Jeffrey Ellis News

With Ginger Newman's bravura performance as Mama Rose setting the standard-along with a stunning portrayal by Christina Candilora as a young Gypsy Rose Lee-The Larry Keeton Theatre's production of Gypsy, the Broadway fable about stage mothers and their beleaguered children, has a lot to recommend it to theater-goers. Newman and Candilora are given strong support from Terry McLemore, Stella London, Cade Smith, Virginia Richardson and the trio of wizened strippers who urge the young Louise to "get a gimmick" (Jane Schnelle, Monykah Tyson and Emily Ann Cowart).

An outrageously hilarious race against the clock begins when Savannah Sprunt Fairchild Honeycutt agrees to get her feisty mother all the way from Alabama to California in time for her brother's wedding. Savannah's problem: Mama Won't Fly. With only four days to make it to the ceremony, this determined daughter has no choice but to drive cross-country with her equally willful mother in Mama's vintage sedan.

If you haven't had the chance to catch up on your theater news, look no further than today's recap of all things theater - exclusive features, interviews, reviews and more! - around the Broadway World for the week of April 1!

Scheduled for April 28 and 29, The Ten Minute Playhouse is the next entry in Playhouse Nashville's 2013 season in residence at Street Theatre Company located at 1933 Elm Hill Pike. Deadline for submissions by Tennessee playwrights is 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 7. Submissions may be sent as PDF attachments via email to TMPHSubmissions@gmail.com.

Opening Friday, April 5, in the Adventure Theater at Cumberland County Playhouse is William Gibson's The Miracle Worker, starring Lindy Pendzick as Annie Sullivan, the gifted young teacher who brought light, words, and the world to a blind, deaf child.

This innovative adaptation of one of the best-loved books for early readers bursts to life on NCT's stage in an explosion of movement, a kaleidoscope of color and a circus-wagon load of clowning. Audiences are invited to join Red Dog, Blue Dog, Yellow Dog and Green Dog as they bark, scoot, scratch, drive, and howl at the moon. Go, Dog. Go! is described as an exhilarating celebration of childhood for children of all ages.

An outrageously hilarious race against the clock begins when Savannah Sprunt Fairchild Honeycutt agrees to get her feisty mother all the way from Alabama to California in time for her brother's wedding. Savannah's problem: Mama Won't Fly. With only four days to make it to the ceremony, this determined daughter has no choice but to drive cross-country with her equally willful mother in Mama's vintage sedan.

In Ded Herring, written by theatre owner John Chaffin, George is an unsuccessful mystery writer living off of his wife's inheritance. When George discovers that his heiress wife is paying for the services of a male escort, he becomes furious and then the fun really begins! This suspenseful play full of intrigue and double-crosses will keep you guessing until the very last moment.

With live music performed by ALIAS Chamber Ensemble, Nashville Ballet stages Shakespeare's tragedy about betrayal, greed, power and consequences in an intimate, workshop-style version of Macbeth at The Martin Center for Nashville Ballet May 16-18.

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night-directed by Denice Hicks, artistic director of Nashville Shakespeare Festival-is presented by David Lipscomb University's theatre department April 18-21. In what is considered one of the greatest comedies ever written, Shakespeare delivers a night of deep, satisfying laughter, according to Hicks.

Nashville Shakespeare Festival presents Bardaroo!, a free musical birthday celebration for the Bard April 21 at Cumberland Park. The event, which takes place from 2 to 6 p.m., marks William Shakespeare's 449th birthday. It's also part of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival's year-long silver anniversary festivities.

Broadway Our Way, the annual showcase of the Performance Education Center of Cumberland County Playhouse-which features dance, theater, musical theater and all manner of stagecraft-will be presented at the Crossville theater April 25-27.

Can you just imagine the things Frank Abagnale Jr. could do if he were an enterprising teenager in the 21st Century? The charming, conniving and cunning young man would likely rule the world.

It's Friday and that means another look back at the top regional stories of this past week! Click below to see the most-read interviews, features, and special coverage items for the week of January 7!

ACT 1-winner of the 2011 First Night Award for Outstanding Play-will kick off 2013 with its presentation of Neil Simon's Broadway Bound, the final chapter of the playwright's trilogy based on his own early years.

Eve Ensler's series of monologues about women and performed by women has played to packed houses across the country, and the Roxy Regional Theatre's production of The Vagina Monologues-beginning its 11th year tonight, January 11, at 8 p.m.-is no exception.

The world premiere of a brand-spanking new musical with Broadway in its sights, a relatively young but awe-inspiring theater company and a sparkling, witty new play about Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald led the list of Tennessee's outstanding theatrical achievements in 2012 that was revealed Sunday night at Midwinter's First Night. Photographer Rick Malkin was on hand to capture the evening's highlights with his camera.

The Nutty Professor's Marissa McGowan, Caroline or Change's Dalton Tilghman and Kirk-Burgess Productions' debut production of Mysterious Skin claimed top honors Sunday night as winners of the BWW Nashville Theatre Awards were announced.

Out Front on Main, Inc., Murfreesboro's cutting-edge theater company, and Cumberland County Playhouse, Crossville's venerable theater that has been delighting audiences since the 1960s, were among the top winners in the BroadwayWorld.com Tennessee Theatre Awards, announced Sunday night.

The world premiere of a brand-spanking new musical with Broadway in its sights, a relatively young but awe-inspiring theater company and a sparkling, witty new play about Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald led the list of Tennessee's outstanding theatrical achievements in 2012 that was revealed Sunday night at Midwinter's First Night.