After Georgia's Theatre in the Square successfully staged the sequel The Sanders Family Christmas for the 2000 holiday season, the Marietta company returned to the original Smoke on the Mountain and has enjoyed similar success, leading the company to extend the show through Aug. 19. The bluegrass and gospel musical began July 17 - first on the mainstage - before moving in Aug. to complete the run on the smaller Alley Stage.

Reprising their roles in Sander's Family and previous Smoke mountings are Shelly McCook as June, John Peterson as Burl, Karen Howell as Vera, Mike Masters as Denise, Scott DePoy as Uncle Stanley and Alan Kilpatrick as Reverend Mervin Oglethorpe. New to the cast is Jennifer MacQueen as Denise.

The popular Smoke on the Mountain features a rural gospel-singing Baptist family in 1930's North Carolina — loving father Burl, Bible-quoting mother Vera, twin brother Dennis and his star-struck twin sister Denise, the black sheep Uncle Stanley, the non-singing June and Reverend Mervin Oglethorpe, head of the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. The score features popular hymns including "I'll Fly Away," "Power in the Blood," "Bringing in the Sheaves" and "Just a Little Talk with Jesus."

Tickets are $20-$30. The Theatre in the Square is located at 11 Whitlock Avenue in Marietta. For reservations, call (770) 422-8369. Theatre in the Square is on the web at http://www.theatreinthesquare.com.

— By Christine Ehren