Jeffrey Ellis News

Even before they hit the stage for Lipscomb University Theatre's production of Hairspray, it's pretty clear that cast members Nick Hogan, Tyler Ashley, Shelby Smith, Virginia Lodholtz and Day Day Wells truly are 'the nicest kids in town.' Bringing the hit musical to life for Nashville audiences, which will include a large contingent of alumni in town for homecoming (Hairspray runs November 3-6 in Collins Auditorium on the David Lipscomb University campus), the large ensemble of more than 40 actors are hard at work, sharpening their skills, running lines, rehearsing like it's nobody's business and immersing themselves in plenty of 1960s pop culture and nostalgia.

Harriet Harms and Karla Cooper Kelso, longtime performing arts sign language intepreters at Nashville Children's Theatre (NCT), will be honored as the theater holds its 13th Annual Grand Day on Saturday, November 12. On this unique day, guests can enjoy a performance of Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! and a grand carnival.

Lindy Pendzick and husband Greg Pendzick take on the roles of Grace and her wisecracking spouse, with leading kids' roles played by Crossville's Mary Kemp, Ellie Burnett, Cory Clark, Phillip Hall, and Molly McKinney of Pikeville, plus Crossville's Katey Dailey, Chelsea Boelter, Aiden Morrison, Alli Crain, Perrianna Evans and Emery Smith, along with Andy Swafford of Bledsoe County, and Jacob Copeland of Jamestown.

First presented in 2010 by the Bethlehem Players (of Franklin's Bethlehem United Methodist Church), Southern Fried Funeral, now onstage through November 26 at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre (where Osborne and Eppler staged their First Night Award-winning Rear Widow last year), is aging gracefully, taking on the patina normally reserved for the sterling silver serving pieces in that breakfront in the dining room. Lustrous and heartfelt - yet uproariously funny in a way that only Southerners can be - the story told in Southern Fried Funeral is authentic and genuine, farfetched and unbelievable.

Nashville's Nutcracker - one of the city's newest, yet most respected, holiday traditions - returns to Andrew Jackson Hall in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, running December 9-18, with additional performances and new surprises to accompany its beloved characters and story.

Even before they hit the stage for Lipscomb University Theatre's production of Hairspray, it's pretty clear that cast members Justin Tays, Luciano Vignola, Jared Martin and Sydni Hayes truly are 'the nicest kids in town.'

With vampires such a hot topic (seriously, could the timing be any more perfect than now for the tale of a legendary bloodsucker like the Transylvanian Count?) in American popular culture, you'd think it would be a slam dunk for a theater company to stage a show like Dracula - and it would be if you had a better script to work with, the sharper focus of the creative team and more assertive direction. No matter how much fake blood you throw on the actors or makeup trickery you employ, if the actors are not all on the same page, your Dracula is more likely to drive a stake through the heart of the audience, rather than to delight them with stage magic that transports them to the play's other-worldly setting.

Without a doubt - and even before they take to the stage in Lipscomb University Theatre's production of Hairspray - it's pretty clear that the production's cast members are truly 'the nicest kids in town.' Bringing the hit musical to life for local audiences, which will include a large contingent of alumni in town for homecoming at the Nashville university (Hairspray runs November 3-6 in Collins Auditorium on the Lipscomb campus), the large ensemble of more than 40 actors are hard at work, sharpening their skills, running lines and rehearsing like it's nobody's business. And their spirit and energy is palpable!

Telling a universal tale of friendship and the power of love to overcome hardship, prejudice and the callous disregard of an ill-informed public, Wicked represents musical theater at its very best: The story intrigues you, the characters engage you, the music touches your heart in ways that might surprise you and the production's stunning design aesthetic provides you with an unparalleled visual feast. No wonder the national touring company has found its way back to Nashville a mere two years after it set records at TPAC, pumping millions of dollars into the Music City economy, only to do so once again, no doubt setting new records while entertaining an appreciative audience.

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Stephen Schwartz's groundbreaking musical, Nashville's Trevecca Nazarene University's theatre department will present seven performances of Godspell October 27-November 5 at the Boone Convocation Center on the TNU campus at 333 Murfreesboro Road.

The Tennessee Arts Commission has issued a call for applications for its Individual Artist Fellowships for Fiscal Year 2013 (July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013). Applications must be submitted electronically (online) and postmark or hand deliver printed copies with supporting documents to the Tennessee Arts Commission office by Monday, January 23, 2012 by 4:30 p.m. (CST).

For Jody Gelb, who plays Madame Morrible in the national touring company of Wicked now ensconced at TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall for another record-setting run, every night in the theater is so much more than just another day on the job. For her, it's an inspiring adventure which further proves that Wicked is so much more than musical theater: it's a phenomenon.

Trish Crist, the award-winning playwright of What, follows up to that critically acclaimed play with Who, presented by Rhubarb Theater Company November 4-12 at Darkhorse Theater. 'The fast-moving collection of stories are all set in Nashville and the play is a smart sequel to What, which was named Best Original Play of 2009 by the Nashville Scene,' Crist explains.

So how does a New York-based actor/dancer/choreographer/producer/arts administrator - okay, let's just say it loud and clear right now: Justin Boccitto is a multi-hyphenate - find himself in Nashville, directing and choreographing a production of Hairspray at a Christian university with a theater program that's making a big splash locally, regionally and nationally?

Anne Brummel and Tiffany Haas, the two actresses playing Elphaba and Glinda in the national tour of Wicked - which will be calling Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall home October 19-November 6 - might be advised to keep an eye cast over their talented shoulders on lookout for Delaney Amatrudo and Katelyn Fiorini, two Nashville actresses and Wicked superfans, each of whom has her sights on claiming one of the two iconic roles sometime, somewhere in the future.

Southern Fried Funeral, the latest collaboration from playwrights Dietz Osborne and Nate Eppler, opens at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre on October 22, running through November 26 at the venerable Nashville dinner theater.

George Manus has been a part of the theater community in Nashville and Middle Tennessee for so long that it's easy to forget he's not yet 40 years old. He cut his teeth as a young director at Dennis Ewing's late and lamented Actors Playhouse of Nashville, which led him to spearhead the opening of his own theater company, DreamWeaver Productions on Third Avenue South in downtown Nashville during the early to mid-1990s, and now he heads up Murfreesboro's Out Front On Main, a storefront operation that specializes in bringing edgier theater to that burgeoning college town.

Based on the series of Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park, Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! brings the saucy first grader back to NCT with all of her holiday excitement. Junie B. and her classmates were last at NCT in 2007, when the theatre performed Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business to celebrate the theater's grand re-opening following its massive renovations.

Nashville audiences can relax about one particular holiday detail: Those five wonderful women of Mas Nashville are plotting their comeback. Erin Parker, Laura Matula, Melodie Madden Adams, Cori Laemmel and Megan Murphy Chambers return to the stage of the historic Belcourt Theatre on Wednesday, December 28, for A ChristMAS Holiday Hangover, the latest cabaret conquest from the multi-talented quintet of Nashville performers.

A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held for each performance of Wicked, which runs October 19 through November 6, at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall. Prior to each performance, those interested should arrive at TPAC two-and-a-half hours before show time to have their names placed in the lottery drawing.The sign up will take place in TPAC's Polk Theater lobby.