CRITICS' CHOICE: Celebrate America's Independence at the Theater

Can you believe that it's already time to celebrate Independence Day - aka The Fourth of July - with the biggest-in-the-country fireworks display right here in Music City USA? We know how to celebrate America's Independence right here in Nashville and we expect even more tourists (playwright/director/producer/actor/bon vivant Del Shores is in town, for example, to get a taste of a down-home good time) than normal to fill our city's streets over the four-day holiday weekend.

City leaders are predicting and/or warning that almost 300,000 people are expected in downtown Nashville for the fireworks display set to the live accompaniment of the Grammy Award-winning Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Want to witness the fireworks first-hand? We suggest going to the Jefferson Street bridge and watching from there...you won't be able to hear the Symphony, but you'll see the stunning display free from the sweltering heat generated by 300,000 people in sultry, sticky July in Nashville.

Meanwhile, there are theater companies all over our region who would love to welcome you into the darkened, air conditioned confines of their venues for a few hours of theatrical diversion...with plenty of comedy, drama and music on-tap to fuel your imagination throughout a whole four-day weekend!

Looking for a theatrical way to kick off your holiday weekend? The fine folks at Nashville's KB Productions - notably LT Kirk and Donald Powell, the producers - have a great idea: Come see The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife (starring some of Music City's favorite actors under the direction of one of the city's favorite directors) and meet the celebrated playwright, Del Shores, during the starry opening night festivities!

It's just the latest in KB Productions' theatrical legacy: Mr. Producers Kirk and Powell are proud to present another play by the estimable Mr. Shores, this one starring Cat Arnold, Andrew Strong, LaQuita James, Beth Henderson, LaToya Gardner and John Todd, directed by Clay Hillwig. And, after the opening night performance, you can hang out at the Darkhorse Theatre to meet Del Shores.

There are only six performances - and tickets are available via http://kb-productions.eventbrite.com/

Then, on Sunday night, you can return to the Darkhorse to see Shores in his new show SINgularly Sordid at 8 p.m. For details about tickets, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1638895752999745/.

Performances of The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife are slated for Friday, July 3, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, July 4, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, July 5, at 5 p.m.; Thursday, July 9, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, July 10, at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m.

What could be more patriotic than a visit to Tuna, Texas, for a 4th of July celebration? Miss Jeanne's Theatre presents Red, White and Tuna, the further adventures of beloved characters first introduced to audiences in the hit play "Greater Tuna," by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard.

This installment again takes place in Tuna (the third smallest town in Texas) and centers around the excitement of the big 4th of July Celebration and Tuna High School Reunion. Who will win the title of Reunion Queen? Will Reverend Spikes be released from prison in time for the event? Are the rumors true about recent UFO sightings? Will Vera Carp's hairdo hold up in the record-breaking heat?

All these questions (and more) will be answered as award-winning actors Patrick Goedicke and Asa Ambrister bring to life twenty of Tuna's most unforgettable citizens (in a series of outrageous, lightning-speed costume changes). You'll laugh your boots off!

These are non-dinner shows, but refreshments will be available to purchase. Tickets are $14 general admission; $12 Seniors/Students/Military. Reservations may be made by calling (615) 902-9566
Walk-ins will be accepted the day of performance. Red White and Tuna plays through July 12, with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.

Miss Jeanne's Theatre is located at the Music Valley Event Center, 2416 Music Valley Drive, Suite 150 in Nashville and there's plenty of free parking.

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python, and you have the Roxy Regional Theatre's hilarious new offering, The 39 Steps, opening tonight at 8pm. Packed with nonstop laughs, this two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is adapted by Patrick Barlow from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. The London production, which has been running for nine years, only yesterday announced it will shutter on September 5.

Eli Jolley (whom Roxy audiences may remember as Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby) stars as Richard Hannay, a man whose boring life is turned upside down when he meets a mysterious woman with a thick accent. Shortly after taking her home, however, the woman is murdered. Soon, an enigmatic spy organization is hot on Hannay's trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale!

In this fast-paced whodunit, a ridiculously talented cast of four - rounded out by Alicia Jayne Kelly (whose credits include Marty in the Broadway National Tour of Grease and Velma in the Broadway production of Chicago for Royal Caribbean cruise lines, as well as Nellie in South Pacific and Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Roxy Regional Theatre), Josh Bernaski (Robbie in The Wedding Singer and The Wolf in Into the Woods at the Roxy Regional Theatre) and Daryl W. Phillipy - takes on over 150 zany characters in a riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, including an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance!

The 39 Steps runs through July 3, playing Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, June 27. Tickets are $20 (adults) and $15 (ages 13 and under) and may be purchased online at www.roxyregionaltheatre.org or by phone at (931) 645-7699, or at the theatre during regular box office hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, and one hour prior to curtain).

Looking for the perfect summer musical? Towne Centre Theatre's Footloose, continues its run through July 11 at the theater in Brentwood.

Footloose is the perfect summer musical, a story of American spirit. A carefree kid is transplanted to a conservative rural town where Rock 'n' Roll and dancing are forbidden. He takes on the authorities, makes all the right moves and wins the girl. A high energy, high intensity musical that dances onto the stage from the very first song and keeps on rocking until the end.

The cast is led by William Warren Carver as Ren McCormack and Lindsay Carter as Ariel Moore. Also featured is John Ray as Reverend Shaw Moore, Katharine Boettcher as Vi Moore, Lyn Sheppard Middlebrook and Kari Smith (6/19 & 20) as Ethel McCormack, Ed Warr as Principal Clark, Seth McGraw as Willard, Meredith Mullen as Rusty, J. Baugh as Uncle Wes, Alyssa Miller as Wendy Jo and Alex Pineiro as Chuck Cranston. Rounding out the cast are Amanda Leigh Baugh, Clint Burmit, Max Craig, Jaden Holtschlag, Hillary Mead, Lorelei McDaniel, Laura Mee, Gunal Nepoleon, Parker Pennington, Annie Rice, Jasmine Rose, Quinton Tolbert, Madeline Yeary and Jimmy.

Reserve your seats by going online at www.townecentretheatre.com.

Southern hospitality is served up with a groaning board of traditional culinary delights at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theater, where the Martha Wilkinson-directed Nobody's Perfect continues its run through July 19. Her cast features Bonita Allen, John Mauldin, Lane Wright and Elizabeth Walsh.

Here's a sampling from our review: "With a deft hand, Wilkinson stages the rather gentle comedy that focuses on evolving gender roles, replete with a feminist press trying to find new material for its readers, a shy statistician trying to score it big as a writer, a bumbling grandfather who's only slightly pervy, a rebellious teenager who really loves her dad no matter her vocal protests, a successful businesswoman who longs for a romantic attachment and the requisite man in drag playing a middle-aged Southern belle.

"You pair all that with the Barn's groaning board of Southern/country victuals, a genuinely warm greeting from Annie in the box office as you arrive, a broad smile from Cecilia Lighthall as she commands the front desk and hands you off to an actor doing double-duty as host, and a hug from co-owner Janie Chaffin that ensures you're at home, and you won't find an entertainment option more appealing anywhere. Top it off with peanut butter pie or crème brulee (served up by the gracious and attentive Adam Burnett) and you're justthisclose to heaven in West Nashville.

"Nobody's Perfect is not perfect, but then really what is? However, under Wilkinson's guiding influence and the altogether understated, yet wonderfully on-target, performances of her quartet of actors, it nonetheless delivers a pleasant summer's night diversion."

For reservations, call (615) 646-9977; for more information about all of this season's shows at the Barn, go to www.dinnertheatre.com.

Mary Poppins continues to fly over the rooftops of London via a sumptuous new production at Cumberland County Playhouse through August 16! This high-flying family musical features delightful songs from the classic Disney film including the Academy Award-winning "Chim Chim Cheree," "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Step in Time" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and has been the winner of 44 major theatre awards from around the globe.

Mary Poppins has captivated audiences for generations with its enchanting story, unforgettable songs and dazzling dance numbers. Mary Poppins is the story of a mysterious nanny who magically appears at the Banks household in Edwardian London to care for Jane and Michael Banks. Adventure abounds as she whisks them away to meet dancing chimney sweeps, shopkeepers and an array of colorful characters. Nicole Bégué Hackmann will return to the Playhouse stage as Mary Poppins and Jake Delaney will play Bert.

Nicole Bégué Hackmann has appeared in dozens of Playhouse productions since 2003, including My Fair Lady, Ragtime, LES MISERABLES, The King and I, A Little Night Music, Camelot and many more.Jake Delaney made his Playhouse debut in April as Don Lockwood in Singin' in the Rain.

Playhouse favorites Jason Ross and Lauren Marshall play Mr. and Mrs. Banks. Each of the Banks children will feature two different young actors alternating in the roles. Jane Banks will be played by Sophie Burnett and Sara Swafford, while Simon Berman and Eli Choate will share the role of Michael Banks. Rounding out the cast are Kathryn Berman, Daniel Black, Cory Clark, Kevin Corkum, Jensen Crain, John Dobbratz, Molly Dobbs, DeAnna Etchison, Katherine Walker Hill, Carol Irvin, Lina Lee, Lindsey Mapes, Jennie Nasser, Patty Payne, Kate Louise Prender, Evan Price, Angela Robbins, Michael Ruff, Chaz Sanders, Chance Wall and Weslie Webster.

Director Britt Hancock (Singin' in the Rain, Damn Yankees) said of the show, "Mary Poppins is all about magic... and no theater I know does theatrical magic better than the Cumberland County Playhouse. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to help bring this wonderful story to life." Resident choreographer Leila Nelson will bring the high stepping (and sometimes high flying) dance numbers to life.