Joanna Hackman

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! According to my iPhone today is Monday, 22 May 2017 - the weekend, busy as it was, is over and we're left hankering for a few days off in order to relax and rejuvenate…which makes us ponder this musical question: What are your plans for next weekend? In our mind, of course, our mama is warning us that such queries are symptomatic of us 'wishing [our] life away,' as she would always admonish us to live in the now instead of trying to leap-frog over the next five days. So sayeth my beloved mama: 'Live life dramatically.' Therefore, a nap might have to suffice…

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! Welcome to Thursday, May 18, 2017…It's #TheatreThursday! which begs the question: How do you propose to live life dramatically? And, while we're on the subject, what shows are on your agenda this weekend? Let us know what you plan to see and what led you to make your choice! We'll pass the word along to the powers-that-be!

Funny and familiar, James Sherman's Beau Jest might well be considered perfect dinner theater fare: spread across two hours, the comedy is easily digested and the players - this time, the estimable ensemble assembled by director Martha Wilkinson for the latest incarnation at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre - charming and likable. The plot remains relevant, even years after it was first produced, and the dialogue flows at an accessible pace, spoken by characters who are altogether believable. And while Beau Jest likely won't push any envelopes or venture outside anyone's pre-conceived creative box, it nonetheless seems current and up-to-date.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! Live life dramatically: It's Friday, May 12, 2017 - graduation day at Vanderbilt University - which prompts the musical question: 'Does it always have to rain on that day? This day, in particular?' Truly it's a FREAKY FRIDAY tradition, if the grads are donning caps and gowns at Vandy, chances are everyone else will be carrying their umbrellas with them in Music City.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! It's Thursday, May 11, 2017 (aka #TheatreThursday, y'all!) and we're just dying to ask the musical question: What shows will you be seeing this weekend? We hope you'll live life dramatically and make it to at least one production - but multiples are even better!

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! It's Friday, May 5, 2017! The sound of muffled sniffles, pats on the back and mortarboards being thrown into the air will be reverberating throughout Nashville this weekend as commencement ceremonies get under way at Belmont University, Tennessee State University, David Lipscomb University and Trevecca Nazarene University and thousands of newly minted graduates will begin to live life dramatically! Next week, we get to do it all over again as Vanderbilt University unleashes their grads upon society, so keep your eyes peeled for celebrating coeds and their hopeful/mournful parents!

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! Welcome to Thursday, May 4, 2017 - can you believe it's already this far along in the year - and that it's another #TheatreThursday? Today, we're posing the musical question: Are all our artistic efforts worth it during these oh-so-trying times? The answer, most certainly, is a resounding "YES!" You see, gentle readers, it's during times like these that the spirit of creativity, the expression of our collective imagination and the ability to transform and to transport become even more vital to the continued existence of humankind. We implore you to continue to live life dramatically!

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! It's Wednesday, May 3, the day of THE BIG PAYBACK, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee's annual initiative to help local non-profits add to their coffers during a 24-hour online fundraising/giving event that has arts organizations coming up with new and clever ways to get their supporters to take part: We urge you to show your support throughout the day for your favorite arts non-profits and to help keep the lights on, the curtains up and your friends gainfully employed.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI for May 2, 2017 - we hope you're ready for the Tony Awards nominations being announced this morning at 7:30 a.m. God's time (which is also Nashville's time, aka daylight saving time) and pondering the musical question: What the hell goes into picking a season's worth of shows for local theatre companies? Sure, we presume it has something to do with selling tickets, enlightening their audiences and testing their artistic limits, but we sometimes fear it's for reason for too pedestrian for us to consider and far too plebeian for our tender psyches to even ponder…

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! We wish you a wonderful start to your work week while posing the musical question: Are you as water-logged as we are? The rains in Tennessee over the weekend are, according to the Weather Channel, on their way out of the area and sunshine is just around the corner…just in time, we say! There's a lot of theater coming up this week and we've got shows to see and people to watch! Greetings to today's cover model Jordan Tudor Haggard who may or may not be enjoying a butterscotch sundae to kick off her day while she catches up on today's news of a theatrical bent.

Now, we're the last to try to stir up trouble or to further flame the fires of jealousy or envy, but we thought we'd share with you some photographs of some of those lovely ladies who could delight their audiences just by standing there-but whom inspire and encourage us all with their superb onstage talents. So, here's our recommendation, take a look at these photographs, then find out on which stages you can find these women this summer, then make a reservation and go to the theater…

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Amanda Card McCoy, who made her Barn debut in the acclaimed comedy Boeing Boeing, which was followed closely by her performance in Nate Eppler's Modern Love. Today, Amanda shares her memories of working at The Barn to the ones that we've been sharing of late to celebrate the 45th anniversary…

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Joanna Hackman, who recently made her debut at the Barn in the hit comedy Boeing Boeing, and who will be leaving Nashville shortly to give the West Coast a shot at her (and those of her husband Daniel Hackman) talents…

Truth be told, seeing Martha Wilkinson in a black pageboy wig while she delivers a wonderfully droll comic character performance might be worth the price of a ticket to Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre's revival of Boeing-Boeing, the Marc Camoletti farce (adapted by Beverly Cross) under the direction of Charles Burr that is running throughout the month of December. But Wilkinson's superb performance notwithstanding, there's much more to love about the show.

Janie and John Chaffin and company have decked the halls and baked the cookies, so Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, the venerable Nashville theatre celebrating its 45th year of bringing the best of Broadway to Music City USA, ushers in yet another holiday season with three shows offered for audiences of all ages.

Myth, an original musical by Blackbird Theater co-founders Wes Driver and Greg Greene and composer Michael Slayton, will be presented in front of an audience for the first time on Saturday, November 12, at Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theater.

Myth, an original musical by Blackbird Theater co-founders Wes Driver and Greg Greene and composer Michael Slayton, will be presented in front of an audience for the first time on Saturday, November 12, at Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theater.

The Five Dollar Recession Theatre Company, Nashville's newest theatrical outfit, makes its debut Thursday, June 23, with its production of Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, playing at the Belmont Little Theatre (underneath Hail Hall on the Belmont University campus) through Sunday, June 26.