PINEY GROVE – A Martin County tradition since 1980, “The Message of Easter” is back for another season starting tonight.

The outdoor drama, presented by the congregation of Piney Grove Baptist Church, located near Williamston, welcomes audiences to its 32nd season with a Spanish performance; English performances are slated for Saturday and Sunday as well as April 20-24, with sign-language interpretation offered April 20 for those who are hearing impaired. The performance begins each evening at 8 p.m. in the S.E. Manning Memorial Theater.

The 90-minute presentation is taken directly from the scriptures and glorifies God while telling the story of Jesus’ birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection. The drama was the brainchild of the late E.T. Taylor, a member of the church whose wife, Linda, now heads up the show.

“They’re calling me the director,” Taylor said last weekend prior to a dress rehearsal for the drama’s opening night. “I had a lot of people approach me and finally God worked on me really hard. My family won’t agree with me, but I don’t like to tell other people what to do!”

Despite her reticence, Taylor has things well in hand. Backed up by other women from the church, she inspects each cast member before every rehearsal and performance, reminding them of the “do’s and don’ts” of live theater set in Biblical times. In particular, cell phones are a big no-no.

“When we first started doing this, you didn’t have to worry about cell phones; that’s a new one the last several years,” Taylor said. “It’s amazing how that little, bitty light will show up in the darkness.”

Taylor is quick to share credit for the show’s success with the rest of the Piney Grove family.

“We have a very cooperative church,” she said. “There are around 175 to 180 people involved in this … no professionals.”

The drama isn’t without its challenges.

“One of the main challenges is covering all the angles,” Taylor added. “So many people have been doing so many things for so many years, and then something happens and they’re not here. Then you find out what they do. And, of course, the weather is something you can’t control.”

Taylor said that even she was surprised that her late husband was able to pull together such a complicated project.

“I was amazed that E.T. could do this,” she recalled. “He wrote the script on a snowy day … but God did it through him.”

Taylor believes “The Message of Easter” could actually be the result of a prediction recorded by a circuit preacher who visited the area╩in the early 1900s. In his journal, he praised the people of the community.

“He predicted that hoards of people would be led to them and that they’d open doors that other people couldn’t open,” she said. “We feel like this is a powerful message, and we’re challenged to do this. Times have changed and our audience has changed over the years. … We have people that come to the drama that wouldn’t set foot inside a church.”

Still going strong after more than three decades of spring performances, the drama has become a vital part of Easter celebrations throughout the area. And there are no plans to change that, according to Taylor.

“We feel that as long as the Lord wants us to do it, we’ll continue to do it,” she said.

For more information about “The Message of Easter,” including directions to the church, call 252-792-2954 or visit www.messageofeaster.org.