Katie Veglio

Katharine Boettcher's glorious soprano is finally given the showcase it so richly deserves in the beautifully sung production of Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon's The Secret Garden, the oftentimes stirring and altogether bewitching story of a young orphaned girl forced to live with her mysterious uncle in his 'house upon the hill' overlooking the moors in Yorkshire in the early years of the 20th Century.

Performed amid a gorgeous, bucolic setting, the latest offering from Nashville's KB Productions - a retelling of Theresa Rebeck's Greek tragedy cum American family drama The Water's Edge - is performed upon what may be the most detailed, stunningly conceived and beautifully realized set ever seen on the stage of the iconic Darkhorse Theater. Designed by director Jaymes Campbell and crafted by a construction crew led by Joe Stinemetz, it provides an evocative backdrop for the action (or lack thereof) in Rebeck's much-maligned play, ideally capturing the physical trappings of a somewhat down-on-its-heels lakeside cottage where tragedy lurks behind every tree.

What's a stage manager? What do they do? What's their job? Seriously. Perhaps no job in the theater is as hard to define as that of a production stage manager and it's that blend of mystery, fear and total dependence that makes actors, directors, crew members, producers - you name it! - hold a really great stage manager in total awe and to revile someone who is (how do you say it, without offending anyone?) less than stellar in their position?

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) presents The First Church of Mary, The Repentant Prostitute's FIFTH ANNUAL!!! Benefit Concert, Revival and Potluck Dinner, a new musical about faith, narcissism and red velvet cake with book and lyrics by Geoff Davin, additional music and lyrics by Nicole Boggs & KelleyAnn Hocter & additional music by David Mescon.  Martha Wilkinson directs a cast of six, including Geoff Davin, Megan Murphy Chambers, Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva, Brooke Leigh Davis, Rosemary Fossee, and Michael San Miguel. The First Church of Mary is being staged at the June Havoc Theatre, 312 West 36th Street, 1st Floor in NYC for five performances from Monday, July 18 through Friday, July 22, 2015.

Now one of the most performed shows in America, Seussical is a fantastical, magical, musical extravaganza! Tony winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, Once On this Island and Ragtime) have lovingly brought to life all of our favorite Dr. Seuss characters, including Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie and a little boy with a big imagination--Jojo. The colorful characters transport us from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus Mcgurkus to the invisible world of the Whos.

Celebrating its 65th season, Nashville's Circle Players is Middle Tennessee's oldest community theater organization and I can think of no better way to celebrate that milestone than with the company's current show, the Tim Larson-directed version of Ragtime, the musical adaptation of the acclaimed E.L. Doctorow novel.

Do you remember where you were on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - the day terror was brought home to us and our world was change irrevocably? Throughout our lives we all experience those events that will remain etched forever in our minds, the ones that will always be in our personal memory banks. As final rehearsals get under way in advance of opening night, members of the cast and crew of Rising & Falling reached into their own memory banks to let us know where they were on that fateful morning, which gives perspective to the play they're working on together to bring to life for a Nashville audience.

Danny Proctor, Helen Shute-Pettaway, Layne Sasser, Pam Atha, Dan Brewer and Gary Hoff were introduced Monday night as the six members of the 2011 Class of First Night Honorees during the First Night Preview Party, hosted by founder and executive producer Jeffrey Ellis at The Listening Room Cafe in downtown Nashville.

A cast of more than 125 performers took to the stage of the Troutt Theatre at Belmont University to fete the eight members of the 2010 Class of First Night Honorees in a production that featured the best of the best of Nashville theater and included a surprise appearance by Joseph Mahowald, winner of a 1989 First Night Award, now playing the role of Franklin Hart Jr. in the national tour of 9 to 5: The Musical, which opened in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, September 21.