Welcome to the fifth installment of Music City Confidential, my column to collect the flotsam and jetsam, informationally speaking, of theatre in Tennessee. Sorry for the long delay since the last installment, but I've been theatering my butt off all over the Volunteer State in search of intriguing gossip and riveting news stories just for you, my gentle readers.
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…
Silly, fun and farcical, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum is a delightful musical theater diversion, certain to entertain and delight. Brought to the stage in a Keeton Theatre production directed by Kate Adams, with music direction by Ginger Newman, the Stephen Sondheim- Burt Shevelove-Larry Gelbart confection packs as much of a laugh-filled wallop in 2012 as it did when it first premiered on Broadway almost 50 years ago, proving that a well-written and conceived show just never grows old.
Live at the Hippodrome today announced the first season of performances at London's newest live performance space - The Matcham Room at the Hippodrome Casino, Leicester Square. Booking opens today for the first season of curated performances which will return world-class live entertainment to the recently restored, legendary Hippodrome.
Andrew Lloyd Webber will receive a BASCA Fellowship at this year's Ivor Novello Awards tonight 17 May. The BASCA Fellowship is the highest accolade which a composer can receive, bestowed by composers in the UK. It recognises unique creative talent in music writing together with iconic achievement for and on behalf of composers. BASCA Fellows are exceptional artists and ambassadors for the song-writing and composing profession and BASCA's role within it.
Andrew Lloyd Webber will receive a BASCA Fellowship at this year's Ivor Novello Awards on Thursday 17 May. The BASCA Fellowship is the highest accolade which a composer can receive, bestowed by composers in the UK. It recognises unique creative talent in music writing together with iconic achievement for and on behalf of composers. BASCA Fellows are exceptional artists and ambassadors for the song-writing and composing profession and BASCA's role within it.
April 27 through May 13, Pontine Theatre premieres its original stage adaptation of stories by George Savary Wasson at its West End Studio Theatre located in Portsmouth NH.
April 27 through May 13, Pontine Theatre premieres its original stage adaptation of stories by George Savary Wasson at its West End Studio Theatre located in Portsmouth NH.
Circle Players, one of the first resident companies at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, makes a triumphant return to that cultural edifice in downtown Nashville to mount its latest revival of Titanic the Musical just in time to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking in the frigid waters of the north Atlantic.
Just days before the world commemorates the centennial of the sinking of the HMS Titanic, Circle Players, Nashville's oldest community theatre company, will present a revival of Titanic the Musical, at the James K. Polk Theatre at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on April 5-8.
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain today announces new dates as part of its world tour, including some of the world's major venues. In a tour that takes in Australia, Europe, the UK and the USA, the Orchestra perform at the Sydney Opera House, Australia on 6 March, the Royal Albert Hall, London on 21 September and Carnegie Hall, New York on 17 October with a total of 70 concerts worldwide.
With a score filled with so many Cole Porter tunes that you're fairly drunk with delight after hearing them, the expert direction and choreography of musical theatre aficionado Kate Adams-Johnson, and a cast of extraordinarily gifted performers breathing vigorous life into the time-honored text, the new production of Kiss Me, Kate at The Keeton Theatre should be atop your list of must-see theatrical events in this very busy month of February. Sam and Bella Spewack's witty, sparkling script is brought to life with flourish, proving this period piece-which was named winner of the very first Tony Award for best musical-to be, in fact, a timeless classic, a musical theatre masterpiece that deserves to be seen over and over again.
Just days before the world commemorates the centennial of the sinking of the HMS Titanic, Circle Players, Nashville's oldest community theatre company, will present a revival of Titanic the Musical, at the James K. Polk Theatre at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on April 5-8.
According to Baz Bamigboye for Daily Mail, a new musical based on the movie, 'Made in Dagenham,' is on its way to the West End in 2013. James Bond score writer David Arnold is on board to write the music for the show, with Richard Thomas writing the lyrics. A reading was held earlier this week, and a full workshop is set to take place in February.
Brought gloriously and vividly to life with effortless ease by director Jamey Green and his team of artistic collaborators, Annie Get Your Gun is the perfect chill-chasing harbinger of the new season, ushering in Spring with style, grace and good humor. At curtain, you'll find yourself shaking your head, wondering where the time went - so completely enthralled are you throughout the onstage proceedings. Kudos to Green (who pulls double-duty as music director - and conducts the superb onstage musical ensemble that includes some of Nashville theater's most accomplished players) and choreographer Pam Atha for their efforts, not the least of which is the perfect pairing of Corrie Miller and Matt Baugher as the musical's convincingly romantic leads.
Corrie Miller stars as the irrepressible Annie Oakley in Boiler Room Theatre's 11th season opening production of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun, running February 11 through March 12 in Franklin.
The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's resident professional theatre company, opens its 11 th season with Irving Berlin's classic musicalAnnie Get Your Gun opening February 11, 2011 at the theatre, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tenn. for a run through March 12.
The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) opens its 11th season with the updated (1999 Broadway revival version) classic Irving Berlin musical that tells the ageless love story of sharpshooters Annie Oakley and Frank Butler.