Fall has thus far been a somber time for the Pull-Tight family, with the separate losses of Wesley Fox and John Emberton, both long-time and beloved Pull-Tight artist members. Wesley and John participated in the oral history interviews for our 50th Anniversary Celebration, so we are grateful to have been able to preserve their memories and inspiring words about what Pull-Tight meant in their lives. Check out a new feature on the website, an In Memoriam Page honoring our members who have passed.

The 50 Anniversary Celebration was a resounding success, with over 200 in attendance. Special thanks to Lynda Gibbs, Ricki Keckley, Steve and Pat Evans, and their committee members for all of the logistics that went into this event, as well as Laura Sparkman and Wesley Fox for gorgeous floral arrangements. Huge thanks also to Tom Gregg and his team for our outstanding documentary, 50 Years a Treasure. Remember that this is a year-long celebration. Watch the website for the opportunity to obtain a DVD of the film and our oral history interviews, as well as some 50th Anniversary memorabilia, with all proceeds donated to the theatre.

Our season opener, South Pacific, was a blockbuster success in every way, selling out the original run as well as two holdover shows. Audiences were thrilled to see this beloved classic, in many cases bringing their children and grandchildren to experience it for the first time. See a wonderful review in the Williamson Herald.

Many thanks to Director Iain Macpherson and his cast and crew, not only for the wonderful show, but for the willingness of the cast to perform numbers from the show three separate times for the 50th Anniversary and to participate in a workshop for the Junior Youth Actors Guild after the show closed. As Producer of this show, I want to say that this was one of the most congenial groups of cast and crew I have ever worked with.

Director Daryle Tallent and her cast and production team have been working hard these last several weeks to bring us something I think we all need right now, the uproariously funny Lend Me a Tenor. You are not going to want to miss this one.

In typical Pull-Tight fashion, people working behind the scenes have gone above and beyond. Iain Macpherson removed all the chairs and painted the risers for the 50th Anniversary event and season opener. Chris Dillard replaced the stage camera after the original was apparently fried by a lightning strike. Steven Steele came in to do a tech inventory and make recommendations for updates. Mike Foster stopped to repair the paint room door and the cast bathroom toilet in the midst of serving as Set Crew Chief for Lend Me a Tenor.

Not all of the jobs at Pull-Tight are glamorous, but every one of them makes us the strong and thriving organization that we are, and we appreciate you each and every one.

Pat Street, President
Pull-Tight Board of Directors

How excited are people about our 50th Anniversary Year? If we can judge by season ticket sales, pretty excited! We recently closed sales with a record number of 585 purchased. Meanwhile, several large groups are queued up to purchase tickets for South Pacific the minute they go on sale. So I would say yes, people are excited about our 50th Season. And all this activity also reflects the hard work of our lively Social Media Committee and Box Office, both headed by Johnny Peppers.

Director Iain Macpherson and his cast and crew have been working for weeks to ensure that the beloved classic South Pacific will exceed expectations, and rehearsals have been thrilling to watch. Needless to say, get your tickets early!

We hope everyone will join us at our Open House on Sunday, July 29, which begins a season-long celebration of Pull-Tight’s 50 years of providing top-notch entertainment to the community. You will not want to miss the premiere of our documentary, Pull-Tight Players: 50 Years a Treasure, by filmmaker Tom Gregg, along with a few numbers from the cast of South Pacific.

It is truly a great honor to serve as President during this 50th Anniversary year. It is an exciting time for Pull-Tight as we commemorate the past and look toward the future health of the organization.

A special thanks to Lynda Gibbs, outgoing Pull-Tight President, for her two years of strong and gracious leadership, and to our various committee members who have agreed to continue in their positions for another year.  Once again I am deeply impressed and grateful for all of the talented and dedicated volunteers who keep this group running smoothly.

Throughout the year, please let me know your concerns and goals for Pull-Tight, and especially let me know how you are willing to help achieve them!  I look forward to working with you.

Pat Street
President, Pull-Tight Players Board of Directors
patintn@aol.com

“When all you care about is here, this is a good place to be.”  – Emile de Becque in South Pacific.

Hey everyone,

This will be my last newsletter to you all as President of the Board of Directors of the theater; always a bittersweet thing. I love “speaking” to you before each show, as it allows me time to reflect on who we are and what we do.

Our thanks to Johnny Peppers and his cast and crew for a thoroughly delightful evening of theater with Boeing, Boeing. One of the cast members said to me after the performance that it was more like playing than being in a play. I assured him that it showed and we all had as much fun as he did!

Lots of things are on our horizon, not the least of which is the opening of Spamalot on June 1. We are so excited to have Leslie Berra and her amazingly talented cast and crew bringing this fabulously crazy fun show to Pull-Tight. I can’t wait!

In case you don’t already know, Pull-Tight is about to turn 50 years old! Season tickets for our 50th anniversary season will be available to purchase on June 1. We appreciate all of you who answered our survey request and helped us choose our season.

Read a wonderful article The Tennessean published about our 50th anniversary and season.

In addition, please join us for our 50th Anniversary celebration on July 29, anytime between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Come and say hello to people you haven’t seen in years, or perhaps people you sat next to the last time you were in the theater. We are community in every sense of the word and look forward to spending time together.

See you at the theatre!

Lynda Gibbs
President, Pull-Tight Board of Directors