Two years ago, Ben decided he was tired of just being a part of the audience at The Larry Keeton Theatre and joined the children's summer theater camp. The first summer, he just enjoyed the classes, but in 2011, he got to be onstage as a cast member of Disney's Camp Rock.
When Patty Duke played the role of Helen Keller in the Broadway premiere of William Gibson's The Miracle Worker, she was ten years old, and when Madeleine Hall took the stage of the Franklin Theatre on Thursday night in the opening of Studio Tenn's exquisitely crafted revival of the modern American theater classic, she too was ten years old. And it should be noted that as portentous as Duke's debut came to be known, theater lovers still to come may very well consider Madeleine Hall's beautifully crafted performance just as revelatory and just as noteworthy.
Restaging Studio Tenn's A Christmas Carol for the company's new home at the lavishly restored historic Franklin Theatre, director/designer Matt Logan manages to give new and invigorated life to the time-honored tale while interpreting it in a manner that is tremendously appealing and accessible, adding an almost cinematic flow to the proceedings. A revival of Studio Tenn's 2010 A Christmas Carol, Logan's staging is altered somewhat to accommodate the confines of the new venue, as well as to capitalize on the strengths of his cast, which includes an artful blending of new and returning players.