Lisa Denton and Barry Courter
BARRY COURTER: Lisa, can you think of any other topic for a theater production that lends itself to puns or snarky headlines as much as the topic of nuns? I mean the puns pretty much write themselves and can be really habit-forming.
LISA DENTON: Stop, you’re making me cross.
BARRY: The Chattanooga Theatre Centre is presenting “Sister Act, A Divine Comedy” through Oct. 4. It’s based on the Whoopi Goldberg movie from 1992.
LISA: Not only did Whoopi star in the movie, she was a producer for the stage version. It’s a fun and funny production, so it should set the right tone as a season opener – bar nun.
BARRY: I knew when I started this I’d end up nun too happy. The thing is, I went to Catholic schools and never thought of nuns as funny. Scary, maybe. I kid. I did learn a lot of jokes about nuns and hopefully going to confession cleared me of those transgressions.
Anyway, “Sister Act” is being directed by Scott Dunlap, who also designed the costumes, including 17 nun habits both traditional and the Vegas-showgirl ones for one scene in the play. All these years and I had no idea how many different pieces of clothing a seemingly simple nun’s habit entails. I just knew we appreciated them wearing rosaries because they made a lot of noise, meaning they couldn’t sneak up on us.
Tim Hinck is musical director, by the way.
LISA: Tim Hinck is a busy man, but I suspect he likes it that way. He also wrote the score for the new WTCI documentary “From the Streets to the Stage: The Journey of Fredrick Davis,” which will get a big-screen premiere tonight at the Tivoli Theatre, then be broadcast Thursday night on Channel 45, with a couple of encores after that.
It’s the story of a young Chattanoogan who eventually made his way to New York to train with the Joffrey Ballet School and join the Dance Theatre of Harlem after taking part in the city-sponsored Dance Alive program with Ballet Tennessee. He’s now a freelance ballet dancer. So if you’re planning to mount a production of “Giselle,” “Swan Lake” or “Sleeping Beauty,” he could be your prince.
BARRY: I’ll keep that in mind.
This is a busy week with a lot going on. Comedian Rodney Carrington returns with a show at the Tivoli on Saturday. Etta May is at The Comedy Catch this weekend and the Revelry Room will open on Thursday with Mama Bear. They had to delay opening the new venue at the Chattanooga Choo Choo for a week, but co-owner Monica Maples Kinsey tells me they will open for this show no matter what because their other venue, Track 29, has several shows as well and can’t be utilized as a backup like it was last week.
Cherub is at Track 29 on Friday, the same night that Luke Combs and Jacob Powell are at Revelry. The next night Beats Antique is at Track 29 and Fly By Radio are at Revelry.
LISA: Oh, and The President’s Own U.S. Marine Band will perform Tuesday night in the Red Bank High School gymnasium. Admission is free, but you have to have a ticket to guarantee seating. The link is at marineband.ticketleap.com.
And I have to say I’m intrigued by the duo coming to Barking Legs Theater on Tuesday. Anna & Elizabeth not only sing old-time Appalachian music, they do skits and storytelling with moving scrolls called crankies. Should be an interesting show.
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Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.