The Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville, Tennessee
In 1963, Crossville, Tennessee was a town you passed through on the way to other places. Located in Cumberland County, the town and surrounding Appalachian region was economically depressed. Resort and recreational development was in its infancy. High unemployment and poverty was normal.
Paul Crabtree was an actor, director, producer and composer. He attended Syracuse University, and made his Broadway debut when he succeeded the role of Will Parker in the original Broadway production of Oklahoma.
He was then given a contract with the Theatre Guild, and went on to produce and direct Broadway shows with such legends as Helen Hayes, Charlton Heston, José Ferrer, Geraldine Paige, Loretta Young, E.G. Marshall and many others.
Mary Crabtree, spent her youth in Pittsburgh and Crossville before moving to New York. It was there, in 1941, that she met Paul in the National Company of George Abbott's Kiss & Tell.
They fell in a love and were married. Mary balanced her acting and modeling career with motherhood, while Paul directed for The Theater Guild. Later, after writing stints for television shows such as The Loretta Young Show, the family took a sabbatical in Crossville where Mary had family. This was a to give Paul some time to write his book, Stories from Doby Creek, and the more important matter at hand, what to do next career-wise that would be best for the family.
While in Crossville, community leaders approached Paul about staging a show for the local school-aged children, and a dream was born.
In December of that year, Paul Crabtree's The Perils of Pinocchio was presented at the Crossville Junior High School with a cast, crew and orchestra of 200 youngsters.
The performance electrified the community. To a community with no museums, no college or university, no live performance organizations, just one movie theater and an ninety-minute drive to the nearest city, the idea was extremely compelling that Pinocchio might be the beginning of new educational horizons for their children.
Civic and cultural leaders asked Crabtree how they could keep things like - happening in Crossville.
Well, you'd have to build a theater, he replied. The old junior high auditorium isn't even safe.
Remarkably, in a town of 5,000, in a county of 25,000, that's exactly what they did. The entire community got behind the idea of the Playhouse because people believed it could make a vital contribution to education and the local economy and help create some new jobs.
The Cumberland County Playhouse is now the only major non-profit professional performing arts resource in rural Tennessee, and one of the 10 largest professional theaters in rural America. It serves more than 145,000 visitors annually with two indoor and two outdoor stages, young audience productions, a comprehensive dance program, a concert series and touring shows.
To learn more about the Cumberland County Playhouse, visit:
Living East Tennessee Summer Seg
WTNZ Our Town • Cumberland County Playhouse • Cumberland County, Tennessee
n 1963, Crossville, Tennessee was a town you passed through on the way to other places. Located in Cumberland County, the town and surrounding Appalachian region was economically depressed. Resort and recreational development was in its infancy. High unemployment and poverty was normal.
In December of that year, Paul Crabtree's The Perils of Pinocchio was presented at the Crossville Junior High School with a cast, crew and orchestra of 200 youngsters. The performance electrified the community. to a community with no museums, college, university, live performance organizations, one movie theater and an hour-and-a-half drive to the nearest city, the idea was extremely compelling that Pinocchio might be the beginning of new educational horizons for their children.
Civic and cultural leaders asked Crabtree how they could keep things like Pinocchio happening in Crossville. He replied, Well, you'd have to build a theater. The old junior high auditorium isn't even safe. Remarkably, in a town of 5,000, in a county of 25,000, that's exactly what they did. The entire community got behind the idea of the Playhouse because people believed it could make a vital contribution to education and the local economy and help create some new jobs.
The Cumberland County Playhouse is now the only major non-profit professional performing arts resource in rural Tennessee, and one of the 10 largest professional theaters in rural America. It serves more than 145,000 visitors annually with two indoor and two outdoor states, young audience productions, a comprehensive dance program, a concert series and touring shows. The Cumberland County Playhouse is the only non-profit professional performing arts organization in Tennessee that wholly owns and operates its own major performance facility.
The Playhouse is committed to the arts as an indigenous, homegrown part of rural America - not a commodity imported from urban centers. The Playouse regularly produces new works based upon Tennessee and Southeastern history and culture, plus state and regional premieres and revivals of works with Appalachian themes. The Playhouse also strives to stretch its audiences with programming which includes major elements of opera, dance, and challenging dramatic works. The Playhouse features nearly 500 performances and 1600 classes in theatre, music and dance annually.
The Cumberland County Playhouse provides arts opportunities to a vast region underserved by other arts resources, including rural East and Middle Tennessee, North Georgia, Southern Kentucky, and Northern Alabama, as well as metropolitan Knoxville, Nashville and Chattanooga. In 1984, the Cumberland County Playhouse was the recipient of one of the Governor's Awards in the Arts for the state of Tennessee.
With an annual budget of over $1,800,000, the Playhouse is among Tennessee's most sufficient arts institutions. Since its opening in 1965, 78 - 85% of all revenues have been from earned income, including funding of the construction of the original facility. The Playhouse operates on a balanced budget and has no accumulated deficit. Construction of a 27,000 square foot expansion to the original facility has recently been completed, making the Playhouse a four-theater complex featuring proscenium, black box and outdoor arena spaces.
NoisesOffPromo
You're going to want to put a portion of your paycheck towards tickets to NOISES OFF! once you see this trailer. We promise that this is a mere taste of the laughs this crazy comedic cast has to offer! Call or visit us online for tickets today.
Special thanks to Big Wish Media for capturing the essence of organized chaos that is, NOISES OFF! in this fantastic trailer.
Lying in State
A state senator has died in a ridiculous, self-inflicted accident. And as luck would have it, word of his demise (and some good P.R.) have made him a national hero. On the day of the funeral, everyone is searching for something. The local political party leaders are frantically looking for someone to fill his senate seat. His ex-wife is looking for a bugler to play for his funeral. Buttons, the semi-exotic dancer, and a host of other zany characters are looking for love, votes, the right casket and a giant purple squirrel named Mel. This laugh-out-loud comedy mixes love, politics, outlandish situations, and outrageous characters in a recipe that’s sure to provide non-stop laughter! The Lying in State cast features Daniel Black (Smoke on the Mountain), DeAnna Etchison (Smoke on the Mountain), Ross Griffin (Million Dollar Quartet), Britt Hancock (Million Dollar Quartet), Patty Payne (A Second Helping), Jason Ross (Sister Act), and Weslie Webster (Beauty and the Beast).
Lying in State runs through October 6, is rated PG, and is sponsored by The Beef & Barrel, Red’s Ale House, Family Ties and Dublin’s Crossing.
2020 Season Video V2
A first look at our exciting 2020 season!
CUMBERLAND COUNTY PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES ITS 2020 SEASON!
Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville, TN has announced its upcoming 2020 season! “I’m thrilled to announce the shows that we’ve chosen for our 55th Anniversary season,” said Producing Director Bryce McDonald. “We wanted 2020 to be a season filled with diverse choices, from exciting new titles to beloved classics, ensuring that there’s something for everyone in every family in the lineup. And because Junie B. Jones, the inaugural production of our Theater for Young Audiences program was a sold-out hit, we’ve added three TYA shows to the 2020 season!”
Smoke on the Mountain - Cumberland County Playhouse - 21st year!
Come see Smoke on the Mountain at the Cumberland County Playhouse. Longest running show in Tennessee as we go into our 21st consecutive year...this year is better than ever! Get your tickets now ccplayhouse.com or 931-484-5000 runs through August 8th and sponsored by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store!
The Foreigner
CCP’s most requested title, The Foreigner, returns for its 50th Anniversary Season! Once again starring Jason Ross, Carol Irvin and Daniel Black, this wickedly clever farce is outrageously funny! (Sept. 4 – Nov. 5, rated G, co-sponsored by Stanley Bise, MD and Dr. Anthony Wilson.)
Bright Star Official Show Trailer
The incandescent new musical Bright Star, now through June 6!
Big River Promo
Promo for BIG RIVER at the Cumberland County Playhouse running Sept. 27 - Nov. 9, 2012...for tickets call 931-484-5000 or ccplayhouse.com Sponsored by TAP PUBLISHING!
2016 Season Announcement Cumberland County Playhouse
Escape with us today! What are you in the mood for? Something delicious? Aquatic? Exotic? Spooky? Nostalgic? No matter what type of escape your heart's set on, our 2016 season has something for you! Tickets are on sale now...call 931-484-5000 to get the best seats!
BRIGHT LIGHTS LITTLE CITY Trailer 1
Bright Lights Little City celebrates one rural Appalachian community that embraced creativity without reservation, ensured success in self-determination, and through five decades has pursued the joy of self-discovery through the Arts.
Designed as a half-hour special for national public television release, the film explores the unlikely history of the Crabtree family and the birth of the Cumberland County Playhouse through the voices of Broadway stage and Hollywood screen stars like Bob Gunton, Julie Ann Emery, Ruthie Ann Miles and the remembrances of Jim Crabtree, Bryce McDonald and current theater staff.
The documentary calls on family memorabilia, playhouse production photos, and legacy footage from a variety of sources to share the story. Here is the creative grand gamble that—50 years on—is still paying dividends for the entire Cumberland Mountain Region and for audiences and actors from across the United States.
At least as important as the creative and economic opportunities brought to the mountain community are the cultural changes the theater has wrought. The playhouse now hosts hugely diverse casts and takes on important, timely social issues. The enlightenment of this former ‘Sundown Town’ community has been dramatic and lasting.
Bright Lights Little City is set for national release in April of 2018.
Cumberland County - A New Beginning
A video documentary on the birth of Cumberland County
2016 WS Turkey Hunt Crossville TN Rev3
Wheelin Sportsman Hunt with the NWTF Chapter Plateau Longbeards from Crossville TN. Come join us at our 2017 Banquet on March 18th Email tnjakes@gmail.com for more information about our Chapter and our upcoming banquet
GYPSY
Come see Gypsy at the Cumberland County Playhouse. Get your tickets now ccplayhouse.com or 931-484-5000 runs through September 5th and sponsored by Fairfield Glade Resort and Dr. Dirk C. Davidson, MD at TN Plateau Oncology!
Palace, Crossville, TN
Right State of Mind,
Travis, Mark, Rick, & Joel
CCP Oklahoma Trailer.mov
Cumberland County Playhouse production of Oklahoma trailer...running now until Sept. 2, 2011. Get your tickets by calling 931-484-5000 or ccplayhouse.com