Cody Rutledge News

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Nashville Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Nashville Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 25th.

You will not believe it! The last time we gave you a Music City Confidential (number seven), the London Olympics were winding up, LaToya Gardner and Kevin Mead were starring in Circle Players' Aida, Maggie Richardson and Cody Rutledge were headlining Xanadu at the Arts Center of Cannon County, and Music City was caught up in Nutty Professor fever! Today marks the return of Music City Confidential and we hope you'll be feeling particularly thankful for edition number 8.

Broadway musicals of the most recent vintage will find a new home in Tennessee in 2015 as The Arts Center of Cannon County plans an impressive and ambitious season of shows. Ranging from two Disney classics (Mary Poppins and Tarzan) to two productions based on hit films (Bring It On and Ghost) and a riveting courtroom drama (12 Angry Men), the Woodbury-based theater company promises an upcoming season that will delight audiences while bolstering ticket sales.

Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, the uproarious and surprisingly poignant story of two bumbling Alabama brothers who have never shot a duck but think they shot an angel, comes to Woodbury's Arts Center of Cannon County tonight, April 13-28, 2013.

The world premiere of a brand-spanking new musical with Broadway in its sights, a relatively young but awe-inspiring theater company and a sparkling, witty new play about Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald led the list of Tennessee's outstanding theatrical achievements in 2012 that was revealed Sunday night at Midwinter's First Night. Photographer Rick Malkin was on hand to capture the evening's highlights with his camera.

The Nutty Professor's Marissa McGowan, Caroline or Change's Dalton Tilghman and Kirk-Burgess Productions' debut production of Mysterious Skin claimed top honors Sunday night as winners of the BWW Nashville Theatre Awards were announced.

Out Front on Main, Inc., Murfreesboro's cutting-edge theater company, and Cumberland County Playhouse, Crossville's venerable theater that has been delighting audiences since the 1960s, were among the top winners in the BroadwayWorld.com Tennessee Theatre Awards, announced Sunday night.

The world premiere of a brand-spanking new musical with Broadway in its sights, a relatively young but awe-inspiring theater company and a sparkling, witty new play about Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald led the list of Tennessee's outstanding theatrical achievements in 2012 that was revealed Sunday night at Midwinter's First Night.

There comes a moment in Xanadu-the deliciously campy musical theater confection that is based on the unintentionally campy 1980s movie of the same name-when the Greek muse Calliope suggests that "it's just like children's theater for 40-year-old gay people" (or words to that effect) which perfectly captures the show's charm and unfailing appeal for audiences of every conceivable ilk and for one theater critic, in particular.

Apparently, it is Elvis Week in Nashville (at least according to the fine folks at Loveless Cafe), so before we head out to the theater for a full weekend of show openings and the like, a trip to West Nashville for a slice of the Loveless' Elvis pie is in order (for the uninitiated, that's peanut butter, banana, bacon and homemade whipped cream-the four basic food groups, according to The King.), so before we slip into a diabetic coma, here's installment #7 of Music City Confidential, all the news that's fit to print from onstage, offstage, backstage and beyond…

We've been doing our part to prepare ye the way, watching the action onstage, taking some furtive peeks backstage, listening to all the offstage gossip and venturing beyond the confines of the theater to gain the informed knowledge to see more shows in the Volunteer State than you ever thought possible. So, good people of the theaterati, read on and get all the information you need to know in this, our latest installment of Music City Confidential. This is #6…

Lindsay Mapes takes on the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, The Musical, the next production at Woodbury's Arts Center of Cannon County. Directed by Mary Ellen Smith, the Tony Award-nominated musical runs tonight, July 6 through July 21.

Lindsay Mapes takes on the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, The Musical, the next production at Woodbury's Arts Center of Cannon County. Directed by Mary Ellen Smith, the Tony Award-nominated musical runs July 6-21.

Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, the uproarious and surprisingly poignant story of two bumbling Alabama brothers who have never shot a duck but think they shot an angel, comes to Woodbury's Arts Center of Cannon County for an April 13-28 run.

Allison Barnett plays the role of Tracy, with Scott Willis playing teen heartthrob Link Larkin. Arts Center favorite Matt Smith is hilarious in the role of Edna Turnblad, with Robert Hiers as Wilbur Turnblad, Scarlett Turney as Velma Von Tussle and Lindsay Mapes as Amber Von Tussle. Drew Lyons plays the role of Seaweed, with Zoe Phillips as his sister, Little Inez. Matt Hunter plays the role of Corny Collins.