Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre

06/16/2026

Happiest of birthdays to the incomparable Emily Blankenship-Tucker!! We hope she is having a rip-roaring great birthday and resting up for bringing more magic to the stage soon.

In case you can’t tell because of FB quirks and you missed it May 13, this is in the new photo album called 25 Years of Emily! Click through for more photos.

Emily and friends in "Blue Suede Shoes: Part Two," a musical r***e created by Rex Stephenson and Emily in 2009. She has performed in many roles, written music for many plays, and directed many shows since she first came to Ferrum to work at BRDT on May 13 twenty-five years ago.

06/14/2026

The Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre and the Music and Theatre MFA program are lucky to have the beautiful and historic home in Schoolfield Hall that the article at the Ferrum College link refers to.

We're honored to be recognized as one of the 12 Most Beautiful College Campuses in Virginia by "Dogwood"!

Thank you to Aila Boyd for highlighting Ferrum College's natural beauty, environmental legacy, and the distinctive character of our 700-acre campus. From the wildlife around Adams Lake to the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets that paint our skies, Ferrum offers a learning environment unlike any other.

As one of the nation's first colleges to offer an environmental studies program, we're proud that our commitment to connecting education with the natural world continues to impress visitors and students alike.

This stunning sunset over Adams Lake, captured by Dr. Tina Hanlon, is just one example of the beauty our students, faculty, staff, and visitors experience every day.

Have a favorite Ferrum College campus view? Share it in the comments! 🖤💛

🔗: Read more at https://ow.ly/PqP650ZbgB0

06/09/2026

An old copy of "Tom Sawyer" (originally published 150 years ago today) under a BRDT mug with Rex's things at the Rex Stephenson Theatre

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

On this date 150 years ago, Mark Twain published a book called "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"--an American landmark from the Golden Age of Children's Literature that some of us read over and over during our 20th-century childhoods. At this time of year in 2007, Rex Stephenson wrote an adaptation for the BRDT, with music by Emily Rose Tucker, who played Becky Thatcher. Several faculty members and lots of local kids and BRDT summer interns were in the cast. This was over a decade after Rex's excellent adaptation of "Huckleberry Finn," starring and with music by Jon Cohn '96. More Tom Sawyer photos will be in a separate post, because that's how Facebook rolls. You can see Fair Robey at the piano in costume, and she'll be in a program about Mark Twain and music next Tuesday with Lana Whited and Austin Robey at the Phoebe Needles Center for Lifelong Learning.

The first few scenes of the Tom Sawyer show are in YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTMDpuRZLgU

04/29/2026

Don't miss the senior recital tomorrow of Sarah Gallagher, who has performed in a number of recent Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre shows. 🎼

🎶 Join us for an evening of music and celebration!

🎓Senior Sarah Gallagher from Albrightsville, PA, will present “Das ist das Ende,” her final recital before graduating with a major in Music Performance. The performance in Ferrum College’s Sale Theatre is free and open to the public.

Gallagher has prepared an eclectic program of voice, piano, and percussion performance drawn from art song, musical theatre, Baroque melodies, classic rock, and original composition. She will be accompanied by Program Coordinator of Music and Theatre Emily Blankenship-Tucker.🎤🎹🎸

We hope to see you there!

When and Where:
🗓️Thursday, April 30
🕔 5:00 p.m.
📍Sale Theatre in Schoolfield Hall, Ferrum College

For more information, go to: https://ow.ly/AQMz50YRP8f

04/22/2026

Don't forget to stop in at the Rex Stephenson Theatre tonight for some great music and storytelling!

✨ Join us for an evening of music & storytelling! ✨

On Wednesday, April 22, experience Mountain Magic—a special performance celebrating the sounds and stories of Appalachia and beyond. 🎻🌍

Enjoy Orchestra Appalachia’s lively mix of old-time, bluegrass, and gospel, followed by a captivating storytelling program featuring Appalachian ballads and global tales from Germany, South Africa, Polynesia, Ireland, and more.

Featuring talented Ferrum students from Performing Arts 230 and Music 137, and directed by Emily Blankenship-Tucker, this intimate performance is sure to inspire and delight.

🎟️ FREE & open to the public—bring a friend!
📅 Wednesday, April 22
⏰ 7:00–8:30 p.m.
📍 Rex Stephenson Theatre (Schoolfield Hall), Ferrum College

04/13/2026

Happy, Happy Birthday to Professor Emeritus Bob Pohlad! 🎈🎉 We are grateful for the thousands of great photos he takes for theatre and music productions, and so much else at Ferrum College.

Bob Pohlad takes hundreds and hundreds of photos for each show. At this rehearsal he got granddaughter Jillian to help.