Three men clash violently over business, friendship, honor and ego in Mamet's award-winning drama. The owner of a junk shop in 1970s Chicago wrestles with morality and his own pride as he plots and schemes to recoup his losses by stealing back a rare coin he unwittingly sold to a local collector. Mamet paints a raw and compelling portrait of working-class hoods who believe they have a right to take whatever they want - and who are slowly drowning in their own shortcomings and personal failures.
Nashville's Blackbird Theater in August will mount a rare production of Magic - a play by the great, if largely forgotten, literary figure G.K. Chesterton - with performances at Shamblin Theatre on the David Lipscomb University campus, running August 12-27. Magic is described as 'a funny, fiercely dramatic, unabashedly romantic play that involves an aristocratic family whose conflicting beliefs and doubts about the supernatural are all challenged by the arrival of a mysterious conjurer.'
Wes Driver directs a thoroughly charming and beautifully acted revival of G.K. Chesterton's first play, Magic, now onstage at the Shamblin Theatre on the David Lipscomb University campus in a sumptuously appointed production from Blackbird Theatre Company. Featuring a stellar cast of Nashville stage professionals, Magic might best be described as a gentle drawing-room comedy from the post-Edwardian period (it debuted in 1913) that somehow remains relevant and intriguing almost 100 years after its premiere.
Nashville's Blackbird Theater in August will mount a rare production of Magic - a play by the great, if largely forgotten, literary figure G.K. Chesterton - with performances at Shamblin Theatre on the David Lipscomb University campus, running August 12-27. Magic is described as 'a funny, fiercely dramatic, unabashedly romantic play that involves an aristocratic family whose conflicting beliefs and doubts about the supernatural are all challenged by the arrival of a mysterious conjurer.'
Rehearsals are going frighteningly well. Even with the cast in their street clothes, rehearsing in a community room at an apartment complex, we've already been able to establish a haunting atmosphere and some strong character dynamics. When you produce a new or unknown work like Magic, there's always that fear that you'll be in the middle of rehearsals before discovering the play's really not that good. But that hasn't been the case at all.
Teaser for Blackbird Theater's production of Magic by G.K. Chesterton. August 12-13, 19-20, 25-27. Starring Amanda Card McCoy and David Compton. Ticket information at BlackbirdNashville.com.
Nashville's Blackbird Theater in August will mount a rare production of Magic - a play by the great, if largely forgotten, literary figure G.K. Chesterton - with performances at Shamblin Theatre on the David Lipscomb University campus, running August 12-27. Magic is described as 'a funny, fiercely dramatic, unabashedly romantic play that involves an aristocratic family whose conflicting beliefs and doubts about the supernatural are all challenged by the arrival of a mysterious conjurer.'
The Five Dollar Recession Theatre Company, Nashville's newest theatrical outfit, makes its debut Thursday, June 23, with its production of Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, playing at the Belmont Little Theatre (underneath Hail Hall on the Belmont University campus) through Sunday, June 26.
Nashville's Blackbird Theater, fresh off its successful, critically lauded premiere season, is offering two rarely produced shows for audiences in the company's eagerly anticipated second season - G.K. Chesterton's Magic (running August 12-27) and Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning Pacific Overtures (February 9-19, 2012) - creating a buzz that other theater companies can only envy and hope to create for their own season announcments.
There must be something in the water on campus at Nashville's Belmont University - sure, the theatre and musical theatre faculty's skills are virtually unparalleled, but it's the talent, the quality and the devotion to their craft of the students that truly boggles the mind and is worthy of unbridled and enthusiastic acclaim. You'd have to search far and wide for a more impressive group of student actors who, with director James Al-Shamma's staging of The Government Inspector, have once again proven themselves equal to any theatrical challenge.
'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:
Nashville theater audiences were treated to a wide range of dramatic offerings in 2010, with the revival of some of the best-known American plays of the past half-century, along with productions of some amazing original works by a group of talented homegrown playwrights, whose subjects ranged from what goes on in the intimate confines of the ladies' room to a murder mystery comedy with a film noir ambience. Clearly, if 2010 is any indication, the new 2011 season now under way is going to be filled with even more surprises and delights.
With a cast of 125 performers, a seven-member band, the show's running crew and a smattering of other people holding forth, the backstage scene at last Sunday night's First Night Nashville Theatre Honors was a virtual stage show in itself with all the hustle and bustle amid the hushed tones associated with the backstage area of a huge theatrical production.
When eight of Nashville's best-known theater visionaries are lauded for their inspiration, commitment and leadership during the 2010 First Night Nashville Theatre Honors, eleven of the region's brightest young actors also will be recognized for their own theatrical achievements and the promise of much more to come.
When eight of Nashville's best-known theater visionaries are lauded for their inspiration, commitment and leadership during the 2010 First Night Nashville Theatre Honors, eleven of the region's brightest young actors also will be recognized for their own theatrical achievements and the promise of much more to come.
Director Don Griffiths' staging of Miller's now-classic tragedy, with its echoes of the Greek classics, is heart-wrenching, certain to stir up all the emotions one can muster. Beautifully designed and executed, with superb performances from a cast that includes professional actors from Actors Bridge, along with the affecting portrayals of some exceptionally talented Belmont students, the production is completely satisfying on all levels, without even one iota of staginess to mar the proceedings.
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