Laura Williams News

Something's afoot at various Nashville area and Tennessee theaters this summer with all sorts of fun and frivolity being served up for audiences. Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre offers its sparkling revival of Fiddler On The Roof, starring Derek Whittaker and Debbie Kraski, while at Dickson's Renaissance Center, the Renaissance Players presents its new production of Bye Bye Birdie, starring Carl Blunt, Michelle Valenti, Marilyn Fair and Brad Burns. Meanwhile, up in Clarksville-at The Roxy Regional Theatre-audiences are enjoying 101 Dalmatians Jr. The Musical, featuring favorite Ryan Bowie in the role of a lifetime: Cruella DeVille.

Valenti (playing Rose Alvarez, Albert's girl Friday/girlfriend) and Fair (as his overbearing mother, Mae Peterson) pretty much dominate the action as they deliver perfectly-timed, expertly crafted performances as the two women in feckless Albert's life, ensuring that a good time will be had by all in the fast-moving, quick-paced and altogether entertaining show. Directed and choreographed by Bryan J. Wlas (who celebrated a birthday during the show's first weekend of shows) with musical direction by Nathan W. Brown, Bye Bye Birdie offers a delightfully nostalgic look back at the beginnings of rock-star idolatry and the evolving manners and social mores of the early 1960s.

Bye Bye Birdie-conjuring up memories of Elvis Presley and the fan fervor that greeted a lot of musical acts in the 1950s and '60s-takes center stage at Dickson's Renaissance Center in June as the Renaissance Players present the musical theater classic tonight, June 1 through June 17.

Bye Bye Birdie-conjuring up memories of Elvis Presley and the fan fervor that greeted a lot of musical acts in the 1950s and '60s-takes center stage at Dickson's Renaissance Center in June as the Renaissance Players present the musical theater classic June 1-17.

Barefoot in the Park is set to arrive at Sioux Empire Community Theatre on October 28, 2012.

The One-act Play is Alive and Well and Living in The Village in WHAT I MEANT WAS..., a smorgasbord of bizarre characters, hilarious stories, and quiet introspection. The evening and its characters prove that Vinnie Marano is one of the most versatile and original voices in New York independent theater today.

The One-act Play is Alive and Well and Living in The Village in WHAT I MEANT WAS..., a smorgasbord of bizarre characters, hilarious stories, and quiet introspection. The evening and its characters prove that Vinnie Marano is one of the most versatile and original voices in New York independent theater today.

A Collapse, written and directed by Vincent Marano, will head Off-Broadway after having played the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival

Vincent Marano's A Collapse will play FringeNYC from August 13th through August 25th