Andrea and I first saw "Hands On A Hardbody" at our sister theatre the Wetumpka Depot Players. What an odd name for a show. But from the opening number, we were hooked! This show had a little of everything. Drama, intrigue, comedy, and music that ranged from gospel to soul to rock. A little bit for everyone. We knew we had to do this show. We had originally planned it to be our August 2020 production, but a worldwide pandemic put a halt to those plans. We persisted and here we are.
When we held auditions in May I knew we were on to something. What an amazing group of actors! We have old hats who have been with us before, actors who are brand new to AACT, and even two young people who are moving up from our teen shows to their first adult production. They have overcome adversity and illness and poured their heart and soul into this production. I am so proud to be their director!
I am also so very blessed to have such a wonderful production team. The uber-talented Rachel Pair coached and blended all these fantastic voices into the harmonic whole you will hear tonight. The amazing Abby Freeman took on the daunting task of choreographing the 20 numbers in this show. It ain't easy dancing with a truck y'all! Thomas Maple, my assistant director, added wonderful insights as we developed this play and basically kept me sane through some of the insanity that is directing such a large musical. And finally, my lovely wife and producer Andrea Holliday who shared this dream with me and kept me on track, even when I wandered off it.
I would also be remiss if I didn't thank our dedicated technical crew. Lori and Tim McCormack put in so many hours designing and hanging our lighting; Jason Saylor makes our lighting come to life; Steve Bice always makes our costumes look good; Cora Connelly turned our blank stage into a little slice of Longview Texas, and Michael Knotts answered the question "How can we make a 1-ton pickup spin?" I know I am missing someone, but take a look at this Playbill's cast and crew section. Every single one of them has had a hand in this magic we call theatre.
Finally, I want to thank Autosport Bodyworks in Opelika for taking our poor beat-up 1987 Nissan truck and turning it into a thing of beauty. Fantastic job guys!
Enjoy the show!
Terry Kelley
