Senator Sam This Weekend in Asheville One-Man Play Marks Debut of BRSC’s Flying Solo Series By Jeff Eason The Blowing Rock Stage Company has built a reputation of presenting some of the strongest one-man and one-woman shows in Southern Theatre. The past few years have seen the BRSC stage wonderful versions of one-actor shows such as The Bully Pulpit, Shirley Valentine and Senator Sam. Actor Gary Lee Smith reprised his role as North Carolinian Sam Ervin in the one-man show Senator Sam, now on stage at the Stoneleaf Theatre Festival in Asheville. Now the actor who made Senator Sam come to life is taking that show on the road, so to speak. Gary Lee Smith is performing Senator Sam this week at the Stoneleaf Theatre Festival in Asheville. The show marks the debut of the Blowing Rock Stage Company’s Flying Solo Series and the first time that the company has produced a fully professional production outside of Blowing Rock. Senator Sam continues its Stoneleaf Theatre Festival run Thursday through Saturday, June 1-3 at the Carol Belk Theatre on the UNC-Asheville Campus. Thursday’s performance is at 8 p.m. and the last two dates are at 4 p.m. Senator Sam, directed by Kenneth Kay and starring Gary Lee Smith as North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin, made its debut at the Blowing Rock Stage Company Theatre last summer and was reprised for two shows last October. Ervin, a down-home speaking senator of great wit and compassion, served North Carolina for decades and came to national prominence during the Watergate scandal of the 1970s. “I consider it a great honor, as well as a great responsibility to bring the story of Senator Ervin’s life to the stage,” said Smith last autumn. “If you weren’t a president, inventor or explorer, your contributions to society are often overlooked. But Senator Ervin is such an important part of North Carolina’s and the country’s history that he shouldn’t be forgotten. Steve Bouser, the author of Senator Sam, has done a wonderful job capturing the essence of the late senator’s personality and humor in this play.” Smith, a veteran actor who has starred in film as well as on stage, has previously appeared in four BRSC productions: Camping with Henry & Tom, Chapter Two, Wait Until Dark, and ART. The Stoneleaf Theatre Festival is produced by the North Carolina Theatre Conference and features over a dozen different productions in several theatre venues in and around downtown Asheville. For more information about the festival, visit www.stoneleaftheatrefestival.com. For more information about the BRSC’s Flying Solo Series, call (828) 295-9168.