Jeffrey Williams News

Over the years, Rene Dunshee Copeland, Pam Atha and Martha Wilkinson have collaborated numerous times on all sorts of musicals - and among them, they have garnered the lion's share of First Night Awards presented for achievement in musical theater in Nashville - and so it's pretty damn exciting for the three of them (along with musical director Paul Carrol Binkley) to be on-board for Tennessee Repertory Theatre's Pump Boys and Dinettes, which brings the company's 2010-11 season to a riotous, rip-roaring close!

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present its production of the Tony-nominated, toe-tapping musical Pump Boys and Dinettes created by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, and Jim Wann.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present its production of the Tony-nominated, toe-tapping musical Pump Boys and Dinettes created by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, and Jim Wann.

Nashville theatre-goers are a pretty lucky lot, with a great deal to be thankful for actually, what with the wealth of talent you can find in our little burg. We may be known around the world as Music City USA, but those of us in the know can rightfully and justifiably attest to the fact that you could refer to us just easily as 'Theater City USA.' Certainly, you'd be hard-pressed to find any city around the globe with more musical talent than you'll find in Nashville, which means, of course, that musical theater here is really good - even when it's bad (and do you really need me to list examples? I think not, but I can if called upon to do so...), it's far better than you'd find anywhere else. Nashville is packed with talented people - it's that simple.

Nashville theatre-goers are a pretty lucky lot, with a great deal to be thankful for actually, what with the wealth of talent you can find in our little burg. We may be known around the world as Music City USA, but those of us in the know can rightfully and justifiably attest to the fact that you could refer to us just easily as 'Theater City USA.' Certainly, you'd be hard-pressed to find any city around the globe with more musical talent than you'll find in Nashville, which means, of course, that musical theater here is really good - even when it's bad (and do you really need me to list examples? I think not, but I can if called upon to do so...), it's far better than you'd find anywhere else. Nashville is packed with talented people - it's that simple.

FIVE features the talents of Erin Parker, Melodie Madden Adams, Megan Murphy Chambers, Cori Laemmel and Laura Matula. Born as the brainchild of Parker, FIVE is the culmination of her desire to showcase local Nashville talent and creativity and grew from her aims at putting on her own one-woman show.

In what could well be the most talked-about theatrical event of the new year, Street Theatre Company presents Chess in Concert February 24-27, featuring some of Nashville's best known stage talents and including a chorus of more than 40 voices. And it seems, in talking to some of the artists most intimately involved in the creative process that will culminate in this weekend's five performances, that it is a process they'd definitely sign-up for again - and it's clear that Nashville audiences will be talking about it for a long time after the curtain rings down Sunday night.

Make no mistake about it: Street Theatre Company's Chess in Concert is filled to overflowing with an embarrassment of riches. If for no other reason, you should see the concert (onstage through Sunday, February 27) for Laura Matula's bravura performance as Florence Vassy - the American chess champion's second who falls into a torrid affair with his Russian counterpart - which is as stunning as any star turn you will see by any woman in musical theater anywhere. (There. I've said it and I mean it with all my heart: Laura Matula has a spectacularly expressive voice and her dramatic performance in this role is richly shaded and nuanced. In short, she should be a very big star!)

In what could well be the most talked-about theatrical event of the new year, Street Theatre Company presents Chess in Concert February 24-27, featuring some of Nashville's best known stage talents and including a chorus of more than 40 voices. And it seems, in talking to some of the artists most intimately involved in the creative process that will culminate in this weekend's five performances, that it is a process they'd definitely sign-up for again - and it's clear that Nashville audiences will be talking about it for a long time after the curtain rings down Sunday night.

In May of 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, there were two spectacular, standing room only, performances of Chess in Concert, with story and lyrics by Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, The Lion King) and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (Mamma Mia!), formerly of ABBA. Chess in Concert received its TV premiere in June 2009 and was subsequently shown in mainstream cinemas throughout the UK. Street Theatre Company is thrilled to announce that they are the first company in the U.S. to secure rights to this spectacular 'in concert' production that Tim Rice says he hopes 'will be the model of future productions.' The musical has a long history with multiple versions from concept album to British and finally American productions.

In what could well be the most talked-about theatrical event of the new year, Street Theatre Company presents Chess in Concert February 24-27, featuring some of Nashville's best known stage talents and including a chorus of more than 40 voices. And it seems, in talking to some of the artists most intimately involved in the creative process that will culminate in this weekend's five performances, that it is a process they'd definitely sign-up for again - and it's clear that Nashville audiences will be talking about it for a long time after the curtain rings down Sunday night.

Funny Girl, the classic 1964 Broadway musical that helped cement Barbra Streisand's place in theatrical history, will be the first show featured in Keeping Scores, a new series of Broadway musicals in concert, to be presented at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre. Concerts in the series will be directed by Scott Logsdon (writer/director of the recent staged reading of An American Country Christmas Carol at the Boiler Room) with music direction by Jamey Green, a co-founder of BRT, and will be produced by Sondra Morton, director of operations for the professional theater located at The Factory in Franklin.

In May of 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, there were two spectacular, standing room only, performances of Chess in Concert, with story and lyrics by Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, The Lion King) and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (Mamma Mia!), formerly of ABBA. Chess in Concert received its TV premiere in June 2009 and was subsequently shown in mainstream cinemas throughout the UK. Street Theatre Company is thrilled to announce that they are the first company in the U.S. to secure rights to this spectacular 'in concert' production that Tim Rice says he hopes 'will be the model of future productions.' The musical has a long history with multiple versions from concept album to British and finally American productions.

Not all of the Top Ten Lists announced at Winter's First Night on Sunday, January 9, were serious, high-toned salutes to all that is special and spectacular about live theater in Nashville. Sure, most of them were heartfelt and memorable, but some were (how shall I put this?) off-kilter, tongue-in-cheek and just plain fun. And not all the lists were limited to only ten entries; in fact, some had many more than that. But, for your reading pleasure, we present them to you without any real explanation. You'll have to figure that all out for yourself!

Bravo threads a brand new twist into an all-new season of 'The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection,' as fashion icon Iman and internationally acclaimed designer Isaac Mizrahi unveil 12 professional designers for a runway battle in a first-ever fashion house duel. Harper's Bazaar's Laura Brown will serve as series judge alongside hosts Iman and Mizrahi. 'The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection' premieres on Bravo on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. For more information, visit www.BravoTV.com. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BravoPR.

With a trio of powerful leading performances from Ben Van Diepen, Ciaran McCarthy and Laura Matula, the Boiler Room Theatre production of Jonathan Larson's Pultizer Prize-winning Rent may well be the finest interpretation of the groundbreaking musical we've ever seen. Certainly, we've never seen a more passionate or more engaging mounting of Rent and the cast assembled by director Corbin Green deserve every accolade possible for the obviously heartfelt rendering they give Larson's work.

Bravo threads a brand new twist into an all-new season of 'The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection,' as fashion icon Iman and internationally acclaimed designer Isaac Mizrahi unveil 12 professional designers for a runway battle in a first-ever fashion house duel. Harper's Bazaar's Laura Brown will serve as series judge alongside hosts Iman and Mizrahi. 'The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection' premieres on Bravo on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. For more information, visit www.BravoTV.com. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BravoPR.

Boiler Room Theatre, in the historic Factory at Franklin, opens its production of Jonathan Larson's Rent on Friday night, October 1, preceded by a gala celebration at South Gate Studios from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

With a cast of 125 performers, a seven-member band, the show's running crew and a smattering of other people holding forth, the backstage scene at last Sunday night's First Night Nashville Theatre Honors was a virtual stage show in itself with all the hustle and bustle amid the hushed tones associated with the backstage area of a huge theatrical production.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's residentprofessional theatre company, continues its 10 th season with Les Miz! A Tale of Two Cities opening August 13, 2010 at the theatre, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tenn. for a run through September 4.