Yates; and Beverly Young. And local attorney Ron Brumfield played a key role in the organization as did Rod Sabiston - more on his monumental contribution in a moment.
The first season premiered with "See How They Run" which opened on September 18, 1987, at the Franklinton Primary School Auditorium, and it was a big hit. A three-act farce, directed by Irma Canfield, it featured the following cast members: Millie Walther as Ida; Nan Simmons as Miss Skillon; Jerry Wascom as The Rev. Lionel Toop; Beverly Young as his wife Penelope Toop; Dr. Mark James as Corporal Clive Winton; Tom Ford as The Intruder; Frank Nelson as The Bishop of Lax; Willis Dear as The Rev. Arthur Humphrey; and Jim Talley as Sergeant Towers. A rousing success, this first play of the Franklinton Community Theatre set the tone - people came in droves for the three performances. I feel certain that the draw was in no small part their friends and neighbors on stage.
This premier production was followed by the Rogers' and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma" which, in the spring of 1988, was directed by Beverly Young. For this second play, and first musical, of the Franklinton Community Theatre, Carla Stafford served as choreographer while her mother Jerry Dick was the music director. "Oklahoma" was presented at the Franklinton Junior High School Auditorium.
Summer time brought the final production of the Theatre's first season - "Oh, Mr. Faulkner, Do You Write?" which featured famous actor and native Mississippian John Maxwell who, in addition to his superb performance, taught two acting workshops for interested locals. Though the production took place at the Franklinton Country Club, the setting ranged from Faulkner's Oxford, Mississippi, home - Rowan Oak, which I love visiting - to Stockholm, Sweden, where in 1949 Faulkner gave his famous acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Digressing, our son-in-law, whose family has a home in Stockholm, would have been intrigued.
The second season of the Franklinton Community Theatre included the Broadway hit "Arsenic and Old Lace" and the musical "Anything Goes." The theatre's success continued, from there, with Fiddler on the Roof (1990), Annie (1992), and The Sound of Music (1994), my husband's absolute favorite, among the Theatre's many outstanding productions which lasted through the years. My listing is only a sampling.
In more recent years, the Franklinton Community Theatre presented "Saturday Night at Old Smokey," which was produced by Rod Sabiston, husband of Drema. The lovely couple moved to town in the late 1970s; their pretty daughters Tamara and Shannon attended Bowling Green where I came to know them. And Mr. Rod played a key role in the Franklinton Community Theatre, serving as long-time President of the organization and keeping it afloat over the years. His accomplishments in that regard, and beyond, were recognized in 2014 when he was honored as Franklinton Citizen of the Year.
This weekend, my better half and I are attending the Vince Gill and Amy Grant Christmas show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
As excited as we are, Rodney and I would be just as pleased to attend a spectacular performance by locals in our hometown. It is really something special when the performers are friends and neighbors.
