Nan Gurley's stunning performance of Mama Rose is reason enough to see Studio Tenn's 2015-16 season opening production of Gypsy - the legendary backstage musical about the rise to stardom of Gypsy Rose Lee - but there is so much more to be found in director Matt Logan's sumptuously appointed show than her career-crowning portrayal of the near-mythical character.
There are certain things audiences have come to expect in a new production from Studio Tenn, the Franklin-based, Nashville-nurtured professional theater company headed up by Matt Logan and Jake Speck: You know it will be beautifully designed, sumptuously mounted and impeccably cast.
It's been a busy year in Nashville theater in 2012, with audiences treated to a whole slate of theatrical offerings spanning multiple genres-from productions of time-honored classics to new and original contemporary works, from dramas to comedies, from straight plays to musicals-and giving local theater-goers more opportunities than ever before to be challenged by the onstage magic created by some of Tennessee's most talented and gifted artists.
Thanks to the sparkling, imaginative Studio Tenn revival of Smokey Joe's Cafe-the Tony Award-nominated musical revue that collects some 39 (although a couple were cut, so we'll place the number at 37 for this production) of those terrific Leiber and Stoller songs into one smooth, entertaining package- you can revel in the music and set your feet to tapping out the rhythms of your life...
Apparently, it is Elvis Week in Nashville (at least according to the fine folks at Loveless Cafe), so before we head out to the theater for a full weekend of show openings and the like, a trip to West Nashville for a slice of the Loveless' Elvis pie is in order (for the uninitiated, that's peanut butter, banana, bacon and homemade whipped cream-the four basic food groups, according to The King.), so before we slip into a diabetic coma, here's installment #7 of Music City Confidential, all the news that's fit to print from onstage, offstage, backstage and beyond…
At BroadwayWorld we pride ourselves in showcasing theater content from all corners of the globe. Our regional contributors do an amazing job each day of bringing you the latest theater news in their cities and countries and to acknowledge this, we are launching a new weekly column called 'Around BWW: Regional Highlights of the Week'. Read on for this week's edition of BWW's regional highlights!
Throughout the day, company members had taken to social media to express their shock and grief at the news of Hamlisch's death. Hamlisch, one of the most honored music composers in history, had been scheduled to fly to Nashville this week to see the show for the first time. He was last in Nashville at the start of the company's rehearsals in Music City.
Tonight, in TPAC's James K. Polk Theatre, Michael Andrew, Marissa McGowan, Mark Jacoby, Klea Blackhurst, Jamie Ross and the rest of the ensemble will take to the stage to bring The Nutty Professor to life once more for a Nashville audience. Today, however, the company has been quietly reflective, taking to social media to express their shock and grief at the loss of their show's composer…
Kummer, who has a lengthy resume of Nashville productions he's either music directed or conducted, leads the band onstage when they are assembled on the bandstand for The Nutty Professor's pep rally production number that closes the show. Clad in sparkly purple vests and green ties (the school colors of fictional Korwin University) designed by Tony Award-winning costumer Ann Hould-Ward, it's a rousing moment when the musicians take the stage. Suffice it to say, Nashville audiences have been vocal and expressive in their reactions since the show's first preview performance on July 24.
Danny Young grew up in the small Wisconsin town of Viola (population 500), the son of a band director, so it should come as absolutely no surprise that he's now plying his trade as a professional musician-a drummer, to be exact-and he's part of the blue-ribbon orchestra playing a brand-new Marvin Hamlisch score every night during performances of The Nutty Professor, A New Musical now onstage at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
Fairly exploding onto the stage, The Nutty Professor-the new musical based on the classic 1963 film comedy-opened at Nashville's James K. Polk Theatre last night in a vibrantly told and visually stunning production helmed by Jerry Lewis, the man who co-wrote the movie and, at this moment, is probably booking a ticket to Broadway . The story of nerdy Professor Julius Kelp and his transformation into the suave and sophisticated (if boorish) Buddy Love offers plenty of laughs to be certain, but perhaps surprisingly, there's a whole lot of heart to be found in Rupert Holmes' book, set tunefully to a classic Marvin Hamlisch score.
Nashville and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) host the world premiere of "The Nutty Professor" Musical, opening tonight, July 24 and running through August 19. Directed by Jerry Lewis, the show is a new musical comedy based on the 1963 film of the same name. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the rehearsals below.
Last week we launched The Nutty Five as our way of welcoming all these talented people into our midst-even the ones who have Nashville connections, like today's star of the show Danny Young, who is the drummer for The Nutty Professor band (who may be just as jazzed up about his new drum set for the show as he is working with Jerry Lewis).
The Broadway-bound new musical THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, premiering next week at TPAC in Nashville, will feature the talents of Broadway favorites Mark Jacoby, Marissa McGowan and Michael Andrew. They will star as Dean Warfield, Stella, and Julius Kelp respectively.
Studio Tenn launches its eagerly anticipated sophomore season in its new home at the Franklin Theatre, kicking off the company's second act with a sparkling revival of one of musical theater's best-loved shows: Guys and Dolls, the 'musical fable of Bradway' based on a story and characters of Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows.
Jersey Boys veterans Jared Bradshaw and John Hickman join Nashville's own Carrie Tillis and Laura Matula to head the cast of Studio Tenn's production of Guys & Dolls, opening August 18-28 at the Franklin Theatare, kicking off the company's second season - their first in their new venue.
When Mandy Barnett takes to the stage of Nashville's revered Ryman Auditorium for a performance of Ted Swindley's 'musical play,' Always...Patsy Cline, she doesn't so much create a characterization of the legendary country superstar. Rather, she channels her. When Barnett sets foot on that stage, she is Patsy Cline so completely mesmerizing and on-point is her portrayal. Clearly, if anyone was ever born to play Patsy, it's Mandy Barnett, who seemingly has been destined to play Patsy Cline since birth.
Jersey Boys veterans Jared Bradshaw and John Hickman will join Nashville's own Carrie Tillis and Laura Matula to head the cast of Studio Tenn's production of Guys & Dolls, running August 18-28 at the Franklin Theatare, kicking off the company's second season - their first in their new venue.
Matt Logan could easily have rested on his laurels and simply re-staged the second offering of showHOPE's Cinderella, the Enchanted Edition in exactly the same manner as he did in 2010 - it was a magical evening, at the very least, and it would certainly be easier, acceptable even to his most loyal fans, to have done so. Instead, as expected, Logan, one of the region's finest and most inventive stage directors, chose to re-imagine his vision for Cinderella, giving it a more sophisticated presentation and breathing new vigor into the project while tapping heretofore unknown reserves of creativity among his cast and crew - and even himself.
What with all the star power of the assembled cast - featuring such theatre luminaries as Heather Headley, Alli Mauzey, Jodi Benson and Anthony Fedorov - it should come as something of a surprise that showHOPE's concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella was very nearly stolen out from under them by some homegrown Nashville talent. No matter how you look at it, Cinderella was a completely magical and enchanting success, but had it not been for Nashville's very own Nan Gurley, Bonnie Keen and Carolyn German as Cinderella's nefarious stepfamily, the show wouldn't have been anywhere near as good as it actually was.
Videos
