Jeffrey Ellis News

Audiences in Nashville and Middle Tennessee will have a wealth of new offerings awaiting them at the theater this weekend, as companies throughout the region roll out the red carpet for the opening of no fewer than ten new productions. Ranging from the tried and true (Arthur Miller's All My Sons from Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Belmont University Theatre's Dancing at Lughnasa, Lakewood Village Theatre's A Few Good Men and Annie at Towne Centre Theatre) to edgier fare (like The Rocky Horror Show at Boiler Room Theatre and David Mamet's American Buffalo at ACT 1) and newer, less familiar works (Trying from Tennessee Women's Theater Project and the debuting Sideshow Fringe Festival, a new endeavor from Actors Bridge Ensemble that features all manner of new offerings, including a 48-hour playwriting competition from which I'll be tweeting live reviews while the shows happen on Saturday from 6 to 7 p.m.), audiences have a full slate of offerings from which to choose this weekend.

As Nashville Children's Theatre continues to celebrate its 80th birthday, the company continues to break new ground as it partners with The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) - Nashville Chapter to present a captioned performance of Holes at NCT on Saturday, October 15, at 2 p.m., utilizing recently developed technology to strengthen the play-going experience for audience members who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Lipscomb University Theatre brings Nashville audiences the never-before-seen-locally Leading Ladies, a gender-bending take-off that pays homage to Shakespeare's own gender-bending Twelfth Night, for the opening production of its 2011-12 season. Directed by Robyn Berg and featuring a focused cast of Lipscomb's most capable theatre students, Leading Ladies is onstage at the Shamblin Theatre through October 2, taking audiences on a raucous, riotous and nostalgic trip to a small town in Pennsylvania, circa 1952.

Dance Theatre of Tennessee (DTT) brings to life one of best-loved classical ballets of all time - Swan Lake Act 2. DTT will present this timeless classic as part of its 2011-12 opening season series entitled At 75 - A Tribute to Elaine Thomas, DTT's assistant artistic director on Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1 at 8 p.m. at Harpeth Hall Auditorium.

A Few Good Men is the gripping drama of the trial of two Marines stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, accused of killing one of their own during a disciplinary action gone wrong - a 'Code Red.' Lt. Daniel Kaffee, a Navy JAG lawyer who practices in plea bargains but has never seen the inside of a courtroom, defends the two with the help of colleagues Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway and Lt. Sam Weinberg.

Photographer Martin E. O'Connor captures the artistry of Nashville Ballet with his collection of works highlighting the 2011-12 season offerings.

Now onstage at the nationally renowned and venerated company's Ann Stahlman Hill Theatre through October 16, Holes features an extraordinary cast of some of the region's finest actors bringing the beloved tale to life with such vigorous energy that audiences of any age (not just the ones 'age 8 and up' noted in the program) will become engaged in the story, its twists and turns and revelatory moments sparking their very imaginations (and, I suspect, to the library to once again experience the book).

Maryanna Clarke, founder and artistic director of Tennessee Women's Theater Project (TWTP), has announced that renowned playwright and actress Regina Taylor will create the first original script for the company, thanks to a 'creation grant' awarded the company by the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission.

Set for November 6 and 7 at the Darkhorse Theater, 4610 Charlotte Avenue, The Ten Minute Playhouse will again feature brand new ten-minute plays by Middle Tennessee playwrights. In addition, two scripts read at the May event will be produced and staged in New Works Nashville's ongoing commitment to nurturing emerging playwrights in Music City.

The time is November, 1967, and a young woman has just been hired as a secretary for Judge Francis Biddle, Attorney General to Franklin Roosevelt, and famous as the former Chief Judge of the American Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Now 81 and in failing health, Judge Biddle is still a Main Line Philadelphia aristocrat. Sarah Schorr, the latest in a string of secretaries, is a plain-spoken 25 year old from the Canadian prairie town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Sideshow Fringe is a Nashville-based four-day performing arts extravaganza connecting innovative artists with adventurous audiences and showcasing Nashville's diverse talent. The festival will be housed in the Belmont Black Box Theatre, Bongo Java After Hours Theatre, Belmont University's Troutt Theatre, and on an outdoor stage on Compton Avenue sponsored by the Belmont-Hillsboro Neighborhood Association.

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical tells the story of toddler Trixie who has a beloved stuffed bunny, which she misplaces while on a trip to the laundromat with her slightly disheveled dad. Luckily, she finds the stuffed animal and speaks her first words: 'Knuffle Bunny!' The production is a story about family, best friends, baby steps and memories that last a lifetime.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, September 18, 2011 - Sunday, September 18, 2011.

Melodie Madden Adams takes to the stage as her fictional alter ego in The Linda Lane Show: Pageants, Prayers & Pianos, presented by MAS Nashville on Monday, September 19 at The Basement. In her new one-woman cabaret show, Madden Adams takes her audience back to the 1960s to embody the fictional Linda Lane - described as 'a journey of song and storytelling' - a simple girl with a simple dream.

In short, Chicago is the best production ever presented by The Keeton Theatre. In fact, it's one of the finest versions of the tuneful musical we've ever seen on any stage, from any production company - and trust me, we've seen a bunch of 'em, ranging from Broadway and national touring companies to mountings from academic theaters, professional regional theaters and community playhouses.

You don't necessarily have to be a fan of Johnny Cash or his music to enjoy Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash now onstage at Dickson's Renaissance Center in a professional production from The Gaslight Theatre. But you can be certain that when you leave the theater you will be a Johnny Cash fan of the highest order, humming the songs you've just heard performed by a remarkable group of artists.

There's nobody who loves a tautly written thriller more than I - you know, the type of mystery where there's much conniving going on, one's baser desires are satiated, intelligence triumphs over the dull and commonplace. Unfortunately, despite having the requisite components, Writer's Block (the new play now onstage at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre) just doesn't measure up; it is neither thrilling nor is it tautly written.

Three men clash violently over business, friendship, honor and ego in Mamet's award-winning drama. The owner of a junk shop in 1970s Chicago wrestles with morality and his own pride as he plots and schemes to recoup his losses by stealing back a rare coin he unwittingly sold to a local collector. Mamet paints a raw and compelling portrait of working-class hoods who believe they have a right to take whatever they want - and who are slowly drowning in their own shortcomings and personal failures.

Could Robyn Berg lay claim to the title of the hardest working woman in show business? She could certainly stake a claim given her burgeoning Nashville theater resume. Since her arrival in town - just two years ago - she's directed Lipscomb University's critically acclaimed production of Death of a Salesman while also teaching at the university, starred in productions from Rhubarb Theater Company, played Hannah Jelks in ACT 1's production of Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana, starred in Actors Bridge Ensemble's production of John Patrick Shanley's Sailor's Song, and has proven herself a vital - and much sought-after - member of the local theatrical scene.

Ring of Fire - The Music of Johnny Cash opens September 15 at the Gaslight Dinner Theatre at Dickson's Renaissance Center, running through October 13. The 'jukebox musical', which opened on Broadway in March 2006, is not a biography of Cash, but instead it's described as 'a unique mosaic that follows the life and times of Johnny Cash through his most famous songs.'