The latest reviews and critic recommendations from Nashville.
Engrossing and compelling, John Logan's Red-which features a pair of tour-de-force performances from Ronnie Meek and Justin Boccitto under the focused and sure-handed direction of Mike Fernandez-is an altogether impressive third season opener for Nashville's Blackbird Theatre, the company that has f
Thanks to the sparkling, imaginative Studio Tenn revival of Smokey Joe's Cafe-the Tony Award-nominated musical revue that collects some 39 (although a couple were cut, so we'll place the number at 37 for this production) of those terrific Leiber and Stoller songs into one smooth, entertaining packag
That notion is borne home stunningly by Katori Hall's acclaimed play The Mountaintop, now presented in its Nashville premiere-just 12 months after its critically lauded Broadway premiere with Samauel L.
Starring Amanda Morgan, Lital Abrahamson and Broadway veteran Bailey Hanks in the roles originated by Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Parton herself in the 1980 film, 9 to 5: The Musical provides the perfect vehicle for a musical score composed by Dolly herself, who may well be the most successful woman
Legally Blonde, the Musical is as tuneful and entertaining as any musical could ever hope to be, and while the story seems lighthearted and fun, there's a definite message to be found in Heather Hach's book and the music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Neil Benjamin.
Compellingly dramatic and musically inspiring, Caroline, Or Change-the musical now onstage at Street Theatre Company through the end of the month-might very well be the most startling and thoroughly extraordinary production from the company in its rather brief existence in Nashville.
Growing up as a baby boomer in the South, you carry with you at least a modicum of guilt-regardless of whatever your upbringing actually may have been-about racism and the impact of one's skin color on the society in which you are raised.
Back in the day-1907, actually-when John Millington Synge's The Playboy of the Western World premiered at Dublin's Abbey Theater, it apparently caused riots, its tale of an apparent patricide engendering great public outrage and overt hostilities.
There is absolutely no doubt about it: The playwriting trio of Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten very clearly know the people about whom they write so prolifically.
Fun-filled and light-hearted, Much Ado About Nothing-the latest Shakespeare-in-the-Park offering from Nashville Shakespeare Festival-offers its audiences a tuneful, sprightly way to celebrate late summer amid all the trappings of theatrical magic, brought to life by a confident, self-assured cast ut
Director Lisa Gillespie is responsible for my most recent serving of Steel Magnolias (onstage at Boiler Room Theatre in Franklin through September 8), which like all richly decadent Southern delicacies, sates something within me that yearns for a memory-laden repast-serving up Harling's artful blend
Kirk-Burgess Productions makes an auspicious debut on the Nashville theatrical scene with a solid production of Prince Gomolvilas' play Mysterious Skin, based on the Scott Heim novel of the same name, that weaves together the interconnected stories of two young men, each struggling to overcome his h
There comes a moment in Xanadu-the deliciously campy musical theater confection that is based on the unintentionally campy 1980s movie of the same name-when the Greek muse Calliope suggests that "it's just like children's theater for 40-year-old gay people" (or words to that effect) which perfectly
Featuring a triumvirate of capable, confident and consummately talented actors-LaToya Gardner, Kevin Mead and Lisa Graham-in the show's leading roles, it is a beautifully sung, interestingly staged and tremendously affecting musical that succeeds even despite the limitations of director Ralph Gabrie
Despite the best efforts of some of Nashville's finest and most promising young actresses, who do their best with such a disappointing script, they can't bring the show to life.
Fairly exploding onto the stage, The Nutty Professor-the new musical based on the classic 1963 film comedy-opened at Nashville's James K.
McGovern creatively opens and closes the musical with an image that evokes all the glitter and glamor of old Hollywood: the presentation of the Academy Awards in 1941, the year that Ginger Rogers beat out such adversaries as Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Joan Fontaine and Martha Scott for the best
Pacer Harp and Bryan J.
In fact, director Kate Adams and musical director Ginger Newman have crafted Nashville's own lovely and, I daresay, star-studded version of the musical which simply proves once again that Into the Woods is one of the most enchanting, most entertaining and most moving examples of contemporary musical
What with contemporary musical theater's artistic bent toward the nostalgic in recent years, it should come as no surprise that Happy Days, the ABC sitcom that painted an affectionate portrait of life in Milwaukee in the late 1950s/early 1960s, was adapted by the show's creator Garry Marshall and co
In fact, Wilkinson's new and fresh version of The Odd Couple comes down to one thing: Casting.
But The Music Man? Come on, the classic Meredith Willson musical chestnut is as corny and all-American as you can possibly get (let's face it, Willson is the master of that particular genre of musical theater occupied by The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown-plus he wrote the Oscar-nominated
Ohmigod…ohmigod, you guys…Elle Woods-the sharp-as-a-tack, pink-clad heroine of movies and musical theater-is brought to life in Woodbury in an exuberant, if technically flawed, production of Legally Blonde, The Musical, onstage at The Arts Center of Cannon County through July 21.
Led by the maniacally perfect Billy Ditty as the appropriately named "Leading Player," the 14-member ensemble deliver a thoroughly focused performance, never straying from the job at hand to endanger the success of the production.
Kristin Chenoweth was in Nashville last night, performing her critically acclaimed concert act just for me-oh, sure, there were another 2,000 or so people in the audience, as well, who thought she was singing just for them-but she and I both know the truth.
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Moon Over Buffalo Tellico Community Playhouse (9/03-9/20) |
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Inherit the Wind South Jackson Performing Arts Center (9/17-9/20) |
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Monty Python's Spamalot Orpheum Theatre (10/27-11/01) |
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The American Revolution (in 40 Minutes or Less!) Chattanooga Theatre Centre (9/01-9/30) |
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Sister Act Hendersonville Performing Arts Company (5/27-6/13) |
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Les Miserables Playhouse on the Square (5/28-6/27) |
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The 49th Annual Art Auction Playhouse on the Square (4/24-4/24) |
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The Best Gift: A Christmas Carol Musical Ramsey Theatre Company (12/05-12/06) |
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Five Finger Death Punch, Cody Jinks & Eva Under Fire FirstBank Amphitheater (10/08-10/08) |
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Ain't Too Proud Playhouse on the Square (3/26-4/18) |
