Carolyn German News

What better way to kick off Sunday-and to celebrate Father's Day!-than with the latest installment of Music City Confidential! Here's where you'll find all the news that's fit to print (or not-depending on your perspective) from Nashville's ever-growing, ever-fascinating live theater industry. Amid the florid prose and flowery praise, you'll find all the stories that don't quite fit anywhere else, some of 'em kind of gossipy, some of 'em stone-cold serious, some of 'em just lists of names you need to know. You'll also find photos from our new "Intermission@" series, details about the latest cast parties and various and sundry minutiae-the veritable flotsam and jetsam-from backstage, onstage, offstage and beyond…

Who's who in Tennessee theater? Sometimes, without a program in your hand, it's difficult to know who's playing whom-hence, our newest feature: Hey, Jef, Here's My Headshot...featuring some of the Volunteer State's best-known-or soon-to-be-known all over the freakin' world-thespians. And have you ever wondered who the amazing photographers are who make them look damn good? We're gonna tell ya…Today's actor/subject/model is the beautiful and talented Karissa Wheeler, photographed by 3 Kings Photography.

This weekend will be a homecoming of sorts for award-winning writer Laura Harrington, as she returns to the Nashville for the first time since 1996, in support of her new book Alice Bliss and a reunion with some of the city's best-known and best-loved theater artists who worked with her on the creation and production of The Perfect 36, an original musical staged by Mac Pirkle and Tennessee Repertory Theatre to celebrate the Volunteer State's Bicentennial.

Plays and playwrights selected for this edition of the Ten Minute Playhouse are: Dropped Call by Garret Schneider, Lyla Builds a Spaceship by Darren Van Michael, Double Header by Brooke Bryant & Carolyn German, Unfortunate Introduction by James Skelley, Ecotone by Ritchie Simmons, Atheist's Surprise by Joe Giordano, Types by Sean Hills, Bobby Met His Father by Thomas Heine, ReinCarnival by Rachael Swann, World's Finest Team-Ups! by Bob Giordano, Mr. Baxter Learns a Lesson by Laura Cockarell and Cold Fish by Nate Eppler.

Danny Proctor, Helen Shute-Pettaway, Layne Sasser, Pam Atha, Dan Brewer and Gary Hoff were introduced Monday night as the six members of the 2011 Class of First Night Honorees during the First Night Preview Party, hosted by founder and executive producer Jeffrey Ellis at The Listening Room Cafe in downtown Nashville.

Thanks to Carolyn German and her efforts to engage younger performers through musical theater and cabaret, Nashville area producers and directors should have a consistent supply of new and interesting actors (who clearly comprehend the history and legacy of musical theater) for their shows for years to come. No further proof of this is needed than the latest production from German and her cohorts: Roar!, which bears the telling and descriptive subtitle of 'the fringe, the flappers, the jazz...the '20s!'

Tennessee's best and brightest stage stars took to the stage at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre Monday night, June 6, for First Night: The Tony Concert, to kick-off the 2011 First Night season in Nashville. Performing songs from Tony Award-winning musicals, the concert featured performers from throughout Tennessee - from Nashville to Crossville to Clarksville.

Tennessee's best and brightest theatrical stars will take to the stage of the Boiler Room Theatre -to celebrate The Tony Awards during First Night: The Tony Concert, presented by Keeping Scores Concerts on Monday, June 6 - and to perform an evening of songs from Broadway musicals that have won the Tony Award for best musical.

Bonnie Keen is, without doubt, one of the most fearless actors to ever take the stage in Nashville. With a gorgeous voice and a talent that is worthy of praise, she will do whatever it takes to connect with her audience, lacing her performances with warmth, wit and wonder. The first time I saw Bonnie onstage was years ago, back in the day, when she played the Witch in Circle Players' production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods; she was mesmerizing. Savvy and smart, she knows what works and what doesn't work onstage and in that role, in which she goes from ugly and twisted to beautiful and elegant, she displayed a range that other actors envy. At the time she did Into the Woods, she was taking a break from her burgeoning recording career: She's an award-winning member of the contemporary Christian music trio First Call.

Tennessee's best and brightest theatrical stars will take to the stage of the Boiler Room Theatre -to celebrate The Tony Awards during First Night: The Tony Concert, presented by Keeping Scores Concerts on Monday, June 6 - and to perform an evening of songs from Broadway musicals that have won the Tony Award for best musical.

Matt Logan could easily have rested on his laurels and simply re-staged the second offering of showHOPE's Cinderella, the Enchanted Edition in exactly the same manner as he did in 2010 - it was a magical evening, at the very least, and it would certainly be easier, acceptable even to his most loyal fans, to have done so. Instead, as expected, Logan, one of the region's finest and most inventive stage directors, chose to re-imagine his vision for Cinderella, giving it a more sophisticated presentation and breathing new vigor into the project while tapping heretofore unknown reserves of creativity among his cast and crew - and even himself.

Broadway star Eden Espinosa joins the cast of Show Hope's second annual spring celebration production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Enchanted Edition, on Friday, April 15, at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Espinosa, who gained critical acclaim for her performances in Wicked and Rent, will play the role of The Fairy Godmother in the second annual staging of the musical.

Broadway star Eden Espinosa joins the cast of Show Hope's second annual spring celebration production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Enchanted Edition, on Friday, April 15, at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Espinosa, who gained critical acclaim for her performances in Wicked and Rent, will play the role of The Fairy Godmother in the second annual staging of the musical.

Matt Logan is a force of nature. Whether he's helming a burgeoning professional theater company as its artistic director, directing and designing a new production, creating yet another work of theatrical visual art for which he's become justifiably, well, famous - you name it, he does it and he does it well. And he does it in Nashville, which is not exactly the first place you'd think of finding someone of his talent and stature. But Nashville is his home and that's where his heart is, obviously.

'There are no small parts, only small actors,' goes the old theatrical saw that's tossed about willy-nilly to encourage budding thespians to take on roles they suspect might be beneath them and their lofty stature. But, of course, there's much truth to be found in the axiom and you will certainly see it brought to life in the efforts of the members of many acting ensembles, particularly those considered among the best in Nashville's 2010 theater season:

A cast of more than 125 performers took to the stage of the Troutt Theatre at Belmont University to fete the eight members of the 2010 Class of First Night Honorees in a production that featured the best of the best of Nashville theater and included a surprise appearance by Joseph Mahowald, winner of a 1989 First Night Award, now playing the role of Franklin Hart Jr. in the national tour of 9 to 5: The Musical, which opened in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, September 21.

When eight of Nashville's best-known theater visionaries are lauded for their inspiration, commitment and leadership during the 2010 First Night Nashville Theatre Honors, eleven of the region's brightest young actors also will be recognized for their own theatrical achievements and the promise of much more to come.

As Nashville's summer theater season continues to heat up, anticipation continues to grow for September's First Night Nashville Theatre Honors, the revival of the Music City theater gala that will benefit Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and sponsored by Macy's and BroadwayWorld.com. Set for Sunday, September 19, at Belmont University's Troutt Theatre, First Night 2010 will honor eight individuals for their sustained and continued commitment to theater in Nashville.

Eight of the leading lights of Nashville theater were announced Monday night as the Class of 2010 Honorees for the First Night Nashville Theatre Honors, to be presented Sunday, September 19. The Hard Rock Cafe Nashville's Reverb Room was the setting for the preview party and announcement of honorees.

Eight of the leading lights of Nashville theater were announced Monday night as the Class of 2010 Honorees for the First Night Nashville Theatre Honors, to be presented Sunday, September 19. The Hard Rock Cafe Nashville's Reverb Room was the setting for the preview party and announcement of honorees.