A Joyful Noise
Based on Mississippi author Borden Deal's 1959 novel The Insolent Breed, the story centers on Shade Motley, a fiddler who arrives in a small Southern town and shocks the stern community with his exuberant love of hillbilly music and life in general.Country music star Skeeter Davis was originally offered the ingenue lead, but with no prior acting experience was reluctant to begin a Broadway career in such a pivotal role and declined.John Raitt, who was to play Shade Motley, was aware of the show's problems, and, in an interview, he said that they "could never get by the New York critics.Directed by Padula and choreographed by Michael Bennett, the cast featured John Raitt as Shade Motley, Karen Morrow, Susan Watson, Leland Palmer, Tommy Tune and Baayork Lee.One young woman in particular, Jenny Lee, falls immediately in love with him, although she is engaged to Brother Locke, the local minister.