Roman Kalei

This 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning play takes place in a run-down movie theater in central Massachusetts, where three underpaid employees mop the floors and attend to one of the last 35-millimeter film theatres in the state named The Flick.

This 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning play takes place in a run-down movie theater in central Massachusetts, where three underpaid employees mop the floors and attend to one of the last 35-millimeter film theatres in the state named The Flick.

Best described as Golden Girls meets The Odd Couple, Ripcord is an uproarious new comedy by noted playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. Ripcord takes us to the Bristol Place Assisted Living Facility where foul-tempered Abby has just learned that she has to share her sunny top-floor room with newcomer Marilyn. Loathe to share her space, Abby challenges Marilyn to a seemingly harmless bet where the loser abandons the sunny top-floor room. The events that follow take the women on a ridiculous journey that reveals not only the tenacity of these worthy opponents but also some secrets they would rather remain hidden. Ripcord brings us the fight of the century, and after all, wouldn't they know?

'I am in blood stepped in so far that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er,' says Macbeth in William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name. I have always felt that these lines could have described President Lyndon Johnson as he doggedly followed his disastrous course in Vietnam. Now, certainly, Johnson was no villain as such; however, to countless Americans, his term in office will be forever marred by his hubristic determination to succeed. For some families touched by tragedy, his very name will be forever reviled. However, in recent years, many historians (such as Doris Kearns Goodwin) have tried to see 'the forest' beyond 'the trees' and have lauded Johnson for effecting legislation that culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and in voting rights for Blacks. Playhouse on the Square's current production of Robert Schenkkan's ALL THE WAY (recalling LBJ's campaign slogan 'All the way with LBJ') focuses on Johnson's political maneuvers in that arena -- especially as they factor in his desire to be elected as something more than an 'accidental President.'

Tennessee Shakespeare Company, in partnership with the University of Memphis' Department of Theatre and Dance, presents Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Stephanie Shine, beginning tonight, June 4, and playing through June 21 at the U of M's Theatre located on Central Avenue. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!  

Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC), the Mid-South's professional classical theatre, in partnership with the University of Memphis' Department of Theatre & Dance presents a magical, family-friendly, Louisiana bayou-inspired production of A Midsummer Night's Dream on the U of M's Mainstage from tonight, June 4-21.

Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC), the Mid-South's professional classical theatre, in partnership with the University of Memphis' Department of Theatre & Dance presents a magical, family-friendly, Louisiana bayou-inspired production of A Midsummer Night's Dream on the U of M's Mainstage from June 4-21.