3PS Productions debuts MIXED NUTS Backstage at the Barn

"A hilarious collision of comedy happens when a Midwest man moves to the Big Apple in search of his dreams" in 3PS Productions' Mixed Nuts, directed by Johnny Peppers, and playing May 6-29 at Chaffin's Backstage at the Barn Dinner Theatre in Nashville.

"I love Mixed Nuts because it is fresh to the Nashville stage and just one of the funniest plays I've read in a long-time," Peppers says.

"Our incredible cast includes off-Broadway actress Megan Murphy Chambers; Jennifer Richmond, an international performer just returning from the London School of Musical Theatre; and local favorite Layne Sasser, who is currently filming a television pilot. Take this tremendous talent, give them a clever coming of age/love story/follow your dreams tale and you are really in for a night of great fun - kind of like peeling back the layers of a onion, but with tears of laughter not pain!"

Flynt Foster, a Franklin-based actor seen recently in the world premiere of Southern Fried Funeral, stars as Michael Caldwell, a shy, aspiring writer from the Midwest who comes to New York in search of fame and fortune. His life becomes a series of hilarious encounters with the unpredictable residents of his dilapidated apartment house including a commercial actor who specializes in portraying inanimate objects, a Russian ballerina on the lam from the KGB, and a wisecracking actress. To maintain his own sanity, Michael retreats to his fantasies, only to find that the world of his imagination is even more nerve-racking than the reality surrounding him.

"I love this venue because when you watch the show you take the journey with the characters," Peppers explains. "Set in the 1980s, there are tons of funny pop culture references from a Star Wars dream sequence to humorous Marx Brother exploits. The quirky characters are the vehicle for Caldwell's growth and it is just good fun."

Rounding out the cast are Dietz Osborne, Eric Ventress and Laura Thomas Sonn.

Mixed Nuts runs May 6-29, with curtain at 8 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. With bar and dessert service a la carte, tickets are $20 per person (which includes coffee, tea or soda). For more information and reservations, call the box office at (615) 646-9977 or visit the company website at www.3psproductions.com.