March 5, 2026
By CORY ANN MICHEL
Rutherford County Schools
For the sixth production of “Alumni and Friends,” Riverdale High School theater teachers —husband and wife duo, Matthew and Mary Ellen Smith — are directing Shrek the Musical.
“Alumni and Friends” was created for community outreach and to get Riverdale students back into theater after graduation, regardless of how many years have passed. This year’s show marks the first time no current students have had to fill any roles as the entire cast is made up of alumni and adults.
The alumni cast features current Riverdale teachers, other Rutherford County Schools staff, and even those who have become professional actors since graduating.
Julia Nicole Hunter, a 2009 Riverdale graduate, is one such alumni who just completed a three-year cross-country tour of Annie. She played Grace Farrell, alongside Whoopi Goldberg who played Ms. Hannigan during the New York leg of the tour.
Hunter recalls her love of acting starting as a child, but it was further cultivated and strengthened under the leadership of the Smiths.
Gerold Oliver, a fellow alum and professional actor with Nashville Children’s Theater, shares the same sentiment.
Oliver, from the class of 2013, was known to be a track and football star, but after getting injured Mary Ellen Smith encouraged him to audition for Oklahoma his senior year.
Although he recalls having a negative view of theater, he complied and landed a lead role in the school play.
His involvement in acting has grown ever since.
Not only has he co-directed productions with Matthew Smith and been a resident artist for four and half years at Nashville Children’s Theater, but he has also had a role in every production of Riverdale’s “Alumni and Friends.”
Both Hunter and Oliver agree the strong sense of family the Smith’s instill within Riverdale’s theater is what continues to draw them back.
Matthew Smith, a 1997 graduate of Riverdale, has worked alongside his wife Mary Ellen for 18 years in the theater department at Riverdale. He started by building sets and later joined Mary Ellen in teaching.
While the Smiths refer to their students as their kids, even hosting and officiating the wedding of Oliver and his wife, as well as traveling to watch students perform professionally, they maintain high expectations.
“That’s how you get the results that we do and our kids know it,” Matthew said. “We don’t do high school theater. We just do good theater.”
Alongside “Alumni and Friends,” with a cast of 55 actors, the Smiths also produce the same Shrek the Musical but with a cast solely made up of 45 current students. While the storyline remains the same, the audience can expect some unique differences between the alumni and student shows.
“The kids are still learning. It is still an educational tool, so we’re still doing educational theater,” Matthew Smith said. “When it gets to adults, it’s just fun. We just have a good time.”
Tickets to both shows can be purchased online with a full listing of showtimes between March 5-15. LINK: https://riverdaletheatre.ludus.com/index.php
OTHER 2026 RCS High School Spring Shows
- Riverdale High School – “Shrek, The Musical” – March 5 –7 (Student Show)– March 12-15 (Alumni & Friends)
- Blackman High School – “Ragtime, the Musical” – March 19 – 22
- Siegel High School – “Hadestown Teen Edition” – March 19 – 23
- LaVergne High School - “Shrek, The Musical” - March 20-21
- Smyrna High School – “The Little Mermaid” – March 20-22
- Stewarts Creek High School – “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” – March 20-22
- Rockvale High School - “Mary Poppins” - April 16-19
- Central Magnet School – “Big Fish” – April 23-25
- Siegel High School – “Pillow Talk” – May 1-2
More Fine Arts events can be found on the RCS Fine Arts website calendar: https://www.rcschools.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=638034&type=d&pREC_ID=calendar