BWW Review: Cumberland County Playhouse's DUCK HUNTER SHOOTS ANGELS Makes You Laugh, Makes You ThinkJune 8, 2021ou have to hand it to Mitch Albom (the well-known sportswriter turned memoirist turned playwright turned heartland media mogul): the man knows how to craft a tale certain to appeal to a wide swath of his audience, manipulating and cajoling them along the way with good humor and sometimes incisive wit before going for the jugular of the sentimental with a dramatic payoff that’s sure to wring tears, sell tissues and send the aforementioned audiences into the real world with something to think about.
BWW Review: Outrageously Camp SLOPPY BONNIE Trades on Stereotypes and ClichesJune 4, 2021Outrageously camp and deliriously fun – what more can you expect from a pandemic-shattering original musical called Sloppy Bonnie? – but are we so blinded by the pure joy of the return to live theater (albeit in a parking lot, however spacious it may be) that we are forgiving of the stereotypes and cliches that abound in Krista Knight’s script and Barry Brinegar’s music.
Tennessee Performing Arts Center Brings Broadway 'Roaring Back' to NashvilleJune 3, 2021Celebrating a return to performances after an extended intermission due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the nonprofit Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) is bringing the best of Broadway “Roaring Back” to Nashville with its 2021-22 HCA Healthcare/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC Season, featuring a multi-week return engagement of Nashville’s best-loved Broadway musical, Disney’s THE LION KING.
Nashville Repertory Theatre Unveils 2021-22 SeasonJune 3, 2021Nashville Repertory Theatre unveiled its 2021-22 season Tuesday night at Kimpton Aertson Hotel’s rooftop patio, featuring a plethora of Nashville theater’s brightest stars, who charmed and entertained everyone in their audience (each of whom were fairly adither with anticipation of what’s to come and the joy of watching live performance).
TPAC Kicks Off Celebration of its 40th Anniversary With Reveal of 2020-21 Broadway SeasonFebruary 23, 2020Come From Away, Ain't Too Proud a?" The Life and Times of The Temptations, the pre-Broadway tour of Diane Paulus' eagerly anticipated revival of 1776 and a return of one of Nashville's favorite touring productions a?" The Lion King a?" are among the highlights of the 40th HCA Healthcare/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC season at Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
Mandy Patinkin Returns to Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center for DIARIES Concert January 29January 28, 2020Whether he is best known to audiences from his work in film (Ragtime, Yentl, The Princess Bride), on television (Chicago Hope, Criminal Minds, Homeland) or on Broadway (Evita, Sunday in the Park With George, The Secret Garden, The Wild Party), Mandy Patinkin has embodied countless unforgettable characters, created memorable moments in performance that continue to resonate with his fans and established himself as a star whose light continues to shine brightly and vividly.
BWW Review: World Premiere of AUNTIE CLAUS at Nashville Children's Theatre is the Perfect Holiday GiftDecember 4, 2019Since arriving in our midst in early 2017, Ernie Nolan justifiably has gained a reputation as an innovator, a creative genius (Hyperbole? The answer is a resounding a?oeno,a?? judging from his artistic achievements of the past two-plus years) and a master of challenging the status quo. As executive artistic director at Nashville Children's Theatre a?" one of the leading theater companies in America, dedicated to serving young audiences through challenging, elucidating offerings certain to appeal to their varied sensibilities a?" he's given us a plethora of productions that have been both unexpected and exhilarating, elevating the local theater scene immeasurably in the process.
BWW Review: ELF THE MUSICAL Brings Holiday Magic and Fun to Crossville's Cumberland County PlayhouseDecember 3, 2019Luckily, for audiences at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse (where Elf, The Musical runs through December 21 in a delightful and sparkling production helmed by producing director Bryce McDonald), the role of Buddy is entrusted to Chris Hallowes, who has proven himself the personification of the term a?oesong-and-dance mana?? during his tenure at the Playhouse, and who once again proves his mettle with his latest onstage assignment. Were it not for the fact we've always considered Hallowes a star, we'd say Buddy is a starmaking performance for him.
BWW Review: WINTER WONDERETTES Takes You On a Delightful Holiday Trip at Cumberland County PlayhouseNovember 26, 2019There's no better way to ease into the hijinks and hubbub of the holiday season than with a nostalgic trip down memory lane with the awesomely talented, tremendously charming and oh-so-delightful quartet, aka the Marvelous Wonderettes, in Roger Bean's confectionary Winter Wonderettes, the seasonal follow-up to his popular The Marvelous Wonderettes, which first introduced us to Cindy Lou, Betty Jean, Suzy and Missy.
BWW Review: SINGIN' IN THE RAIN Sings and Dances Up a Storm at Chaffin's Barn Dinner TheatreNovember 20, 2019Hailed as a a?oenear-perfect movie musical,a?? Singin' in the Rain is nonetheless a challenge for companies mounting a full-scale version of it a?oelive and onstage.a?? It's not just about making it rain onstage during the show's eponymous song and dance number, but more about capturing the magic of bringing movies to life without all the technical wizardry of a film studio at one's behest.
Patrick Cassidy Joins Franklin-based Studio Tenn as Artistic DirectorNovember 13, 2019atrick Cassidy, acclaimed performer and director with a career spanning Broadway, film and television, has accepted the role of artistic director at Studio Tenn. Cassidy, son of Shirley Jones and the late Jack Cassidy and brother to Shaun, Ryan and the late David Cassidy, recently moved from Los Angeles to the Franklin area with his wife, Melissa Hurley Cassidy.
BWW Review: THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL Brings Spectacular Visuals, Startling Energy to Nashville's TPACNovember 7, 2019Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants, of course a?" and now, the ambitious but kind, optimistic yet somehow down-to-earth a?oesimple spongea?? is taking his show on the road in a colorful, fun-filled, peripatetic and eye-poppingly surreal musical fresh off Broadway: The Spongebob Musical. You don't have to be a longtime fan of the animated and timeless, eponymously titled Nickelodean series, but clearly it helps to have at least a passing knowledge of the Spongebob oeuvre to keep all the players straight in an apocalyptic, yet thoroughly entertaining, tale of imminent danger for all the Bikini Bottom inhabitants fans have come to love over the years.
BWW Review: Hatty Ryan King's Star Shines Brightly in Lipscomb's BRIGHT STARNovember 7, 2019There is something about Hatty Ryan King a?" the young woman playing Alice Murphy in Lipscomb University Theatre's superb production of Bright Star (the recent Broadway musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell) now onstage at Collins Alumni Auditorium through November 10 a?" that sets her apart from her peers, that makes her seem destined for greatness and which ensures that every role she takes on is elevated by her unerring instincts, her palpable presence and her inestimable talent.
BWW Review: Nashville Rep's PIPELINE Issues Powerfully Eloquent Challenge to AudiencesOctober 22, 2019Dominique Morisseau's Pipeline, which continues Nashville Repertory Theatre's 35th season, is an emotionally driven work of contemporary eloquence and power, a play which audiences should experience in hopes of opening their eyes to the institutional prejudice and bias that exists in this country a?" whether we care to admit it or not. At least, that's the initial takeaway for theater-goers who are giving a cursory review of what they've just seen onstage at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Johnson Theatre.
BWW Review: Circle Players' 2019 Staging of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Shouldn't Be MissedOctober 21, 2019I love The Rocky Horror Show and Clint Randolph and his stellar ensemble of performers have won me over! Their 2019 production of The Rocky Horror Show is incredibly good, outlandishly fun and faithful to the material. Clearly, it ain't your grandma's musical theater (well, actually, it is a?' seeing as how the show bowed in the West End in 1973 and played Broadway in 1975, concurrent with the release of the film version), but it hews pretty damn close to traditional tropes with its boy and girl meets transsexual mastermind who's created a hot and hunky boytoy to satisfy his longings and, well, all hell breaks loose as their stories are told.
BWW Review: Street Theatre Company is on a Roll This Season: Go See TOXIC AVENGER For ProofOctober 20, 2019Street Theatre Company has been on a bit of a roll in 2019 a?' there's been a spate of terrific shows, the move into an impressive new space on Elm Hill Pike that will allow the company to grow, and they've continued the legacy created by company founders by continuing to push the envelope in ways creative and exhilarating a?' and theater-goers need no better proof of this than with their Halloween Season offering of The Toxic Avenger, which proves that entertaining musicals don't need huge casts or technical wizardry to be utterly delightful.
BWW Review: Some Judicious Editing Could Create a Hit With ACT 1's NIGHTMARIUM INCIDENTOctober 19, 2019Eric Butler is a good writer. That is obvious from his thoroughly believable, unquestionably authentic dialogue he's crafted for The Nightmarium Incident, the original suspense thriller he's written for ACT 1's 2019-20 season and concluding its two-weekend run at Nashville's Darkhorse Theater tonight. But sometimes that can mean too much of a good thing a?' when a writer tends to overwrite, as is the case with this sort-of-spooky comedy-drama that seems uncertain of what it wants to be.