CRITICS' CHOICE: Theater To Keep The Frost Off the Pumpkin

There's the definite feeling of autumn in the air that makes you want to gut a pumpkin or at least have a pumpkin spice latte, chances are you are definitely going to need a sweater in the early morning hours, and it's past the perfect time for you to pick out a Halloween costume. Luckily, theater companies are well into their new seasons and there's plenty of shows to entertain you while you take time off from berating yourself for wearing that same tricked-out Star Wars costume you wore the past two-and-one-half years.

Meanwhile, we are in the planning stages for Midwinter's First Night (Sunday, January 10), which will include the presentation of the BWW Nashville Awards (you have until Halloween to make some really scary award nominations before voting starts in early November) and the eagerly anticipated announcement of First Night's Top 10 of 2016 (bribes are encouraged and appreciated).

Speaking of which: Have you seen the story making its rounds on The Book of Face, in which someone writes about the dishonest/overly enthusiastic reviews of community theater and how the fate of mankind depends on theater journalists learning how to deftly eviscerate the Dairy Queen counter girl who's starring as Tracy Turnblad (for her ill-fitting fat suit), or how to give some credible and critical advice to your dentist's hygienist, whose Hedda Gabler left them gasping for air and reaching for a bottle of Jack Daniels to make them forget that!

Here's my take, gentle readers: Everyone wants to hear the truth until it's about the show they're in, by and large. I've always prided myself on being honest and forthright - you might check out my reviews of Deathtrap and Myth, for elucidation on that matter - and I have sustained many a body blow or intended character assassination, as a result. You are forewarned: Be careful what you wish for! May I also point out that I studied reviewing and criticism in my efforts to earn a journalism degree and I was a fellow of the National Critics Institute back in the day.

So there...but in the meantime, here are some ideas on how to keep yourself entertained and your brain stimulated while you seek out the latest pumpkin-flavored items at your local retail outlet...

Along with ghost stories and other sinister tales comes the opening of playwright David Alford's SPIRIT: The Authentic Bell Witch Experience, the final event of this year's Bell Witch Fall Festival in his hometown of Adams, Tennessee. The show opened last night and if you believe in the Bell Witch, you're not alone: for almost 200 years, the elusive Spirit has had a hold on the minds and memories of Middle Tennesseans. If you're a skeptic who feels that "seeing is believing," you're in luck.

Community Spirit, Inc. and the City of Adams host the 13th season presentation of Alford's play, directed for the second year by critically acclaimed Nashville director/actor Derek Whittaker. This year's production of SPIRIT opened Thursday, October 22, continuing through Halloween night, October 31, at the Bell School Community Complex's Brooksher Outdoor Pavilion, just off Highway 41N in Adams. Curtain is at 7 p.m. each evening. SPIRIT is produced by Anna Filippo.

Based upon Richard Williams Bell's memoir Our Family Trouble, SPIRIT explores the infamous haunting of the Bell Family which is said to have occurred in Robertson County in the early 19th century.

"I have been fascinated by this story since I was a child," says Alford, an Adams native well-known for his portrayal of Rayna James' manager, Bucky Dawes, on ABC's hit show, Nashville. "I learned 'the witch' was actually scarier than my childhood image: an invisible entity whose motives were unknown, and whose actions caused injury and death."

Whittaker, who acted in the 2013 production, says he is thankful for another opportunity as director to shed new light on this beloved local legend: "The legend of the Bell Witch is one of our nation's greatest ghost stories. We have such a wonderful and unique opportunity to explore her legacy on the actual ground where these events are said to have taken place. Even if you remember this story from childhood or you've seen the show in years past, I promise you've never seen it like this! It is such a tremendous celebration of the season, of community, of live theatre and the art of storytelling, as well as the history and the mystery of this time-honored tale."

Among the cast members of the 2015 production: Lauren Braddock Harvey, Jamila Hunter, Meghan Judd, Jenny Norris Light, Julia Nolan, Joy Tilley Perryman, Elena Spradlin, Elizabeth Walsh, Jarvis Bynum, Benjamin Jones, Jackson Nolan, Danny Nolan, Alex Maynard, Paul O'Connor, Scotty Phillips, Jake Rullman, Brett Runge, Evan Taylor Williams and Francis A. Wolff.

The 4th Annual Bell Witch Fall Festival is sponsored by F&M Bank, the Tennessee Arts Commission and The Memorial Foundation. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 students, and Thursdays are $8 student night. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit: www.bellwitchfallfestival.com.

Nashville Ballet is delivering an evening of all things sensual and forbidden with the return of 1999's bloodsucking Dracula October 22-24, at TPAC's James K. Polk Theater. Last presented in 2007, this classic tale explores the conflict between carnal desire and rational thought.

Inspired by Bram Stoker's gothic novel, the ballet explores the root of Dracula's tortured, albeit sexy, life. Nashville Ballet artistic director and CEO Paul Vasterling's adaptation digs deeper into the character's complexity, which begs the ultimate question: Is Dracula a man or a monster?

Vasterling says Vlad (aka Dracula) is just an angst-filled vampire looking for love in all the wrong places: "Dracula is a tortured soul who is longing to find eternal love. The paradox is that he cannot resist biting his love interests, which ultimately makes them corrupt just like him. This ballet explores the relentless battle between the good and evil within all us, which Dracula perfectly personifies."

In our review, which is out today, of the fall contemporary series' dress rehearsal on Wednesday night: "With Halloween on the horizon and an autumnal chill in the air, the time seems perfect for Nashville Ballet's revival of Paul Vasterling's Dracula - his darkly sensual, broodingly sexy interpretation of the Bram Stoker anti-hero's legend and undead 'life.' Last presented by Nashville Ballet in 2007, after its 1999 debut, Dracula remains as potent as ever, richly conceived and beautifully danced, offering audiences a spine-tingling seasonal adventure.

"Opening last night and running through Saturday, Dracula is joined on the bill for this series by two pieces by Salvatore Aiello: Afternoon of a Faun, Aiello's reinterpretation of Vaslav Nijinsky's 1912 ballet set to the music of Claude Debussy, and Satto, his devastatingly sensual two-partner piece (danced with extraordinary beauty and heart-stopping power by Jon Upleger and Keenan McLaren Hartman at Wednesday and Friday performances, and by Brett Sjoblom and Mollie Sansone on Thursday and Saturday nights) that translates the encounter between the god of wind and leaf into a gloriously artistic dance. TPAC's James K. Polk plays host to Nashville Ballet for the second of this season's presentations.

"Vasterling's Dracula is performed to the stirring music of Bohuslav Martinu - performed by cellist Matt Walker and pianist Melissa Rose - which is augmented by the notable sound design that gives an even more chilling feeling to the ballet. As to be expected, Vasterling's choreography showcases Nashville Ballet's dancers to the fullest of their abilities, ensuring an immersive experience throughout. Tall, dark and handsome Judson Veach dances the role of Dracula tonight (as he did at the performance we reviewed), with tall, dark and handsome (perhaps they're trending as we type) Jon Upleger performing opening night and Saturday."

This weekend marks the debut of Nashville Ballet's Fall Contemporary Series: "We added a fall contemporary series to allow audiences to see our company dancers in a completely different light," Vasterling said. "We now have a place in our season to perform some of our less traditional, more contemporary repertory earlier and more often than in the past."

Tickets start at $28 and can be purchased in person at the TPAC box office, by phone at (615) 782-4040 or at www.nashvilleballet.com. Call a babysitter and leave the kids at home for this one; they can come to Nashville's Nutcracker in December.

Verge Theater Company opened Allison Moore's Slasher last Friday night, running through Halloween night at Main House, 709B Main Street in Nashville - the entrance is in the alley, but you don't need a special password...ten bucks will do the trick (or $15 on Halloween) - go to www.vergetheaterco.org for details.

In Slasher, Sheena works at a crappy restaurant while going to school and supporting her family. When she's offered the part of "last girl" in a slasher film she jumps at the chance. Her pain addled, pill-popping, scooter driving, feminist mother isn't going to let the movie Blood Bath turn her daughter into a victim, figurative or literal, and will protect her no matter the cost. Throw in an overzealous church group, a desperate director, a bag of Sonic tots, and hold on because it's gonna get bloody. This dark comedy is an immersive theater event (wear comfortable shoes) with a donation bar available to those over 21.

Nettie Kraft does double duty in the Verge Theater Company version of Slasher: she not only directs, but is also in the cast! Among the other local favorites onstage with her are Ashley Glore, Tamara Todres, Kristin McCalley Landiss, Aaron Roston, Michael Joiner, LaTrisha Talley, Fiona Soul, Grace Mason, Christy White and Audrey Johnson.

The eye-popping artwork for the production (this is Verge Theater Company's second show, following up the Nashville debut of the stylishly clever The Nina Variations) was created by Dean Tomasek, which gives some indication of just how promising the show is!

Continuing at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre is Alone Together, directed by Lydia Bushfield. Starring Charlie Winton and Bonita Allen, the show opened last week. You can call (615) 646-9977 for reservations - and be quick about it! - we'll be there tonight to review the production, so say hey if you're in the audience.

In addition to the aforementioned Winton and Allen, the cast includes Brett Cantrell, Austin Olive, Andy Griggs and Corinne Bupp. Cantrell, Bupp and Winton were last onstage at the Barn in Arsenic and Old Lace.

The Robertson County Players' final production of the 2015 season - Ron Osborne's First Baptist of Ivy Gap, directed by Connie Smith - plays at the Springfield High School Theater, 5240 Highway 76 East, with curtain at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday (through October 24).

Here's a synopsis of the play, supplied to us by the director herself: "During WWII, six women gather at the church to roll bandages and plan the church's 75th anniversary. Overseeing things is Edith, the pastor's wise-cracking wife who dispenses Red Cross smocks and witty repartee to Luby, whose son is fighting in the Pacific; Mae Ellen, the church's rebellious organist who wants to quit but hasn't the courage; Olene, who dreams of a career in Hollywood; Sammy, a shy newcomer with a secret; and Vera, an influential Baptist with a secret of her own. When Luby learns her son has been wounded, she confounds the others by blaming the vulnerable Sammy.

"Twenty-five years later, the "First Baptist Six" reunite. Back to reconcile with Luby - whose son died of his wounds - is Sammy, whose own son is now in Vietnam; and Olene, whose flashy show business career will set the town on its ear. There to welcome them are Vera, her secret still safe; Mae Ellen, still rebellious and still looking for an escape; and Edith, whose biggest challenge isn't the church's upcoming centennial but revelations that shake relationships formed over a quarter of a century. With humor and pathos, these six very different women find comfort, forgiveness and redemption in each other."

Tickets to First Baptist of Ivy Gap are available at www.ticketsnashville.com: $15 each for adults, $10 each for students K-12.

Continuing through Sunday at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center is the national touring company of Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella (featuring Broadway's own Blair Ross, who has a whole bunch of friends in Music City, dating back to her time spent in Nashville some years ago - and a big passel of family here, due to, well, birth, genetics and stuff...), the 2013 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical from the creators of South Pacific and The Sound of Music, which plays through October 25.

With its fresh new take on the beloved tale of a young woman who is transformed from a chambermaid into a princess, the hilarious and romantic Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella combines the story's classic elements - glass slipper, pumpkin, and a beautiful ball along with some surprising twists. More than just a pretty face with the right shoe size, this Cinderella is a contemporary figure living in a fairytale setting. She is a spirited young woman with savvy and soul who doesn't let her rags or her gown trip her up in her quest for kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. She longs to escape the drudgery of her work at home and instead work to make the world a better place. She not only fights for her own dreams but forces the prince to open his eyes to the world around him and realize his dreams, too.

Here's a sampling of our rave review, written after opening night: "Sumptuously designed, beautifully staged and wonderfully sung, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella isn't the same show you may recall from childhood hours spent in front of a television or from scores of regional theater productions since, but with a new and refreshingly timely book by Douglas Carter Beane, along with the interpolation of four "new" songs from the R+H canon, the elaborate new production that's fresh off its first-ever Broadway run seems the ideal interpretation for the 21st century.

"Oh! Before we forget, here is some advice to be heeded: the selection of one's footwear can play a startling role in the trajectory of one's future endeavors. Definitely, those are words to live by...and we happily share them with you.

"With memories of the televised version that first debuted in 1957 with Julie Andrews and later updated with Lesley Ann Warren in 1965 fueling ticket sales to baby boomers - and with enough girl power and princely possibilities to attract younger audiences - the eye-poppingly gorgeous Cinderella now onstage at TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall through Sunday remains an entertaining and ultimately inspiring tale of the realization of long-held dreams and the pursuit of a love match that defies class lines and social structures.

"Directed with finesse by Mark Brokaw, the national touring company of Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella brings Beane's new script for Cinderella to vibrant life on the Jackson Hall stage, delighting audience members of all ages (proof enough for me were the awe-inspired gasps of the two young women seated to my left and the rapturous attention paid to the onstage action by four-year-old Annelise, seated to my right for her first theatrical experience) with its time-honored score, set to Beane's upbeat and revised book which, arguably, somehow makes the story more palatable and more political (who knew that could be possible?), infusing it with some genuinely, perhaps outrageously, funny moments."

Cinderella has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, a new book by Douglas Carter Beane, and original book by Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is directed by Mark Brokaw, and choreographed by Josh Rhodes. Music adaptation, supervision, and arrangements are by David Chase, and orchestrations are by Danny Troob. One of Rodgers + Hammerstein's most popular titles, Cinderella was written for television, which debuted in 1957 and starred Julie Andrews. In 2013, the show made its long-overdue Broadway debut. Beane's book for Cinderella blends masterfully with the musical's cherished score with songs including "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible/It's Possible," "Ten Minutes Ago," and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"

Tickets are available at www.TPAC.org or by phone at (615) 782-4040, and at the TPAC Box Office, 505 Deaderick Street, in downtown Nashville. For group tickets, call (615) 782-4060.

Nashville Repertory Theatre's critically acclaimed (we haven't seen it, but our critical colleagues are peeing all over themselves about it, so we trust their judgment) production of the Tony Award-winning comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, continues this week, running through October 31, in the Andrew Johnson Theater at Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

This Tony Award-winner is a tragicomedy of Shakespearean proportions: Known for their minor roles in Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are at the center of the story this time, finding themselves continually befuddled by their circumstances, never sure of what they're supposed to be doing. Here, in the scenes behind the Hamlet story, the duo hilariously questions their every action, feeling like maybe they are being manipulated (they are) but worrying that to resist may be interfering with fate. Whether you're a Hamlet lover or not, this is a comedy that will tickle your funny bone while making you wonder if any of us are actually the star of our own story.

René Copeland, Nashville Rep's producing artistic directoer, says, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is a brilliant classic of tragicomedy that is absurd and funny most of all. It's a great and accessible way to dabble in the Elizabethan era, which is fun for our designers, and satiates my desire to present a classic when we can."

Nashville Rep's cast for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead includes Matt Garner (Guildenstern), Patrick Kramer (Tragedian), Steven Kraski (Tragedian), John Mauldin (Polonius), Jeremy Maxwell (Tragedian), Tony Morton (Claudius), Shelean Newman (Gertrude), Matthew Rosenbaum (Hamlet), Patrick Waller (Rosencrantz), Jacob York (Player) and acting interns Isaiah Frank (Alfred), Andrew Johnson(Tragedian) and Delaney Keith (Ophelia).

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is written by Tom Stoppard and is directed by René D. Copeland. Nashville Rep's Producing Artistic Director is René D. Copeland. Designers are Gary Hoff (Scenic/Properties Designer), Trish Clark (Costume Designer), Darren Levin (Lighting Designer) and Kyle Odum (Sounds Designer). Technical Director is Tyler Axt. For details, go www.NashvilleRep.org, then go see the show!

The always-delightful Tonya Pewitt is joined by Keeton Theatre newcomer Scott Chevalier to lead the cast of The Music Man - directed and choreographed by Stephanie Jones-Benton with music direction by 2014 First Night Honoree Ginger Newman - through its closing weekend at The Larry Keeton Theatre, 108 Donelson Pike.

Featuring a cast of almost 30 song-and-dance types, Meredith Willson's The Music Man is Americana at its best and although the production is not perfect, there's still so much to love about the show (not the least of which is the roast beef, mashed potatoes and fudge pie they're serving up prior to the 7 p.m. curtain every night - or at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoons) and Jones-Benton and Newman have made certain to deliver a production that will have your toes tapping...

From our review: "Sweetly sentimental in its quaint way - a lovely slice of Americana writ large upon the musical theater stage - The Music Man is clever and heartwarming, its rather simple story of life in River City, Iowa, still engaging and certain to set your feet to tapping as you hear Willson's score ("(Ya Got) Trouble," "Good Night, My Someone," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Marian the Librarian," "Will I Ever Tell You" and "Till There Was You" are musical theater standards) performed with confidence by the 28-member cast...

"Chief among the show's attributes is the exceedingly lovely and tremendously talented Tonya Pewitt, who may have been destined to play librarian Marian Paroo. Pewitt's voice has always been a favorite among Nashville's musical theater leading ladies, but hearing her glorious soprano singing Marian's songs will leave you presuming the score was written expressly for her. Her beautiful voice is exquisitely supported by her onstage presence, making Pewitt's Marian a memorable reiteration of the beloved character."

Meanwhile, Towne Centre Theatre in Brentwood closes out its run of The Addams Family - directed by Jim Himelrick, with musical direction by John Ray and choreography by Lindsay Carter - this Saturday night. April Presley, 2015 First Night Star Award winner, produces.

The Addams Family features an original story and it's every father's nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family - a man her parents have never met. And if that weren't upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he's never done before - keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for that whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday's "normal" boyfriend and his parents. Mark Buchanan and Leslie Berra star as Gomez and Morticia in a cast that includes Greg Wagner as Uncle Fester, Katie Callaway as Wednesday, Courtney Taylor as Grandma, Will Lasley as Pugsley, John Ray and Benton Quarles (10/15-16) as Lurch, Seth Thomas as Mal Beineke, Amanda Grace Creech as Alice Beineke and Cameron Bortz as Lucas Beineke, Portraying the ancestors are Drew Baggett, Bella D'Aprile, Lorelei McDaniel, Lexi Nimmo, Hannah Oakley, Reilly O'Connell, Perry Poston, Neely Scott, Linda Slayton and Kelly Whitlow.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.townecentretheatre.tix.com or by calling (615) 221-1174. Show times are 8 p.m. for evening performances. Doors open 30 minutes prior to curtain. Tickets are $16 for students, $18 for seniors 60 and over, and $20 for adults. Towne Centre Theatre is located at 136 Frierson Street in Brentwood.

Through the magic of theater, naturally, Murfreesboro's Center for the Arts also hosts The Addams Family, A New Musical - the Broadway musical by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (Jersey Boys) and Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party) - through November 1.

The weird, wacky and well-known Addams Family, who first appeared in cartoons by artist Charles Addams in The New Yorker magazine (where they made their debut in 1938), are brought to life in the musical via an original story that juxtaposes the other-worldly Addams family against a typical, perhaps "normal" family whose son becomes involved romantically with Wednesday Addams.

The Addams Family is directed by Renee Robinson, and includes several well-known Murfreesboro actors including David Cummings (who starred in one of the first plays we ever reviewed at MTSU when we were both undergrads there) as Gomez Addams, Alexius Frost as Morticia, and Shelby Jones as Wednesday Addams. The family is rounded out by Slate Bowers as Pugsley, Miranda Johnson as Grandmama, John Frost, Jr. as Uncle Fester and Matthew Wells as Lurch. Payton McCarthy is featured as Lucas - Wednesday's boyfriend, with Stephen Belk and Kat Manning as his parents. The cast is filled with numerous singers and dancers playing ancestors of the infamous family, who will have you wanting to join them by the end of the opening number.

Tickets have been selling like hotcakes, we are informed by Kate Adams - First Night producer/choreographer and 2011 First Night Star Award winner - who works at CFTA and is in the know about such things.

The Addams Family runs through November 1, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. A special matinee performance has been added on Saturday, October 31 - aka Halloween - during which patrons are encouraged to come to in costume. After the show trick or treating and costume contests will take place in the Gallery. Tickets for the performances are $15.00 for adults and $13.00 for seniors, students and military and $11.00 for children age 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased on the Center's website at www.boroarts.org, by calling (615) 904-2787 or by stopping by the Center during business hours. Group ticket rates are available. The Center for the Arts is located at 110 West College Street in Murfreesboro.