Jeffrey Ellis - Page 90

Today, we're Getting To Know…Tim Ozgener, president and CEO of Oz Arts Nashville, Music City's center for the contemporary arts scene in a town whose cultural life is ever-changing and constantly evolving.

It's another one of those perplexing and invigorating weekends in Nashville theater as some of the season's most anticipated shows open - and theater-goers find themselves sometimes making a "Sophie's Choice" decision in some cases when the options somehow seem overwhelming. And as confounding as that can be for audiences, it once again shows that the theater scene in these parts remains as vital and as artistically challenging as ever…

Tony Award winner Anthony Crivello will join the cast of Studio Tenn and Tennessee Performinig Arts Center's production of Evita this September, playing the role of Juan Peron. Playing opposite Crivello in the eponymous role of Eva Peron is Broadway diva Eden Espinosa.

Perhaps it's a case of perfect timing - or maybe it's simply the fact that a revival of a much-beloved Tony Award-winning best musical is enough to attract a strong ensemble of men to the project - but make no mistake about it, Murfreesboro's Center for the Arts succeeds where so many companies have fallen short in bringing a superbly mounted production of Sherman Edwards' and Peter Stone's 1776 to vibrant life onstage!

Rachel Agee's bravura performance - which, arguably, any actor would love to add to a resume - as a fictionalized Tonya Harding-like personality is enough to guarantee that audiences will continue to talk about the world premiere production of Nate Eppler's latest work, The Ice Treatment, for years to come.

Two Broadway veterans join with a group of seven of Tennessee's most enduring, influential and outstanding theater artists to comprise the Class of 2016 First Night Honorees, who were revealed Monday night during the annual First Night preview party, hosted by First Night founder and executive producer Jeffrey Ellis.

Cumberland County Playhouse starts the summer with a splash as Disney's The Little Mermaid opens on tonight! Based on Hans Christian Andersen's timeless tale, Disney's The Little Mermaid is a family musical that features classic songs: "Part of Your World," "Kiss the Girl," and the Academy Award-winning "Under the Sea."  

2015 First Night Honoree Martha Wilkinson directs - with musical direction by Tim Fudge, and choreography by Curtis Reid and Lauri Gregoire - the first collaboration from Music City Theatre Collective and Metro Parks Theatre Department of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, running at the Centennial Park Bandshell June 17-July 2.

Dickson's Gaslight Dinner Theatre continues its 16th Anniversary Season and 75th show with  JUDY! A Musical Tribute, which opened yesterday. JUDY! A Musical Tribute is a two-act revue that includes performances of famous Garland tunes. Compiled and created by stage veterans Linda Sue Simmons Runyeon and Joe Grizzel, this cabaret revue is a musical collection of songs, video and documentary, taking the audience "down memory lane" about the life of America's sweet heart, Judy Garland.

Nashville's Actors Bridge Ensemble is pleased to announce open call auditions for their 21st professional theatre season. Auditions will be held Sunday, June 26, at the Actors Bridge Studio at Darkhorse Theatre by appointment. Actors are asked to please prepare a contemporary monologue of their choice under 2 minutes in length and to provide both a headshot and resume for consideration. Callbacks for each production will occur by invitation.

Nashville's summer theater season continues its fast clip with tonight's opening of the blockbuster musical Thoroughly Modern Millie at The Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson. Running through June 25, the tap-happy musical features Keeton favorite Stella London in the title role of Millie Delmount, with Austin Jeffrey Smith and Tyler Samuel playing Jimmy and Miss Dorothy, respectively.

Who would have ever thought a musical about urban planning could be as effective and engaging, and as thoroughly compelling (if somewhat confusing and confounding, by turns) as If/Then, the latest work from the Pulitzer Prize-winning (for next to normal) duo of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey?

Savannah Gannon makes a startling - and, no doubt, star-making - debut as country music superstar Patsy Cline in the Matt Smith-directed production of Ted Swindley's play with music Always, Patsy Cline, now onstage at Woodbury's Arts Center of Cannon County through June 18.

Although the calendar tells us we're still in the spring season, things are quickly heating up in Nashville - theatrically speaking - and theater-goers have a plethora of shows coming up from which to choose, including some summer musicals that are sure to set feet a-tapping and a classic drama that's sure to provoke more thought and discussion than perhaps ever before.

Summertime is here, what with Memorial Day and all that it encompasses, and we can think of no better seasonal activity than taking in some local theater. No matter where you are in the Volunteer State, Tennessee theater companies are ready and willing to help transport you to a different world, another time and place where your life can be is transformed magically on a stage very near you!

Nashville's Circle Players unveils the first regional production of The Little Mermaid, the new musical that's sure to be on virtually every stage in Middle Tennessee in the next year. Lipscomb Academy grad Hatty King takes on the role of Ariel, under the direction of Brittany Blaire Andersen, who makes her Circle Players directorial debut with the production.

Savannah Gannon and Mary Ellen Smith star in Arts Center of Cannon County's Always Patsy Cline, the award-winning play by Nashville's own Ted Swindley, opening tonight and running through June 18 in Woodbury. The show's a favorite among Tennessee theater-goers, and now's your chance to get to know director Matt Smith's two-woman cast who bring the show to life…

Opening tonight at Franklin's Pull-Tight Playhouse is the ever-popular The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Brett Myers (who last year starred as Vice Principal Panch in Circle Players' production of the show) and starring Benjamin Pendergrast, who takes on the role of Panch in this production. Find out what makes these two talented men tick - why do they think you should come see their show - and then try to score some tickets as quickly as possible.

The summer theater season in Nashville begins tonight with a revival of Charles Busch's Psycho Beach Party, which turns the formulaic beach movie of the early 1960s on its ear with a skewed and definitely crazy take on the genre. Opening at the Darkhorse Theater - the latest offering from Bradley Moore's Music City Theatre Company - it features a talented cast bringing Busch's classically campy characters to life. Today, you can get to know Gerald Pitts and Elizabeth Turner better, just before calling to make reservations to see the show!

Theaters and production companies throughout Middle Tennessee are looking for directors, crew members and cast members for several upcoming productions, including Peter and the Starcatcher at Dickson's Renaissance Players, directed by Bradley Moore, and Circle Players' Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Jason Lewis.