Jeffrey Ellis - Page 20

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the 1982 stage musical borne of the 1954 film treatment based on a story by Stephen Vincent Benet, doesn't hold up as well in 2019 as many classic musical theater titles a?" what with its sexist storyline, ersatz score that longs to remind us of something by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and its meandering plot a?" but make no mistake about it: The production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, now onstage through this weekend at Smyrna's Springhouse Theatre Company is mighty entertaining, thanks to Paula K. Parker's talented cast who bring the show to life with vigor and commitment.

Who'd have ever thought a seven-foot-tall, dark, handsome and green chap a?' crafted from the bits and pieces of various fellows gone home to meet their maker, as it were a?' could prove to be so likable, charming and, we daresay, sexy? But leave it to Mel Brooks (and Gene Wilder, his co-writer on the 1974 film) to create such a protagonist and to surround him with memorable characters in a story set to music that's a wonderful homage to the very best of classic Broadway and silver screen musicals!

Somewhere among the cards and letters, photographs and souvenirs from my misspent youth is a picture (circa 1978) of me clad in a powder blue tuxedo, with a ruffled-front shirt edged in the same hue, all capped off by an impossibly wide bow tie to match a?" my costume to serve as a groomsman in the wedding of two friends. That image has been prominent in my mind for the past 12 hours after experiencing déjà vu of a particular sort, thanks to a rousing, rollicking and downright rocking production of The Wedding Singer, the latest offering at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, which opened last night and continues through October 19 at the venerable Nashville venue.

Now onstage at Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre, in a production that is respectful of the material and with emotions reverberating through a heart so true that one is likely to be caught up in a very particular moment in theatrical time, A Chorus Line resonates as deeply in 2019 as it did in 1975.

Sharply focused direction and an imaginative design concept by Cat Arnold a?" along with stellar leading performances from Tyler Henry, Craig Hartline and Deborah Seidel a?" combine to make Way Off Broadway Productions' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time one of the year's best stage dramas to be seen in the Nashville area, practically demanding you make reservations now to witness the a?oeeventa?? before its run ends on September 29. Not seeing it would indeed be a missed opportunity to see the company's most outstanding production to date.

Brilliant social commentary or sophomoric lowbrow humor? Just what is it that makes Urinetown the Musical such a hit with audiences and theater companies a?' is it the biting satire delivered in Greg Kotis' book and lyrics and in Mark Hollmann's music and lyrics, or is it (in the case of Nashville Repertory Theatre's 35th season opening production) director Jason Tucker's fast-paced and quick-witted vision that's nothing short of mesmerizingly entertaining? We'll leave that up to you to decide a?' well, actually, we won't since that's why I am paid the big bucks to tell you what to think a?' but rest assured that no matter the reason, odds are you're going to love Nashville Rep's iteration of Urinetown and you'll want to score tickets before the show evaporates into the creative ether encircling Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Johnson Theatre.

Profoundly moving and endlessly poignant a?' yet somehow laugh out loud funny at times it is most unexpected a?' Dear Evan Hansen, the Tony Award-winning musical that sharply reflects society's fascination with popularity and a?oefitting ina?? with a decidedly contemporary flavor, has settled into Andrew Jackson Hall at Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center for an eight-performance run that heralds the start of the 2019-20 Broadway at TPAC series. And judging from the audience's response on opening night (along with the extended standing ovation that greeted the show's eight-member cast at the end of their performance), it's a particularly auspicious start to what promises to be a particularly impressive season.

One need venture no further than Street Theatre Company's Be More Chill a?" directed by Sawyer Wallace, it's one of the year's best musicals a?" for just such a theatrical adventure. Starring Seth Bennett, Briar Moroschak and Garett Scott, three up-and-coming performers for whom their futures seem unlimited, Be More Chill only recently closed out a Broadway run before its Nashville premiere, which continues through this weekend.

Director Daniel DeVault has assembled a stellar cast for the latest production onstage at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre a?" Steven Dietz's Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure a?" who bring the tale to life with enthusiasm and vigor that's leavened by enough humor to keep even the most discerning of theater-goers actively engaged in what transpires upon the magical floating stage at the venerable Nashville venue.

Sort of like an extra-special episode of The Golden Girls - ACCC's Mamma Mia!, not to be confused with Studio Tenn's Mamma Mia! which runs through September 8 in Franklin - is given a new lease on life, as it were, thanks to Deason's casting choices: Imagine if Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia were given a holiday special, filled with special guest stars, a bigger budget and an orchestra, choreography and an ensemble of younger actors eager to learn from their mentors and you'll have a fairly good notion of how Deason's Mamma Mia! is interpreted for the sell-out audiences filling the Woodbury theater to overflowing in order to revel in the ABBA-inspired spectacle.

Directed with his signature creative flair, boundless imagination and penchant for fun by Benji Kern, Studio Tenn's interim artistic director, Mamma Mia! features a stellar cast of performers bringing the show to life with the expected verve and energy that the ABBA score virtually demands. Led by Erica Aubrey as Donna and Emily Urbanski as her daughter Sophie, Studio Tenn's production is vibrant, colorful and energetic, tapping into the universal appeal of the music thanks to music director/conductor Stephen Kummer and his seven member band who perform the score with consummate professionalism and more than a little Disco-era panache.

Summer of 2019 has proven to be an exciting time for theater artists, technicians and patrons in Nashville, with changes at the top of several companies' leadership teams, including Tennessee Performing Arts Center. With Kathleen O'Brien's retirement as CEO in May, TPAC has welcomed Jennifer Turner to Nashville to take the reins of the burgeoning performing arts enterprise just blocks from the Tennessee state capitol.

The Secret Garden - the Tony Award-winning musical by Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman, based upon the timeless children's novel by Knoxville's own Frances Hodgson Burnett - premieres at the Center for the Arts on Friday, August 23, continuing through Sunday, September 8, in a sumptuous production directed by longtime theater journalist Jeffrey Ellis.

Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical a?" with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and book by Dennis Kelly a?" plays the historic Franklin Theatre through August 11, with a rollicking production helmed by Sondra Morton, featuring musical direction by Jamey Green and choreography by Everett Tarlton, who score yet another massive hit for the Franklin-based AT Pro (the professional theater arm of Act Too Players, the training program for younger actors that has proven time and again to be an important part of the Middle Tennessee theater community), featuring an all-star cast led by Thomas DeMarcus in the role of the manipulative former British hammer-throwing champion who has turned her attention to running a school for children, variously referred to as a?oenaughtya?? and a?oerevoltinga?? by their headmistress.

Powerhouse vocals from its two leading players (Anthony Lazzaro and Cassie Donegan), along with focused direction, spirited choreography, effusive music coming from the pit and an eye-popping visual design aesthetic combine to make Cumberland County Playhouse's most recent iteration of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat another in a long line of onstage hits sure to attract audiences eager to escape the sultry heat of a Tennessee summer.

Cori Anne Laemmel continues to do amazing things at The Theater Bug a?' whether it's creating new and compelling art, engaging in revealing collaborations with other creative individuals, or, more importantly, providing a safe space for a new generation of young theater artists eager to transform their own lives through self-expression a?' and there is absolutely no reason to believe that she's anywhere near a stopping point. And, because of her sincere endeavors to give back in much the same way her own life has been enriched by theater, Nashville directors may rest assured that the bench of skilled and capable actors willing (yearning!) to take to the stage for years to come is indeed very deep.

Life, as we know it, happens all around us in an amazing cavalcade of events that at once might seem inconsequential yet their importance becomes evident with time and experience. That's the message of Kodachrome, Adam Szymkowicz's lovely and elegiac play now onstage at the Actors Bridge Studio through July 28, in a warmly sentimental and sweet, yet unmistakably moving and impactful, production under the direction of Rachel Agee, who makes her professional directorial debut in the process.

Once upon a time, there was a country that only existed for one brief day and there was a man named Adam, who was determined to return to his long-lost homeland who held the key to its ephemeral history. Adam's tale a?" filled with adventure and intrigue, with larger than life-sized characters and one epic quest after another a?" provides the basis for Keith Bunin's imaginative fantasy that deftly blends comedy and drama in The World Over, now onstage through July 27 in a fanciful production (the company's ninth) from Pipeline-Collective.

If there is a more perfect pooch to portray Annie's Sandy than Rufus Stewart, then his humans should produce said canine for an upcoming production of the beloved Broadway musical post-haste. Until such time as that occurs, we are simply going to claim Rufus as the quintessential canine co-star for any number of red-headed moppets singing about "Tomorrow" while palling around with FDR, Frances Perkins, Harold Ickes and others of their political ilk.

Nashville theater has always been progressive. There have always been people and companies focused on the cutting edge, delivering productions that challenge and compel their audiences to think and to consider where they are now and where they will go in the future, and there is no question that such forward-thinking creative types will continue to wield influence in the theater community for as long as theater is to be created here, there and everywhere.