Upcoming Auditions in Nashville (3/1/16): M*A*S*H, PICASSO and More
by Jeffrey Ellis - March 01, 2016
Directors and producers throughout Middle Tennessee are seeking actors for upcoming productions of God of Carnage (at Nashville's 4th Story Theatre) and Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapine Agile (directed by Jonah Jackson for Towne Centre Theatre) and Metro Parks and the Music City Theatre Collective team up for a series of special classes, including an audition workshop, for this spring. We've gathered the details together here to make your planning easier. So now you have no excuse: go follow your dream!
by Jeffrey Ellis - March 01, 2016
Directors and producers throughout Middle Tennessee are seeking actors for upcoming productions of God of Carnage (at Nashville's 4th Story Theatre) and Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapine Agile (directed by Jonah Jackson for Towne Centre Theatre) and Metro Parks and the Music City Theatre Collective team up for a series of special classes, including an audition workshop, for this spring. We've gathered the details together here to make your planning easier. So now you have no excuse: go follow your dream!
Scot Copeland Always Had a Story to Tell
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 29, 2016
In September, 2010, Scot Copeland - who joined Nashville Children's Theatre as producing artistic director in 1985 - did an interview ahead of his induction among the very first Class of First Night Honorees and we are happy to share some 'Scot stories,' straight from the horse's mouth as it were, as part of our continued remembrance of the vital role he has filled in our theater community for more than 30 years and in honor of his abiding friendship and astounding imaginative leadership of our creative community.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 29, 2016
In September, 2010, Scot Copeland - who joined Nashville Children's Theatre as producing artistic director in 1985 - did an interview ahead of his induction among the very first Class of First Night Honorees and we are happy to share some 'Scot stories,' straight from the horse's mouth as it were, as part of our continued remembrance of the vital role he has filled in our theater community for more than 30 years and in honor of his abiding friendship and astounding imaginative leadership of our creative community.
ACT 1's One Act Wednesdays Return to Darkhorse
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 29, 2016
Among offerings this month are Christopher Durang's The Actor's Nightmare, a short comic play directed by Kristin Parsons. It involves an accountant named George Spelvin, who is mistaken for an actor's understudy and forced to perform in a play for which he doesn't know any of the lines. Patrick Kramer stars as George, with Bethany Champion as Meg, Tammy Sutherland as Sarah, Jenni Cadaret as Ellen and Douglas Goodman as Henry.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 29, 2016
Among offerings this month are Christopher Durang's The Actor's Nightmare, a short comic play directed by Kristin Parsons. It involves an accountant named George Spelvin, who is mistaken for an actor's understudy and forced to perform in a play for which he doesn't know any of the lines. Patrick Kramer stars as George, with Bethany Champion as Meg, Tammy Sutherland as Sarah, Jenni Cadaret as Ellen and Douglas Goodman as Henry.
Nashville's Theater Calendar 2/29/16
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 29, 2016
Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 29, 2016
Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.
BWW Review: FUNNY VALENTINES at Chaffin's Barn
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 28, 2016
Ah, the 1970s - what a decade, am I right? - the perfect time period for theatrical farce, what with its polyester double-knit slacks, soft and silky Nik-Nik shirts, some swell television sitcoms and the rise of entertainment conglomerates to gobble up the so-called 'little guys' in order to allow commercialism to run amok and for the notion of selling out one's soul for personal gratification and financial gain to become part of the American way of life. Let's face it: Isn't all that what has led to and created the current climate of political division and personal derision?
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 28, 2016
Ah, the 1970s - what a decade, am I right? - the perfect time period for theatrical farce, what with its polyester double-knit slacks, soft and silky Nik-Nik shirts, some swell television sitcoms and the rise of entertainment conglomerates to gobble up the so-called 'little guys' in order to allow commercialism to run amok and for the notion of selling out one's soul for personal gratification and financial gain to become part of the American way of life. Let's face it: Isn't all that what has led to and created the current climate of political division and personal derision?
BWW Review: CFTA's Remarkable DREAMGIRLS
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 27, 2016
Directed with confidence by a young director - Matthew Hayes Hunter, who was a 2013 First Night Most Promising Actor - and performed by an eager and energetic cast (led by a quartet of extraordinary actresses portraying the four Dreams and another First Night MPA [who very nearly steals the entire production right out from under everyone else onstage] in the role of James 'Thunder' Early - CFTA's Dreamgirls delights its audience from the beginning, engaging them with focused performances that come from the heart to inspire and entertain.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 27, 2016
Directed with confidence by a young director - Matthew Hayes Hunter, who was a 2013 First Night Most Promising Actor - and performed by an eager and energetic cast (led by a quartet of extraordinary actresses portraying the four Dreams and another First Night MPA [who very nearly steals the entire production right out from under everyone else onstage] in the role of James 'Thunder' Early - CFTA's Dreamgirls delights its audience from the beginning, engaging them with focused performances that come from the heart to inspire and entertain.
BWW Review: SUNSET BOULEVARD at The Larry Keeton Theatre
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 26, 2016
There is an iconic scene in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of Sunset Boulevard - based on the memorable film by Billy Wilder - in which Norma Desmond returns triumphantly (in Norma's myopic view of life since the talkies spelled an end to silent pictures, in which she made her fortune with her expressive face) to Paramount studios for an impromptu meeting with Cecil B. DeMille on the set of Samson and Delilah. Impressively played by Ginger Newman in the Nashville debut of Sunset Boulevard at The Larry Keeton Theatre, Norma is beautifully clad in haute couture, generating star power and unaware that she has slipped into obscurity for the most part, her legions of fans decimated by time and the general vagaries of life.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 26, 2016
There is an iconic scene in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of Sunset Boulevard - based on the memorable film by Billy Wilder - in which Norma Desmond returns triumphantly (in Norma's myopic view of life since the talkies spelled an end to silent pictures, in which she made her fortune with her expressive face) to Paramount studios for an impromptu meeting with Cecil B. DeMille on the set of Samson and Delilah. Impressively played by Ginger Newman in the Nashville debut of Sunset Boulevard at The Larry Keeton Theatre, Norma is beautifully clad in haute couture, generating star power and unaware that she has slipped into obscurity for the most part, her legions of fans decimated by time and the general vagaries of life.
Nashville Children's Theatre's SCOT COPELAND Dies
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 25, 2016
Scot Copeland, longtime producing artistic director of Nashville Children's Theatre and one of the world's leading proponents of theater for younger audiences, died during the overnight hours of February 25 from an apparent heart attack. He is survived by his wife, Rene Dunshee Copeland, producing artistic director of Nashville Repertory Theatre, his two sons, many family members and countless 'chosen family' and friends all over the world.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 25, 2016
Scot Copeland, longtime producing artistic director of Nashville Children's Theatre and one of the world's leading proponents of theater for younger audiences, died during the overnight hours of February 25 from an apparent heart attack. He is survived by his wife, Rene Dunshee Copeland, producing artistic director of Nashville Repertory Theatre, his two sons, many family members and countless 'chosen family' and friends all over the world.
Critic's Choice: The Shows You Just Can't Miss
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 25, 2016
There's so much great theater going on in the Nashville area right now, that you may be having a difficult time choosing among the bounteous offerings local companies are providing you. We're delighted to herald the return of BWW Nashville's Critics Choice with today's feature, offering up a compendium of what's available, what we recommend you see, and - in the cases of show's we've seen already - snippets of our reviews to help you make up your mind!
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 25, 2016
There's so much great theater going on in the Nashville area right now, that you may be having a difficult time choosing among the bounteous offerings local companies are providing you. We're delighted to herald the return of BWW Nashville's Critics Choice with today's feature, offering up a compendium of what's available, what we recommend you see, and - in the cases of show's we've seen already - snippets of our reviews to help you make up your mind!
The Friday 5 (On A Wednesday?): RANDAL COOPER
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 24, 2016
Taking on a stage role that was indelibly created onscreen by Erich Von Stroheim has got to be a daunting experience, but Nashville actor Randal Cooper takes on the theatrical challenge in The Larry Keeton Theatre's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, onstage in Donelson through March 5.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 24, 2016
Taking on a stage role that was indelibly created onscreen by Erich Von Stroheim has got to be a daunting experience, but Nashville actor Randal Cooper takes on the theatrical challenge in The Larry Keeton Theatre's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, onstage in Donelson through March 5.
Magnus' THE STRANGE Set for Nashville Premiere
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 24, 2016
Kristin McCalley Landis and Tamara Todres will star in the Nashville premiere of Jenny Magnus' The Strange, produced by The Chicago Talking Machine Company at the Centennial Black Box Theater, 211 27th Avenue North, March 21-26.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 24, 2016
Kristin McCalley Landis and Tamara Todres will star in the Nashville premiere of Jenny Magnus' The Strange, produced by The Chicago Talking Machine Company at the Centennial Black Box Theater, 211 27th Avenue North, March 21-26.
HOW TO END POVERTY IN 90 MINUTES? VU Theatre May Have an Answer
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 24, 2016
In an effort to focus attention on the overwhelming need to eradicate poverty in this lifetime, Vanderbilt University Theatre will present How to End Poverty in 90 Minutes this weekend, running tonight, February 24, through Sunday, February 28, in Neely Auditorium on the VU campus in Nashville.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 24, 2016
In an effort to focus attention on the overwhelming need to eradicate poverty in this lifetime, Vanderbilt University Theatre will present How to End Poverty in 90 Minutes this weekend, running tonight, February 24, through Sunday, February 28, in Neely Auditorium on the VU campus in Nashville.
Wilkinson Leads Copeland-directed CHICAGO for Nashville Rep
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 24, 2016
2015 First Night Honoree Martha Wilkinson - the winner of nine First Night Awards for outstanding lead actress in a musical - leads the Nashville Repertory Theatre cast of the Oscar- and Tony Award-winning Chicago, running March 19-April 16 at the Andrew Johnson Theater at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 24, 2016
2015 First Night Honoree Martha Wilkinson - the winner of nine First Night Awards for outstanding lead actress in a musical - leads the Nashville Repertory Theatre cast of the Oscar- and Tony Award-winning Chicago, running March 19-April 16 at the Andrew Johnson Theater at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
Nashville Rep to Present Murderous Musical CHICAGO This Spring
by BWW News Desk - February 23, 2016
Nashville Repertory Theatre is proud to produce the award-winning, Broadway hit CHICAGO, the murderous musical depicting the balance between power, notoriety, and getting your way. CHICAGO will run March 19 - April 16, 2016 in Johnson Theater at Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Preview performances are March 17 and 18.
by BWW News Desk - February 23, 2016
Nashville Repertory Theatre is proud to produce the award-winning, Broadway hit CHICAGO, the murderous musical depicting the balance between power, notoriety, and getting your way. CHICAGO will run March 19 - April 16, 2016 in Johnson Theater at Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Preview performances are March 17 and 18.
Christmas Village Sets Record with $585K Donation to Nashville Organizations in 2015
by BWW News Desk - February 23, 2016
Setting a record in 2015, Christmas Village donated $117,000 and $58,500 respectively, for a total donation of $585,000.
by BWW News Desk - February 23, 2016
Setting a record in 2015, Christmas Village donated $117,000 and $58,500 respectively, for a total donation of $585,000.
Street Theatre Company to Stage Tony-Winning Musical IN THE HEIGHTS
by BWW News Desk - February 23, 2016
Street Theatre Company, now entering its 11th season, blazes beautifully into 2016 by staging IN THE HEIGHTS, the smash musical that took Broadway by storm.
by BWW News Desk - February 23, 2016
Street Theatre Company, now entering its 11th season, blazes beautifully into 2016 by staging IN THE HEIGHTS, the smash musical that took Broadway by storm.
Upcoming Auditions in Nashville: 42nd STREET, GOD OF CARNAGE and More
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 23, 2016
Directors and producers throughout Middle Tennessee are seeking actors for upcoming productions of 42nd Street (at Murfreesboro's Center for the Arts) and God of Carnage (Nashville's 4th Story Theatre) - and Metro Parks and the Music City Theatre Collective team up for a series of special classes, including an audition worshop, for this spring. We've gathered the details together here to make your planning easier. So now you have no excuse: go follow your dream!
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 23, 2016
Directors and producers throughout Middle Tennessee are seeking actors for upcoming productions of 42nd Street (at Murfreesboro's Center for the Arts) and God of Carnage (Nashville's 4th Story Theatre) - and Metro Parks and the Music City Theatre Collective team up for a series of special classes, including an audition worshop, for this spring. We've gathered the details together here to make your planning easier. So now you have no excuse: go follow your dream!
Moore Directs and Adapts LYSISTRATA for ACT 1
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 23, 2016
Bradley Moore directs his own adaptation of Aristophanes' Lysistrata, as ACT 1 readies its fourth show of the 2015/2016 season, featuring a cast of respected Nashville actors.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 23, 2016
Bradley Moore directs his own adaptation of Aristophanes' Lysistrata, as ACT 1 readies its fourth show of the 2015/2016 season, featuring a cast of respected Nashville actors.
Nashville Theater Calendar 2/22/16
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 22, 2016
Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 22, 2016
Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.
BWW Review: Gunderson's EMILIE Comes to Life in TWTP Production
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 21, 2016
Evelyn O'Neal Brush's bravura performance is reason enough to see Tennessee Women's Theater Project's production of Emilie: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight, but clearly it's Lauren Gunderson's play itself that should sell tickets. Emilie (as we will refer to the play from here on out - at least to the conclusion of this review) is an engaging treatise on the life and times of the mathematician, physicist, writer and critic, whose supreme intellect and prodigious literary output during the Age of the Enlightenment made her both notorious and admired at a time when women were thought of primarily as chattel.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 21, 2016
Evelyn O'Neal Brush's bravura performance is reason enough to see Tennessee Women's Theater Project's production of Emilie: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight, but clearly it's Lauren Gunderson's play itself that should sell tickets. Emilie (as we will refer to the play from here on out - at least to the conclusion of this review) is an engaging treatise on the life and times of the mathematician, physicist, writer and critic, whose supreme intellect and prodigious literary output during the Age of the Enlightenment made her both notorious and admired at a time when women were thought of primarily as chattel.
BWW Review: Blackbird and Lipscomb's Riveting THE CRUCIBLE
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 20, 2016
Beki Baker's extraordinary direction, which provides a stunningly fresh perspective of Arthur Miller's stage masterpiece - along with remarkable performances from a cast of both professional and student actors - ensures that audiences will long be considering the impact of The Crucible, now onstage at Shamblin Theater through February 28, after the final curtain is rung down on this joint production of Blackbird Theater and Lipscomb University Department of Theatre.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 20, 2016
Beki Baker's extraordinary direction, which provides a stunningly fresh perspective of Arthur Miller's stage masterpiece - along with remarkable performances from a cast of both professional and student actors - ensures that audiences will long be considering the impact of The Crucible, now onstage at Shamblin Theater through February 28, after the final curtain is rung down on this joint production of Blackbird Theater and Lipscomb University Department of Theatre.
TOSHA PENDERGRAST, A Dancer's Life
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 19, 2016
Here's a question you may have asked yourself about Tosha Pendergrast: When does she sleep? Mundane, perhaps - but it's a question that comes to mind when you realize that she's always working, whether she's teaching students at Lauri Gregoire's Bellevue Dance Center, choreographing her latest show (Dreamgirls opened just last week at Murfreesboro's Center for the Arts, Street Theatre Company's production of In The Heights opens in a couple of weeks), performing onstage (she was among the cavalcade of stars in the Music City Theatre Collective's debut production Showstoppers), doing television appearances (The Dance Network is calling) or just living life with her handsome and charming husband Benjamin Pendergrast (together they are the perfect couple, each devoted to the other)…
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 19, 2016
Here's a question you may have asked yourself about Tosha Pendergrast: When does she sleep? Mundane, perhaps - but it's a question that comes to mind when you realize that she's always working, whether she's teaching students at Lauri Gregoire's Bellevue Dance Center, choreographing her latest show (Dreamgirls opened just last week at Murfreesboro's Center for the Arts, Street Theatre Company's production of In The Heights opens in a couple of weeks), performing onstage (she was among the cavalcade of stars in the Music City Theatre Collective's debut production Showstoppers), doing television appearances (The Dance Network is calling) or just living life with her handsome and charming husband Benjamin Pendergrast (together they are the perfect couple, each devoted to the other)…
TWTP Launches 2016 With Lauren Gunderson's EMILIE... Tonight
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 19, 2016
Evelyn O'Neal Brush stars in the title role of Lauren Gunderson's Emilie: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight, as Tennessee Women's Theater Project continues its ninth season of provocative professional theater with the Tennessee premiere of Gunderson's play. The production opens at Nashville's Z. Alexander Looby Theater tonight, February 19, running weekends through March 6.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 19, 2016
Evelyn O'Neal Brush stars in the title role of Lauren Gunderson's Emilie: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight, as Tennessee Women's Theater Project continues its ninth season of provocative professional theater with the Tennessee premiere of Gunderson's play. The production opens at Nashville's Z. Alexander Looby Theater tonight, February 19, running weekends through March 6.
Nottage's LAS MENINAS Opens Tonight at Troutt Theatre
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 19, 2016
Jaclynn Jutting directs Belmont University's Department of Theatre and Dance's spring semester-opening production of Lynn Nottage's Las Meninas, a play they contend will 'grab the attention of any audience member, of any background,' opening tonight, February 19, at Belmont's Troutt Theatre.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 19, 2016
Jaclynn Jutting directs Belmont University's Department of Theatre and Dance's spring semester-opening production of Lynn Nottage's Las Meninas, a play they contend will 'grab the attention of any audience member, of any background,' opening tonight, February 19, at Belmont's Troutt Theatre.
Where Are They Now? MEGHAN GLOGOWER
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 18, 2016
It's been an exciting week for actress Meghan Glogower, a graduate of the musical theatre program at Nashville's Belmont University: On Monday night, she joined with her friends and cohorts from the original cast The Nutty Professor - the musical written by Marvin Hamlisch and Rupert Holmes, which premiered in Nashville in 2012 - for its New York City premiere in concert at Birdland. The musical's NYC debut, which has been a long time coming, reconvened the cast and Holmes to pay tribute to Hamlisch's final score for the theater while rekindling dreams and aspirations.
by Jeffrey Ellis - February 18, 2016
It's been an exciting week for actress Meghan Glogower, a graduate of the musical theatre program at Nashville's Belmont University: On Monday night, she joined with her friends and cohorts from the original cast The Nutty Professor - the musical written by Marvin Hamlisch and Rupert Holmes, which premiered in Nashville in 2012 - for its New York City premiere in concert at Birdland. The musical's NYC debut, which has been a long time coming, reconvened the cast and Holmes to pay tribute to Hamlisch's final score for the theater while rekindling dreams and aspirations.
Videos
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Back to the Future: The Musical
Tennessee Performing Arts Center (3/17 - 3/22) | |
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Nashville's Nutcracker
Tennessee Performing Arts Center (11/29 - 12/28) | |
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Some Like It Hot
Tennessee Performing Arts Center (4/21 - 4/26) | |
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SIX (Boleyn Tour)
Tennessee Performing Arts Center (2/3 - 2/8) | |
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King Hedley II
Chattanooga Theatre Centre (1/23 - 2/8) | |
|
& Juliet
Historic Tennessee Theatre (8/4 - 8/9) | |
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The Way Way West in Concert
The Center for Contemplative Justice (1/30 - 1/30) | |
| VIEW SHOWS ADD A SHOW | ||
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