Martha Wilkinson News

Shakespeare meets the Hatfields and the McCoys this summer in Tennessee Shakespeare Festival's family-friendly The Comedy of Errors, running June 17-July 10 in Bell Buckle on the campus of the Webb School. Tennessee Shakespeare Festival's latest production, The Comedy of Errors - described as 'a rollicking version of William Shakespeare's madcap tale of mistaken identity, set in the highlands of 1880s West Virginia.'

Tennessee's best and brightest theatrical stars will take to the stage of the Boiler Room Theatre -to celebrate The Tony Awards during First Night: The Tony Concert, presented by Keeping Scores Concerts on Monday, June 6 - and to perform an evening of songs from Broadway musicals that have won the Tony Award for best musical.

Over the years, Rene Dunshee Copeland, Pam Atha and Martha Wilkinson have collaborated numerous times on all sorts of musicals - and among them, they have garnered the lion's share of First Night Awards presented for achievement in musical theater in Nashville - and so it's pretty damn exciting for the three of them (along with musical director Paul Carrol Binkley) to be on-board for Tennessee Repertory Theatre's Pump Boys and Dinettes, which brings the company's 2010-11 season to a riotous, rip-roaring close!

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present its production of the Tony-nominated, toe-tapping musical Pump Boys and Dinettes created by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, and Jim Wann.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre has announced plans for REPaloud, the popular play reading series which highlights contemporary plays.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre has announced plans for REPaloud, the popular play reading series which highlights contemporary plays.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present its production of the Tony-nominated, toe-tapping musical Pump Boys and Dinettes created by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, and Jim Wann.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre has announced plans for REPaloud, the popular play reading series which highlights contemporary plays.

There is an embarrassment of riches on display in Tennessee Repertory Theatre's production of The 39 Steps - not the least of which is the cumulative effort of four of Nashville's finest actors showing off everything in their estimable bag of tricks to bring this enormously entertaining play to life. Add to those efforts another stunning set by Gary Hoff, Trish Clark's period-perfect costumes, Michael Barnett's gorgeous lighting and Paul Carrol Binkley's stellar sound design and you clearly have one of the season's most successful offerings, technically and artistically delivered.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present its production of the hilarious farce Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present its production of the hilarious farce Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps.

At first blush, Beth Bailey - the anti-heroine of 'Til Beth Do Us Part, the new comedy from the crackerjack writing triumvirate otherwise known as Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten - is a Southern-bred, country-fried rube with questionable fashion taste and amazing organizational skills. Delve a little bit deeper and you'll find that she's a manipulative, conniving bitch of a 100% cotton barracuda. And played by Kim Thornton Nygren, she's one heck of looker with a flair for over-the-top pratfalls and expert timing.

In honor of Valentine's Day (and in a blatant rip-off of BroadwayWorld.com's similar query to the denizens of the Great White Way), we posed that very question to some of our favorite theater community-dwellers in yet another not-so-scientific survey. So, if you're thinking about putting together a playlist of favorite love songs - or if you're searching for the perfect tunes to play in the background while you set the scene for a romantic evening with your own Valentine, here are some suggestions...

A slice of Broadway comes to Franklin for the fifth annual Broadway at Bethlehem benefit on Saturday, February 12, with the talents of Tennessee Rep/Broadwayworld.com favorite Martha Wilkinson, international performers Holly Shepherd and Jennifer Richmond, as well as popular Nashville-area artists Daron Bruce, Amanda Lamb and B.J. Rowell at the Bethlehem UMC Performing Arts Center, 2419 Bethlehem Loop Road, Franklin.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre presents 'Til Beth Do Us Part, a comedy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten - the successful trio of playwrights behind Dearly Beloved and Christmas Belles - for a February 10-March 19 run at the venerable Nashville dinner theater. Directed by Martha Wilkinson, 'Til Beth Do Us Part features Lydia Bushfield, Warren Gore, Kim Nygren, Debbie Kraski, Tammie Whited and Charlie Winton.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre presents 'Til Beth Do Us Part, a comedy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten - the successful trio of playwrights behind Dearly Beloved and Christmas Belles - for a February 10-March 19 run at the venerable Nashville dinner theater. Directed by Martha Wilkinson, 'Til Beth Do Us Part features Lydia Bushfield, Warren Gore, Kim Nygren, Debbie Kraski, Tammie Whited and Charlie Winton.

A slice of Broadway comes to Franklin for the fifth annual Broadway at Bethlehem benefit on Saturday, February 12, with the talents of Tennessee Rep/Broadwayworld.com favorite Martha Wilkinson, international performers Holly Shepherd and Jennifer Richmond, as well as popular Nashville-area artists Daron Bruce, Amanda Lamb and B.J. Rowell at the Bethlehem UMC Performing Arts Center, 2419 Bethlehem Loop Road, Franklin.

Ten versatile and talented Nashville area men took on roles in musical theater that other actors would love to play, proving once again that country music isn't the only genre that makes this Music City USA. Musical theater is alive and well in Tennessee and with the plethora of talent to be found on Volunteer State stages, actors can display their tremendous range while singing and dancing. These men comprise the list of the ten best performances by actors in musicals in 2010...

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...

'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: