Lamb’s Players Theatre has opened its production of “Cotton Patch Gospel” inside its iconic facility on Orange Avenue.
The musical is adapted from Clarence Jordan’s book setting the Gospels of Matthew & John in the American South.
Actor Tom Key first performed it as a one man show in late 1979.
Broadway roots
It had a successful off-Broadway run in 1981 with added music and lyrics by Harry Chapin.
LAMB’S produced the musical in 1988, 1991 & 2003, with Deborah Gilmour Smyth directing.
So, it seemed a good time to bring it around again, according to Chris Turner of Lamb’s.
As for the story, Clarence Jordan was a farmer and a scholar of Greek. In the 1940s, he founded an interracial Christian community, Koinonia Farms, in Americus, Georgia.
Habitat For Humanity grew out of that community.
Cast and band
The cast includes Bryan Barbarin, Michael Louis Cusimano and Earnest Sauceda, while the band includes Shawn Rohlf, Greg Campbell, Oliver Shirley and Brandon Wallace.
The show is adapted from the book “The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John” by Clarence Jordan. Musical direction comes from Shawn Rohlf, with assistant choreography from Earnest Sauceda and Robert Smyth is the producer.
Show dates and times
The show runs through Aug. 20 with showtimes at 2 and 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Lamb’s Players Theatre is at 1142 Orange Ave.
Tickets range from $28 to $82, depending on the day of the week and the theatre’s seating section. Discounts are available for Seniors (66+) and Veterans. Half-price tickets are available for Active Duty Military, Youth (ages 5 – 17), and Young Adults (18 – 34) that join the theatre’s free <35 Club.
