Review: I’M PROUD OF YOU at Studio 615

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and a beautiful day to see a play. As someone who is somehow old enough to have seen Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a kid when it was still on the air, I was excited to hear about a play that focused on a writer’s friendship with Fred Rogers. Heck, I bought my ticket the night before I was even asked to review the show. Based on Tim Madigan’s memoir of the same name, Tennessee Theatre Fellowship’s I’m Proud of You focuses on the real-life friendship that developed between Madigan and Rogers when the former interviewed the latter for an article. Not only was this production the fifth one to be done for the play, but it was also a revised version that TTF’s artistic director, Melanie Sutton, got to edit while also serving as the show’s director. Running at Studio 615 August 20-23, Tennessee Theatre Fellowship’s I’m Proud of You is as beautiful as a day in the neighborhood.

As a kid, I would always look forward to the opening scene of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood where I’d see that classic neighborhood before entering the house. While I’ll never get to step onto that set, I felt like I was watching straight onto a TV set as I took my seat to watch I’m Proud of You. Director Melanie Sutton did the set design, and the simplicity is so effective. It might just be a bunch of bookshelves with a few other set pieces like chairs all gathered in the middle of the stage, but the attention to details make all the difference. Even the props on the shelves that don’t get used are worth the view, like the children’s books we see propped up. Great work on that, Props Master and Stage Manager Annika Drury. Sutton also collaborated with Emily Stephens in the costume department. Like the set, the simplicity in the costume design is effective. I smiled too hard when I saw Mister Rogers’ red sweater. Highlighting everyone and everything is Kelly Scheumann’s stellar lighting design. I said earlier that I felt like I had walked onto a TV set, and the lighting fit perfectly into that feeling. The more neutral lighting wouldn’t feel out of place in a kid’s show, and the more dramatic lighting made my jaw drop. I'd also like to shout out to light board operator Stella Yim, guest services supervisor Emma Burton, stagehand Sam Blake, and the Studio 615 team for their hard work. 

They say “behind every great man is a great woman”, and the same can be said about TTF’s I’m Proud of You. If the production is the “great man”, then Director Melanie Sutton is the “great woman”. Yes, the memoir was adapted for the stage by Tim Madigan and Harry Parker, but Sutton earned the opportunity to collaborate with them and make some revisions for its southeast region premiere. While it’s the fifth-ever production of the show, this is the premiere of the revised version. She did just about everything from the writing to the set design to the costumes to the directing. As for her directing, I think she did the story justice. It might focus on a bunch of adults and contain some cursing, but this show really does touch the inner child of everyone in the audience. Would Mister Rogers have wanted her to be his neighbor and make his neighborhood even more magical? Absolutely.

I’ve always admired an actor’s ability to play more than one character in a single production. The three ensemble members (credited as Actors 1, 2, and 3) really bring a plethora of versatility to the table. As Actor 1, Dustin Davis brings a lot of charisma to the stage. Whether he’s one of Tim Madigan’s family members or a crew member on the set of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he’s very committed. Kay Ayers knows how to effortlessly switch emotions on a dime as Actor 2. One minute she’s very sassy, and the next she’s screaming in anger. Gentry Collins probably had the biggest challenge as Actor 3, given the vastly different characters she had to play. From a mother to a child, she made it look so easy. To top it all off, everyone had to stay onstage. This means that you’re basically staring down the ensemble in the background whenever a scene is going down between Madigan and Rogers. However, I never caught the actors off guard. They were always reacting to the scene, no matter what. At one point, some of the actors were seated as if they were little children listening to Mister Rogers. I’m not sure if this was intended or not, but it was a nice touch. 

When asked how he prepared for a role based on a real person, Sawyer Latham shared that he got advice from Tim Madigan himself, which was simply, “Don’t be me.” Yes, he’s playing the man who wrote the play and memoir, but Madigan needs to come across as relatable to the audience as possible. Thankfully, Latham found the balance between his true self and Madigan. The show is about fighting your self doubt by finding that one person who believes in you, and Latham brings in the right amount of vulnerability. As a fellow writer, I could relate to the uncertainty that surrounds Madigan even after he reaches a goal, and Latham captured that perfectly. And of course, where would the neighborhood be without Mister Rogers? For the first time in over two decades, I finally got to see my favorite neighbor again through Matthew Carlton. It was truly as if Mister Rogers had returned from the dead, because Carlton captured every mannerism that made us all fall in love with the beloved host in the first place. I won’t fully spoil anything, but there was a moment where Carlton instructed us to think of that one person who had made a difference in our lives. I did just that, and I nearly cried. If this man asked me to be his neighbor, I wouldn’t hesitate to say yes.

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