Limited time only.  Last chance to see "The Ballad of Nancy Hanks" performed by the Rutherford Community Theatre!  This original 2-act play by local playwright, Ludy Wilkie, is based on the local legend that Abe Lincoln was born to Nancy Hanks, a young unmarried woman bound out to the Enloe Family in Bostic, North Carolina.

The play, well received by an audience of 300 plus at Concord Baptist Church last month, will perform its final engagement at the Green River Plantation Dinner Theater on Friday, May 18, 2012, and Saturday, May 19, 2012.  Dinner will be served in the Gate House at 6:00 p.m., with the performance starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Outdoor Pavilion.  Tickets will be $25.00 per person for both dinner and play.  Reservations only.  DON'T MISS THIS FINAL OPPORTUNITY TO SEE YOUR LOCAL HISTORY RE-ENACTED!  Please call (828) 286-1461 TODAY for your tickets!

RCT Board

Ruth Bennett, Secretary

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 THANK YOU CONCORD BAPTIST CHURCH & AUDIENCE!

Rutherford Community Theatre thanks Concord Baptist Church for hosting our very successful production of "The Ballad of Nancy Hanks."  Special thanks to Interim Pastor, Aubrey Folk, and church members, Bobbie Walker St. Clair, Kay & Ken Aldridge, Odessa Bailey, Bobby & Hazel Ayers, Hugh Calton, Mary Bell Henson, Kim Jones, Audrey Randlette, Judy Martin, and Doug & Kathy Toney, for your generous help in making this production run smoothly and successfully.

Rutherford Community Theatre also thanks our audience of over 300 people who attended our performances for giving our production an enthusiastic thumbs-up.  Your support encourages us to continue to give our best efforts at every performance.

RCT Board

Ruth Bennett, Secretary

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RUTHERFORD COMMUNITY THEATRE ANNOUNCES ITS CAST FOR "THE BALLAD OF NANCY HANKS"

Rutherford Community Theatre and Artistic Director, Les Beale, announces its cast for the upcoming production of “The Ballad of Nancy Hanks”, a historical drama in two acts by local playwright, Ludy Wilkie, featuring musical score by Peter Strickland.  Mr. Wilkie tackles the mystery surrounding Abraham Lincoln’s alleged birth in Rutherford County.

On her 106thbirthday, Granny Hollifield, played by Ruth Bennett, reaches deep into her memories to share her account of the events surrounding Lincoln’s birth.  Bennett, who plays an active role in RCT behind the scenes as Production Assistant and Graphic Designer, returns to the stage in this role.  She previously appeared in RCT’s production of “Christmas Pudding II”.

Granny has an eager listener in her grandson, played by Eric Harrelson.  Young Harrelson (who also doubles as Lil’ Abe) has appeared in several productions at Tryon Little Theatre:  “Oliver”, “Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” and “Charlotte’s Web”, as well as “We Are the Dream” produced by the Tryon Fine Arts Center.  This play marks his RCT debut.

The drama revolves around Nancy Hanks, Abraham Lincoln’s mother, from her arrival in North Carolina with her momma, Lucy Hanks, and her sister to live with her drunken uncle, Dick Hanks, to her death in an Indiana Shanty attended by a young Abe and a reformed Tom Lincoln.  Nancy Hanks’ relationships with the Enloe family (to whom she was bound out), her friends (Nancy Leake, Polly Price, and Mrs. Byrd), and prospective suitors (Adam Springs, John C. Calhoun, and Richard Martin) are interwoven into the major threads of the plot.

The role of Nancy Hanks is played by newcomer, Rebecca Quinton.  Although Quinton has a strong interest in acting and singing, this is her first production with any theater company.  She is excited to be making her debut with this challenging role.

Heather Libera returns to the RCT stage as Lucy Hanks, Nancy’s single mother, trying to make a life for her family.  Libera made her debut in RCT’s recent production of “Your Swash Is Unbuckled”.

Triple-cast in the roles of Dick Hanks, Nancy’s ne’er-do-well uncle, John C. Calhoun, a recent Yale graduate who Nancy meets while working in a South Carolina tavern, and Tom Lincoln, the itinerate laborer “paid” to marry Nancy and be a father to baby Abe, is Edward Harrelson.  Harrelson, who previously performed in “Oliver,” “Done to Death”, and “My Three Little Angels” in Tryon Little Theatre, is making his RCT debut in this production.

One of the first people Nancy Hanks works for is Adam Springs, a member of the first graduating class of UNC at Chapel Hill.   Returning to the stage in this role is veteran actor, Jamie Earls.  Earls has performed in a number of RCT’s productions including “Sin in the South”, “Deathtrap”, and “Elvis!”  Earls is also cast as Felix Walker, a state legislator, and close friend of Abraham Enloe. Walker works with Enloe to secure Nancy Hanks’ future.

After the death of Dick Hanks, Nancy is bound out to the Enloe Family – Abraham, his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Nancy.  Abraham Enloe is played by veteran actor, Richard Brown.  Brown has performed in many RCT productions including, “Our Leading Lady”, and “Sin in the South”.  He has also appeared with Flat Rock Youth Theater and the North Carolina Arts Council.

Making her debut with RCT in the role of Sarah Enloe is Christy Ayers.  Ayers has a strong interest in singing and acting and brings her talents to this tempestuous role.

Nancy Enloe, portrayed by Becky Humphries, befriends Nancy Hanks, treating her more like a sister than a servant.  Humphries, previously appearing in “Annie” presented by Shelby High Kids Theater and GSCT, makes her RCT debut in this production.

Nancy Enloe, however, unwittingly gets Nancy Hanks get in trouble when she has Hanks help her elope with John Thompson.  Les Beale plays the beleaguered Thompson who runs afoul of Sarah Enloe for running off with her daughter.  Beale is the Artistic Director with RCT.

Supporting Nancy Hanks through the tears and laughter are her two best friends, Nancy Leake and Polly Price.  Nancy Leake is played by Sarah Quinton, Rebecca Quinton’s twin sister.  Although Quinton has previously acted in school and church Christmas plays, she is making her RCT debut with this production.  S. Nicole Shaffer returns to the stage as Polly Price.  Shaffer has appeared in several RCT productions including, “Your Swash is Unbuckled”.  She has also performed in various North Carolina Arts Council plays such as, “Dracula-The Musical” and “High School Musical Onstage ”.

At the barn dance, Nancy Hanks meets Richard Martin, a local blacksmith with big plans for the future.  Will Wilson, a veteran RCT actor, plays this role.  Wilson is also cast as Michael Tanner, a mysterious stranger looking for Lucy and Nancy Hanks at the old Enloe homestead.  Wilson has performed in many RCT productions, including “Our Leading Lady”, “Arsenic and Old Lace”, and “Barefoot in the Park”.

Rounding out the cast of characters is Mrs. Byrd.  Mrs. Byrd and her husband rent the Enloe farm on Puzzle Creek and provide a refuge for Nancy Hanks to deliver her first-born son, Abraham.  Deany Martin returns to the RCT stage in this delightful role.  Martin, a veteran actress, has been involved in the theater since 1977 and has appeared in many RCT plays such as “Sin in the South” and “Our Leading Lady”.

“The Ballad of Nancy Hanks” will be performed at Concord Baptist Church, Nancy Hanks’ church home, on Friday, April 27, Saturday, April 28, and Sunday, April 29.  The Friday and Saturday evening performances will start at 7:30 p.m.  Sunday’s performance will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $5 per person; children 12 and under are admitted free.

Concord Baptist Church is located at 720 Old US 74 HWY.  Please contact Ruth Bennett, Production Assistant, at (979) 204-8288, for additional information.

Submitted by Victoria Ekelund, RCT Vice President

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Congratulations to the cast and crew of “Your Swash is Unbuckled” By Jeff Goode. You did a marvelous job and    the dinner was as usual, was great. Thanks to Green River Plantation Dinner Theater for providing us a wonderful evening of intimate theater. Looking forward to our next production in the spring.                                                 

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