Will Butler News

Apparently, it is Elvis Week in Nashville (at least according to the fine folks at Loveless Cafe), so before we head out to the theater for a full weekend of show openings and the like, a trip to West Nashville for a slice of the Loveless' Elvis pie is in order (for the uninitiated, that's peanut butter, banana, bacon and homemade whipped cream-the four basic food groups, according to The King.), so before we slip into a diabetic coma, here's installment #7 of Music City Confidential, all the news that's fit to print from onstage, offstage, backstage and beyond…

Described as "bold, captivating and often shocking," Mysterious Skin, a play by Prince Gomolvilas based on the novel by Scott Heim, is being brought to the Darkhorse Theatre stage, thanks to producing/directing duo of L.T. Kirk and Jonathan Burgess.

We've been doing our part to prepare ye the way, watching the action onstage, taking some furtive peeks backstage, listening to all the offstage gossip and venturing beyond the confines of the theater to gain the informed knowledge to see more shows in the Volunteer State than you ever thought possible. So, good people of the theaterati, read on and get all the information you need to know in this, our latest installment of Music City Confidential. This is #6…

What better way to kick off Sunday-and to celebrate Father's Day!-than with the latest installment of Music City Confidential! Here's where you'll find all the news that's fit to print (or not-depending on your perspective) from Nashville's ever-growing, ever-fascinating live theater industry. Amid the florid prose and flowery praise, you'll find all the stories that don't quite fit anywhere else, some of 'em kind of gossipy, some of 'em stone-cold serious, some of 'em just lists of names you need to know. You'll also find photos from our new "Intermission@" series, details about the latest cast parties and various and sundry minutiae-the veritable flotsam and jetsam-from backstage, onstage, offstage and beyond…

Who's who in Tennessee theater? Sometimes, without a program in your hand, it's difficult to know who's playing whom-hence, our newest feature: Hey, Jef, Here's My Headshot...featuring some of the Volunteer State's best-known-or soon-to-be-known all over the freakin' world-thespians. And have you ever wondered who the amazing photographers are who make them look so damn good? We're gonna tell ya…Today's actor/subject/model is the handsome, talented and very busy Will Butler, photographed by Mandy Whitley.

Granted, most of my research can be credited to two plays by J. Dietz Osborne and Nate Eppler (known professionally as the eponymously named Osborne and Eppler, in the spirit of Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kaufman and Hart and George and Ira…Gershwin…which sorta ruins the sound of my sentence, but what can you do?), an impressive and noteworthy Nashville playwriting team, who seemingly have cornered the theatrical market on such Dixiefied ceremonies and celebrations in their comedies Southern Fried Funeral (which was debuted by Franklin's Bethlehem Players in 2010) and Southern Fried Nuptials (now onstage at Bethlehem Methodist Church in its world premiere production). I'll be sure to include them in the footnotes when my findings are published.

Make no mistake about it: Johnny Peppers loves directing shows by Broadway playwright Neil Simon, as evidenced by his two latest theatrical adventures. With Brighton Beach Memoirs performing to audience acclaim as part of Circle Players' 2011-12 season at The Keeton Theatre-coming right after the closing of Barefoot in the Park that was part of Franklin's Pull-Tight Players' season-Peppers has been immersed in the stage works of one of the theater's most prolific writers.

Will Butler is pretty jazzed up about playing Eugene Morris Jerome in Circle Players' upcoming production of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs which might be due, in part, to the fact that he's pretty certain he's got all the lines down pat. But the real reason he's excited is that Brighton Beach marks his return-it's kind of a comeback for the young actor-to the Nashville stage since his "senior capstone project" at Belmont University in 2010.

Directed with care and attention to detail by Johnny Peppers, who is quickly becoming the go-to guy for Simon shows in Nashville (just prior to the opening of Circle's Brighton Beach Memoirs, his production of Barefoot in the Park for Franklin's Pull-Tight Players closed), the play features young Will Butler as the play's nominal lead-and stand-in for Simon himself, upon whose life the richly drawn characters and situations are derived-Eugene Morris Jerome, a 15-year-old Polish American Jewish boy living in Brooklyn with his parents, his brother, his aunt and her two daughters.

Make no mistake about it: Johnny Peppers loves directing shows by Broadway playwright Neil Simon, as evidenced by his two latest theatrical adventures. With Brighton Beach Memoirs performing to audience acclaim as part of Circle Players' 2011-12 season at The Keeton Theatre-coming right after the closing of Barefoot in the Park that was part of Franklin's Pull-Tight Players' season-Peppers has been immersed in the stage works of one of the theater's most prolific writers.

Will Butler is pretty jazzed up about playing Eugene Morris Jerome in Circle Players' upcoming production of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs which might be due, in part, to the fact that he's pretty certain he's got all the lines down pat. But the real reason he's excited is that Brighton Beach marks his return-it's kind of a comeback for the young actor-to the Nashville stage since his "senior capstone project" at Belmont University in 2010.

Will Butler is pretty jazzed up about playing Eugene Morris Jerome in Circle Players' upcoming production of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs which might be due, in part, to the fact that he's pretty certain he's got all the lines down pat. But the real reason he's excited is that Brighton Beach marks his return-it's kind of a comeback for the young actor-to the Nashville stage since his "senior capstone project" at Belmont University in 2010.

Nashville productions of Aida and The Color Purple highlight the 63rd season announced today by Circle Players, the community theatre that's been treating audiences to award-winning shows since 1949. In addition, the company will mount a production of The Piano Lesson, the August Wilson classic that was first produced by Circle Players in its 1993-94 season, the acclaimed musical Next to Normal (which is currently running in Memphis in its Tennessee premiere starring Belmont University graduate Ben Laxton and will be produced later this season by Boiler Room Theatre), and the regional premiere of Band Geeks, an all-youth production directed by Catherine McTamaney.

When the last performers had sung the final song and the late honoree had been feted, the crowds at Belmont University's Troutt Theatre for the presentation of First Night, the Nashville Theatre Honors' 2011 Gala Concert, headed downtown to Cummins Station for the After-Party at The Listening Room Cafe.

'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:

You really must give credit to Kaine Riggan: the man has recreated one of downtown Nashville's best-known nightspots into a beautifully appointed live theater venue, somehow doing a thriving business in an economy that, at best, may be described as 'dire.' Add to that noteworthy achievement the fact that his A Scattered, Smothered and Covered Christmas is a delightful holiday-season repast, a down-home good time that even the most cynical audience member can enjoy.