BWW Interviews: Onstage at The Barn: Memories From the First 45 Years with Dietz Osborne

Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, the venerable venue that has mounted some of the best theater Nashville audiences have seen since its founding in 1967, celebrates its 45^th anniversary this year, with special recognition-and a treat for Barn patrons-starting March 29 and running through April 1 (tickets will be just $45 for dinner and the show and the chance to become a part of Tennessee theater history).

Since that day in 1967, when A. W. and Puny Chaffin opened "The Barn" Dinner Theatre, it has offered every audience exciting top quality professional theatre and a mouth-watering buffet, fairly groaning with Southern delicacies.

When The Barn opened in 1967, it was a thrilling time for the Nashville community hungry for entertainment offerings and "The Barn" has been serving that need for 45 years as one of the Nashville's unique landmarks: the city's first professional dinner theatre, where audiences have been treated to some top-flight comedies, musicals and mysteries in the four-and-a-half decades since then. to produce top-quality comedies, musicals and mysteries year-round.

In the process, Chaffin's Barn has provided employment to some of the best actors to be found on stages anywhere, launching careers for actors who have gained critical and audience acclaim all over the country. And during that time, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre has been hailed as one of the Top 25 tourist attractions in Nashville, "Best Buffet" and "Best Place to See a Play" in The Tennessean's annual Toast of Music City contest and in Nashville Scene's "Best of" as one of the top three "Best Places to See a Play." Chaffin's Barn has been the recipient of The First Night Lifetime Achievement Award and its shows, directors, choreographers and actors took home multiple First Night honors over the years.

Now owned by the second-generation Chaffins-John and Janie, who were recognized among Nashville's Top Entrepreneurs of 2012 by Business Leader Magazine-The Barn has touched the lives of many, both onstage and off-, and today we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actor/director/playwright Dietz Osborne, who made his debut at The Barn in a 1998 production of Guys and Dolls-and up until recently, his was the voice you heard on the company's voice mail system directing you which number to push when you call in to make reservations, inquire about group events or to buy a gift certificate.

What was your first experience at Chaffin's Barn? My first experience with Chaffin's Barn was when I auditioned for Guys and Dolls in 1998. David Compton was directing and a friend of mine from Little Rock had just done Singing in the Rain the previous summer and said I should go audition. So, I hauled my cookies from Little Rock for the audition and was then called back. I came back the next week for the call back and was cast as a crap shooter and the Cuban dancer because I was the most Cuban looking guy that showed up.

What's your most vivid memory of working there? My most vivid memory is opening night of Don't Dress for Dinner. This show was literally the hardest show I've ever had to learn. Nate Eppler and I played the two male leads and had to keep about 20 balls in the air at one time. Opening night for that show was one long blur. I guess it happened, but I sure don't remember much about it except that I've never sweated that much in January. We ultimately had a great time, but we still joke about not knowing what was happening next until the doorbell rang and whoever was at the door led us into the next section of the play.

What's the funniest experience you had at the Barn? There are too many to name. People make fun of me because I'm such a "rock" on stage. Although, here lately, Daniel Hackman has taken over as the king of not being able to hold it together, which, I'll gladly pass the torch to him. But I think the funniest experience was during The Late, Late Show. This show was Backstage at the Barn one Christmas. It was basically an improv show with a few parameters. Martha Wilkinson played three different characters, but my favorite was Kandy Kane--the stripper we had to pull in from the street to do a segment of the show. We were interviewing Kandy and Martha goes on this five-minute tear about how her leg was the model for the Déjà vu sign. I said something about being "hornswaggled." She responded with "that'll cost ya extra." Ken Dale Thompson was in the booth and let out a bark of a laugh that only got me more tickled. I laughed until I pert near wet my britches.

How about interactions with patrons at the Barn? The patrons at the Barn are like no other. They become your family-for better or worse. I had several patrons that would bring me food to the matinees and even send me Christmas cards. And then you have the ones that are convinced that BJ Rowell and I are the same person. It confused the hell out of them when he and I were in Rear Widow and on the stage at the same time.

What was your favorite foodstuff on the buffet? The peanut butter pie is the best on the planet. It really would make Elvis weep.

For further details about upcoming events at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, call (615) 646-9977 or visit the company's website at www.dinnertheatre.com.

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