Kathleen O'Brien News

Variety is what distinguishes the mix of styles and stories in the 2011-12 series of HCA/TriStar Broadway at TPAC.

Six of the leading lights of the theater world in Tennessee will be recognized as members of the 2011 Class of First Night Honorees August 27-September 4 as First Night, the Nashville Theatre Honors hosts a series of theatrical events to celebrate their achievements and accomplishments.

First Night: The Honors Gala is set for Sunday, September 4, at the Troutt Theatre at Belmont University, which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with the Red Carpet Event, hosted by Jennifer Richmond and Trey Palmer, with fashion commentary by Cary Street, Joshua Waldrep and Lisa Garner Harrison. Impresario Johnny Delarocco (aka John Pyka) will produce a special Red Carpet performance by his company just for First Night.

Born on athletic fields across the nation, BLAST! is a novel art form evolved from the showmanship of outdoor pageantry. A celebration of movement and music, BLAST! explodes the genre with the artistry of the theatre. BLAST! is musical spectacle; it is music in motion.

Five of the six honorees - Brewer, Hoff, Proctor, Sasser and Shute-Pettaway - gathered on the East Bank of the Cumberland River on Wednesday, August 3, to have their official First Night photographs taken by acclaimed Nashville photographer Barry A. Noland. Atha is out of town until month's end, when she returns for all the First Night festivities.

Six of the leading lights of the theater world in Tennessee will be recognized as members of the 2011 Class of First Night Honorees August 27-September 4 as First Night, the Nashville Theatre Honors hosts a series of theatrical events to celebrate their achievements and accomplishments.

After breaking box office records and selling out in record time in 2009, WICKED, Broadway's biggest blockbuster will return to Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center, October 19 through November 6.

You do not have to have stretch marks to find meaning in Angela Kariotis' latest theatrical adventure - you just have to have been born.

You do not have to have stretch marks to find meaning in Angela Kariotis' latest theatrical adventure - you just have to have been born.

You do not have to have stretch marks to find meaning in Angela Kariotis' latest theatrical adventure - you just have to have been born.

Variety is what distinguishes the mix of styles and stories in the 2011-12 series of HCA/TriStar Broadway at TPAC.

The Tennessee Performing Arts Center announced the cancellation of the two remaining concerts in the new Signature Series, Luciana Souza with fellow Brazilian jazz artist Romero Lubambo, March 11, and Chris Brubeck's Triple Play with Peter "Madcat" Ruth and Joel Brown, April 6.

ELLA, the exhilarating new musical about 'The First Lady of Song,' Ella Fitzgerald, is coming to TPAC's James K. Polk Theater, March 1-6.

The Tennessee Performing Arts Center opened a satellite box office in The Mall at Green Hills, Friday, February 25.

The Tennessee Performing Arts Center announced the cancellation of the two remaining concerts in the new Signature Series, Luciana Souza with fellow Brazilian jazz artist Romero Lubambo, March 11, and Chris Brubeck's Triple Play with Peter "Madcat" Ruth and Joel Brown, April 6.

ELLA, the exhilarating new musical about 'The First Lady of Song,' Ella Fitzgerald, is coming to TPAC's James K. Polk Theater, March 1-6.

One of Minnesota's most iconic buildings, the University of Minnesota's Northrop, will be getting a major overhaul after today's action by the Board of Regents. The board gave their final approval for the financing package that will transform Northrop into a 'vital academic center of distinction and discovery that enlightens, challenges, and engages students, faculty, and the community.'

If you were asked to name Nashville's Top Ten Favorite Musicals, what show would you name as number one? Perhaps surprisingly, when that question was posed to a group of Nashville theater folk, the number one-ranked show is Les Miserables (but perhaps it's not that surprising, since Victor Hugo's book was a huge hit in the American South upon its initial publication in this country), followed by A Chorus Line, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods claiming the remaining slots in the Top Five.

SHREK THE MUSICAL with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, directed by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford, will close at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on January 30.

DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions, Ltd. are pleased to announce that SHREK THE MUSICAL with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, directed by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford, will play Tennessee Performing Arts Center , January 25 through 30.