Tall One Outreach Ministries presents the award-winning gospel stage play, “Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child – Part 2,” written and produced by Dr. Mildred Summerville and directed by Trina Jeffrie (aka Sister Cantaloupe) at the Carolina Theatre, 309 West Morgan Street, Durham, NC, on September 29, 2018, at 7:30 pm.
Viewers are in for an unforgettable experience! Gracing the stage are Grammy award-winning artist Le’Andria Johnson; gospel singing sensation Shawn McLemore, who is known for his hit single “I Believe” featuring James Fortune; recording artists Dr. Pauline Plummer, Rhonda McLemore, and Queen of Gospel Comedy, Trina Jeffrie; and Apostle Aaron McNair, renown preacher, teacher, and author. The additional
supporting cast members will be selected from Durham School of the Arts and North Carolina Central University Department of Theatre and Dance. Also making an appearance is the Grammy nominated talented R&B diva Angie Stone.
A must-see story, the play is alternately a moving drama and a side-splitting comedy that will be talked about in families and generations to come. These insurmountable challenges have been encountered by most families. In this gripping and engaging dramatic piece, a woman is simply known as “Grandma” serves as the pillar of her surroundings. Her son’s family is in crisis, and those within her neighborhood are drowning in chronic troubles of their own. Through it all, Grandma seeks God on behalf of those who are not spiritually inclined enough to seek Him for themselves. Even those who resent her, such as her son’s sometimes rigid wife, Linda, ultimately end up on Grandma’s prayer list. And when the walls of the lives of those around Grandma seem to come tumbling down, they know who to turn to for guidance and sound counsel. It’s not always advice that they want to hear, but it is consistently the precise word needed to steer them in the right direction.
Using spirit-filled music and memorable characters like James, the doting son, Linda, the insensitive daughter-in-law, Tracy, the high-strung teenager, and Sister Cantaloupe, Grandma’s feisty sister, “Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child – Part 2” portrays issues within the community such as family dysfunction, peer pressure, substance abuse, and other pertinent matters that are too often inadequately addressed or considered taboo altogether.
Other characters in the cast bring even more drama to the script. In her God-given wisdom, Grandma confronts Tracy’s suppressed anger and bitterness, convincing her to disclose facts about a rape kept secret for years. Also, she fervently prays for her grandson, William, who has a change of heart and avert
a life of gang involvement.
Though compounding events take a toll on Grandma, the audience will rejoice in knowing that this elderly woman’s life was prayer-centered, purpose-inspired, and, inevitably, not at all lived in vain. Extraordinary drama, corrupt karma, a supportive pastor, and a praying grandma, all come together to make “Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child – Part 2” a must-see theatrical production! Infused with foot-stomping gospel music, this is soul-stirring entertainment that will warm hearts, tickle funny bones, uplift the spirits, and search the souls of all those who experience it.
– From a press release
Pastor Luther Barnes is among seven artists to be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame for 2018.
