Martha Wilkinson directs a cast of Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre favorites in the upcoming Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming, the latest installment of the Sanders Family trilogy, conceived by Alan Bailey and written by Connie Ray. With Tim Fudge (who directed the last installment - Sanders Family Christmas - during the holiday season) as music director, the show runs July 22-August 28.
Martha Wilkinson directs a cast of Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre favorites in the upcoming Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming, the latest installment of the Sanders Family trilogy, conceived by Alan Bailey and written by Connie Ray. With Tim Fudge (who directed the last installment - Sanders Family Christmas - during the holiday season) as music director, the show runs July 22-August 28.
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.
In Chaffin's comedy, an inept private detective (whose car breaks down on a lonely stretch of country road late at night in a rain storm) seeks shelter in a secluded country mansion, only to be greeted at the door by a beautiful yet strange young woman - and a corpse lying on the foyer floor. It's the butler and hes been stabbed to death!
Starring a whole slew of Barn regulars hamming it up, The Butler Done It is cliche-filled romp -- and while it covers no new ground, Chaffin, Wilkinson and company are clearly in on the joke and make certain to include their audience in the fun. That's an essential part of the show's hard-won success: Some of the situations are groan-inducing, some of the lines are cringe-worthy and the plot is, well, predictable. But Wilkinson's keen eye for what works onstage and what's really funny, coupled with the estimable efforts of her hard-working cast result in a pleasantly diverting night of theatre. They get it - and they make sure you (the audience member) get it too!
Although the aftermath of devastating floods in the Nashville area resulted in a one-night postponement for the opening of 3Ps Production's Mixed Nuts, directed by Johnny Peppers, the cast will host a fundraiser at Friday night's performance -- Friday, May 7, the show's new opening night -- to benefit those people directly affected by the tragic events of the week.
In Chaffin's comedy, an inept private detective (whose car breaks down on a lonely stretch of country road late at night in a rain storm) seeks shelter in a secluded country mansion, only to be greeted at the door by a beautiful yet strange young woman - and a corpse lying on the foyer floor. It's the butler and hes been stabbed to death!
In Chaffin's comedy, an inept private detective (whose car breaks down on a lonely stretch of country road late at night in a rain storm) seeks shelter in a secluded country mansion, only to be greeted at the door by a beautiful yet strange young woman - and a corpse lying on the foyer floor. It's the butler and hes been stabbed to death!
The time is 1939 and Selznick has already begun filming Gone With the Wind, but needs a new script. There's only one writer up to the task - the legendary Ben Hecht. The only problem is that Hecht has never read the book and there's only one week to re-write the script. Selznick locks himself, Hecht and director Victor Fleming (pulled off the set of The Wizard of Oz, which he is also directing) in his office to get the job done.
It's 1939 and producer David O. Selznick (played by Derek Whittaker) finds himself under the gun: He only has seven days to fashion a shooting script for his epic film version of Margaret Mitchell's worldwide bestseller. Virtually every writer of note (including Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald) has submitted a treatment of the novel only to have Selznick - whose reputation as a controlling perfectionist remains intact in this play - reject every one of them
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The time is 1939 and Selznick has already begun filming Gone With the Wind, but needs a new script. There's only one writer up to the task - the legendary Ben Hecht. The only problem is that Hecht has never read the book and there's only one week to re-write the script. Selznick locks himself, Hecht and director Victor Fleming (pulled off the set of The Wizard of Oz, which he is also directing) in his office to get the job done.
There may be actors who could give better performances as john and jen than Patrick Waller and Martha Wilkinson but they would have to be some sort of imaginary, dream-like apparitions to even come close to the stunningly brave and thoroughly focused interpretations given by these two exemplary Nashville artists. Consider it an ideal marriage of actors and characters, the perfect confluence of artists at their creative best coming together to breathe life and renewed vitality into their fictional counterparts, who are so richly drawn and evocatively written by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald in their chamber musical now onstage at Chaffin's Backstage at the Barn in the debut production of Johnny Peppers' 3Ps Productions.
No matter what anyone else may say, Johnny Peppers is definitely the hardest working man in Nashville theatre. Sure, there are those people who might give him a run for his money, but this week there's just no contest. Not only is he producing two shows opening on successive nights, he's playing the lead in one of them.
'Martha' is Martha Wilkinson, an actress who's been on the scene for more than 20 years, performing on stages all over town, racking up glowing notices other actresses would kill for, carting off nine - count 'em, nine! - First Night Awards, being named the Nashville Scene's best actress, ranking atop Nashville.BroadwayWorld.com's year-end review for 2009, and winning hearts every time she walks onstage.
Good naturedly, Waller takes the ribbing from Wilkinson and Fudge in stride, which is quite a good thing considering they are masters of the game. Longtime friends and professional collaborators, the worldly wise and experienced pair have welcomed Waller into their charmed inner circle with open arms - and the easy camaraderie among the three is by turns compelling, rollicking and, quite frankly, amazing. In conversation (particularly in an interview about their current project) , where one starts, another takes off and the third continues, with punch-lines abounding, self-deprecation the rule of the day and laughter at every turn. It's an easy give-and-take that promises a particularly entertaining production of the Andrew Lippa-Tom Greenwald chamber musical, john and jen.
Poor Tim Fudge! Could we all just join hands, figuratively speaking, and lift our voices in prayer (to whomever or whatever you feel like praying) for this multi-talented man who is faced with a most daunting task: He's the musical director for john & jen, the Andrew Lippa-Tom Greenwald musical being mounted by Johnny Peppers' 3Ps Productions and starring Martha Wilkinson and Patrick Waller, for a three week run at Backstage at the Barn.
Martha Wilkinson, one of Nashville's most popular actresses, will take on the role of Diane, which won Julie White the Tony Award for her performance on Broadway. Wilkinson is joined in the reading by her husband, David Compton, as well as Marin Miller and Patrick Waller. Lauren Shouse, Tennessee Rep's artistic associate, will direct.
Martha Wilkinson, one of Nashville's most popular actresses, will take on the role of Diane, which won Julie White the Tony Award for her performance on Broadway. Wilkinson is joined in the reading by her husband, David Compton, as well as Marin Miller and Patrick Waller. Lauren Shouse, Tennessee Rep's artistic associate, will direct.
Martha Wilkinson and Patrick Waller, lauded by both the Nashville Scene and Nashville.BroadwayWorld.com as the best actress and actor in Nashville, will team up to star in a production of the Andrew Lippa musical john & jen, playing the Backstage at the Barn venue for a limited run February 4-20. Tim Fudge will music direct the production. Waller and Wilkinson have shared the stage together on several occasions, most recently in Tennessee Rep's award-winnng production of Sweeney Todd, in which they played Toby and Mrs. Lovett respectively. They've also appeared onstage together in Johnny Guitar at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre and in The Underpants at Tennessee Rep.
If, indeed, 'it takes a village,' and if, as the poets say, 'no man is an island,' then perhaps no art form is more collaborative than live theatre. With a village of artists backstage and offstage assuring that each production is mounted, then coming to life during each performance, the collaborative effort is renewed. And what audiences see onstage is the collaboration of artists, the people who comprise the acting ensemble, the folks who bring the stagebound script to life, sending it soaring into our imaginations.
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