Jeffrey Ellis - Page 50

Sumptuously designed and opulently mounted, the visual aesthetic for the Lincoln Center revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I (a year-and-a-half into its national tour and now ensconced at Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center for an eight-performance run through Sunday, February 4) is breathtakingly gorgeous, representative of the golden age of the Broadway musical. Add to those physical attributes the sublime performances of an ideally cast ensemble of multi-talented actors - including Laura Michelle Kelly as Anna Leonowens, Jose Llana as the King of Siam and Joan Amedilla as Lady Thiang - under the focused and imaginative direction of Bartlett Sher, whose revivals of some of the best-known masterpieces to be found in the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon have cemented his placement in the firmament occupied by the legends of musical theater, and you have a classic show rendered in such a way that audiences respond and react as if they are seeing the much-beloved and time-honored work for the very first time.

More than two dozen young actors in Tennessee were named to the Class of 2018 Most Promising Actors during festivities at Midwinter's First Night, the event produced to recognize outstanding productions and personalities of the previous year's theatrical season.

Ernie Nolan, executive artistic director of Nashville Children's Theatre, and Norma Luther, who took over ownership of Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre and spearheaded its renaissance in 2017, last night claimed top honors as "Theaterati of the Year" at Midwinter's First Night at Music Valley Event Center.

Wonderfully complex - and somehow unexpected and altogether authentic - performances from Sam Ashdown as Hamlet and Cheryl White as his mother Gertrude are enough reason to experience Nashville Shakespeare Festival's production of Hamlet (now onstage at Belmont University's Troutt Theatre through Sunday, followed by January 31-February 3 performances at Middle Tennessee State University's Tucker Theatre). But add to their stellar turns, an ensemble comprised of some of the best actors ever to set foot on a local stage, under the self-assured direction of the esteemed Denice Hicks (the company's artistic director), and it practically becomes a requirement for any theater lover within the sound of my voice.

Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, producer and actress Lari White Cannon who made her Broadway debut in the Johnny Cash musical review Ring of Fire died early this morning in Nashville after a battle with peritoneal cancer. She was 52 years old.

Design categories, road shows, theatrical events and the 12 people whose achievements in 2017 are particularly noteworthy were revealed tonight as part two of First Night's Top Ten of 2018 - critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual review of the best in Tennessee theater was presented during a live Facebook broadcast with two of the hosts of Midwinter's First Night (Ashley Wolfe and J. Robert Lindsay) announcing the work recognized among the best of 2017.

Based on the 1988 film by John Waters, Hairspray tells the tuneful story of Tracy Turnblad, who has never been part of the 'in' crowd until winning a coveted spot on the local TV dance program, The Corny Collins Show, where she becomes a teen idol and an overnight sensation in Baltimore. Tracy quickly becomes a trendsetter and uses her popularity to help change the show's segregation policy.

Cumberland County Playhouse launches its 54th season in Crossville with a slate of productions that range from exciting new Broadway shows, noteworthy premieres and revivals of audience favorites.

With Nashville Shakespeare Festival's annual Winter Shakespeare production set to open Thursday night Denice Hicks' staging of Hamlet, starring Sam Ashdown actress Cheryl White, who plays Gertrude, found time between rehearsals to talk about the production.

First Night's Top Ten for 2018 - critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual review of the best in Tennessee theater were revealed last night during a live Facebook broadcast, with the hosts of Midwinter's First Night (Ashley Wolfe, J. Robert Lindsay, Tosha Pendergrast and Ben Pendergrast) announcing the productions and performances recognized among the best of 2017.

First Night's Top Ten of 2018 - critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual review of the best in Tennessee theater will be revealed tonight during a live Facebook broadcast at 8 p.m. (CST), with the hosts of Midwinter's First Night (Ashley Wolfe, J. Robert Lindsay, Tosha Pendergrast and Ben Pendergrast) announcing the productions and performances recognized among the best of 2017.

Watershed Public Theatre announces the return of A Victorian Christmas Carol with Charles Dickens to Columbia State Community College's Ledbetter Auditorium for a limited run December 14-17. Their adaptation, a storyteller version of A Christmas Carol as narrated by Charles Dickens, offers a fresh look and musical twist to the classic holiday play.

Nashville Children's Theatre (NCT), the nation's oldest professional theatre for young audiences announces the return of its holiday event Cinderella, in what will be the third and final year NCT has produced this wintertime Cinderella. The production runs December 14-21 at Nashville Children's Theatre.

Nashville Ballet celebrates 10 years of Nashville's Nutcracker through December 23, at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall with all-new magical elements to mark the occasion. Since its world premiere in 2008, Nashville Ballet artistic director and CEO Paul Vasterling's original take on the holiday season classic has cemented its place as one of Music City's most beloved traditions and the 2017 staging had its opening night on Saturday, December 2.

With a new year quickly approaching, staff members at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre are already hard at work on the first production of 2018 and recently announced plans to give the old girl an update following a momentous first year of Norma Luther's ownership of the venerable theater. On opening night of the holiday season musical A Wonderful Life, Luther announced that the company currently In its 51st year of bringing professional theater to Nashville will temporarily close its doors to undergo significant renovations to ensure its history continues for at least another half-century.

Nashville audiences love their traditions whether they be of a theatrical bent or of a more personal nature so it should be noted that the holiday season in Music City is now upon us with the arrival of one of the most beloved theater traditions: Nashville Repertory Theatre's annual staging of A Christmas Story (the tale of young Ralphie, his long-suffering mother, his old man and his younger brother Randy), which offers up a timeless tale of Christmas in the heartland that is overflowing with nostalgia and a whole lot of heart.

George Bailey's story is a universal one, so much so that some 70 years after the film treatment of It's A Wonderful Life debuted, the tale of an upstanding citizen faced with failure and ruin, has become one of the most beloved holiday-season tales of all time. But the initial reaction of movie-goers to the film, although not nearly so dire as some cinema historians would have you believe, is considered one of the best-reviewed movies of all time.

Nashville Shakespeare Festival invites lovers of theater and The Bard to herald the arrival of 2018 and to celebrate the company's 30th Anniversary Season with a sneak peek of the upcoming production of Hamlet during their fifth annual Winter Shakespeare Open House at Belmont University's Troutt Theatre on Sunday, December 31, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Suzy and Missy known collectively as The Marvelous Wonderettes join forces once more some 10 years after their first appearance as a singing girl group at 1958's Springfield High School Prom to help usher in the Christmas season at Harper's Hardware Shop in the spirited and sparkling holiday season musical revue Winter Wonderettes, playing The Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson November 30-December 17.

Though definitely hard to believe, fall semester 2017 is quickly drawing to a close even if it seems it just got under way moments ago and college students like Belmont University's talented theater major Astrid Rotenberry, it's time to remain focused and to keep their eyes on the proverbial prize.