Renae Adelsberger

Spice up your holiday season with a trip to the Ned to watch their performance of A Christmas Story by Philip Grecian. You’ll be in stitches as this play has all your Christmas Story favorites: Little Orphan Annie decoder pin, double dog dares, “fudge,” “frah-jee-lay,” and more. As any fan of A Christmas Story  can tell you, nothing is better than a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle. And the Jackson Theatre Guild has brought this play to the stage in downtown Jackson, Tennessee. The action in the play is driven by the narrator, played by David Stutzman.

In the late 1960’s in America, most states still enforced laws that made it illegal for a black person to drink from the same water fountain as a white person. Not all Americans embraced this way of thinking, however. Men like Matt Drayton (played by David Lundgren), publisher of a San Francisco newspaper, made a point to show biracial couples on the front page of his newspaper. Despite his progressive views on integration in America, Matt struggles when his white daughter comes home from her internship with quite a surprise: a black fiancé.

We have loved following along with Jackson Downtown Development Corporation's "People of Downtown" series on Facebook and Instagram, and this week, we were lucky enough to have our own Editor-in-Chief Katie Howerton featured. Read a little more of her story below and find out why downtown Jackson is such an important part of Our Jackson Home's mission.

Who knew seven doors and a plate of sardines could cause so many uproarious laughs! The Jackson Theatre Guild has brought Noises Off by Michael Frayn to The Ned and it's guaranteed to keep you in stiches. Noises Off is a farcical play that gives the audience a peek behind the scenes of a live performance. The first act occurs the night before the first show; the dress rehearsal is going horribly. The director must constantly stop the action and redirect his actors.

"How many miles away is Sonic?" I stared, dumbfounded, as they told me the nearest Sonic was ten miles out of town. Kevin patted my leg reassuringly. "Well, you'll learn to enjoy the drive." We were newlyweds and newly graduated, interviewing for a Residence Life Director position for Kevin in Middle-of-Nowhere-Close-to-Sonic, Kentucky. They chose another candidate, and our lives forever shifted, allowing us to keep the roots we had been cultivating in Jackson during our stay here as college students.

2017 has been a year to remember, and much of that is thanks to our talented contributors who have poured themselves into telling the stories of Jackson in such a compelling way that they become part of our lives. With that, we are proud to share this year's top ten stories from our blog, encouraging you to read any you missed and to high-five the writers, photographers, and subjects featured.

In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, we are dropped in the middle of a story already half told. Scrooge is a nasty, miserly man being haunted by his former business partner and the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come. But why? Who are these ghosts and what are their motives behind repeatedly visiting Scrooge that fateful Christmas Eve?The Jackson Theatre Guild has brought the very play to The Ned that we need to answer these questions: Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol.

Fellow Jackson citizens: Do you need anything? How about legal counsel? Perhaps varicose veins reductions? Are you a painter who needs dance classes? What about some good old-fashioned matchmaking? Then you need Dolly! Fortunately for us, Hello, Dolly! has come to the stage at The Ned, and she has brought all her business cards with her. Dolly Levi, played by Julie Glosson, is an expert at everything. In her own words, she’s a professional meddler.

The Jackson Theatre Guild is kicking off this spring with Neil Simon’s farcical play Rumors this weekend at The Ned. Rumors is crammed with two hours of mass chaos, assumptions, misunderstandings, and (of course) rumors. The play opens as Ken and Chris Gorman (played by Kyle Williams and Caitlin Kent) arrive at their friends’ Charlie and Myra Brock’s house to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary. But everything is amiss. Myra and the house staff are nowhere to be found, the meal isn’t cooked, and Charlie has survived a gunshot to his head.

Madison Academic Magnet High School is presenting the musical Grease this week, directed by Becky Fly. This is truly a Madison Academic Fine Arts Department production. Music Direction has been led by Kristy White (Band Director at Madison) and Lindsey Patterson (Choral Director at Madison), and the Art Department helped with the sets. The production consists of thirty students and ten crew members. Becky likes getting students involved in theatre because they learn more than just acting skills.

Richard Hannay gets swept into a spy thriller in the Jackson Theatre Guild's current production of The 39 Steps. When a gun is fired during a theater production, the seductive Annabella Schmidt convinces Richard Hannay to take her to his room for safety. While there, she is murdered. With her dying breaths, she mentions the mysterious "39 steps" in relation to a spy plot but does not reveal its meaning. Hannay, now a murder suspect, flees the country, follows Annabella's few, vague clues to discover the meaning of the 39 steps. 

The Jackson Theatre Guild initiates the 2016-2017 season with the musical Guys and Dolls, now playing at The Ned. Set in colorful New York, the conflict between the police and the illegal gambling ring of craps is at an all time high. Nathan Detroit, played by Billy Worboys, is famous for setting up secret meeting places to shoot craps. But with the police on high alert, he must come up with $1,000 cash in order to secure a location. 

The Jackson Theater Guild has brought a Christmas classic to The Ned in its presentation of It's a Wonderful Life. Set in the town of Bedford Falls, New York, in the 1940s, the play opens as George Bailey contemplates suicide at the top of a bridge. This triggers the appearance of Clarence Odbody, guardian angel, second class. He was sent to George to remind him of his past—times when he had acted honorably and made profound sacrifices for his family and friends. 

Union University’s theatre has brought an Agatha Christie classic to stage in their production of And Then There Were None. Set on the secluded Indian Island, ten people are each brought by ship for various purposes, but all by a mysterious Mr. and Mrs. Owen. The ragtag group prepares for dinner when an ominous record booms accusations that each person is guilty of murder. All characters gather to share their stories and defend themselves.

Set in the 1950s, Moon Over Buffalo reveals the backstage of a theatre group during one of their most chaotic days. With the increasing availability of television in the 1950s, tickets to live theatre have plummeted and left the theatre group struggling for money. Act One sets up the increasingly tangled love relationships that have developed. The main characters are George and Charlotte Hay, who have been married and acting side by side their entire life.

Jackson non-profit Area Relief Ministries (ARM) hosted their annual Salt & Light Banquet Thursday evening (August 20th) at the Civic Center. Members of the Hub Club choir kicked off the event, and then ARM helped educate the audience to display the wide variety of ministries they oversee including Room in the Inn, freshSTART, and Hub Club. These ministries have goals such as giving youth alternatives to the gang lifestyle and creating jobs for those who may not easily find one elsewhere

Barnfest 2015 brought Humble Tip, Scott Dawson, and David Crowder to nearby town Denmark. An audience of around 4,000 gathered at the Barn at Snider Farms to hear these beloved performers and speakers from the Christian community. Local food venders provided plentiful dinner options, and several organizations, including Farmers & Merchants Bank, sponsored the event in order to keep it free to the public.