Kevin Corkum

The ultimate 'Singular Sensation,' A Chorus Line, will dance its way onto Playhouse Mainstage this summer, beginning tonight, July 24.

Theater in Tennessee has never been busier nor has it been more diverse than what you'll find onstage this weekend throughout the Volunteer State. From frothy and fun summer musicals that are sure to make you think - like All Shook Up at Chaffin's Barn and A Chorus Line at Cumberland County Playhouse - to new plays from Shawn Whitsell (his latest, Songs For Our Sons, premieres at Darkhorse Theatre on Friday night) and emerging playwright Che Pieper (his new script based on the book The Man With the Light in His Window debuts at The Theater Bug this weekend)…the magic of live theater is all around you…even in this heat and humidity! So pull your seersucker suits and sundresses out of the closet, get all gussied up and make your way to the relative cool of a darkened theater for some midsummer magic!

And Sondra Morton, Jayme Smith and co. (that would be Act Too) stages their company's latest work at the historic Franklin Theatre - The Sound of Music - starring Kimberly Rye as Maria, Cameron Bortz as Rolf and the inimitable Matt Baugher as Georg Von Trapp. Check it out!

The ultimate "Singular Sensation," A Chorus Line, will dance its way onto Playhouse Mainstage this summer, beginning July 24. This groundbreaking Pulitzer Prize-winning musical is for anyone who has ever put it all on the line, whether for a dream, for attention, for approval, or for love. The show follows 17 would-be dancers in their quest to make the cut for a new Broadway musical. It's what they've worked for - with every drop of sweat, every hour of training, every day of their lives - for the chance to do what they've always dreamed of. One by one, they come forward to share the stories of their lives, putting themselves on the line to get a job in the line. When they're done, so is the audition; and only eight will remain. Winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Score and Book, A Chorus Line is a brilliantly complex fusion of dance, song and compellingly authentic drama, filled with dazzling songs like "I Hope I Get It," "At the Ballet," "What I Did for Love" and "One."

There are four new shows opening in the Middle Tennessee area this weekend, along with several other shows continuing their runs - Nobody's Perfect at Chaffin's Barn, KB Productions' The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, Mary Poppins and Smoke on the Mountain at Cumberland County Playhouse, along with the final performance of Singin' in the Rain - so there's plenty of theater to keep you entertained through a hot July weekend. It's that time of year, so go have some fun!

Summer's theater lull has come to an end and Nashville/Tennessee audiences have a plethora of new openings to choose from iin the next fews days, leading to the season's busiest flush of new shows and productions. Whether it's a relatively new musical based on a fun film, the controversial revival of one of the late 20th century's most iconic musicals or the Nashville premiere of a new film starring some of the region's best known and most talented actors -- there's a lot of good stuff to be seen inside a 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/actor/director/producer/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.

Looking for a way to beat the heat this weekend? What's better than sinking into a seat in a darkened auditorium and letting the talented actors onstage whisk you way to a whole different world from the world iin which you toil Monday through Friday? Theater companies throughout the midstate are ready to dazzle you with their latest productions and here are some of this weekend's best bets...

Looking for an early summer diversion? We're happy to suggest some theatrical offerings to occupy your time, to keep you out of the heat and humidity - which seems to have really descended upon us this past week - and place you smack in the middle of a darkened auditorium that's certain to cool you down while entertaining you in high style…

We pride ourselves on our bounteous Southern hospitality here in Nashville, so who's gonna explain this: On Thursday, as thousands of country music fans gathered downtown for CMA Fest and thousands more fans of every musical genre you can think of were headed southward for the Bonnaroo Music Festival - just another summer in Tennessee, mind you - a truck spilled its load all over Interstate 65-S, adding to the hot, humid atmosphere with a whole mess of fish parts. Yep, you heard it right: smelly, disgusting fish parts baking on the hot asphalt under the blazing sun.

Mary Poppins is set to fly over the rooftops of London and into the Cumberland County Playhouse today, June 12 to August 16!

Mary Poppins is set to fly over the rooftops of London and into the Cumberland County Playhouse June 12 to August 16! This high-flying family musical features delightful songs from the classic Disney film including the Academy Award-winning 'Chim Chim Cher-ee,' 'A Spoonful of Sugar,' 'Step in Time' and 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.' 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. Ms. Hackmann will return to the Playhouse stage as Mary Poppins and Mr. Delaney will play Bert.

Jump on the bandwagon and join in on the rip-roarin'and rootin'-tootin' fun as Rider University's Westminster College of the Arts presents 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers', running April 24-28 in the Bart Luedeke Center Theater on the main campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J.

Go back to a time where "the morals were looser, shows were broader, and the liquor was cheaper" as the Westminster College of the Arts of Rider University proudly presents COLE running opening tomorrow thru November 18 in the Yvonne Theatre on Rider's campus in Lawrenceville, N.J. Check out the production photos below!