Carolyn German News

As Nashville's summer theater season continues to heat up, anticipation continues to grow for September's First Night Nashville Theatre Honors, the revival of the Music City theater gala that will benefit Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and sponsored by Macy's and BroadwayWorld.com. Set for Sunday, September 19, at Belmont University's Troutt Theatre, First Night 2010 will honor eight individuals for their sustained and continued commitment to theater in Nashville.

What with all the star power of the assembled cast - featuring such theatre luminaries as Heather Headley, Alli Mauzey, Jodi Benson and Anthony Fedorov - it should come as something of a surprise that showHOPE's concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella was very nearly stolen out from under them by some homegrown Nashville talent. No matter how you look at it, Cinderella was a completely magical and enchanting success, but had it not been for Nashville's very own Nan Gurley, Bonnie Keen and Carolyn German as Cinderella's nefarious stepfamily, the show wouldn't have been anywhere near as good as it actually was.

Heather Headley, Alli Mauzey, Jodi Benson and Anthony Federov will headline a special concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, set for Friday, May 14, at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. They will be joined by a cast of Nashville theatre luminaries - and featuring BeBe Winans and Nashville native Jake Speck, currently on Broadway in Jersey Boys - Cinderella is the spring celebration of the locally based showHOPE organization, which hopes to bring both attention and awareness to its efforts across the globe.

The altogether charming and amazingly talented Mauzey claims an impressive theatrical resume, which includes her starmaking turn in Cry-Baby, the Broadway musical based on the John Waters film, that resulted in a 2008 Theatre World Award, as well as a Drama League Award nomination. She's also had roles in both Wicked and Hairspray - two of the musicals that have helped define the first decade of the new millennium in Broadway terms - playing Glinda in Wicked (a role she'll play again later this year in San Francisco) and Brenda in Hairspray.

When I ran into Carolyn one afternoon a couple of weeks ago, she invited me to attend Songs in a Silken Sky, a cabaret performance by participants in Metro Parks Theater and Music Department's Young Performers Program. Presented at historic Two Rivers Mansion, the production 'offers these talented young vocalists a chance to learn and to perform a wide variety of music in a cabaret setting,' including songs by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jason Robert Brown, Burt Bacharach, Stephen Schwartz and David Friedman.

Perhaps best known to the general public for her performance as Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid (the animated blockbuster that is credited with reaffirming the Disney brand as the ultimate in film animation), Benson has delighted legions of fans over the years with her ageless vocal abilities, even while delighting Broadway audiences who know her as far more than the voice of Ariel. In fact, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her critically acclaimed performance as Polly in Ken Ludwig's Crazy for You, the updated version of Girl Crazy, the 1930s musical that features a score of iconic songs by George and Ira Gershwin.

For Matt Logan, staging a special concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is the culmination of a long-held dream of his to bring just such a production to his hometown of Nashville, perhaps best known as Music City USA. Now, with Nashville rebuilding after devastating floods in early May, the benefit performance for Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman's showHOPE organization is perhaps even more timely -- and it has certainly taken on a deeper meaning and a more compelling resonance.

Heather Headley, Alli Mauzey, Jodi Benson and Anthony Federov will headline a special concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, set for Friday, May 14, at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. They will be joined by a cast of Nashville theatre luminaries - and featuring BeBe Winans and Nashville native Jake Speck, currently on Broadway in Jersey Boys - Cinderella is the spring celebration of the locally based showHOPE organization, which hopes to bring both attention and awareness to its efforts across the globe.

Signs of a New Day: The Z. Alexander Looby Story will close on February 6, 2010.

Signs of a New Day is not a perfect play, by many measures, but the fact that it focuses on Looby - whose name almost every Nashvillian most certainly knows, but someone about whom they know precious little - elevates it to near-perfection. Thanks to German's extensive research and dedication to detail, coupled with her dramatist's keen eye and ear for what works onstage, the play gives Looby and his wife, Grafta Mosby Looby, the attention they so richly deserve. It is a moving work that challenges its audiences to continue the noble work of the Loobys and all of their contemporaries who risked their lives and livelihoods so that we all might live in a more just and equitable society.

That serendipitous encounter with Looby's photograph and the accompanying marker in the lobby of the community center/public library/theatre complex that bears his name, led German to further research which 'fired [her] up,' and has now, in turn, led to Signs of a New Day: The Z. Alexander Looby Story, her new play set for its world premiere Friday night in a production by Amun Ra Theatre, presented in the theatre that bears Looby's name, and continuing through February 6.

That serendipitous encounter with Looby's photograph and the accompanying marker in the lobby of the community center/public library/theatre complex that bears his name, led German to further research which 'fired [her] up,' and has now, in turn, led to Signs of a New Day: The Z. Alexander Looby Story, her new play set for its world premiere Friday night in a production by Amun Ra Theatre, presented in the theatre that bears Looby's name, and continuing through February 6.

Like hundreds, maybe even thousands, of other Nashvillians before and since, Carolyn German would walk through the lobby of the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre, passing by the historical marker heralding Looby's role in Nashville history without really giving it much thought. Then one day, during a visit to the Looby Center in her role as director of theatre for Metro Nashville Parks, German stopped and read intently the information included on the plaque, learning that Looby was an attorney who played in a key role in Nashville's storied civil rights history.

Mark Cabus' A Christmas Carol will be performed at 7:30 p.m. December 17, 18 and 19, and on Sunday, December 20, at 4 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door; $12 in advance at TicketsNashville.com. Discounted tickets, priced at $10, are available for Actors Equity members, while students and seniors with ID will only pay $5. This performance is appropriate for the whole family but suggested for children 12 and over.

'2009's theme, Step Into The Future, was very much about establishing a brand reputation for us,' explained ART's artistic director Jeff Obafemi Carr. 'We're confident now that when you come to an ART production, you have a unique experience from the front to the back door. We've taken into account the thousands of people who have seen our productions over the course of '09 and things they've responded to well - both artistic and aesthetic - and crafted a schedule of offerings we believe will continue to influence Nashville's cultural landscape in a profound way. We want the city to see that much of the future of great theater is happening right now, in North Nashville.'

Auditions have been set for Sunday, November 15, for the Amun Ra Theatre production of Nashville playwright Carolyn German's Signs of a New Day: The Z. Alexander Looby Story. German's play, which she will also direct, is the story of the life of renowned civil rights attorney Z. Alexander Looby. Auditions will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. (CT) at Amun Ran Theatre Playhouse, 2508 Clifton Avenue, and appointments are strongly suggested. To reserve an audition time, call ART at (615) 329-4228, between the hours of 1 and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Due to the prompt action of Metro Nashville officials, Circle Players will be able to stage its final three performances of Fame, the Musical this weekend at the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre.

Due to the prompt action of Metro Nashville officials, Circle Players will be able to stage its final three performances of Fame, the Musical this weekend at the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre.

Due to the prompt action of Metro Nashville officials, Circle Players will be able to stage its final three performances of Fame, the Musical this weekend at the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre.

Due to the prompt action of Metro Nashville officials, Circle Players will be able to stage its final three performances of Fame, the Musical this weekend at the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre.