One of my favorite movies of all time is Billy Bob Thornton’s classic Southern tale Sling Blade.
I’m not going to get into the plot here, nor am I making an official recommendation to watch the film, but there’s one scene in the movie that always got me laughing.
Dwight Yoakam, who is a veteran musician and an actor in the motion picture, at one point gets his garage band together for a jam session.
All of these actors, including legendary drummer Mickey Jones, were great musicians as well.
The scene breaks in at the tail end of the jam, and it is remarkably horrible.
Thornton, who starred in and directed the movie later made a comment that this was one of the toughest scenes in the movie, because he had to get great musicians to play horribly.
But they pulled it off, mainly because they were great actors as well.
Sometimes it takes more talent to pull off a purposeful disaster.
During my first full week back in Indianola, I was invited to the Brindley Theater for some early rehearsal of The Play That Goes Wrong.
No spoilers here, but you can tell where the thing is going by the title.
It’s a play within a play, and it is hilarious.
While watching some of the dress rehearsal this week, it reminded me of that Sling Blade comment.
All of the actors in this play are absolutely wonderful.
Up until now, they couldn’t turn a play into a disaster if they tried.
But that’s exactly what the script calls for in this production.
And they are plenty good enough to pull it off.
Mid-Delta Arts Association continues to be a jewel of a theater group in the Mississippi Delta. They have pulled off some huge productions in the past five years, including Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music and, I must throw in, The Odd Couple.
This might be the most complex undertaking to date.
General admission and patron tickets are on sale.
Andy Daniels has done a great job with this group. Just be prepared. You will laugh the entire time the curtain is open, or tries to open.
Don’t miss out on this one. It will be a classic.
