Jeffrey Ellis News

Director Kate Adams-Johnson, aka Nashville's busiest choreographer, is putting yet another cast through the paces in preparation for another opening night. But this time, she's serious. Very serious. The show, you see, is every dancer's favorite musical: A Chorus Line. Kate's cast is a blending of familiar faces and newcomers and so over the next couple of weeks, we're introducing the members of The Keeton Theatre's cast to you. As you'll see, some of them have much to learn about being interviewed by 'Nashville's favorite theater critic.' First up is Andy Mann...

Street Theatre Company is presenting a free public performance of the play, No More Secrets, on Monday, May 23 at 6 p.m. at the Martha O'Bryan Center in East Nashville. No More Secrets is being presented through the partnerships of the Metro Nashville Arts Commission and the Martha O'Bryan Center.

Shakespeare meets the Hatfields and the McCoys this summer in Tennessee Shakespeare Festival's family-friendly The Comedy of Errors, running June 17-July 10 in Bell Buckle on the campus of the Webb School. Tennessee Shakespeare Festival's latest production, The Comedy of Errors - described as 'a rollicking version of William Shakespeare's madcap tale of mistaken identity, set in the highlands of 1880s West Virginia.'

David Compton returns to a role he first played almost a quarter-century ago and Rona Carter plays a man who is transformed into an ass in Nashville Children's Theatre's upcoming production of Robin Goodfellow, playwright Aurand Harris' unique take on Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. Opening on Tuesday, April 19, Robin Goodfellow runs at NCT through May 15.

Members of Tennessee's theater community will gather Sunday, May 15, at The Renaissance Center in Dickson for First Night's Springtime Theatre Retreat, an opportunity for representatives of the state's burgeoning theater community to come together for discussion of shared vision and goals for the coming year.

David Compton returns to a role he first played almost a quarter-century ago and Rona Carter plays a man who is transformed into an ass in Nashville Children's Theatre's upcoming production of Robin Goodfellow, playwright Aurand Harris' unique take on Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. Opening on Tuesday, April 19, Robin Goodfellow runs at NCT through May 15.

N. Richard Nash's The Rainmaker has been a part of our collective pop culture and theatrical canon for years and is probably best known because of the 1956 film version that starred Katharine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster, which has cast its indelible shadow on every intervening stage production since its initial release. That being said, who could have everexpected the emotional wallop packed by the superb revival now onstage at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, directed by Sam Whited? Quietly and gracefully, the impact of The Rainmaker remains as potent as it has ever been and it is performed by a thoroughly committed cast of Barn veterans and newcomers all focused on the task at hand.

Joel Drake Johnson's The Fall to Earth is an atypical, darkly comic - yet at the same time very serious - take on the conventional mother/daughter tale. Now presented in an exceptional new production from Nashville's GroundWorks Theatre, The Fall to Earth stars an extraordinary trio of actresses who bring the disquieting story to life with a sense of camaraderie and trust, delivering as they do a truly compelling experience for theater-goers.

Nashville Children's Theatre (NCT) will host Telling Tales: A SHELebration Where the Sidewalk Ends on Thursday, June 2, 2011 - a brand new fundraiser event for grown-ups that features a varied collection of Nashville artists, leaders and performers paying tribute to Shel Silverstein.

Due to the tragic circumstances of the people in Glade Springs because of the tornados, Barter Theatre has designated two performances of Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes as benefit performances for the Town of Glade Spring and its residents. All proceeds from tickets sold beginning immediately for the May 17 7:45 p.m. and May 21 8:15 p.m. shows will be donated to the relief fund. Call (276) 628-3991 or visit BarterTheatre.com for tickets and more information.

After much too long an absence, 2010 First Night Honoree A. Sean O'Connell finds herself in the director's chair again, this time helming the latest production from Nashville's GroundWorks Theatre - the regional premiere of Joel Drake Johnson's The Fall to Earth.

Murder, music and fun? Sounds like the perfect spring recipe for Street Theatre Company's newest murder mystery musical event - Murder: It's No Day at the Beach - set for Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14 at Nashville's Tulip Street Methodist Church, 522 Russell Street.

Jennifer Richmond is one of the most fascinating people you could ever hope to meet. Seriously. She's smart and intuitive, to be certain, and her ever-inquisitive mind moves quickly from one subject to the next. In many ways, she is a modern-day Renaissance woman: She's good at very many things.

Nashville's Artist's Cooperative Theater 1 - ACT 1 - today announces its 22nd Season. The upcoming Season will offer audiences modern classics, a musical, a play about singing, and a rarely produced classic comedy.

ACT 1 brings its successful 21st season to a close May 20-28, with Much Ado About Nothing, a Shakespearean comedy filled with wit, romance, and villainy. Brittany Carlton directs the show which is set in Messina, Italy.

Members of Tennessee's theater community will gather Sunday, May 15, at The Renaissance Center in Dickson for First Night's Springtime Theatre Retreat, an opportunity for representatives of the state's burgeoning theater community to come together for discussion of shared vision and goals for the coming year.

Tennessee Women's Theater Project has returned to Nashville's Z. Alexander Looby Theater for the fifth year running - continuing through Sunday, May 22 - for its annual Women's Work festival of performing and visual arts created by women. The festival cuts a broad swath across styles and genres to offer eleven completely different programs: poetry and essays; one-woman shows; staged readings of new plays; film, dance, music and a display of visual art works in the theater lobby. On Saturday night, May 21, audiences will be treated to A Dog's Tale, a one-woman show featuring Lindsay Terrizzi Hess (directed by Anne-Geri Fann and with music direction/accompaniment by featured performer Jeffrey Williams), one of Nashville's favorite young actresses.

Celebrating its 80th year of presenting theatre, inspiration and delight to Nashville and Middle Tennessee children and their families, Nashville Children's Theatre (NCT) has announced its 80th anniversary season offerings. During its 80 years of service and creativity, NCT has played to more than two million people and is the oldest professional children's theatre in the United States.

John Henry Redwood's The Old Settler, directed by Kenetha carr, runs May 13-29 at the Amun Ra Theatre Playhouse, 2508 Clifton Avenue, in North Nashville.

The Ten Minute plays will be presented as staged readings performed and directed by volunteers from the Nashville theater community. Audiences in attendance will not only get to see exciting new plays, but will also be able to give the playwrights feedback following the readings.