Sondra Morton News

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.

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. Offstage things seem to be going all 'Kumbaya' - despite our best efforts to dig up some dirt. Let's face it, you gather all these divas together and there's got to be some turmoil backstage. Right? Today's Fanny kinda scares me, to be honest, and I just want to say right here and now that if I turn up missing after this interview comes to light, check the trunk of Sondra Morton's car. She'll be the brains behind my disappearance (she scares me). Because of all that, of course, Sondra is my favorite FUNNY Fanny. Yep, that's exactly what she is... my favorite...scout's honor. Read on...

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.

For Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart to be successful it's vital that you cast three actresses who can convincingly and effectively play the roles of the three McGrath sisters of Hazelhurst, Mississippi. Director Pat Street probably heaved a huge sigh of relief when she saw Melodie Madden Adams, Evelyn Brush and Laura Thomas Sonn walk into auditions, knowing those three were more than equal to the task - but Sondra Morton would be well-advised to watch her back (you'll find out why later).

A favorite of theater audiences since its debut at the 1979 Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors' Theatre of Louisville, Crimes of the Heart is given a faithful and elegantly staged revival at Franklin's Boiler Room Theatre. The play moves along at a languid pace befitting its setting and time period - and the story told by the playwright is as engrossing and as richly drawn as it ever was. Moreover, you are struck by the notion that Crimes of the Heart is, indeed, a timeless piece of Southern literature, claiming its rightful place among our region's most memorable prose.

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.

For Sondra Morton, the owner and artistic director Act Too Players, every day has its own special set of challenges and sources of inspiration - and, quite frankly, she'd have it no other way. In fact, she thrives on the pace and excitement that is all in a day's work as she inspires and trains budding thespians in Middle Tennessee through the company's efforts.

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...

Laura Thomas Sonn and Ciaran McCarthy lead the cast as Luisa and Matt, the star-crossed lovers in Boiler Room Theatre's production of The Fantasticks, opening Friday, March 19 and running through Saturday, April 17, at the theatre located in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Building Six. Will Sevier stars as El Gallo.

McCarthy's boyishly appealing Matt, Sonn's winsomely beguiling Luisa and Sevier's beautifully sung El Gallo are, clearly, the lynchpins that guarantee audiences will respond favorably to the show, and they are given ample support from a gifted veteran cast assembled by Morton. Morton's direction is sure-handed and confident, with her obvious care and genuine affection for the piece apparent throughout the quickly moving production. Coupled with Green's exquisite musical direction and the accompaniment of his three-person band which ensures that the actors have the requisite musical underpinnings for their performances, The Fantasticks lends further credence to Boiler Room's ever-expanding reputation as a thoroughly professional theatrical venue in a city where musical theatre truly shines.

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the romantic and charming musical 'The Fantasticks.'

Laura Thomas Sonn and Ciaran McCarthy lead the cast as Luisa and Matt, the star-crossed lovers in Boiler Room Theatre's production of The Fantasticks, opening Friday, March 19 and running through Saturday, April 17, at the theatre located in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Building Six. Will Sevier stars as El Gallo.

The Boiler Room Theatre (in The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Bldg Six, Franklin) continues its 10th Anniversary season with the romantic and charming musical 'The Fantasticks.'

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's residentprofessional theatre company, will present two Christmas shows in repertory for theupcoming holiday season. The Last Night of Ballyhoo will open on Nov. 27, 2009 for arun through Dec. 20, 2009 and the world premiere of A Hard-Boiled Christmas will open on Nov. 29 for a run through Dec. 23.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's residentprofessional theatre company, will present two Christmas shows in repertory for theupcoming holiday season. The Last Night of Ballyhoo will open on Nov. 27, 2009 for arun through Dec. 20, 2009 and the world premiere of A Hard-Boiled Christmas will open on Nov. 29 for a run through Dec. 23.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's resident professional theatre company, will present the musical comedy CLUE The Musical, based on the popular board game. CLUE The Musical will begin on Oct. 9, 2009 at thetheater, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, for arun through Nov. 7, 2009.

The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT), Williamson County's resident professional theatre company, will present the musical comedy CLUE The Musical, based on the popular board game. CLUE The Musical will begin on Oct. 9, 2009 at thetheater, located in the historic Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Rd., Building Six, for arun through Nov. 7, 2009.