Brian Webb News

Have you decided on your Halloween costume yet? You better get to work since it's only four days until the big night is upon us and you won't want to caught with your pants down, so to speak. May we respectfully suggest a trip to your local, neighborhood theater? Not only will you be entertained, transformed and transported - we're willing to be on this happening - but you'll also probably get some great costume ideas in the process! And there is the added bonus that the theater company might be in the business of renting out costumes which would make your efforts even easier than you first thought…

Here are our suggestions - our choices, as it were - for the shows to catch, the people to see, before Monday morning rolls around. Again. When work beckons, we promise you'll have so much more interesting water cooler chatter to share that you'll be the envy of everyone at the office:

There comes a moment in Act Two (or maybe it's Act One - on second thought, maybe it's the second Act One, although it could be the third…) of Michael Frayn's Noises Off, now onstage at TPAC's Andrew Johnson Theatre, in which Martha Wilkinson comes onstage, hits her mark, cuts her eyes at another actor and with perfect timing reaches out to touch his arm, her expressive face showing every word the audience needs to hear, eliciting guffaws and applause as her reward.

When an already unstable cast of actors begins to suffer the slings and arrows of falling in love (as well as falling down stairs) the possibility of a successful performance plummets, but the likelihood of audience delight skyrockets.

When an already unstable cast of actors begins to suffer the slings and arrows of falling in love (as well as falling down stairs) the possibility of a successful performance plummets, but the likelihood of audience delight skyrockets.

When an already unstable cast of actors begins to suffer the slings and arrows of falling in love (as well as falling down stairs) the possibility of a successful performance plummets, but the likelihood of audience delight skyrockets. That's what audiences can expect when Nashville Repertory Theatre opens the second show of its 2016-17 season: Michael Frayn's Noises Off.

With former Tennessee Titan Eddie George, Jenny Littleton of The Doyle and Debbie Show, founding Rep actor Jackie Welch, a collection of audience favorites, and some intriguing new faces added to the mix, Nashville Repertory's five-show season for 2016-17 tackles the many dimensions of love: commitment, dilemma, risk, joy, and disappointment.

There's so much great theater going on in the Nashville area right now, that you may be having a difficult time choosing among the bounteous offerings local companies are providing you. We're delighted to herald the return of BWW Nashville's Critics Choice with today's feature, offering up a compendium of what's available, what we recommend you see, and - in the cases of show's we've seen already - snippets of our reviews to help you make up your mind!

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

Beki Baker's extraordinary direction, which provides a stunningly fresh perspective of Arthur Miller's stage masterpiece - along with remarkable performances from a cast of both professional and student actors - ensures that audiences will long be considering the impact of The Crucible, now onstage at Shamblin Theater through February 28, after the final curtain is rung down on this joint production of Blackbird Theater and Lipscomb University Department of Theatre.

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

The Crucible, Arthur Miller's incisive drama about the Salem Witchcraft Trials - written during the turbulent times of the Hollywood Red Scare and the oppression of the McCarthy era in American politics - premieres at Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre for a February 19-28 run in a joint production of Blackbird Theater and Lipscomb University Department of Theatre.

Thus, we are happy to present one of our most popular features: The Nashville Theater Calendar, a comprehensive - maybe even exhaustive (lord knows we're exhausted from putting it together, gathering all the info from all over the interwebs!) - listing of theatrical openings for the 2015/16 season. We'll update the calendar every Monday, clearing out the shows that have closed and adding additional information on the shows still to come

A marvelous cast and an incredible set can't mask some of the problems with the script.

DanceWorks, Toronto's longest running contemporary dance series, proudly presents Montreal's acclaimed Sylvain Emard Danse in the Toronto premiere of Ce n'est pas la fin du monde (It's not the end of the world). This stunning full-length work by the award-winning choreographer Sylvain Emard runs one night only on February 28 at 8pm at Harbourfront Centre's Fleck Dance Theatre as part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps.

DanceWorks, Toronto's longest running contemporary dance series, proudly presents Montreal's acclaimed Sylvain Emard Danse in the Toronto premiere of Ce n'est pas la fin du monde (It's not the end of the world). This stunning full-length work by the award-winning choreographer Sylvain Emard runs one night only on February 28 at 8pm at Harbourfront Centre's Fleck Dance Theatre as part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps.

It features top-notched performances by some of our area's finest actors, including Glenn Gover who steals the entire show from the rest of the talented cast and gives one of the year's best performances.

Due to popular demand, Tennessee Repertory Theatre has extended its production of the classic comedy The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Performances have been added through Saturday, November 2, with tickets for the added performances going on sale on Monday, October 7 at 10 am. The Importance of Being Earnest runs October 12 - November 2 at TPAC's Johnson Theater (with preview performances October 10 - 11).

Tennessee Repertory continues its 29th season of live, professional theatre with Oscar Wilde's classic comedy The Importance of Being Earnest. The Importance of Being Earnest runs October 12 - 26 at TPAC's Johnson Theater (with preview performances October 10-11).