Laura Thomas News

For Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart to be successful it's vital that you cast three actresses who can convincingly and effectively play the roles of the three McGrath sisters of Hazelhurst, Mississippi. Director Pat Street probably heaved a huge sigh of relief when she saw Melodie Madden Adams, Evelyn Brush and Laura Thomas Sonn walk into auditions, knowing those three were more than equal to the task - but Sondra Morton would be well-advised to watch her back (you'll find out why later).

A favorite of theater audiences since its debut at the 1979 Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors' Theatre of Louisville, Crimes of the Heart is given a faithful and elegantly staged revival at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre. The play moves along at a languid pace befitting its setting and time period - and the story told by the playwright is as engrossing and as richly drawn as it ever was. Moreover, you are struck by the notion that Crimes of the Heart is, indeed, a timeless piece of Southern literature, claiming its rightful place among our region's most memorable prose.

Cori Laemmel is one of those actresses you're instantly drawn to onstage: When she comes on, there's an indefinable quality about her that rivets your attention to her, regardless of the role she's playing. Offstage? Well, you find yourself in that same, almost indefinable, realm of being unable to stop watching her: She's charming, as sweet and disingenuous as anyone could possibly be, funny and slightly goofy - and absolutely, completely, no-doubt-about it a star-in-the-making. Seriously, she's got mad talent and remarkable skill. The fact that she is pursuing her theatrical dreams in Nashville is just so much luck for those of us fortunate enough to revel in the spectacle that is she.

Beth Henley won the Pulitzer Prize for this irreverant, warm-hearted portrayal of three very different sisters struggling to make sense of their lives through a hilarious mix of conflicts, crises and revelations. Starring Melodie Madden Adams, Laura Thomas Sonn and Evelyn Brush. Directed by Pat Street. At the Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) March 25 through April 23. Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (2-for-1; no other discounts apply); Thursday evenings at 8 p.m. (April 7, 21); all Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Discount Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on April 3 and 17. Tickets $27 adults, $25 seniors (over 60) and students. $21 children. For tickets call 615-794-7744 or order online at www.BoilerRoomTheatre.com.

So far as I can tell, the best way to handle the situation - on Monday night, March 28, five of Nashville's most talented young divas aka Cori Laemmel, Erin Parker, Laura Matula, Megan Murphy Chambers and Melodie Madden Adams will be performing a cabaret entitled FIVE - is to send five other young divas (I'd suggest sequestering Laura Thomas Sonn, Heather Trabucco, Stacie Riggs, Jennifer Richmond and Erica Haines Cantrell, just off the top of my head) to an undisclosed location - there's got to be a bunker around here somewhere, what with Oak Ridge so close by - just in case someone drops a bomb on Street Theatre Company

Beth Henley won the Pulitzer Prize for this irreverant, warm-hearted portrayal of three very different sisters struggling to make sense of their lives through a hilarious mix of conflicts, crises and revelations. Starring Melodie Madden Adams, Laura Thomas Sonn and Evelyn Brush. Directed by Pat Street. At the Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) March 25 through April 23. Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (2-for-1; no other discounts apply); Thursday evenings at 8 p.m. (April 7, 21); all Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Discount Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on April 3 and 17. Tickets $27 adults, $25 seniors (over 60) and students. $21 children. For tickets call 615-794-7744 or order online at www.BoilerRoomTheatre.com.

Nashville favorite Tyson Laemmel stars as Robbie, 'a cheesy, but lovable New Jersey rocker' in Circle Players' upcoming production of The Wedding Singer, the upbeat romantic musical comedy that debuted on Broadway in 2006 and is based on the 1998 Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore movie. Starring opposite Laemmel is Laura Thomas Sonn as 'a hopelessly romantic waitress.'

Funny Girl, the classic 1964 Broadway musical that helped cement Barbra Streisand's place in theatrical history, will be the first show featured in Keeping Scores, a new series of Broadway musicals in concert, to be presented at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre. Concerts in the series will be directed by Scott Logsdon (writer/director of the recent staged reading of An American Country Christmas Carol at the Boiler Room) with music direction by Jamey Green, a co-founder of BRT, and will be produced by Sondra Morton, director of operations for the professional theater located at The Factory in Franklin.

Laura Thomas Sonn and Tyson Laemmel are two of the most talented, engaging, charming and capable musical theater stars to be found in Nashville and they bring such joy and life to their characters in The Wedding Singer that it's easy to overlook the problems with the show. Now onstage in a buoyant production from Circle Players, directed with style by Paul J. Cook, The Wedding Singer is only one of the latest examples in the current trend of movies made into stage musicals - and that's one trend I am so ready to be over.

Nashville favorite Tyson Laemmel stars as Robbie, 'a cheesy, but lovable New Jersey rocker' in Circle Players' upcoming production of The Wedding Singer, the upbeat romantic musical comedy that debuted on Broadway in 2006 and is based on the 1998 Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore movie. Starring opposite Laemmel is Laura Thomas Sonn as 'a hopelessly romantic waitress.'

Nashville favorite Tyson Laemmel stars as Robbie, 'a cheesy, but lovable New Jersey rocker' in Circle Players' upcoming production of The Wedding Singer, the upbeat romantic musical comedy that debuted on Broadway in 2006 and is based on the 1998 Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore movie. Starring opposite Laemmel is Laura Thomas Sonn as 'a hopelessly romantic waitress.'

Nashville's divas proved their mettle and showed their immense talents in 2010 while assaying some of the most challenging and best loved roles in all of musical theater. Ranging from classic musical comedy heroines that any actress would love to play to newer, more contemporary characters, Music City's women were given the opportunity to showcase their multitude of talents on various stages while again proving they are capable of virtually anything - and everything. Here are our choices for the top ten musical performances by an actress in 2010...

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 trio of powerful leading performances from Ben Van Diepen, Ciaran McCarthy and Laura Matula, the Boiler Room Theatre production of Jonathan Larson's Pultizer Prize-winning Rent may well be the finest interpretation of the groundbreaking musical we've ever seen. Certainly, we've never seen a more passionate or more engaging mounting of Rent and the cast assembled by director Corbin Green deserve every accolade possible for the obviously heartfelt rendering they give Larson's work.

Boiler Room Theatre, in the historic Factory at Franklin, opens its production of Jonathan Larson's Rent on Friday night, October 1, preceded by a gala celebration at South Gate Studios from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

A cast of more than 125 performers took to the stage of the Troutt Theatre at Belmont University to fete the eight members of the 2010 Class of First Night Honorees in a production that featured the best of the best of Nashville theater and included a surprise appearance by Joseph Mahowald, winner of a 1989 First Night Award, now playing the role of Franklin Hart Jr. in the national tour of 9 to 5: The Musical, which opened in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, September 21.

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.

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.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's residentprofessional theatre company, continues its 10 th season with Jonathan Larson's musicalRent opening October 1, 2010 at the theatre, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tenn. for a run through October 31.

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the Nashville original musical comedy from the creators of the wildly successful 'McBeth! The Musical.' This hysterical musical adaptation of Dickens' novel 'A Tale of Two Cities' pokes fun at shows such as Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, Oliver, and others. Starring Megan (Murphy) Chambers, Stephen Henry, Lisa Gillespie, Dan McGeachy, Phil Perry, Scott Rice, Laura Thomas Sonn and Lane Wright. Directed by Jamey Green with choreography by Lauri Gregoire.