Kudzu lives in Chatham County

PITTSBORO - A beloved cartoon character - and all his colorful
townsfolk - come to life when “Kudzu, A Southern Musical” opens at
Chatham Mills April 24.
Central Carolina Community College theater production students and
community members fill the stage with the ups-and-downs of small
Southern town life in a tuneful, happy show that has delighted audiences
worldwide.
The musical grew out of the “Kudzu” cartoon strip, created by
editorial cartoonist Doug Marlette in 1981. Collaboration with Jack
Herrick and Bland Simpson, of the Red Clay Ramblers, transformed the
cartoon into a tuneful musical comedy.
The musical captures the angst, tenderness, and humor in the life of
18-year-old Kudzu Dubose, who aspires to be a writer. Kudzu lives in the
town of Bypass, so named because the state ran a new highway past the
town but forgot to give it an exit; so the world bypasses Bypass.
“We picked this show because of its local connections and because
it's good fun, something people will want in these tough times,” said
Ellen Bland, director and Central Carolina C.C. theater instructor.
The show, its characters and music go straight to the heart of
Southerners and those that love the slow-paced life in the small, rural
towns that dot the South. Such towns are disappearing under suburbia,
but “Kudzu, A Southern Musical,” captures the bone-deep feelings for
their community that many of the characters, particularly Kudzu, don’t
realize they have until they might lose it.
Life in Bypass takes a surprising turn when leading citizen Big Bubba
Tadsworth, played by Mike Broadley, tries to sell land in the tiny town
to a Japanese company that wants to build “the world’s largest plant
to manufacture American flags.” In a surprise plot twist, Kudzu,
played by Layton Sheppard, turns out to be the owner of the land.
Will a young man bored with the dullness of his small Southern town
sell its soul to build a factory? Or will he realize how special it is
and how special he is as part of it? The answer comes, surrounded by
both the poignancy and joy of discovering how precious “home” is.
Tickets for “Kudzu, A Southern Musical” are $12 and are available
at CCCC’s Chatham County Campus, 764 West St., Pittsboro, (919)
542-6495, or online at www.brownpapertickets.com . Chatham Mills is
located at 480 Hillsborough St., Pittsboro. Show times are 8 p.m. Friday
and Saturday, April 24-25, and Friday, May 1; 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2;
and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26 and May 3. The show is produced by
arrangement with Samuel French, Inc., and Chatham Mills Development
Corp.

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