New to Knoxville — Theater 23 Launches With Arlene Hutton’s ‘As It Is In Heaven’

'As It Is In Heaven' by Arlene Hutton - Photo courtesy of Theater 23

Despite the oft-paraphrased enthusiasm of “My uncle’s got a barn—let’s put on a show!” from the Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland vehicle Babes in Arms, starting a theatre company and seeing that it continues is as risky an endeavor as one could find in the entertainment world. Knoxville has seen both recent successes and failures in this regard. The fact is, however, that both success and failure in theatre—and what constitutes each—is a murky, grey area. Filling seats and box office receipts are only the beginning of a revenue stream, especially in the world of non-profit arts organizations where grants and private donations rule the day.

Trying out the theatrical waters in Knoxville is a new enterprise, Theater 23, headed up by its Founding Artistic Director, Tom Eubanks, a recent Knoxville transplant from California. Eubanks served as Artistic Director of Elite Theatre Company in Oxnard, CA, from 2004-2018.

“I’ve been a writer—playwright, short stories and novels—for most of my life,” Eubanks explains. “I ran theater companies in California for nearly 30 years. I made my living, though, as a professional private detective for 46 years, starting at the ripe old age of 22 as I was trying to get work as an actor in Hollywood…I came to Knoxville in October, 2021 with the intent on starting another theater company, giving myself two years to get to know the town, the audience, the theater community. I directed for a couple of theater companies in Knoxville and, in July, 2023, I applied for the charter for Theater 23.”

Eubanks believes his niche in the Knoxville theatre scene falls somewhere between community theatre groups like Theatre Knoxville Downtown and professional organizations like River and Rail Theatre Company.

“We’re about doing simple theater,” Eubanks says, “…Meaning easily staged, smaller casts in general, and showcasing new plays. Our second show in June at Knoxville Catholic High School will be a play I wrote called Thespis Thinks, a romantic comedy. I’ve been reading plays by local playwrights for our third slot in September.”

But, first things first. Theater 23’s first production will be directed by Eubanks and performed at the Old City Performing Arts Center. It’s a 2002 play by Arlene Hutton, As It Is in Heaven. The playwright’s inspiration for the play was a visit to the Pleasant Hill Shaker Village near Harrodsburg, Kentucky, a restored village that was occupied from 1805 to 1910 by a Shaker community. The play deals with the community thrown into turmoil when some of the women claim to see visions, upsetting others who believe the episodes are disrupting the community’s orderly existence.

The advantage of a play like As It Is in Heaven for Eubanks and Theater 23 is its lack of a complicated set or props. But, there is music. “There are 15 Shaker hymns,” Eubanks explains, “sung in unison; many are used solely as transitional pieces to get from one scene to the next. The play has 36 scenes that fluidly happen without blackouts—benches are moved to represent different locales and set pieces. [Music Director] Maggie Tharp is working with the actors. Actors sing as “untrained” voices, often as a congregation.”

Movement for the nine member cast is being handled by choreographer Michelle Castleberry. The cast is—

Barbara Kistler-Martin (Peggy)
Susan Jackson (Hannah)
Margy Ragsdale (Phebe)
Lisa Silverman (Betsy)
Erin Heulitt (Rachel)
Charity Combs (Izzy)
Emily Weaver (Fanny)
Francesca Reggio (Polly)
Brittany Brooks (Jane)

For the future of Theater 23, Eubanks has put out the call for playwrights with a script burning up their drawer.

“I’m looking for new plays”, Eubanks adds,”and as I described on our website, plays that are more about entertainment than changing the world. I want to produce plays that possess unique qualities of character, history, structure, and story. Mainstream, done-to-death plays won’t be considered. If I’m aware that a play has been produced in Knoxville in the last 10 years, I’ll likely not produce it.”