Renee Robinson News

The groundbreaking Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the Kennedy Center for its annual engagement with seven performances on the Opera House stage from February 5 10. Celebrating its 60th Anniversary season, the company has had a long-standing impact on modern dance and uniqueness in promoting the African American cultural experience. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, the company's performances include Lazarus, the newest work by choreographer Rennie Harris co-commissioned by the Kennedy Center and premiered to acclaim during the company's recent New York season; three D.C. debuts; one new production; and a special Timeless Ailey classics program. Alvin Ailey's American masterpiece Revelations will be performed as the finale for all seven programs.

We are pleased to announce the winners for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Nashville Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Nominations were reader-submitted and voted on by you - the local theatergoers!

It's the last week to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Nashville Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Nashville Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just one month left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Nashville Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

When one hears the name, William Shakespeare, one often thinks of tragic lovers, murderous revenge, or tormented royals. If you have not yet become a converted worshipper of The Great Bard, you may even dread the idea of sitting through what you may expect to be hours worth of old, confusing language which is beyond hope of translation, and opt to take a nap instead. Well, whatever expectations you may have from the timeless theatrical master's material, you may leave them at the steps of the Center for the Arts as you enter the fantastical and delightfully entertaining world of A Midsummer Night's Dream. While this story is similar to the classic Romeo and Juliet tale through its introduction of the two star crossed lovers which the show follows, the magical forest on the outskirts of Athens (or, as the Center's production depicts, a world inspired by 1920's New York) is anything but reminiscent of fair Verona or its tragic occurrences when civil blood made civil hands unclean.

Looking into the future, you'll find a number of new productions on tap for your entertainment pleasure, thanks to the efforts of theater companies all over Middle Tennessee. Here's our calendar for October 15, 2018, to help you plot your course through the end of the year...

Looking into the future, you'll find a number of new productions on tap for your entertainment pleasure, thanks to the efforts of theater companies all over Middle Tennessee. Here's our calendar for October 1, 2018, to help you plot your course through the end of the year...

Ten strangers are assembled to Indian Island as the guests of the mysterious U.N Owen (or 'unknown') in Agatha Christie's legendary classic, And Then There Were None. However, as the initial dinner party is interrupted by the prerecorded voice of the group's absent host accusing each individual of murder, things take a dangerous turn. One unidentified guest among the ten (and then there were nine, and then there were eight, and then... well you know how it goes) begins to off his or her cohabitants one by one through the dark nursery rhyme which becomes a maddening and suspenseful sort of prophesy of impending doom to the terrorized group. Now playing at The Arts Center of Cannon County through October 13th, the Cyndie Verbeten directed production and her team of deeply skilled artists have assembled a production that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, constantly questioning each potential mastermind, and leaves theatre-goers begging to know who is responsible for the shocking deaths at hand.

Director Renee Robinson brings the Frank Wildhorn musical Jekyll & Hyde - based on Robert Louis Stevenson's iconic novella - to life at Murfreesboro's Center for the Arts, opening Friday, October 5 and continuing through October 21.

Looking into the future, you'll find a number of new productions on tap for your entertainment pleasure, thanks to the efforts of theater companies all over Middle Tennessee. Here's our calendar for October 1, 2018, to help you plot your course through the end of the year...

Looking into the future, you'll find a number of new productions on tap for your entertainment pleasure, thanks to the efforts of theater companies all over Middle Tennessee. Here's our calendar to help you plot your course...

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, will return to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for a five-day, seven-performance engagement at the David H. Koch Theater from June 13-17.

Opera Orlando presents the East Coast premiere of the Pacific Opera Project's stunning production of Mozart's legendary comic opera at 7:30 p.m. on May 31 and June 2 in the Plaza Live.

As the Ailey organization heads into its 60th year, Ailey Extension will offer a variety of indoor and outdoor dance classes free to the public this summer. In collaboration with the NYC Parks, Ailey Extension brings dance to public parks in Brooklyn and the Bronx from June 5-July 14, offering eight technique and choreography workshops, including events dedicated to Alvin Ailey's acclaimed masterpiece Revelations. To celebrate NYC Dance Week, a citywide festival from June 14-23, Ailey Extension welcomes new students* to try over 30 free classes at The Ailey Studios in Manhattan, New York City's largest building dedicated to dance.  

Artistic Director Robert Battle has announced exciting highlights to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Lincoln Center season at the David H. Koch Theater June 13 - 17. In addition to three diverse programs - Celebrate Women, Ailey, Then & Now, and Musical Icons - the engagement also includes The Ailey Spirit Gala benefit; three new Company dancers; and a series of activities for all as Ailey enters its sixth decade.

Opera Orlando presents the East Coast premiere of the Pacific Opera Project's stunning production of Mozart's legendary comic opera at 7:30 p.m. on May 31 and June 2 in the Plaza Live.

Sometimes playwrights have a good idea for a script, but can't leave well enough alone. Such is the case with Laura Schelhardt and her world premiere commissioned play Digging Up Dessa, now playing in the Family Theater at Kennedy Center as part of the Women's Voices Theatre Festival.

Famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater marks its annual Kennedy Center engagement, February 6 11, with seven magnetic performances on the Opera House stage. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, the company's performances include two D.C. debuts, three new productions, and a total of 10 works by a range of diverse choreographers. Alvin Ailey's American masterpiece Revelations will be performed as the finale for all seven programs.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! It's May 17, 2017, and summer - or a reasonable facsimile thereof - has arrived in Nashville, with temperatures already climbing toward the 90s! When prompts the musical question: What's on your agenda for the summer of 2017? Anything we should know about and, more importantly, write about?