Eric Ventress News

Nashville theater mavens and the fans of internet-borne musicals (it's a sub-genre of some group, look it up!) are fairly a-dither in anticipation of this week's opening night for ACT 1's production of A Fann-Made, Permission-Granted, Unofficial Production of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (yep, that's the unwieldy name, thanks to the fine print, legal kinda stuff at the bottom of the page), as it takes over Darkhorse Theatre for six performances (Friday and Saturday nights only) November 18-December 3.

Nashville audiences will be treated to a stage adaptation of one of the internet's biggest pop-culture phenomenon as ACT 1 presents a Fann-made, Permission Granted, Unofficial production of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, running November 18-December 3 at The Darkhorse Theatre.

Not all of the Top Ten Lists announced at Winter's First Night on Sunday, January 9, were serious, high-toned salutes to all that is special and spectacular about live theater in Nashville. Sure, most of them were heartfelt and memorable, but some were (how shall I put this?) off-kilter, tongue-in-cheek and just plain fun. And not all the lists were limited to only ten entries; in fact, some had many more than that. But, for your reading pleasure, we present them to you without any real explanation. You'll have to figure that all out for yourself!

With a cast of 125 performers, a seven-member band, the show's running crew and a smattering of other people holding forth, the backstage scene at last Sunday night's First Night Nashville Theatre Honors was a virtual stage show in itself with all the hustle and bustle amid the hushed tones associated with the backstage area of a huge theatrical production.

Johnny Peppers, the affable 'Every Man' of Nashville theatre, makes his directorial debut with Mixed Nuts, the latest from 3Ps Productions now onstage at Chaffin's Backstage at the Barn. Peppers, who might best be described as the most likable man in Nashville theatre circles - and certainly among the hardest working people onstage anywhere - shows that he is a competent, details-oriented, director whose strongest suit might possibly be his casting skills.

Although the aftermath of devastating floods in the Nashville area resulted in a one-night postponement for the opening of 3Ps Production's Mixed Nuts, directed by Johnny Peppers, the cast will host a fundraiser at Friday night's performance -- Friday, May 7, the show's new opening night -- to benefit those people directly affected by the tragic events of the week.

Flynt Foster, a Franklin-based actor seen recently in the world premiere of Southern Fried Funeral, stars as Michael Caldwell, a shy, aspiring writer from the Midwest who comes to New York in search of fame and fortune. His life becomes a series of hilarious encounters with the unpredictable residents of his dilapidated apartment house including a commercial actor who specializes in portraying inanimate objects, a Russian ballerina on the lam from the KGB, and a wisecracking actress. To maintain his own sanity, Michael retreats to his fantasies, only to find that the world of his imagination is even more nerve-racking than the reality surrounding him.