CRY-BABY: THE MUSICAL OPENING NIGHT

Donna Hayden & Nick Kirby Justin & Sara Little Bethany Riggiins & Ashmin Small Bessie Costanza

Ellen Schumann & Dee Kirtland

Angela Rios & Geneva Traylor Becky Wood

Kerry & Ranzi Mazingo

Cry Baby: The Musical

OPENING NIGHT

Story & Photography by Tony Centonze

Cry-Baby: The Musical, based on the film by John Waters, recently opened on the main stage of downtown’s Roxy Regional Theatre.

The story focuses on Allison Vernon-Williams, a Baltimore teenager who is drawn across the tracks from her 1950s finishing-school background into a relationship with the orphaned Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker, leader of a pack of rebel outcasts.

The Roxy production, directed by Ryan Bowie and choreographed by Emily Rourke, stars Matthew Combs as Cry-Baby Walker and Caitlyn Porayko as Allison Vernon-Williams.

Wes Golden

GET TO KNOW MONTGOMERY COUNTY’S NEW MAYOR

In 2021, Wes Golden announced his candidacy to run for county mayor. After campaigning hard with his team for almost a year and a half, he secured the general election in August, and became Montgomery County’s newest leader. Taking on such a position isn’t a commitment made lightly, so VIP Clarksville talked with Golden about what he’s bringing to the office, and to find out more about the man who will be our county mayor for the next four years. His decision to jump into the mayoral race was not a quick one, but it also wasn’t necessarily something he’d been preparing for. Prior to election, Golden served as the Health and Safety Manager for the City of Clarksville, and before that, he was a firefighter and licensed emergency medical technician with Clarksville Fire Rescue for six years. He has also worked in environmental health and safety at Martinrea. In short, Golden has worn a lot of hats throughout his career, but he’s always been involved in community ongoings. “When Mayor Jim Durrett announced that he wasn’t running again, I along with several others began looking to find someone to step up and take on the challenge,” Golden said. Then, some of those folks began asking him if he might consider stepping up, which he wasn’t initially interested in. “After thinking about my diverse work experience, involvement in the community, and my love for Montgomery County, I wondered if this is something the Lord has been preparing me for without my knowledge,” Golden told VIP. “Then I talked to my wife Sara about it, and surprisingly enough, she was all in. Her answer was, ‘I just assumed you always would one day.’ So from there, we prayed and fasted over the decision for three days before receiving an answer and started moving forward.” He and Sara then began meeting with others in the community to gain support, but also to learn about the issues folks are most concerned about.

One such issue Golden said he’s ready to tackle as he steps into the office is the building of a local Juvenile Resource Center. “Currently, we send our children out of town, tying up two law enforcement officers at a time to transport them for every appointment, removing children from their families and support systems, while sending them out of town to meet criminals they’ve never met before, bringing them back without the rehabilitation programs they need, and then expecting good results,” Golden said. In addition, he wants to also oversee the implementation of expanded programs for mental health and provide more rehabilitation opportunities. Another issue Golden wants to confront head-on is the booming growth our area is experiencing, which has led to complaints about the infrastructure. “When you hear the word ‘infrastructure,’ the biggest thing everybody wants to talk about is traffic and roads. The major roads coming through our community are owned by the state and managed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation,” Golden told VIP. “But, we have influence, and we can work with the state to get these things done, and I’ve been working hard to build relationships with these key players on the state side so that when I get in there, we can hit the ground running,” he continued.

In addition to these issues he’d like to bring solutions to, Golden is also dedicated to the area’s success because of his family’s 70-year legacy here. His grandfather on his father’s side was the the president of the Kraft Food Plant, for which Kraft Street is named. His great grandfather on his mother’s side owned Wright Chevrolet years ago, which his grandfather and great uncle then took over. That business was then sold, and eventually became the James Corlew Chevrolet we know today. “So both of my grandfathers worked locally in the downtown area. It’s pretty exciting that I’m here doing the same,” Golden said. Golden’s father was a lineman with the Clarksville Department of Electricity for 34 years, and his mother was a bank teller. He speaks very fondly of his father, whom he credits with instilling in him a desire to serve the community from a very early age. “When I was a kid, he was a Sunday school teacher and president of the Montgomery County Soccer Association. He was the one who got me involved in Bikers Who Care and the Dream Factory. He would always go to Camp Rainbow every year and help out down there,” Golden explained. He added he admired his mother deeply, who went on to be an EVP for First American Bank, and then worked with the Ingram family to buy wineries and beer distributorships before retiring. He attended Cumberland Heights Elementary School, Montgomery Central Middle School, and then moved into the City of Clarksville when his parents got divorced. “My dad was raising me by himself, so he moved closer to work. We moved ‘in town’ was what we called it, and I ended up going to Clarksville High School and graduating from there. I played some sports as a kid, like soccer and karate,” Golden said, conceding with a laugh that he was better at karate than soccer. “When I was about 14, I got my first job in construction, and I’ve been working ever since. I usually have three jobs going on at the same time, I don’t sleep or rest a lot.”

In his free time, he really enjoys spending time with his family. He and Sara are raising three children — Nash, Lydia, and Mia — and are active members in their church. “I could not do any of this without Sara’s love and support. We have learned to share calendars, everything goes on the calendar, and to schedule family time. We are intentional about our time,” Golden said. “Marriage and family require work. We have learned that the closer we are to God, the closer we are to each other.”