Chapel of Ease

July 4, 2016
Bledsoe’s fourth Tufa novel (following 2014’s Long Black Curl) weaves together the magic of off-Broadway theater with the lore and fantasy of the Tufa, Appalachia-dwelling exiles from the land of Faerie. Actor and dancer Matt Johanssen is picked to be part of Chapel of Ease, a musical written and composed by Ray Parrish, one of the Tufa, and inspired by his people’s history. When Ray abruptly dies before the show’s opening night, Matt volunteers to take his ashes home to Needsville, Tenn. There, he discovers many of the Tufa’s secrets, but one still eludes him: the true nature of what lies buried under the Chapel of Ease, an unexplained element of the musical that has frustrated cast and crew alike for months. As Matt risks life and limb to satisfy curiosity, he develops an unexpected rapport with Ray’s friends and family, and an attraction to the handsome Cyrus “C.C.” Crow. With his subtle, character-driven approach, Bledsoe skillfully fuses music, legend, and regional atmosphere to create something that feels like an unexplored corner of American mythology. Agent: Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary.

July 1, 2016
An actor travels to a rural town in Appalachia to learn more about the heritage, and the mystery, of his talented, recently deceased writer/director friend's final play.Thrilled to be called out of the blue to audition for up-and-coming director Ray Parrish, Matt Johansson is inspired by the lyrics and melodies in Ray's musical, "Chapel of Ease." Though he'd hoped to keep his excitement about the play under control, he can't help but share his enthusiasm about it with fellow actor Emily Valance, though it turns out that Emily feels awful after being passed over for an audition. Or maybe it's not just the audition: Emily and Ray seem to have a past they'd both like to revisit. Though Matt sees this as a bit of a shame--he'd love for Ray to be gay and available, as he is--he's delighted when Ray chooses him as his new friend and confidant. That makes it all the more difficult when, shockingly, Ray dies in his sleep just hours after the play opens to rave reviews. Now Matt wants to learn more about the play's titular chapel, which is apparently a real place in Ray's hometown. Because the play revolves around a mysterious item buried in the chapel, Matt thinks that he can help the entire cast get closure if he can go to the chapel and discover what lies beneath. But the reality of this mission is complicated when Matt gets tangled up in Ray's Tufa heritage and starts to learn a bit more about the people, or whatever they are, that Ray comes from. The book could have done with more exploration of the peculiar characteristics of the Tufa that other entries in this series (Long Black Curl, 2016, etc.) expound upon. Bledsoe may be overselling readers' curiosity about what lies beneath the chapel's grounds.

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August 1, 2016

Dancer and actor Matt Johanssen is thrilled when he gets the lead in an exciting, new off-Broadway show called Chapel of Ease. Playwright Ray Parrish based the musical on stories from his insular Tennessee community. The play involves information that Ray always refused to divulge, about something buried in the chapel. Sadly, Ray dies on opening night, and Matt agrees to return his ashes to his family. He wants a chance to see where Ray grew up and maybe uncover the chapel's secret. Bledsoe's latest series outing (after Long Black Curl) cleverly uses outsider Matt to explore the community of the Tufa, people who have lived in their valley long before even the Native Americans. The novel reads like two very different (although complementary) stories, with the first third giving an intimate look at the theater scene before the action moves to Tennessee. VERDICT A same-sex romance between Matt and Ray's childhood friend C.C. adds emotional weight to another great entry in this series, which is always effectively subtle in how it employs the supernatural, with music central to the magic of the Tufa.--MM

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