Flat Rock Theatre offers long and varied performance season

The pink, white and purple beauty of the rhododendron that greets you at the sharpest curve of a mountain road; the sweet smell of mountain laurel with its greenish-yellow blooms; the splash of a waterfall.

These are all images that spring to mind from childhood visits to the village of Flat Rock and its neighboring North Carolina towns, Henderson and Asheville.

However, for many of us, as adults, the main attraction of Flat Rock is the Flat Rock Playhouse which was started in 1937 by a group of struggling performers called the Vagabond Players, who journeyed from New York and decided to present summer "straw hat" performances in verdant Hendersonville at Highland Lake and then at nearby Lake Summit.

The Vagabond Players quickly grew in reputation, and moved to Flat Rock in 1952 to lease a large home built by Richard I'on Lowndes. In 1956, the theater became known at the Flat Rock Theatre, after the board helped the Vagabonds purchase the home and eight acres .

Fifty-two years later the playhouse, also known as the State Theatre of North Carolina, features an extended season from the early spring through Dec. 14 presenting a mix of musicals, plays, oldies-but-goodies and new works.

If you're planning a trek to the mountains, you may want to make your plans to see the premiere of the musical "All Shook Up," running through Aug. 17.

Read more in tomorrow's Arts and Travel section of The Post and Courier.