Cara Richardson - Page 4

This week Nashville is gifted the chance to see War Horse at Tennessee Performing Arts Center. It isn't often that a person can say that a horse is the main character of a play, but that's just what War Horse gives you. Set in World War 1 era England, War Horse explores the relationship between a horse and his boy. When the horse, Joey, is sold to the war effort, his owner Albert can't bare to be apart from him and runs away, lies about his age, and joins the military.

Hitting the stage at Tennessee Performing Arts Center this week is the epic World War 1 play War Horse. In preparation for this award winning show, we've been lucky enough to have Maria Elena Ramirez, who plays Rose Narracott in War Horse, answer some questions for us.

Summer is already in full swing in the South. Back yard cookouts and swimming pools, summer camps and vacations are happening everywhere you look. I often find theatre slightly more difficult to find during the summer, so I've done a little research to help you find a good show when you need one. Cause after all, sometimes a nice air conditioned theatre is just the place to be on a humid summer day in Tennessee.

Currently on stage in the Sarratt Cinema at Vanderbilt University is the Circle Players' production of Bare: A Pop Opera. With a book, music, and lyrics by Jon Hartmere Jr and Damon Intrabartolo, Bare: A Pop Opera touches on so many things that young people are facing in today's world. The Circle Players' production, under the direction of Heather Alexander and with musical direction by Eddie Charlton, is the kind of show that I had so many mixed feelings about at first. The initial setting of the story is that which anyone who doesn't come from wealth can be annoyed by. Set in a Catholic boarding school, every child seems to have a life that most of us have never experienced. What starts to pull you in immediately is the thing that seemingly can't be avoided....the connections between these young people and our own lives. Each has something they are dealing with that seems so much bigger than with what they should have to deal.

When you enter Andrew Jackson Hall at Tennessee Performing Arts Center this week, you'll be greeted with a backdrop with these words: "On December 4, 1956, one man brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley together to play for the first and only time. His name was Sam Phillip…The place was Sun Records… That night they made rock 'n' roll history." This sets the mood for the night right away. You can't help but know you're about to see something special. Million Dollar Quartet has come to Nashville. Fluctuating somewhere between a memoir, and musical, and a rock concert, Million Dollart Quartet is set in another of Tennessee's famed cities, Memphis.

Million Dollar Quartet, the musical about an iconic day in the history of music, opens at Tennessee Performing Arts Center this week. In a city so full of music, Million Dollar Quartet is set to fit right in. James Barry plays music legend Carl Perkins in the show and has been kind enough to take some time out of his schedule to answer a few questions for our readers.

Currently running at Street Theatre Company, Violet is a beautiful love story of self-discovery and self-acceptance. With music by Jeanne Tesori and lyrics and book by Brian Crawley, Violet takes us on a journey across the country on a greyhound bus during the mid-sixites.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre begins their Ingram New Works Festival on May 7th. In preparation for the big event, Tennessee Repertory let their playwrights interview each other on their blog. We are sharing those interviews with our readers here at BroadwayWorld.com with the permission of Tennesse Repertory Theatre. Second in the series: Andrew Kramer interviews fellow playwright Jeremey Sony!

Tennessee Repertory Theatre begins their Ingram New Works Festival on May 7th. In preparation for the big event, Tennessee Repertory let their playwrights interview each other on their blog. We are sharing those interviews with our readers here at BroadwayWorld.com wiht the permission of Tennessee Repertory Theatre. First up, playwright Jeremy Sony interviews Nate Eppler.

Expect the Unexpected. This was the tag line for Tennessee Performing Arts Center's announcement of their 2014-2015 HCA/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC series this year. With strong connections to the theatre world and to the music industry, Nashville is the prime place to have a season full of fresh and edgy productions that are still on their first national tour, and TPAC is making that happen with their 2014-2015 season.

While some may think this could be a boring musical for children, trust me when I say that it is far from that. While this is a show that children will enjoy, Wicked delves much deeper into human nature than most "children's" shows. Wicked gives a hard look at how the choices we make define our lives, and how difficult it can be to be different and to stand for what you believe in.

Company is the kind of show that married people will love (they'll see themselves at every turn) and single people will understand (who hasn't watched their married friends with curiosity and wonder?). If you're a lover of the musical, but desire a more contemporary storyline, Company is for you.

This ninety minute rock musical, written by the great Alex Timbers, with music & lyrics by Michael Friedman, is one of a kind. It's history at its best…and worst. I hesitate to call it satire, but in a way it is. It's a harsh, satirical look at the youth and presidency of Tennessee's own Andrew Jackson. It looks at the things that are rarely mentioned in textbooks. In fact, Street Theatre Company just a few miles from Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage. Perhaps that makes the show even more intriguing to local audiences.

Chester Gregory is currently in Nashville with the national tour of Sister Act: The Musical. He plays Sweaty Eddie, one of the lead characters in the show. Chester originated the role of Sweaty Eddie on Broadway, and has joined the touring cast to revisit the role. Despite his busy schedule, Chester took some time from his day to answer a few questions for us here at Broadway World, and to share a little about himself and about Sister Act: The Musical.

On Tuesday night, Sister Act: The Musical opened at Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville. Based on the 1992 movie of the same name, the musical has music by Alan Menkin and lyrics by Glen Slater. If you are a fan of the movie, you'll see many of your favorite moments, along with a few new things to keep you interested. If you don't know the movie, you'll meet a lively cast of characters and get a story full of laughs.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre is currently running a production of Red by John Logan. This play was originally done as part of their REPaloud series a few years ago, and a full production finally made it to Tennessee Rep. With direction by Rene D. Copeland, as well as some amazing scenic and lighting design by Gary Hoff and Michael Barnett, respectively, Red is the kind of show that brings visual and performing arts together while transporting the audience to a very specific time in history.

Cookeville Performing Arts Center is currently showing Love, Loss and What I Wore as part of their Backstage Series. An intimate showing of an intimate show, the pairing goes well together. Love, Loss, and What I Wore, by Nora and Delia Ephron and based on the book by Ilene Beckerman, explores the emotional attachment that women make with clothing in their lives.

This is the type of show that you take your girlfriends to, or your mother and sister or your daughter. The Dixie Swim Club explores the wonderful friendships that can happen between women if they just put forth the trust and effort, and lay aside the unimportant differences and embrace each other as family, instead of someone disposable.

Man and Superman, a rarely performed play by George Bernard Shaw, is currently being produced by The Blackbird Theater in Nashville. In its entirety, Man and Superman is said to be around five hours in length, but The Blackbird Theater has adapted the play, with direction by Beki Baker, and it now sits at a nice and much more manageable two hours and forty-five minutes.

Grey Gardens tells the story of the reclusive aunt and cousin of Jaqueline Kennedy. In the 70s, Edith Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter, "Little" Edie Beale, were found to be living in their once grand home on Long Island. The home, known as Grey Gardens, was falling down around them, full of filth and overrun with cats.