Laura Crockarell

Nashville's acclaimed Sideshow Fringe Festival gets under way next Thursday, so what better way to get ready for this year's event than by looking back at 2014's opening night events, captured in a series of photographs by Wesley Duffee-Braun. If 2014 looked this good...what does 2015 have in store?

Twelve brand new plays by Middle Tennessee playwrights will be presented as staged readings as the newly minted Ten Minute Playground goes live in Nashville Sunday and Monday for a one-of-a-kind two-night event at Darkhorse Theater. The plays are paired with some of Nashville's finest actors and directors, all volunteering their time to present these exciting new scripts. With only an hour of rehearsal, these plays take on a life of their own in front of a live audience.

Looking for a way to beat the heat this weekend? What's better than sinking into a seat in a darkened auditorium and letting the talented actors onstage whisk you way to a whole different world from the world iin which you toil Monday through Friday? Theater companies throughout the midstate are ready to dazzle you with their latest productions and here are some of this weekend's best bets...

Inspired by BroadwayWorld.com's Friday Six, welcome to BroadwayWorld Nashville's latest installment of The Friday Five: five questions designed to help you learn more about the talented people you'll find onstage throughout the Volunteer state. This week the spotlight shines on Kate Adams, Britt Byrd and Ann Street-Kavanaugh - Steel Magnolias' M'Lynn, Shelby and Ouiser from Imaginary Theatre's production of Robert Harling's classic comedy, opening in East Nashville tonight.

Nashville audiences that embraced Playhouse Nashville's inaugural season of fully produced original plays by local writers will have even more to experience this year beginning in April with Garret Schneider's ULTRASOUND starring Cori Anne Laemmel, Rebekah Durham, and Laura Crockarell.

Colya & Co., Cookin'Marsh, and A Box Full of Kittens LLC put their noodles to work on three separate comedic adventures this September at Gorilla Tango Bucktown (1919 N Milwaukee). "Monday Night Guffaw," produced by Colya & Co., performs Monday, September 2 at 7:30 pm; tickets are $5. "I'm New Here: A Variety Hour," produced by Cookin'Marsh, performs Monday, September 16 and Tuesday, September 17 at 7:30 pm; tickets are $12. "A Box Full of Kittens," produced by Second City alums A Box Full of Kittens LLC, performs Friday, September 20 at 7:30 pm; tickets are $10. All tickets can be purchased at www.gorillatango.com or by calling 773-598-4549.

The Boiler Room Theatre, Williamson County's original and longest-running professional theatre company, will stage Neil Simon's Promises, Promises featuring the music of the great Burt Bacharach. The production will run from tonight, June 28th through July 20th at the theatre's iconic namesake venue in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tennessee.

The Boiler Room Theatre, Williamson County's original and longest-running professional theatre company, will stage Neil Simon's Promises, Promises featuring the music of the great Burt Bacharach. The production will run from June 28th through July 20th at the theatre's iconic namesake venue in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tennessee.

The Boiler Room Theatre, Williamson County's original and longest-running professional theatre company, will kick off its 13th season with the side-splitting farce, Noises Off. The production will run from tonight, February 15th through March 9th at the theatre's iconic namesake venue in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tennessee.

The Boiler Room Theatre, Williamson County's original and longest-running professional theatre company, will kick off its 13th season with the side-splitting farce, Noises Off. The production will run from February 15th through March 9th at the theatre's iconic namesake venue in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tennessee.

Ah, Halloween...the theaterati's favorite holiday (right after Tony Awards Day and, in Tennessee of course, First Night Day!)...gives everyone the opportunity to show off their inner characters and unknown doppelgangers. So how did Tennessee's theater types celebrate the day? Dress up with some place to go...

Now onstage in a thoroughly effective production directed by Sondra Morton at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre, Parade is not your mama's or your granddaddy's musical comedy, to be certain.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's original and longest-running professional theatre company, follows its successful run of STEEL MAGNOLIAS with Jason Robert Brown's Tony Award Winning PARADE. The production will run from tonight, October 5th through the 20th at the theatre's iconic namesake venue in the historic Factory.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's original and longest-running professional theatre company, follows its successful run of STEEL MAGNOLIAS with Jason Robert Brown's Tony Award Winning PARADE. The production will run from October 5th through the 20th at the theatre's iconic namesake venue in the historic Factory.

Parade, the acclaimed musical by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, will finally be given its Nashville area premiere-starring Megan Murphy Chambers and Paul Cook, under the direction of Sondra Morton-as Boiler Room Theatre presents the show October 5-20 at its venue at the historic Factory at Franklin.

Theater people from throughout Tennessee gathered at Belmont University's Bill and Carole Troutt Theatre on Sunday night for the 2013 First Night Honors to pay tribute to a group of eight remarkable people who have made indelible marks on the theater scene throughout their storied careers. Hosted by Holly Shepherd and Joel Diggs, the gala evening honored the eight leading lights of Tennessee theater as they were recognized as members of the First Night Class of 2013 Honorees.

Dressed to the nines-despite forecasts of thunderstorms and a tornado watch that hung over the region-theater people from throughout Tennessee gathered at Belmont University's Bill and Carole Troutt Theatre on Sunday night for the 2013 First Night Honors. Hosted by Holly Shepherd and Joel Diggs, the gala evening honored eight leading lights of Tennessee theater as they were recognized as members of the First Night Class of 2013 Honorees.

In fact, director Kate Adams and musical director Ginger Newman have crafted Nashville's own lovely and, I daresay, star-studded version of the musical which simply proves once again that Into the Woods is one of the most enchanting, most entertaining and most moving examples of contemporary musical theater at its best