Local acts get ready for the stage on Saturday

By Joanne Gonnerman
Kannapolis Citizen
Did you hear there’s a new sound in town? And a new comedy act to boot? The world of stage performance is alive and well in Kannapolis and Cabarrus County.
First of all, a new, eight-member saxophone ensemble debuted four months ago as part of the Piedmont Prime Time Community Band (PPTCB).
The members, all volunteer musicians with the PPTCB, directed by Jon Hutchinson, established the group to have an opportunity to play and perform together.
“We are a diverse group of people from different backgrounds coming together to perform music,” said Ed Harper, 23, tenor saxophone player. “We started practicing together as an ensemble about five months ago. The Christmas concert was our first public performance. We’ll have another chance to play for the public on Saturday, April 12, at the Old Courthouse Theatre in Concord.”
The ensemble will perform a range of music from Big Band tunes to classical music, and popular tunes like “The Pink Panther” and “Moon River.”
Members of the saxophone ensemble include Mary Ellen Williams and Kenny Hurst on baritone sax; Andrew Kropp, Ron Turbyfill, Marilyn Barringer and Andrew Reckard on alto sax; and Sean Simmons and Ed Harper on tenor sax.
“We are eight people who just love to play,” said Turbyfill, a former band and chorus teacher. “Being in the band takes you back to a place and time when we were all younger. It’s like being in the 11th grade again.”
“These people are wonderful players,” added Turbyfill. “The youngest member of the ensemble is Andrew Reckard, a sophomore in high school, who just a while back was just learning to play. We tease him about jumping in deep water as we play some pretty difficult music. He’s not a beginner anymore.”
The sax ensemble will be at The Old Courthouse Theatre as part of the fundraising event called “An Evening of Tremendous Treasures.” The event includes live and silent auctions, performances by Old Courthouse Theatre actors, refreshments and guided tours of the facility. Shows for the 2008-2009 season will also be announced and Kannapolis’ own William L. “Whit” Whitley, a funeral home director and civic leader, will host the event providing entertainment as “The Novelty Nutty-Buddy.”
And what exactly is “The Novelty Nutty-Buddy?”
“I do a little stand-up monologue, a little music, and a little story-telling,” said Whitley, “but I can’t say anything else because I don’t want to spill the beans. I’m taking comedy in a new direction.”
Drawing from great comedians such as Jonathon Winters, Lilly Tomlin, Carol Burnette and Vicky Lawrence, Whitley has developed his character called the Novelty Nutty-Buddy. Whitley has also created his first professional DVD, “A Mesmerizing Affair” which won first place honors in the music video category in the International Indie Short Film Competition in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., in 2007.
“I was thrilled,” said Whitley, as he shared his DVD. “I’m 52 years old and this is like a second childhood. I’m doing something good for myself.”
Whitley said his family has been very supportive of his decision to start a second career in stand-up comedy.
“My girls, that’s my wife, Karan and four daughters, have been very encouraging. They say, ‘Go for it.’ ”
Whitley writes original material for his monologues, saying that will be his trademark.
“I use storytelling, characterization, voice accents, facial expressions and props to connect to my audience. I am definitely animated,” he said.
Whitley has entertained area citizens for years as an actor in several Piedmont Players productions in Salisbury, and has entertained civic clubs and churches with his comedy. Between 1982 and 1997, Whitley was an oratorical coach with the Kannapolis Noon Optimist Club assisting seventh- and eighth- grade students.
“I’ve watched kids get up and speak in front of audiences with confidence,” Whitley said. “I believe some of those kids feel like they got a new lease on life.”
Inspiration for Whitley’s “The Novelty Nutty-Buddy” comes from varied reading material, songbooks, even dictionary words. But Whitley does not draw upon his profession for material.
“I have too much respect and dignity for the profession,” said Whitley. “There is no parody in my act on the funeral business. I read a lot and I study a lot and I won’t ever use the funeral business for material. …
“I’m pretty resourceful,” said Whitley. “And when I make a mistake, I just go on. I don’t let a mistake be a mistake. I like to start out going places no one knows where I’m going.”

Contact Joanne Gonnerman at 704-932-3336 or jgonnerman @kannapoliscitizen.com.