BWW Reviews: THE COLOR PURPLE National Tour at TPAC's Andrew Jackson HallJune 22, 2011While critics and fans alike justifiably lament the paucity of female leads in Broadway musicals this season just past, you need look no further than the current tour of The Color Purple for a musical filled to overflowing with noteworthy women characters. The beautiful and moving reimagination of Alice Walker's extraordinary novel of faith, despair, horror, beauty, love and redemption, The Color Purple might best be described as a woman's story, but it is, in every possible way, a human story as universal and as affecting as any work of musical theater ever created.
BWW Reviews: ROAR! from Metro Parks' Young Actors ProgramJune 22, 2011Thanks to Carolyn German and her efforts to engage younger performers through musical theater and cabaret, Nashville area producers and directors should have a consistent supply of new and interesting actors (who clearly comprehend the history and legacy of musical theater) for their shows for years to come. No further proof of this is needed than the latest production from German and her cohorts: Roar!, which bears the telling and descriptive subtitle of 'the fringe, the flappers, the jazz...the '20s!'
Circle Players Celebrates 61st Season with Awards PresentationJune 21, 2011Celebrating their company's 61st season - which makes them the oldest community theater in Middle Tennessee - Nashville's Circle Players recognized outstanding achievement during the 2010-2011 season with the presentation of the Circle Awards on Sunday, June 19.
BWW Reviews: HELLO, DOLLY! from The Renaissance PlayersJune 21, 2011Directed and choreographed by the multi-talented Bryan Wlas, who plays Ambrose Kemper in this musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, The Renaissance Players' production is lovingly brought to the stage by a large cast of locals - some making their stage debuts, some coming out of self-prescribed stage retirement, and still others adding the show to their professional acting resumes - who represent the very best of community theater, cheerfully and resolutely giving their all to infuse Hello, Dolly! with spirit, verve and camaraderie. Sure, the production has its flaws (so what if Horace Vandergelder sounds like a Confederate Army veteran, the show's being done in a small Southern town for goodness' sake!), but the cast and crew are having so much fun that you can easily overlook almost anything to be transported by one of musical theater's most appealing and enduring scores.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S THE 39 STEPS onstage through 7/23 at Barter TheatreJune 21, 2011Who says you can't bring a full-length spy thriller to the stage? Who said you can't have 'train chases, plane crashes, shadowy murders, beautiful spies, trilbied heavies, dastardly villains with little fingers missing, not to mention some of the most iconic moments in the history of cinema' - as the Broadway description depicts - certainly not playwright Patrick Barlow.
BWW Reviews: ALMOST HEAVEN at Roxy Regional TheatreJune 20, 2011Five exceptional young talents take on the songbook of one of America's favorite pop/folk/country music performers in Roxy Regional Theatre's production of Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver, now onstage in Clarksville through July 2. Directed with obvious affection and respect for the musical revue's hero by Tom Thayer, it's as if the pop music soundtrack of the early- to mid-1970s (with attention paid to Denver's later efforts as well) has come to life in the just under two hours of music.
BWW Reviews: DUCK HUNTER SHOOTS ANGEL at Cumberland County PlayhouseJune 20, 2011By turns, Duck Hunter Shoots Angel will make you laugh out loud, consider deep and philosophical questions and, perhaps, even shed a few tears. Certainly, it's funny and heartwarming, and yet another example of writer Mitch Albom's estimable ability to provoke thought while entertaining - which, quite frankly, has become the stock in trade of the artistic collective at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse.
STAGE TUBE: Renaissance Players' HELLO, DOLLY! HighlightsJune 17, 2011One of Broadway's biggest musical hits ever - Hello, Dolly! - winner of 10 Tony Awards, is next onstage at Dickson's Renaissance Center as The Renaissance Players present the musical comedy by Jerry Herman, known to many as 'the king of showtunes,' running through June 26, starring Marilyn Fair, Linda Sue Simmon Runyeon, Bryan Wlas, and Nathan W. Brown.
BWW Interviews: On the LINE with Jessica Higgins of Keeton's A CHORUS LINEJune 18, 2011In the cast, there's a blend familiar faces from local theater productions and a whole slew of newcomers. During the run-up to the show's opening night, we introduced you to members of Kate's cast - and now that the show is up and running, we're happy to introduce you to another cast member...Jessica Higgins...
BWW Interviews: On the LINE with Sandra Kennelly of Keeton's A CHORUS LINEJune 16, 2011In the cast, there's a blend familiar faces from local theater productions and a whole slew of newcomers. During the run-up to the show's opening night, we introduced you to members of Kate's cast - and now that the show is up and running, we're happy to introduce you to another cast member...Sandra Kennelly...
STAGE TUBE: Roxy Regional Theatre Previews ALMOST HEAVENJune 15, 2011During the June 7th, 2011 Comedy on the Cumberland show, the Roxy Regional Theatre gave a sneak peek of their upcoming show Almost Heaven: The Songs of John Denver. Weaving together the songs of John Denver with interviews, fan letters and passages from his autobiography, Almost Heaven was originally conceived by Harold Thau with orchestrations, vocal arrangements and music supervision by Jeff Waxman. Directed by Tom Thayer, the musical revue features Keith Panzarella, Erica Haines Cantrell, Bryan Benware, Kendall Anne Thompson and Ryan Bowie, with David Lovell on guitar, Tom Thayer on piano and Thad Wallus on bass.
FIVE more questions for Nashville's FIVE divasJune 15, 2011Nashville's show-stopping quintet of captivating, sexy, sultry, uber-talented women of FIVE - known among the intelligentsia as Melodie Madden Adams, Megan Murphy Chambers, Cori Laemmel, Laura Matula and Erin Parker - reclaim the stage Monday, June 27, with Five: An Encore Performance, building on the momentum that started in March with their debut performance at Street Theatre Company.
STAGE TUBE: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Cumberland County PlayhouseJune 14, 2011While Little Shop of Horrors' Audrey II continues to rampage and rip up the Adventure Theatre at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse (the show runs through August 6), with Greg Pendzick, Lindy Pendzick, Jason Ross, Daniel W. Black and an all-star cast lending their estimable talents to the tale of murder, mirth and mayhem in the flower shop that figures prominently in the Alan Menken/Howard Ashman musical. Here's a glimpse at the production's 'Feed Me.'
BWW Interviews: Caylan Cheadle, This Dancer's LifeJune 14, 2011Among Nashville Ballet dancers, Caylan Cheadle ranks among the company's more unique members, claiming a pedigree that many would emulate if only they could: she was born and raised in Nashville! In fact, prior to college at Southern Methodist University, she studied at The School of Nashville Ballet, and after stint with The Georgia Ballet, she's now an apprentice at Nashville Ballet.
BWW Interviews: On the LINE with Melissa Silengo of Keeton's A CHORUS LINEJune 14, 2011In the cast, there's a blend familiar faces from local theater productions and a whole slew of newcomers. During the run-up to the show's opening night, we introduced you to members of Kate's cast - and now that the show is up and running, we're happy to introduce you to another cast member...Melissa Silengo...