It's that time of the week, theater lovers! With the weekend set to kick off at any moment - personally, we like to consider Thursday morning at 12:01 a.m. the official start of the weekend (that's directed primarily to the Dowager Countess of Grantham who quite clearly didn't understand what actually constitutes a 'weekend') - so we are back with a few suggestions of our own to help make your job easier. There are some new shows opening, others which are continuing their runs and still more which will be winding up their slate of performances this weekend!
It's another busy weekend in Nashville - but when is Music City not packed with events, festivals, affairs? - and we're back with our Critic's Choice recommendations to have you cut through the theatrical flotsam and jetsam and find a cultural opening that's a good fit for your harried lifestyle. Nashville Opera opens its staging of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock at Noah Liff Opera Center, Way Off Broadway Productions unveils its version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Music Valley Event Center, Street Theatre Company invites you to the see their staging of Lynn Nottage's Sweat at their new venue on Elm Hill Pike and Nashville Rep continues its celebration of 10 years of The Ingram New Works Festival at Nashville Children's Theatre.
'Based on a true incident' seems a phrase best reserved for a hardboiled television detective series, circa 1954 - perhaps followed by a title card reading, 'A Quinn Martin Production' (if you're of a certain vintage, you'll get my meaning) - but in the case of Bright Star, the Tony Award-nominated musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell now onstage at Cumberland County Playhouse through June 6, it's definitely fitting.
Bright Star - the five-time Tony Award-nominated musical with "a glorious score and moving story," according to Cumberland County Playhouse's producing director Bryce McDonald - opens in Crossville this Friday night, April 26 and continuing through June 6.
Michael Frayn's Noises Off, considered by many as the greatest farce ever written, opens Friday, March 8, at Cumberland County Playhouse, featuring a cast of CCP favorites bringing all the onstage/offstage/backstage hilarity to life in Crossville.
Cumberland County Playhouse - winner of the First Night Award for Outstanding Musical of 2018 for Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - has announced its lineup for the 2019 season.
Actors Bridge Ensemble's acclaimed production of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves and Cumberland County Playhouse's rendition of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street were named as the top shows of the year during Midwinter's First Night, the annual tribute to theater in Tennessee, held at Nashville's The Larry Keeton Theatre last Sunday night, January 13. Photographer Rae Lynn Whetzel-Stickney captured many of the night's biggest moments with her camera, which are shared on BroadwayWorld Nashville today.
Actors Bridge Ensemble's critically acclaimed production of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves and Cumberland County Playhouse's stunning mounting of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street were named as the top shows of the year during Midwinter's First Night, the annual tribute to theater in Tennessee, held at Nashville's The Larry Keeton Theatre Sunday night, January 13.
In anticipation of the gala 30th anniversary celebration of The First Night Awards, Tennessee's best and brightest in live theater were revealed tonight as First Night's Top Ten of 2018 - reviewer and critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual recognition for theater in the Volunteer State - were announced during a Facebook Live presentation from Nashville.
What better way to leave behind the turmoil of the modern world than by indulging in a bright, shiny new musical burnished with the warm glow of nostalgia and featuring a score by the inimitable Irving Berlin? We can't imagine anything more fun - or more timely, for that matter - than a couple of hours or more spent in the audience of Cumberland County Playhouse to experience the company's latest musical treat: Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn.
Fog comes billowing out over the footlights, bringing with it a pervasive sense of foreboding that sets the tone for the next three hours of what is - without any fear of exaggeration - the most satisfying theatrical experience of 2018. Eye-poppingly gorgeous, with a design aesthetic that's perfectly wedded to the source material provided by composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and book writer Hugh Wheeler, and featuring some of the most electrifying performances we've ever witnessed at Cumberland County Playhouse (where they know a thing or 100 about staging musicals), Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is spectacular.
Managing to find time amid a typically busy week in Crossville, actors Weslie Webster and Lauren Marshall - who play Mrs. Lovett and the neighborhood beggar woman, respectively - graciously agreed to submit to The Tuesday 5(+1) and to answer our questions with enough candor and intrigue to ensure audiences come see their show!
Managing to find time amid a hectic tech week, actor Brett Mutter - who plays Beadle Bamford - graciously agreed to submit to The Friday 5(+1) and to answer our questions, hopefully, intriguing potential audience members with some background about his theatrical career and to explain why he thinks you should reserve your tickets now for Sweeney Todd.
Design categories, road shows, theatrical events and the 12 people whose achievements in 2017 are particularly noteworthy were revealed tonight as part two of First Night's Top Ten of 2018 - critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual review of the best in Tennessee theater was presented during a live Facebook broadcast with two of the hosts of Midwinter's First Night (Ashley Wolfe and J. Robert Lindsay) announcing the work recognized among the best of 2017.
Cumberland County Playhouse launches its 54th season in Crossville with a slate of productions that range from exciting new Broadway shows, noteworthy premieres and revivals of audience favorites.
First Night's Top Ten for 2018 - critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual review of the best in Tennessee theater were revealed last night during a live Facebook broadcast, with the hosts of Midwinter's First Night (Ashley Wolfe, J. Robert Lindsay, Tosha Pendergrast and Ben Pendergrast) announcing the productions and performances recognized among the best of 2017.
Cumberland County Playhouse presents an all-new musical version of Sleepy Hollow by Tony Award nominees Hunter Foster and Paul Gordon, running October 13-November 11 in Crossville.
Cumberland County Playhouse presents an all-new musical version of Sleepy Hollow by Tony Award nominees Hunter Foster and Paul Gordon, running October 13-November 11 in Crossville.
Cumberland County Playhouse presents an all-new musical version of Sleepy Hollow by Tony Award nominees Hunter Foster and Paul Gordon, running October 13-November 11 in Crossville.
Sister Act - the feel-good musical comedy smash based on the hit 1992 film that has proven to be a hit with audiences all across Tennessee - will open at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse on July 21, running through September 8.
