Lindy and Greg Pendzick Star in World War II-era Themed SEE ROCK CITY, Opening 5/31

Real-life acting spouses Lindy and Greg Pendzick play a fictional romantic couple in Arlene Hutton's See Rock City, described as "a tender, moving play" that opens at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse on Thursday, May31.

Set in rural Kentucky in the 1940s, Hutton's play follows married couple May and Raleigh during the final months of World War II. When victory overseas brings unexpected consequences at home, the young couple is forced to find common solutions to the challenges of a new post-war America. May (played by Lindy Pendzick), more interested in a career than in housework, became a school principal during the war but has to return to the classroom when the men who'd been fighting overseas return and resume the jobs they left behind. And Raleigh (Greg Pendzick), discharged from the service early and denied a chance at combat because of his medical history, discovers that missing this defining event of his time is the greatest hindrance to his evolving career as a writer.

"At its heart, See Rock City is a funny, touching and universal portrayal of a young couple very much in love," reads a press release from CCP.

The New York Times praised playwright  Hutton's play, calling it "a portrait of a marriage...a look at the mid-20th century's shifting cultural landscape. But Ms. Hutton never mistakes theater for social studies, and we are all the better for it."

Playhouse alumnus Tom Anglund (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Smoke on the Mountain, The Foreigner) directs, and Lindy and Greg Pendzick (Little Shop Of Horrors, Tinyard Hill) in the leading roles. Rounding out the cast are CCP luminaries Carol Irvin (Driving Miss Daisy) and Patty Payne (The Moving of Lilla Barton) as the mothers of the couple.

See Rock City opens in the Adventure Theater on May 31 and runs in repertory with Smoke on the Mountain August 17. On the Mainstage, Broadway and Hollywood star Bob Gunton appears in the autobiographical musical Walking on Water through June 16 and the uproarious musical vaudeville/Medicine Show Cowboys plays through July 20. Tickets and information are available at www.ccplayhouse.com or by calling (931) 484-5000.

Pictured: Lindy and Greg Pendzick

Jeffrey Ellis is a Nashville-based writer, editor and critic, who's been covering the performing arts in Tennessee for more than 25 years. He is the recipient of the Tennessee Theatre Association's Distinguished Service Award for his coverage of theatre in the Volunteer State and was the founding editor/publisher of Stages, the Tennessee Onstage Monthly. He is a past fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and is the founder/executive producer of The First Night Honors, held during Labor Day Weekend, which honor oustanding theater artists in Tennessee in recognition of their lifetime achievements and includes The First Night Star Awards and the Most Promising Actors. Midwinter's First Night, held the first Sunday in January after New Year's Day, honors outstanding productions and performances throughout the state. Further, Ellis directed the Nashville premiere of La Cage Aux Folles, The Last Night of Ballyhoo and An American Daughter, as well as award-winning productions of Damn Yankees, Company, Gypsy and The Rocky Horror Show, with Ellis honored by The Tennessean as best director of a musical for both Company and Rocky Horror.

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