Hatty Ryan King

Ragtime opened last night, featuring a cast of Nashville stage veterans and a sizable coterie of performers, heretofore unknown to local audiences, who are certain to become fast favorites. Taking a brief respite from their hectic schedules of rehearsals, fittings, photo calls, more rehearsals and getting to know one another, four of those newcomers – Shelby Denise Smith, Wood Van Meter, Kortney Ballenger and Steven McCoy – took the time to answer our questions to tell you why you need to score those tickets for Ragtime now if you haven’t already.

Ragtime, the Tony Award-winning musical about life in these United States during the very early years of the 20th century, is a richly drawn and evocatively told rumination on the pursuit of the American dream seen from the perspective of a diverse, multi-ethnic cast of characters. Now onstage through Sunday at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s James K. Polk Theatre, in a glittering and sumptuous revival from Nashville Repertory Theatre, Ragtime proves an ambitious choice for the company’s return to live performance after more than 18 months of darkness due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Opening Thursday night, November 11 and continuing for five performances through Sunday, November 14, Ragtime – the musical by Stephen Flaherty (music), Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) and Terrance McNally (book) which, in turn, is based upon E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel of the same name – promises to be a grand undertaking, which hopefully will blow away the cobwebs and the dust that’s collected in the past year-and-a-half during which the theater was dark and the company strived to remain relevant and productive amidst all the challenges that ensued.

Nashville Repertory Theatre  unveiled its 2021-22 season Tuesday night at Kimpton Aertson Hotel’s rooftop patio, featuring a plethora of Nashville theater’s brightest stars, who charmed and entertained everyone in their audience (each of whom were fairly adither with anticipation of what’s to come and the joy of watching live performance).

There is something about Hatty Ryan King a?" the young woman playing Alice Murphy in Lipscomb University Theatre's superb production of Bright Star (the recent Broadway musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell) now onstage at Collins Alumni Auditorium through November 10 a?" that sets her apart from her peers, that makes her seem destined for greatness and which ensures that every role she takes on is elevated by her unerring instincts, her palpable presence and her inestimable talent.

Before Broadway comes calling for Hatty Ryan King, the young Nashville actress with an enviable resume (the Lipscomb University sophomore is a Spotlight Award winner, was a finalist for The Jimmy Award, has worked with theater companies both community-oriented and professional and has proven herself a capable leading player along the way), you might want to get your tickets to see her onstage in Studio Tenn's ambitious, if woefully uneven, holiday season offering of Beauty and The Beast. In a role that could have been written for her, King shines as Belle, the ambitious and eager to learn and to embrace change young woman who is the heroine of the musical which features a score by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton.