Audrey, that flesh-eating plant that has made Little Shop of Horrors both a film and stage hit, sets down roots in Crossville beginning May 19, continuing through August 6, at Cumberland County Playhouse. Directed by John Fionte, with music direction by Ron Murphy and choreography by Leila Marshall, Little Shop stars the wife-and-husband team of Lindy and Greg Pendzick as the woman who lends her name to that monstrous plant and her dweeby suitor, Seymour, the budding horticulturalist whose experiments result in some unexpected flower shop carnage.
Camp Rock, The Musical could easily be dismissed as so much homogenized, Disneyfied, teenaged pablum - but, in reality, it's much more than that. It's a fast-moving, engaging love story set to music and is much more akin to all those Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney 'let's put on a show!' movies than you might expect.
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...
'There are no small parts, only small actors,' goes the old theatrical saw that's tossed about willy-nilly to encourage budding thespians to take on roles they suspect might be beneath them and their lofty stature. But, of course, there's much truth to be found in the axiom and you will certainly see it brought to life in the efforts of the members of many acting ensembles, particularly those considered among the best in Nashville's 2010 theater season:
Forget the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or schlepping to the mall to shop 'til you drop on Black Friday, the best - and definitely the most joyous - way to welcome the holiday season is a trip to Crossville for Cumberland County Playhouse's gloriously rapturous production of She Loves Me, the lovely and lyrical musical from Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick.
Now onstage at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse is Sanders Family Christmas, the second part of the trilogy, in which the gospel-singing family returns to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church for a Christmas Eve singing in 1941, just two days before son Dennis ('He's the boy!') leaves to join the Marines and go off to the big adventure that is World War II. The Playhouse has been very good to the Sanders Family over the years (in fact, next year Smoke on the Mountain will start its 18th annual season at the venue) and, in turn, the Sanders Family has been very good to the Playhouse, bringing in countless devoted and new fans for the theater. And it's easy to see why.
Brigadoon, onstage at Cumberland County Playhouse through November 21, could well be one of the closest-to-sheer-perfection musical theater experiences I've ever had, beautifully played and exquisitely staged, performed by a phenomenally gifted cast led by the multi-talented Britt Hancock (who sings, act and dances with vigorous conviction) as Tommy Albright. If you are a true lover of musical theater, you really must go see it before Brigadoon once again disappears into the mist.
