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.
During that time, the talented Ms. Street-Kavanaugh has performed in musicals, plays, commercials, movies and videos and she's done voice-overs, choreography, cabaret, cruise ships and concerts. Furthermore, she's directed and produced, and was nominated for an Irene Ryan national acting award, a First Night Award (for the original production of The Bop She Bops at Chaffin's Backstage at the Barn Theatre in which I compared her to a young Ann Margret) and she won a best actress award as Mama Rose in Circle Players' production of Gypsy.
Christopher Sergel's stage adaptation of Harper Lee's classic Southern novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, will open Tennessee Repertory Theatre's 26th Season with an October 2-23 run at the Andrew Johnson Theatre at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Other shows featured during the 2010-2011 season includes Steven Dietz's Yankee Tavern, the acclaimed stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, and the toe-tapping musical favorite Pump Boys and Dinettes. Last season's holiday hit, A Christmas Story, will be revived as a season special and Tennessee Rep has three shows on tap for its popular REPaloud Series of staged readings.
The Troutt Theatre at Belmont University will play host to the First Night Nashville Theatre Honors this fall, following the announcement of honorees in August during a party now being planned. Jeffrey Ellis, who covers Nashville theatre for BroadwayWorld.com and was founder and executive producer of The First Night Awards, will return in his original role and will oversee the event. Jane Kelley Watt, longtime musical director of the awards ceremony, will also return in that capacity. John Northrup is stage manager for the event.
Martha Wilkinson, one of Nashville's most popular actresses, will take on the role of Diane, which won Julie White the Tony Award for her performance on Broadway. Wilkinson is joined in the reading by her husband, David Compton, as well as Marin Miller and Patrick Waller. Lauren Shouse, Tennessee Rep's artistic associate, will direct.
Martha Wilkinson, one of Nashville's most popular actresses, will take on the role of Diane, which won Julie White the Tony Award for her performance on Broadway. Wilkinson is joined in the reading by her husband, David Compton, as well as Marin Miller and Patrick Waller. Lauren Shouse, Tennessee Rep's artistic associate, will direct.
Martha Wilkinson, one of Nashville's most popular actresses, will take on the role of Diane, which won Julie White the Tony Award for her performance on Broadway. Wilkinson is joined in the reading by her husband, David Compton, as well as Marin Miller and Patrick Waller. Lauren Shouse, Tennessee Rep's artistic associate, will direct.
A graduate of Nashville's Overton High School and Western Kentucky University, Christi Dortch is also one of those hard-to-find Nashville natives. With Music City serving as an entertainment mecca, attracting creative types from all over the world, Christi is homegrown, as it were, plying her trade in her hometown - and loving every minute of it. When she left to work for the Westport (Connecticut) Country Playhouse, her presence was sorely missed and her subsequent homecoming was greeted with enthusiasm by her friends, family and supporters - and TPAC patrons who have her to thank for some of their greatest theatrical experiences.
The Nashville-based actor is always onstage, getting ready to onstage, recovering from being onstage - well, you get the drift - Brian Russell works a lot. During his tenure in Music City, he's justifiably gained a reputation as one of the city's most talent thespians and he's worked for most of the major companies in town, including Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Nashville Children's Theatre. As versatile as he is busy, with a resume as long as his arm, Russell might have won the most acclaim for his performances in works by the Bard, but he's been lauded just as vociferously for his roles in comedies and musical theatre.
Most recently, she appeared in Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Boiler Room Theatre and now serves as secretary of the board of directors for Street Theatre Company. She's appeared in productions for Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, Actors Bridge Ensemble, Circle Players, ACT I, Nashville Shakespeare Festival - well, you get the idea...this woman has built an impressive resume in Nashville, including an acclaimed turn as the Stage Manager in ACT I's production of Our Town, Nurse Ratched in Street Theatre Company's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and one amazing turn as Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show for one very lucky and grateful director (yours truly).
You can tell a great deal about the Nashville theatre community through the productions staged, you can read feature stories and reviews until the cows come home, but to really know what a life in the theatre is all about in Nashville, you have to get to know the people, the personalities who give Music City its dramatic flair. The first person profiled in this series is Brenda Sparks, an accomplished actress, respected director, competent producer and stage manager, wife and mother...Brenda wears a lot of different hats in her day-to-day life and she wears them well.
