Kate Adams-Johnson News

Director Kate Adams-Johnson, aka Nashville's busiest choreographer, is putting yet another cast through the paces in preparation for another opening night. But this time, she's serious. Very serious. The show, you see, is every dancer's favorite musical: A Chorus Line. Kate's cast is a blending of familiar faces and newcomers and so over the next couple of weeks, we're introducing the members of The Keeton Theatre's cast to you. As you'll see, some of them have much to learn about being interviewed by 'Nashville's favorite theater critic.' First up is Andy Mann...

Clint Jefferies' The Three Musketeers, a musical retelling of the classic Alexandre Dumas tale of the young D'Artagnan, who leaves home to seek for adventure and glory in Paris with the King's Musketeers, will be presented by Donelson's Larry Keeton Theatre, March 11-27.

Clint Jefferies' The Three Musketeers, a musical retelling of the classic Alexandre Dumas tale of the young D'Artagnan, who leaves home to seek for adventure and glory in Paris with the King's Musketeers, will be presented by Donelson's Larry Keeton Theatre, March 11-27.

Clint Jefferies' The Three Musketeers, a musical retelling of the classic Alexandre Dumas tale of the young D'Artagnan, who leaves home to seek for adventure and glory in Paris with the King's Musketeers, will be presented by Donelson's Larry Keeton Theatre, March 11-27.

To see Erin Spencer dance is to fall a little bit in love with her. Talented and determined, ambitious and creative...she's kind of a force of nature. One of the growing number of dancers in the Nashville area who focus on theatrical performances - she has a heady resume of performance with several theater companies here - she's gaining a much-deserved reputation as an exceptional performer with an amazing work ethic.

As a dancer and choreographer, Cary Street's a pretty recognizable face in Nashville theater circles, having worked with Circle Players, Boiler Room Theatre, Towne Centre Theatre, Mansker Players, The Larry Keeton Theatre and so many more Tennessee theater companies. And that makes her an ideal choice to kick off This Dancer's Life, our newest series of interviews about the people who pursue their dreams of art and performance in Nashville.

Think about it: What if you were watching The King and I and when Anna and the King of Siam started to sing 'Shall We Dance' and they just stood there, it just wouldn't have much of an impact, would it? Or if all those budding chorus members in A Chorus Line just stood around and talked about dancing but never did even the most basic shuffle-ball-change...sounds pretty bleak, doesn't it? That's where choreographers come into the picture; they collaborate with the director, the music director and the cast members to create movement that elevates every musical comedy. Without them, the action remains stagebound and static. A choreographer allows your heart to soar along with the performers onstage, making musical comedy all the more compelling and transformative. These talented men and women created remarkable and memorable work in 2010 as First Night's Top Choreographers...

If you find yourself venturing outside of New York, and you want to see some really good musical theater, what should you do? Allow me to suggest a visit to my neck o' the woods: A trip to Nashville might provide you with exactly what you seek. After all, in a city perhaps best known throughout the world as Music City USA, what else could you expect but some exceedingly well-cast, well-produced, well-played and well-sung musical theater? We're lousy with exceptional singers and musicians and, as a result, musical theater is alive and well - and thriving - in Nashville. And here's my list of the Best Musicals of 2010...

Donelson's Larry Keeton Theatre will present the turn-of-the-century classic Meet Me in St. Louis, November 5-21, directed and choreographed by Kate Adams-Johnson, with music direction by Ginger Newman. The show, based on the beloved 1944 MGM movie, contains many of the popular songs from its film counterpart including 'The Trolley Song', 'The Boy Next Door', 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' and 'Meet Me In St. Louis.'

Truth be told, 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' is one of my all-time favorite holiday songs - sweetly sentimental, blending holiday hope with a certain melancholic sensibility that is perfect for the season. Thankfully, Casey Gilbert's rendition of the song (long associated with the unparalleled Judy Garland) in The Keeton Theatre's production of Meet Me in St. Louis is beautifully sung and Kate Adams-Johnson directs that particular scene with a seasoned hand and an imaginative, visual aesthetic.

Donelson's Larry Keeton Theatre will present the turn-of-the-century classic Meet Me in St. Louis, November 5-21, directed and choreographed by Kate Adams-Johnson, with music direction by Ginger Newman. The show, based on the beloved 1944 MGM movie, contains many of the popular songs from its film counterpart including 'The Trolley Song', 'The Boy Next Door', 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' and 'Meet Me In St. Louis.'

Donelson's Larry Keeton Theatre will present the turn-of-the-century classic Meet Me in St. Louis, November 5-21, directed and choreographed by Kate Adams-Johnson, with music direction by Ginger Newman. The show, based on the beloved 1944 MGM movie, contains many of the popular songs from its film counterpart including 'The Trolley Song', 'The Boy Next Door', 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' and 'Meet Me In St. Louis.'

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.

Photographer Stacy Battles, one of Nashville's best known celebrity photographers, was on hand to shoot the red carpet arrivals that heralded the return of First Night, after an absence of some 14 years. First Night is presented by Jeffrey Ellis, who covers Nashville theater for BroadwayWorld.com, and who is the founder of the awards celebration that was first held on September 17, 1989.

Members of the Nashville theatre and dance community - including many performing companies and individual artists - will take part in ARTS for Nashville-Flood Relief Fundraiser, to be held Saturday, May 22 at 7 p.m. at the Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson. They will join forces to raise money for those people affected by the recent catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee. Proceeds from Saturday night's event will go to the Nashville Salvation Army's Local Flood Relief Direct Services. In addition, the Keeton Theatre will be collecting food items for Second Harvest Food Bank. Tickets for the show are $20 and are available online at www.ticketsnashville.com.

Members of the Nashville theatre and dance community - including many performing companies and individual artists - will take part in ARTS for Nashville-Flood Relief Fundraiser, to be held Saturday, May 22 at 7 p.m. at the Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson. They will join forces to raise money for those people affected by the recent catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee. Proceeds from Saturday night's event will go to the Nashville Salvation Army's Local Flood Relief Direct Services. In addition, the Keeton Theatre will be collecting food items for Second Harvest Food Bank. Tickets for the show are $20 and are available online at www.ticketsnashville.com.

A revival of Circle Players' 2008 production, which was staged at the company's then-home at the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre, this 'new and improved' mounting (a collaboration between Circle and SCA) is astounding in its sheer chutzpah. Who'd have ever thought a community theatre could take on such a daunting task and be so imminently successful in doing so? Frankly, it boggles the mind.

But the week before the show, cast members from the production of Titanic, the Musical took part in the opening ceremonies for the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The cast performed the opening number from the show which introduces many of the people who were on the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic and ends with the stirring anthem 'Godspeed, Titanic.'

Swing!, the Broadway musical that celebrates the music and dance phenomenon will play its final show at The Senior Center for the Arts' Nashville Dinner Theatre on February 28.

As good as Swing! is - and it is very good despite some dangerously frightening near-misses and a rather frenetic pace - one thing bothers me: Why did Adams-Johnson, borrowing a journalistic reference, bury her lead in the middle of the second act? Every journalism student learns in News Writing 101 that you never want to bury your lead; you want the most pertinent bit of information in your first paragraph. In the case of Swing!, you're offered tantalizing glimpses of the story's lead as soon as the curtain opens, but the show doesn't deliver the goods until well into the show's second hour.