NASHVILLE THEATER REVIEWS

It makes no difference the region in which you were raised or now live, nor does the church in which you grew up or now worship and, seemingly, it doesn't matter what your ethnic heritage is: There is a commonality, a universality that binds us all together as a society. And while all of that is a g...

Luckily (for me and for you, the rest of the audience who may or may not have seen the show in any of its multiple onstage incarnations), director Patrick Kramer, choreographer Kate Adams-Johnson and musical director Randy Craft have fashioned a rendition of Hairspray-that indomitable musical about ...

The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown's imaginative reminiscence/dissection of a crumbling, contemporary marriage, debuted at Street Theater Company last night (Friday, May 4), in a compelling production helmed by director Lauren Shouse and musical director Rollie Mains. Starring two relative newc...

Martha Wilkinson is a force of nature-onstage, offstage, no matter where she goes, the woman is a force of nature and, throughout her career, she's taken on some of musical theater's most coveted roles proving along the way that she can do virtually anything. Now, in Tennessee Repertory Theatre's st...

Inspired by the original work choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky and performed to the glorious music composed by Igor Stravinsky for the original Ballets Russes production, Nashville Ballet's rendition of Rite of Spring further underscores the company's artistic range and the depth of artistic directo...

Thanks to the efforts of a cast of high school students under the direction of their artistic mentor Paula Y. Flautt (who's the fine arts director at CPA), I have to admit that Carousel is my favorite musical. It's always been my favorite among all the musical masterpieces created by the team of Ric...

Since its publication in 1937, John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men has inspired artists-there have been multiple film treatments, a Carlisle Floyd opera, ballets and stage productions based upon the tragic tale of migrant workers George Milton and Lennie Small-and it is now given a superb produ...

Granted, most of my research can be credited to two plays by J. Dietz Osborne and Nate Eppler (known professionally as the eponymously named Osborne and Eppler, in the spirit of Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kaufman and Hart and George and Ira…Gershwin…which sorta ruins the sound of...

It's rather ironic that this week-a week in which members of the Tennessee State Senate considered a bill that would outlaw such "gateway sexual activities" as hand-holding and kissing among the state's schoolchildren-that Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre would unveil its rock-solid production of...

Director Elizabeth Hayes' staging of the play-which is based upon a work that proved to be Bixby's final story-is confident and creative, her expert handling of her ensemble heartfelt and thoughtful. In fact, it's Hayes' complete understanding of the play which elevates it far beyond what appears on...

Now onstage at The Larry Keeton Theatre, in a winning production directed by Ginger Newman and choreographed by Kate Adams-Johnson, Smokey Joe's Cafe offers audiences one of the best nights of theater they'll ever have the pleasure of attending. Seriously! In fact, my love of the musical revue-which...

Circle Players, one of the first resident companies at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, makes a triumphant return to that cultural edifice in downtown Nashville to mount its latest revival of Titanic the Musical just in time to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking in the frig...

Completely charming and thoroughly engaging, Click Clack Moo-Cows That Type is given a colorful and upbeat production at Nashville Children's Theatre, under the direction of Scot Copeland who leads his terrific five-person ensemble through the musical that draws on 1960s-style pop and 1940s-flavored...

Too Old For the Chorus (But Not Too Old To Be A Star), directed by a young whippersnapper named Martha Wilkinson (she's artistic director at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, which celebrates its 45th birthday this year, and she has a boatload of First Night Awards and enough glowing reviews to fill th...

Howe's rather fanciful memory play wears its heart on its crisp linen sleeve, offering audiences a glimpse into the life of Mabel Tidings Bigelow (played with such spirit by Allen that it's easy to fall just a little bit in love with both the actress and the beautifully written character she plays),...

With several Tennessee theaters prepping new productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic The Sound of Music over the upcoming months, one would be well-advised to make the trip to Crossville to see director Weslie Webster's (and music director Ron Murphy's) take on the Von Trapp family musical....

Camelot's score-with music by Frederick Loewe and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner-is performed by director Cyndie Verbeten's large ensemble and music director Fran Gebuhr's orchestra with respect for the literature of the piece and with an obvious affection for the characters and their stories, b...

Outrageously funny, wonderfully engaging and, at times, even heartfelt and sentimental, Avenue Q serves up a full buffet for the discerning theater-goer lucky enough to find himself in the audience of Street Theatre Company's production of the multiple Tony Award-winning musical, directed with flash...

Who knew that Mary Poppins, that brightly colored stage spectacle of a musical comedy confection, would be the theatrical offering that most eloquently addresses the questionable shenanigans of unscrupulous bankers, financiers and other assorted nefarious London financial district/Wall Street types ...

Despite their best efforts, director Lauren Shouse and her amazingly talented cast just can't give Tracy Lett's Superior Donuts the emotional heft-the literary gravitas-that the playwright so mightily struggles for in his sitcomesque script which pales in comparison to his supposed masterpiece, Augu...

This spring's sparkling, stellar production of Hairspray-the musical tale of one Tracy Turnblad, a "stout" girl who loves to dance and loves people no matter their shape, size, color or way of life-is as entertaining a production of the hit musical as you could ever hope to see. Led by a crazy talen...

Directed with care and attention to detail by Johnny Peppers, who is quickly becoming the go-to guy for Simon shows in Nashville (just prior to the opening of Circle's Brighton Beach Memoirs, his production of Barefoot in the Park for Franklin's Pull-Tight Players closed), the play features young Wi...

You won't find any dancing candelabra or see any anthropomorphic bombe chests bursting out in song in Nashville Children's Theatre's beautifully crafted adaptation of The Beauty and The Beast-written by producing artistic director Scot Copeland under the title Le Belle et la Bete-but what you will f...

Granted, Babes in Hollywood isn't for all theater audiences-although, frankly, it should be…what's with you people?-and you'll certainly love it more if you're at least somewhat informed about the Garland/Rooney film oeuvre or the legendarily close relationship the two young stars forged as childr...

I'm happy to report that director Clarke and her capable actors have delivered a well-paced, thoughtful iteration of Fawcett's work, one that is certain to promote conversation and introspection, and which TWTP audiences have taken to their collective heart. In fact, The Disappearance of Janey Jones...