Sam Whited

When the final curtain falls on A Christmas Story at TPAC's Andrew Johnson Theatre on December 22, the cast and crew of Nashville Repertory Theatre's production will pack up all the leg lamps and all the tinsel, Gary Hoff's gorgeous set will go into mothballs, the costumes will be stored away with the rest of the company's vast collection and a ten-year-old Nashville holiday tradition will come to an end.

Theater's power to illuminate and to elucidate even while offering diverting entertainment has perhaps never been felt so strongly as in Nashville Repertory Theatre's engaging version of Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's Inherit the Wind, a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, now onstage at TPAC's Andrew Johnson Theatre through April 25.

Inspired by BroadwayWorld.com's Friday Six, welcome to BroadwayWorld Nashville's latest installment of The Friday Five on Thursday: five questions designed to help you learn more about the talented people you'll find onstage throughout the Volunteer state. Today, our spotlight focuses on Rosemary Fossee and Megan Murphy Chambers, two of the powerhouse talents slated to appear in the world premiere of Geoff Davin's original show The First Church of Mary, The Repentant Prostitute's FIFTH ANNUAL Benefit Concert, Revival, and Pot Luck Dinner, directed by nine-time First Night Award winner Martha Wilkinson and starring Davin, Fossee, Chambers, Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva and Brooke Leigh Davis (the latter two recently took part in Friday Five festivities, leading to today's subjects Fossee and Chambers).

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will once again present the holiday cult A Christmas Story adapted by Phillip Grecian and based on the motion picture by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, and Bob Clark. A Christmas Story runs December 8-22 at TPAC's Johnson Theater.

N. Richard Nash's The Rainmaker has been a part of our collective pop culture and theatrical canon for years and is probably best known because of the 1956 film version that starred Katharine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster, which has cast its indelible shadow on every intervening stage production since its initial release. That being said, who could have everexpected the emotional wallop packed by the superb revival now onstage at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, directed by Sam Whited? Quietly and gracefully, the impact of The Rainmaker remains as potent as it has ever been and it is performed by a thoroughly committed cast of Barn veterans and newcomers all focused on the task at hand.

Popular Nashville actor Sam Whited makes his Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre directorial debut with the revival of N. Richard Nash's The Rainmaker, running May 5-June 11. Elizabeth Walsh and Bryce Conner lead the cast of the revival in the pivotal roles of 'Lizzie' and 'Starbuck,' the rainmaker of the play's title.

Popular Nashville actor Sam Whited makes his Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre directorial debut with the revival of N. Richard Nash's The Rainmaker, running May 5-June 11. Elizabeth Walsh and Bryce Conner lead the cast of the revival in the pivotal roles of 'Lizzie' and 'Starbuck,' the rainmaker of the play's title.

Tennessee Rep's A Christmas Story may be as good as it gets this holiday season. Wrapped up in a spectacularly designed package by Gary Hoff and featuring the cleverly imaginative direction of Rene Dunshee Copeland, it's the one Christmas gift you owe yourself this year. And it's a surefire way to lift your spirits and make you forget all the bad news that inundates your everyday life.

Jean Shepherd's classic memoir of growing up in the 1940s Midwest - A Christmas Story - will usher in the holiday season at Tennessee Repertory Theatre, as the venerable Nashville professional company presents the stage adaptation of the film cult classic for a November 21-December 19 run at TPAC's Andrew Johnson Theatre.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre kicked off its 25th anniversary season celebration Wednesday night with Nashville Scenes, a look ahead to the company's upcoming season, held at The Acorn restaurant and co-sponsored by the Nashville Scene.