Between the Lines: Coming Back Home

 

Since returning to the world of theatre via BroadwayWorld.com about a month ago, after an almost seven year absence, I've had the invaluable opportunity of reconnecting with a number of Old Acquaintances and renewing long-dormant friendships and relationships with people connected to the theatre scene in Nashville and throughout Tennesseee.

Obviously, theatre in Nashville and Tennessee remains healthy and robust. Time after time, as I reconnect to long-lost friends or talk to new folks interested in what a theatre critic really does, I am asked the same question. In fact, in the space of three days, I was asked this question at least a dozen times: What's the most significant change since you first started covering theatre?

My answer comes easily: The audience. Audiences I've encountered over the past month are amazingly connected to what's going on onstage, eager to witness outstanding theatre and genuinely supportive of the various companies staging the shows. At every show I've reviewed thus far, the audiences have been enthusiastic about what they're witnessing and they seemingly love theatre as much as I do (okay, that may be stretch, but they do come close). Certainly, local theatre has always had its devotees, but today's audience seems much more diverse, racially and ethnically, and they are buying tickets. In these frightening economic times, it's refreshing to see good-sized audiences flocking to the theatre to see shows.

Staging a comeback has been a very heartening experience for me, personally, and I've seen some really terrific theatre in the short time that I've been back reporting for BWW's Nashville website. Many people who were creating extraordinary theatre in 1988 (when I started writing for Query and Stages) are still around: Scot Copeland, John Chaffin, Rene Dunshee Copeland, Sean and Bob O'Connell, Jamey Green, Bill Feehely, Jane Kelley Watt, Rick Seay and countless others continue to hone their craft and bring good theatre to their audiences.

There are a lot of new people around, as well: Cathy Sanborn Street of Street Theatre Company, is a prime example of a new personality who has come on the scene in the past five years to great acclaim from critics, audiences and actors alike. And Maryanna Clarke, with her Tennessee Women's Theatre Project, has successfully made her personal passion for creating theatre that reflects her life accessible to a general audience. Maryanna's not a new face, of course, she's been an accomplished actress locally for years, but therole of impresario is a relatively new one for her.

Are the shows better than they used to be? Not necessarily. We've always had talented people making theatre here and there always have been outstanding productions. Someone suggested to me that the product today is better than it used to be, but I can't agree with that. There has always been good theatre, but now perhaps local theatre companies are realizing how to market to their audience, how to find their niche in an increasingly competitive entertainment market.

Nashville has always been home to a lot of very talented actors and continues to be so. Melissa Bedinger Hade, David Arnholter, Martha Wilkinson, Lane Wright, Danny Proctor, Denice Hicks, Matt Carlton, Brenda Sparks, Kaye Ayers-Sowell, Daron Bruce, Vali Forrester, Jenny Wallace Noel, Judy Jackson, Tim Fudge...well, the list could go on and on of my favorite actors from "back in the day" who are still on the boards night after night, creating magic for audiences of live theatre in Music City. Now, they are joined by a multitude of new faces as well: Laura Matula, Nate Eppler, Jennifer Richmond, Melissa Bailey, Joseph Robinson, Jacob Garza, Whitney Rose Cone, James Rudolph and Hannah McGinley among them.

Perhaps this old/new milieu is best exemplified by something upcoming: Tennessee Repertory Theatre will stage a revival of Steel Magnolias, starring mother and daughter actresses Mary Jane Harvill and Marin Miller as M'Lynn and Shelby. When The Rep originally did the show in 1989, I sat in on rehearsals, doing a feature story about how the women in the cast became a close-knit family. I'm looking forward to doing a similar story about the revival in the next few weeks.

Throughout Tennessee, you can find a mixture of new faces and veterans on the scene, making theatre come to life all over the state. The Roxy Theatre in Clarksville, with Tom Thayer and John McDonald at the helm, has hit upon a winning formula, combining community theatre casts with professional actors, much like the model perfected by Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse, where they continue to pack the people in the seats year after year. And in nearby Franklin, the Boiler Room Theatre has proven that a professional theatre company can thrive in the suburbs, something the brand new Millworks Theatre now is undertaking in Lebanon.

Those companies have sought out new ways of getting the word out: Virtually every theatre concern has its own website and smart marketing minds have created new and inventive ways to create symbiotic relationships that pay off in increased ticket sales. Reliance on the old ways of doing business can sound a death knell for the arts in general, theatre in particular. By seizing new opportunities, success comes more easily.

For ten years, from 1988 through 1997, I produced the First Night Theatre Awards, which annually recognized outstanding productions and performances--primarily in the Nashville area, but also throughout Tennessee-giving habitues of the theatre scene their own night to shine every Labor Day Weekend. During those ten years, we raised thousands of dollars for AIDS charities, while giving theatre people throughout the state a chance to get to know each other. Today, we call it networking, but back then someone told me "it's like our own prom night every year." I always referred to it as "our answer to the Tony Awards--only better because you know everyone."

First Night came to an end with my partner's untimely death and I've always regretted we never had the chance to give it proper closure. After that, I felt burned out on reviewing (if I had to see another production of Steel Magnolias, I feared I might pull out a gun and mow down Ouiser) and took some time off to pursue other interests. I directed a few shows (some damn good ones, but I wasn't exactly an objective critic at the time), changed careers and longed to find a way back to theatre criticism. Thus, when the opportunity presented itself to write for BroadwayWorld.com, I jumped at the chance and am having the time of my life.

Sure, times have changed, there's more theatre to see, and perhaps even more compelling works to challenge me intellectually. I love it when I have to think about what I'm seeing and, clearly, I know if I like a show or not pretty early on, but I never know how much I love or hate it until I sit down to write my review.

It's never dull, that's for sure, and I'm always looking with an anticipatory eye toward each night at the theatre. Sitting there in the dark, it feels like that's where I'm supposed to be. And I'm so very glad to be back home.