Martha Wilkinson News

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Amanda Card McCoy, who made her Barn debut in the acclaimed comedy Boeing Boeing, which was followed closely by her performance in Nate Eppler's Modern Love. Today, Amanda shares her memories of working at The Barn to the ones that we've been sharing of late to celebrate the 45th anniversary…

Outrageously funny, wonderfully engaging and, at times, even heartfelt and sentimental, Avenue Q serves up a full buffet for the discerning theater-goer lucky enough to find himself in the audience of Street Theatre Company's production of the multiple Tony Award-winning musical, directed with flash and sass by Martha Wilkinson and featuring a cast of amazingly adept actors-turned-puppeteers who bring the show to life.

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Lisa Marie Wright, who made her debut at the Barn in A Christmas Cactus in 1998, and most recently was onstage playing the Christine Penmark, the mom of the dastardly Rhoda Penmark in The Bad Seed at Street Theatre Company…

Winner of the TONY "TRIPLE CROWN" for BEST MUSICAL, BEST SCORE and BEST BOOK, AVENUE Q is part flesh, part felt and packed with heart. AVENUE Q tells the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who moves to NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The only apartment he can afford is way out on Avenue Q, where everyone's looking for the same things he is: a decent job, a stable relationship, and a 'purpose.' Eventually, Princeton learns to embrace the ups and downs of city life and realizes that 'the real world' isn't so bad, after all!

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Joanna Hackman, who recently made her debut at the Barn in the hit comedy Boeing Boeing, and who will be leaving Nashville shortly to give the West Coast a shot at her (and those of her husband Daniel Hackman) talents…

From the same writing team that created Frankly, My Dear-Duke Ernsburger and Virginia Cate-comes the latest comedy opening at Nashville's Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre: Elvis Has Left the Building. Running through March 18, the comedy is directed by Martha Wilkinson, artistic director of the company that is celebrating its 45th season of bringing theater to Nashville audiences.

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Andrea Hodgin Osborne, who made her debut at The Barn in 1994 in Smoke on the Mountain, quickly establishing herself as a favorite of Barn audiences and the Nashville theater community. Among my most vivid memories of Andrea was her performance-along with Tim Fudge and Darren Stuart-of "Our Time" from Stephen Sondheim's Merrily WE Roll Along, which was the closing number for the 1995 First Night Awards at Nashville Children's Theatre (and she toiled, for a while, as my personal assistant).

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Amanda Lamb, who made her debut at The Barn in the 2005, and who handled phone duties for the company for a number of years before heading back to graduate school. Luckily, for local audiences, she's still available to work on some shows from time-to-time and luckily, for us, she found time to offer her backstage/onstage/offstage memories of Nashville's legendary dinner theater.

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actor Lane Wright, one of Nashville's most easily recognizable actors, who most recently starred in The Rainmaker and right now is onstage at Nashville's Z. Alexander Looby Theatre in The Disappearance of Janey Jones, presented by Tennessee Women's Theater Project (which is directed by Maryanna Clarke, herself a Barn alum).

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actor Michael Edwards, who made his debut at The Barn in the 1970, continuing to work there until 1990. For many people from that era, Mike Edwards was-and still is, in so many ways-the face of Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, the actor most recognizable for the long list of roles he played there.

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actor Mark Delabarre, who made his debut at The Barn in the 1997 production of Sugar Babies-the Broadway musical comedy hit that actually got its start at the Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. And like Nancy Allen and Dietz Osborne (the first two Barn alums to take part in our continuing series), Delabarre's memories of working at the theater are vivid, funny and heartfelt.

Now owned by the second-generation Chaffins-John and Janie, who were recognized among Nashville's Top Entrepreneurs of 2012 by Business Leader Magazine-The Barn has touched the lives of many, both onstage and off-, and today we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actor/director/playwright Dietz Osborne, who made his debut at The Barn in a 1998 production of Guys and Dolls-and up until recently, his was the voice you heard on the company's voice mail system directing you which number to push when you call in to make reservations, inquire about group events or to buy a gift certificate.

Winner of the TONY "TRIPLE CROWN" for BEST MUSICAL, BEST SCORE and BEST BOOK, AVENUE Q is part flesh, part felt and packed with heart. AVENUE Q tells the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who moves to NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The only apartment he can afford is way out on Avenue Q, where everyone's looking for the same things he is: a decent job, a stable relationship, and a 'purpose.' Eventually, Princeton learns to embrace the ups and downs of city life and realizes that 'the real world' isn't so bad, after all!

Now owned by the second-generation Chaffins-John and Janie, who were recognized among Nashville's Top Entrepreneurs of 2012 by Business Leader Magazine-The Barn has touched the lives of many, both onstage and off-, and today we launch our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Nancy Allen, who first set foot on that magical levitating stage in a production of The Robber Bridegroom, directed by Rene Dunshee Copeland.

In the days before Tommy in Concert bows at STC's venue (conveniently located at 1933 Elm Hill Pike), we'll introduce you to the principals who weigh in with their takes on the production. First up: Holly Shepherd, a Nashville stage favorite making her STC debut which follows her recent one-woman show that wowed sold-out crowds and her First Night's Top 11 of 2011-honored performance as Miss Hannigan in Annie at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre…

Try as they might, director Martha Wilkinson and her talented ensemble of actors just can't breathe enough life into a thin, tepid script to make it work onstage for audiences eager to be entertained. Virginia Cate and Duke Ernsberger's Elvis Has Left The Building is pleasant enough, with a promising premise, yet it falls flat despite the best efforts of the cast and crew putting forth the new production at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre.

What is described as 'an incredible slice of Broadway' comes to Franklin for the sixth annual Broadway at Bethlehem - Divas & Desserts benefit on Saturday, February 18 with an array of talented performers including Broadwayworld.com award-winning actors Dietz Osborne and Martha Wilkinson co-hosting and featuring singers Megan Murphy Chambers, Melodie Madden Adams, Laura Matula, Kandace Williams and Maggie McNulty at the Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Performing Arts Center, 2419 Bethlehem Loop Road in Franklin, Tennessee.

From the same writing team that created Frankly, My Dear-Duke Ernsburger and Virginia Cate-comes the latest comedy opening at Nashville's Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre: Elvis Has Left the Building. Running February 16-March 18, the comedy is directed by Martha Wilkinson, artistic director of the company that is celebrating its 45th season of bringing theater to Nashville audiences.

From the same writing team that created Frankly, My Dear-Duke Ernsburger and Virginia Cate-comes the latest comedy opening at Nashville's Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre: Elvis Has Left the Building. Running February 16-March 18, the comedy is directed by Martha Wilkinson, artistic director of the company that is celebrating its 45th season of bringing theater to Nashville audiences.

What is described as 'an incredible slice of Broadway' comes to Franklin for the sixth annual Broadway at Bethlehem - Divas & Desserts benefit on Saturday, February 18 with an array of talented performers including Broadwayworld.com award-winning actors Dietz Osborne and Martha Wilkinson co-hosting and featuring singers Megan Murphy Chambers, Melodie Madden Adams, Laura Matula, Kandace Williams and Maggie McNulty at the Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Performing Arts Center, 2419 Bethlehem Loop Road in Franklin, Tennessee.