Jane Schnelle

With Ginger Newman's bravura performance as Mama Rose setting the standard-along with a stunning portrayal by Christina Candilora as a young Gypsy Rose Lee-The Larry Keeton Theatre's production of Gypsy, the Broadway fable about stage mothers and their beleaguered children, has a lot to recommend it to theater-goers. Newman and Candilora are given strong support from Terry McLemore, Stella London, Cade Smith, Virginia Richardson and the trio of wizened strippers who urge the young Louise to "get a gimmick" (Jane Schnelle, Monykah Tyson and Emily Ann Cowart).

Despite terrific performances by the show's three leading ladies, The Larry Keeton Theatre's production of Sweet Charity, that 1966 musical theater oddity that spawned two of pop music's favorite showtunes-"If My Friends Could See Me Now" and "Hey, Big Spender"-lacks the polish and pizzazz expected from a theatre company known for its top-flight musical revivals.

Two years ago, Ben decided he was tired of just being a part of the audience at The Larry Keeton Theatre and joined the children's summer theater camp. The first summer, he just enjoyed the classes, but in 2011, he got to be onstage as a cast member of Disney's Camp Rock.

First Night Award-winning actress-cabaret artist, music director, conductor, all-around theater personality-Ginger Newman tackles the role of "Mama Rose" in the musical theater classic Gypsy to highlight the 2012-13 season at The Keeton Theatre, which celebrates its tenth year with shows to appeal to both theater and movie aficionados alike, featuring several local premieres heretofore unproduced by Nashville area companies.

One of the new events added to the line-up for 2011 First Night, The Theatre Honors was The Women In Theatre Luncheon - which saluted the inaugural eight recipients of The First Night Star Award - held Tuesday, August 30, at The Listening Room Cafe in Cummins Station. Co-chaired by Corrie Miller and Neely O'Brien Green, the event was produced by Jeffrey Ellis, founder and executive producer of First Night.

Cori Laemmel would be the first to tell you: 2011 has been kind of a crazy year for her. She made her debut with Tennessee Repertory Theatre with her critically-acclaimed turn in Yankee Tavern; with four of her talented friends, she brought MAS Nashville to life, creating and performing in two stellar nights of cabaret - with more in store; and she launched her theater training program for younger actors aka The Theater Bug. Oh, and she was in the audience for her actor husband Tyson Laemmel's many performances, as well.

With its four-week theater camp wrapping up last week, The Keaton Theatre is now focused on opening night for the Nashville premiere of Camp Rock, The Musical. Although with the onslaught of tech week, campers and counselors may find themselves yearning for yet another week of camp.

With its four-week theater camp wrapping up last week, The Keaton Theatre is now focused on opening night for the Nashville premiere of Camp Rock, The Musical. Although with the onslaught of tech week, campers and counselors may find themselves yearning for yet another week of camp.

Members of the Nashville theatre and dance community - including many performing companies and individual artists - will take part in ARTS for Nashville-Flood Relief Fundraiser, to be held Saturday, May 22 at 7 p.m. at the Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson. They will join forces to raise money for those people affected by the recent catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee. Proceeds from Saturday night's event will go to the Nashville Salvation Army's Local Flood Relief Direct Services. In addition, the Keeton Theatre will be collecting food items for Second Harvest Food Bank. Tickets for the show are $20 and are available online at www.ticketsnashville.com.

Members of the Nashville theatre and dance community - including many performing companies and individual artists - will take part in ARTS for Nashville-Flood Relief Fundraiser, to be held Saturday, May 22 at 7 p.m. at the Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson. They will join forces to raise money for those people affected by the recent catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee. Proceeds from Saturday night's event will go to the Nashville Salvation Army's Local Flood Relief Direct Services. In addition, the Keeton Theatre will be collecting food items for Second Harvest Food Bank. Tickets for the show are $20 and are available online at www.ticketsnashville.com.

Swing!, the Broadway musical that celebrates the music and dance phenomenon will play its final show at The Senior Center for the Arts' Nashville Dinner Theatre on February 28.

As good as Swing! is - and it is very good despite some dangerously frightening near-misses and a rather frenetic pace - one thing bothers me: Why did Adams-Johnson, borrowing a journalistic reference, bury her lead in the middle of the second act? Every journalism student learns in News Writing 101 that you never want to bury your lead; you want the most pertinent bit of information in your first paragraph. In the case of Swing!, you're offered tantalizing glimpses of the story's lead as soon as the curtain opens, but the show doesn't deliver the goods until well into the show's second hour.

Directed by Kate Adams-Johnson, with music direction by Ginger Newman, the show features a cast of 18, a live band, more than 30 dance numbers and vocal performances that feature some of the Swing era's greatest hits, including 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and 'It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)'.

Directed by Kate Adams-Johnson, with music direction by Ginger Newman, the show features a cast of 18, a live band, more than 30 dance numbers and vocal performances that feature some of the Swing era's greatest hits, including 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and 'It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)'.

Directed by Kate Adams-Johnson, with music direction by Ginger Newman, the show features a cast of 18, a live band, more than 30 dance numbers and vocal performances that feature some of the Swing era's greatest hits, including 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and 'It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)'.

Directed by Kate Adams-Johnson, with music direction by Ginger Newman, the show features a cast of 18, a live band, more than 30 dance numbers and vocal performances that feature some of the Swing era's greatest hits, including 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and 'It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)'.

With the strains of 'Auld Lang Syne' mere moments away, minds are apt to be caught up in reflection, remembering the year now ending as a new one awaits just over the horizon. Certainly that's what I've been doing lately, looking back over the past year in Nashville theatre as I pencil in dates in my new 2010 (Here's a question to ponder: Is it 'two thousand ten' or 'twenty ten'...think about it and get back to me) calendar for the shows set to open in the months ahead.

David Williams and Cat Eberwine give such winning performances as Seymour and Audrey in the Senior Center for the Arts' production of Little Shop of Horrors, now onstage at Nashville Dinner Theatre through November 15, that it's easy to overlook some of the production's other, more obvious, shortcomings. Williams and Eberwine are sublimely off-kilter as the oddest of couples in the Alan Menken-Howard Ashman musical, with an onstage chemistry that makes them completely believable and altogether lovable in their cartoonish roles.

David Williams and Cat Eberwine give such winning performances as Seymour and Audrey in the Senior Center for the Arts' production of Little Shop of Horrors, now onstage at Nashville Dinner Theatre through November 15, that it's easy to overlook some of the production's other, more obvious, shortcomings. Williams and Eberwine are sublimely off-kilter as the oddest of couples in the Alan Menken-Howard Ashman musical, with an onstage chemistry that makes them completely believable and altogether lovable in their cartoonish roles.

One of the most memorable shows in musical theatre history, Annie Get Your Gun is Irving Berlin's masterpiece, including some of the best songs ever written for the stage; unfortunately, it also has one of the creakiest books ever written to accompany those wonderful tunes. Although that script was updated and re-tooled for the 1999 Broadway revival, SCA decided to go with the older (probably from the 1966 revival), lamer and (we hate to say it) more racist version. It was not a good choice, particularly when the 1999 revival script is available; its judicious editing resulted in a tighter script and a quicker pace to make the show more palatable to contemporary audiences-especially in 2009.