Natalie Thompson

John Kander and Fred Ebb's a?oeCabareta?? is a bit of a perplexing show for me. Perplexing in that it's done quite often, and it shouldn't be. It should only be done if you can do justice to the story. With a book by Joe Masteroff and based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood, the themes in the play are complex and dark with a bite underlying the sweetness and fun. And when combined with Kander and Ebb's songs which tell stories all on their own, the show has promise to be a gut punch. Unfortunately, the current production from the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society, while having some wonderful voices, continually misses the mark on the story making the show an uneven revue of fun numbers but no depth.

A thrillingly fresh production of the iconic musical CABARET will come to life for a limited run in an immersive Berlin cabaret setting at 12th Avenue Arts. The beloved and devastating story and score have captivated audiences around the world and will receive a ground-breaking new staging from director Phil Lacey and choreographer Alyza DelPan-Monley.

Vali Forrister retuns to the stage for the first time since her 2006 triumph in How I Learned to Drive to lead the cast of Actors Bridge Ensemble and the Belmont University Department of Theatre and Dance's production of Frederico Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba. Jessika Malone, artistic associate at ABE, directs the cast of Emily Mann's adaptation of Lorca's work which has been described as 'a cross between Downton Abbey and The Bachelor with an added splash of Mommie Dearest.'

Tyrannical and imperious, Bernarda Alba rules her five daughters with an iron-fisted vehemence in Actors Bridge Ensemble and Belmont University Theatre's presentation of Federico Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba, which marks the return to the stage of Vali Forrister, Actors Bridge producing artistic director, after a far too long six-year absence.

Vali Forrister retuns to the stage for the first time since her 2006 triumph in How I Learned to Drive to lead the cast of Actors Bridge Ensemble and the Belmont University Department of Theatre and Dance's production of Frederico Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba. Jessika Malone, artistic associate at ABE, directs the cast of Emily Mann's adaptation of Lorca's work which has been described as 'a cross between Downton Abbey and The Bachelor with an added splash of Mommie Dearest.'

Jessika Malone, artistic associate at ABE, directs the cast of Emily Mann's adaptation of Lorca's work which has been described as 'a cross between Downton Abbey and The Bachelor with an added splash of Mommie Dearest.' Opening, Friday, February 17, and running through February 26, The House of Bernarda Alba plays Belmont University's Troutt Theatre at 2100 Belmont Boulevard. General admission tickets are $18, with tickets for seniors at $12.

Vali Forrister retuns to the stage for the first time since her 2006 triumph in How I Learned to Drive to lead the cast of Actors Bridge Ensemble and the Belmont University Department of Theatre and Dance's production of Frederico Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba. Jessika Malone, artistic associate at ABE, directs the cast of Emily Mann's adaptation of Lorca's work which has been described as 'a cross between Downton Abbey and The Bachelor with an added splash of Mommie Dearest.'

With audience participation required to bring it fully to life onstage, Jeff Wirth's The Antics of Romantics is overflowing with imagination and creativity, making it one of the most exhilarating theater offerings we've seen this season. Directed stylishly - with generous wit and flashes of comic brilliance - by Brent Maddox, Wirth's play is now onstage at Belmont University's Black Box Theatre at the Troutt Theatre complex starring an accomplished and adept cast of student actors who, obviously, are having the times of their lives.