Jamey Green News

Think about it: What if you were watching The King and I and when Anna and the King of Siam started to sing 'Shall We Dance' and they just stood there, it just wouldn't have much of an impact, would it? Or if all those budding chorus members in A Chorus Line just stood around and talked about dancing but never did even the most basic shuffle-ball-change...sounds pretty bleak, doesn't it? That's where choreographers come into the picture; they collaborate with the director, the music director and the cast members to create movement that elevates every musical comedy. Without them, the action remains stagebound and static. A choreographer allows your heart to soar along with the performers onstage, making musical comedy all the more compelling and transformative. These talented men and women created remarkable and memorable work in 2010 as First Night's Top Choreographers...

If theater audiences in Nashville and Middle Tennessee owe a huge debt of gratitude to the directors who helm the year's finest productions, you can only imagine how the actors lucky enough to work with those insightful, creative men and women must be! The Top Ten Directors of 2010 have resumes anyone would be proud to claim as their own and when you consider that they - year after year - excel at what they do, then you cannot help but be impressed by the breadth and depth of their abilities. Frankly, it boggles the mind. These are Nashville's best directors of 2010...

Nashville's divas proved their mettle and showed their immense talents in 2010 while assaying some of the most challenging and best loved roles in all of musical theater. Ranging from classic musical comedy heroines that any actress would love to play to newer, more contemporary characters, Music City's women were given the opportunity to showcase their multitude of talents on various stages while again proving they are capable of virtually anything - and everything. Here are our choices for the top ten musical performances by an actress in 2010...

If you find yourself venturing outside of New York, and you want to see some really good musical theater, what should you do? Allow me to suggest a visit to my neck o' the woods: A trip to Nashville might provide you with exactly what you seek. After all, in a city perhaps best known throughout the world as Music City USA, what else could you expect but some exceedingly well-cast, well-produced, well-played and well-sung musical theater? We're lousy with exceptional singers and musicians and, as a result, musical theater is alive and well - and thriving - in Nashville. And here's my list of the Best Musicals of 2010...

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the game-changing musical that defined a generation and heralded the beginning of a new age of Broadway musicals.

With a trio of powerful leading performances from Ben Van Diepen, Ciaran McCarthy and Laura Matula, the Boiler Room Theatre production of Jonathan Larson's Pultizer Prize-winning Rent may well be the finest interpretation of the groundbreaking musical we've ever seen. Certainly, we've never seen a more passionate or more engaging mounting of Rent and the cast assembled by director Corbin Green deserve every accolade possible for the obviously heartfelt rendering they give Larson's work.

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the game-changing musical that defined a generation and heralded the beginning of a new age of Broadway musicals.

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.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's residentprofessional theatre company, continues its 10 th season with Jonathan Larson's musicalRent opening October 1, 2010 at the theatre, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tenn. for a run through October 31.

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the game-changing musical that defined a generation and heralded the beginning of a new age of Broadway musicals.

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the Nashville original musical comedy from the creators of the wildly successful 'McBeth! The Musical.' This hysterical musical adaptation of Dickens' novel 'A Tale of Two Cities' pokes fun at shows such as Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, Oliver, and others. Starring Megan (Murphy) Chambers, Stephen Henry, Lisa Gillespie, Dan McGeachy, Phil Perry, Scott Rice, Laura Thomas Sonn and Lane Wright. Directed by Jamey Green with choreography by Lauri Gregoire.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's residentprofessional theatre company, continues its 10 th season with Les Miz! A Tale of Two Cities opening August 13, 2010 at the theatre, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tenn. for a run through September 4.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's resident professional theatre company, continues its 10 th season with Les Miz!

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's residentprofessional theatre company, continues its 10 th season with Les Miz! A Tale of Two Cities opening August 13, 2010 at the theatre, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tenn. for a run through September 4.

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the Nashville original musical comedy from the creators of the wildly successful 'McBeth! The Musical.' This hysterical musical adaptation of Dickens' novel 'A Tale of Two Cities' pokes fun at shows such as Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, Oliver, and others. Starring Megan (Murphy) Chambers, Stephen Henry, Lisa Gillespie, Dan McGeachy, Phil Perry, Scott Rice, Laura Thomas Sonn and Lane Wright. Directed by Jamey Green with choreography by Lauri Gregoire.

Ciaran McCarthy gives such a stunningly raw and beautifully nuanced performance as film director Guido Contini in Boiler Room Theatre's production of Nine that it would be easy to lavish praise on him and leave it at that. But he is surrounded by a cast of women (and one very talented young man) who are wonderfully cast and who deliver performances that match McCarthy's in intensity and artistry. In other words: Don't even think of missing this show!

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's resident professional theatre company, continues its 10th season with NINE - The Musical opening June 18 at the theatre, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tenn. for a run through July 10.

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the Williamson County premiere of the rarely produced musical NINE, a musical version of the Casanova story based on the life and loves of celebrated Italian film director Guido Contini.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's resident professional theatre company, continues its 10th season with NINE - The Musical opening June 18 at the theatre, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, in Franklin, Tenn. for a run through July 10.

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the Williamson County premiere of the rarely produced musical NINE, a musical version of the Casanova story based on the life and loves of celebrated Italian film director Guido Contini.