Sand Mountain Matchmaking & Why The Lord Came To Sand Mountain

Sand Mountain Matchmaking, deals with an attractive young
widow, Rebecca, who is wooed by a succession of thoroughly
objectionable suitors: the first a conceited stud who is sure
that she is physically attracted to him; the second a coarse
old farmer who is looking for a compliant slave and who has
already buried two wives; and the third a bible-spouting bore
whose last wife deserted him

In desperation Rebecca seeks the counsel of Lottie, a wise old hill woman, who tells her that all is not lost; she can find the right man by posing a simple (if suggestive) question to those who come to court her

This Rebecca does, and her reward, happily enough, is Sam Bean — a strapping young widower with a mind of his own who gives Rebecca as good as he gets and is more than a match for her and the memory of her late husband

“With generosity and humor, he shows his people in their natural plumage, living full lives in the shadow of desperation and poverty. One might suggest that if theatregoers want to lift their own spirits, they should try the tonic of a comedy by Romulus Linney” ~ NY Times

“..took the audience into realms of imagination where theatre hardly ever dares venture anymore” ~ William B. Collins, Philadelphia Inquirer

“Crammed with laughter” ~ Hari, Variety

Why The Lord Came To Sand Mountain ~ In the second portion of the program, Why The Lord Came To Sand Mountain, The Lord and Saint Peter eschew the hospitality of a wealthy lowland farmer and, instead, pay an unexpected call on an impoverished mountain couple, who live in blissful ignorance with their fourteen illegitimate children

While The Lord and Saint Peter may not approve of the family’s primitive life style, they are warmed by their lively company (and their jug of brandy) and begin to swap the sort of tall tales with which hill people seek to outdo each other, culminating in an hilarious retelling of the story of Joseph and Mary which puts The Lord in such an expansive mood that he is moved to bestow a miracle on his awe-struck hosts — with delightfully humorous results (4 men, 2 women, 1 boy)

While designed to be produced together as a single bill, the plays may be presented separately with equal effectiveness

Two rollicking, richly humorous studies of life on the Tennessee frontier which deal respectively with the courting of a young, no-nonsense widow; and the time The Lord and Saint Peter paid an unexpected visit to an impoverished and unwed mountain couple

“With generosity and humor, he shows his people in their natural plumage, living full lives in the shadow of desperation and poverty. One might suggest that if theatregoers want to lift their own spirits, they should try the tonic of a comedy by Romulus Linney” ~ NY Times

“… took the audience into realms of imagination where theatre hardly ever dares venture anymore” ~ Philadelphia Inquirer

“Crammed with laughter” ~ Variety