Cori Laemmel News

The quintet of captivating, sexy, sultry, uber talented women of FIVE return to the stage on Monday, June 27, with Five: An Encore Performance, hot on the heels of their near-legendary debut performance in March, this time presented onstage at Nashville's historic Belcourt Theatre in Hillsboro Village.

Cori Laemmel has announced a new initiative for The Theater Bug, her educational and training program for younger people interested in pursuing the theater, called The Extreme Theatre Series: Theatre as an Extreme Sport, running April 30-May 1 and May 13-15. The two-part program features a unique plan to give young thespians a chance to become involved on a variety of levels, according to Laemmel.

A perfect dozen of Nashville's favorite - and best-singing - actresses will claim the role of the iconic Fanny Brice in Keeping Scores Concert's upcoming Funny Girl in Concert, the inaugural production of the continuing concert series to be staged at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre. The twelve women portraying Fanny Brice at different times in her life - and in the musical's various scenes -include (in alphabetical order): Nancy Allen, Erica Haines Cantrell, Joann Coleman, Lindsay Terrizzi Hess, Catherine Mai Holder, Bonnie Keen, Cori Laemmel, Alex Maddox, Corrie Miller, Sondra Morton, Laura Thomas-Sonn and Heather Trabucco. Funny Girl in Concert will be presented for three performances at Boiler Room Theatre on April 29-30 and May 1. Joining Nashville's Funny Girls onstage for the concerts are Bakari King as Nicky Arnstein, Annette de la Torre as Mrs. Brice and Bryan Wlas as Eddie Ryan.

Of course, one way around that theatrical conundrum is to take the route that director Scott Logsdon and Keeping Scores Concerts at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre have embarked upon for three performances this weekend: Cast 12 different actresses as Fanny Brice, each one well-qualified to take on a particular song, allowing her to interpret, both musically and dramatically, the character of Fanny. And for support of the 12 actresses taking up the Fanny challenge, you'll need an amazingly gifted ensemble. The result? A wonderfully entertaining night at the theater, replete with outstanding performances from some of your favorite Nashville actors - and the chance to hear a beautiful, memorable score brought to life as it was meant to be heard by the team of composer Jule Styne, lyricist Bob Merrill and librettist Isobel Lennart.

In the upcoming concert version of Funny Girl, set for April 29-May 1 at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre, director Scott Logsdon has cast 12 very different, very funny and somehow uniquely qualified women to take on the iconic role of Fanny Brice, first brought to national, then worldwide, acclaim by the inimitable Barbra Streisand. For the past year or so, we've been giving you a chance to get to know each of Nashville's Funny Fannys, one by one, starting with Alex Maddox, and continuing through the whole list of Fannys, including Cori Laemmel, Corrie Miller, Bonnie Keen, Erica Haines Cantrell, Lindsay Terrizzi Hess, Catherine Mai Holder, Nancy Allen, Sondra Morton, Heather Trabucco and Laura Thomas Sonn. But today, gentle readers, with the curtain about to go up on Keeping Scores' Funny Girl in Concert, I'm delighted to introduce you to the most wonderful Fanny of them all...the one and only Stephanie Jones Benton. She's bright, beautiful and, I daresay, brilliant, particularly when it comes to sucking up to the guy at the keyboard. Read about her and you will understand exactly what I mean...

In the upcoming concert version of Funny Girl, set for April 29-May 1 at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre, director Scott Logsdon has cast 12 very different, very funny and somehow uniquely qualified women to take on the iconic role of Fanny Brice, first brought to national, then worldwide, acclaim by the inimitable Barbra Streisand. We're giving you a chance to get to know all of Nashville's Funny Fannys, one by one, and today we were forced to sit down with Laura Thomas Sonn, the very personification of diva - as everyone in town knows, she's so demanding and rude (that gracious, kind and sweet act is just that: an act! I have the bruises from the phone she threw at me when last I saw her - and she was onstage at the time and I was in the audience, but didn't have my eyes cast downward when she looked in my direction) and not at all one of the most beautiful women you've ever seen! (I bet that'll get those Fannys in an uproar, just in time for our final two interviews this week). So, read on, gentle readers...oh, yes, she is most definitely my favorite. Well, today.

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In the upcoming Keeping Scores' concert version of Funny Girl, set for April 29-May 1 at Boiler Room Theatre, director Scott Logsdon has cast 12 different, yet very funny and somehow uniquely qualified actresses to take on the iconic role of Fanny Brice. First brought to national, then international, acclaim by the legendary Barbra Streisand, the role of Fanny Brice is a coveted role among musical theater performers. Despite that, however, things offstage seem to be going swimmingly at rehearsals; meanwhile we attempt to ferret out any backstabbing and catfights - as well as introducing you to all the Funny Fannys, one-by-one. You've met Alex Maddox (who plays a prominent role in today's interview), Cori Laemmel and Corrie Miller, who are all my favorites, of course. Today, the spotlight falls on relative newcomer Catherine Mai Holder, who remains inscrutable and mysterious throughout her interview. Read on, dear ones, and see what you can deduce from this funny Fanny...

In the upcoming Keeping Scores' concert version of Funny Girl, set for April 29-May 1 at Boiler Room Theatre, director Scott Logsdon has cast 12 different, yet very funny and somehow uniquely qualified actresses to take on the iconic role of Fanny Brice. First brought to national, then international, acclaim by the legendary Barbra Streisand, the role of Fanny Brice is a coveted role among musical theater performers. Despite that, however, things offstage seem to be going swimmingly at rehearsals; meanwhile we attempt to ferret out any backstabbing and catfights - as well as introducing you to all the Funny Fannys, one-by-one. You've met Alex Maddox and Cori Laemmel already and today the spotlight falls on Corrie Miller, who is my favorite Fanny of them all. (Note to Alex and Cori: Just ignore that last statement; I was contractually required to tell Mrs. Miller that in order to get her to deem me worthy of an interview. Jeez, what a prima donna!)

In the upcoming Keeping Scores' concert version of Funny Girl, set for April 29-May 1 at Boiler Room Theatre, director Scott Logsdon has cast 12 very different, very funny and somehow uniquely qualified women to take on the iconic role of Fanny Brice, first brought to national, then worldwide, acclaim by the inimitable Barbra Streisand. We're giving you a chance to get to know all of Nashville's Funny Fannys, one by one, so here's a chance to get to know Cori Laemmel (who's not quite the diva she'd have you believe, although she refused to answer our final question)...

Cori Laemmel has announced a new initiative for The Theater Bug, her educational and training program for younger people interested in pursuing the theater, called The Extreme Theatre Series: Theatre as an Extreme Sport, running April 30-May 1 and May 13-15. The two-part program features a unique plan to give young thespians a chance to become involved on a variety of levels, according to Laemmel.

A perfect dozen of Nashville's favorite - and best-singing - actresses will claim the role of the iconic Fanny Brice in Keeping Scores Concert's upcoming Funny Girl in Concert, the inaugural production of the continuing concert series to be staged at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre. The twelve women portraying Fanny Brice at different times in her life - and in the musical's various scenes -include (in alphabetical order): Nancy Allen, Erica Haines Cantrell, Joann Coleman, Lindsay Terrizzi Hess, Catherine Mai Holder, Bonnie Keen, Cori Laemmel, Alex Maddox, Corrie Miller, Sondra Morton, Laura Thomas-Sonn and Heather Trabucco. Funny Girl in Concert will be presented for three performances at Boiler Room Theatre on April 29-30 and May 1. Joining Nashville's Funny Girls onstage for the concerts are Bakari King as Nicky Arnstein, Annette de la Torre as Mrs. Brice and Bryan Wlas as Eddie Ryan.

Nashville theatre-goers are a pretty lucky lot, with a great deal to be thankful for actually, what with the wealth of talent you can find in our little burg. We may be known around the world as Music City USA, but those of us in the know can rightfully and justifiably attest to the fact that you could refer to us just easily as 'Theater City USA.' Certainly, you'd be hard-pressed to find any city around the globe with more musical talent than you'll find in Nashville, which means, of course, that musical theater here is really good - even when it's bad (and do you really need me to list examples? I think not, but I can if called upon to do so...), it's far better than you'd find anywhere else. Nashville is packed with talented people - it's that simple.

Nashville theatre-goers are a pretty lucky lot, with a great deal to be thankful for actually, what with the wealth of talent you can find in our little burg. We may be known around the world as Music City USA, but those of us in the know can rightfully and justifiably attest to the fact that you could refer to us just easily as 'Theater City USA.' Certainly, you'd be hard-pressed to find any city around the globe with more musical talent than you'll find in Nashville, which means, of course, that musical theater here is really good - even when it's bad (and do you really need me to list examples? I think not, but I can if called upon to do so...), it's far better than you'd find anywhere else. Nashville is packed with talented people - it's that simple.

Cori Laemmel is one of those actresses you're instantly drawn to onstage: When she comes on, there's an indefinable quality about her that rivets your attention to her, regardless of the role she's playing. Offstage? Well, you find yourself in that same, almost indefinable, realm of being unable to stop watching her: She's charming, as sweet and disingenuous as anyone could possibly be, funny and slightly goofy - and absolutely, completely, no-doubt-about it a star-in-the-making. Seriously, she's got mad talent and remarkable skill. The fact that she is pursuing her theatrical dreams in Nashville is just so much luck for those of us fortunate enough to revel in the spectacle that is she.

So far as I can tell, the best way to handle the situation - on Monday night, March 28, five of Nashville's most talented young divas aka Cori Laemmel, Erin Parker, Laura Matula, Megan Murphy Chambers and Melodie Madden Adams will be performing a cabaret entitled FIVE - is to send five other young divas (I'd suggest sequestering Laura Thomas Sonn, Heather Trabucco, Stacie Riggs, Jennifer Richmond and Erica Haines Cantrell, just off the top of my head) to an undisclosed location - there's got to be a bunker around here somewhere, what with Oak Ridge so close by - just in case someone drops a bomb on Street Theatre Company

FIVE features the talents of Erin Parker, Melodie Madden Adams, Megan Murphy Chambers, Cori Laemmel and Laura Matula. Born as the brainchild of Parker, FIVE is the culmination of her desire to showcase local Nashville talent and creativity and grew from her aims at putting on her own one-woman show.

Funny Girl, the classic 1964 Broadway musical that helped cement Barbra Streisand's place in theatrical history, will be the first show featured in Keeping Scores, a new series of Broadway musicals in concert, to be presented at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre. Concerts in the series will be directed by Scott Logsdon (writer/director of the recent staged reading of An American Country Christmas Carol at the Boiler Room) with music direction by Jamey Green, a co-founder of BRT, and will be produced by Sondra Morton, director of operations for the professional theater located at The Factory in Franklin.

Dedicated to her craft, she is an endearing blend of serious actress and sweet young woman. During her time on the Nashville stage, she's played a wide range of roles for a variety of companies, including Circle Players' production of Noises Off, Towne Centre Theatre's Moon Over Buffalo and Steel Magnolias, and Blackbird Theatre Company's Twilight of the Gods. And in each of those roles, she's epitomized 'versatility' with an exceptional performance every time she steps onto the stage.

In Yankee Tavern, playwright Steven Dietz has created the perfect onstage mystery for the times in which we live, challenging us to consider our most closely held beliefs while reiterating our most pervasive fears. Now onstage in a richly compelling production directed by Tennessee Repertory Theatre's Rene Dunshee Copeland, Yankee Tavern transforms TPAC's Andrew Johnson Theatre into a petri dish filled with conspiracy theories and ghost stories.