David Compton News

Today the spotlight falls on Kim Thorton Nygren, who just recently ended a critically acclaimed run in Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre's Dixie Swim Club, in which she played the randy, sexy Lexie. Kim's a fixture at ye olde dinner barn-not only because of her onstage performances in such shows as Rumors and 'Til Beth Do Us Part-but also because she works in the venerable venue's box office, dealing with audience members, inquisitive callers and the errant door-to-door salesman. In fact, she's so much a part of Chaffin's Barn that it's hard to imagine one without the other.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, adapted by Jeffrey Hatched, based on the classic novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde runs October 13 - November 3 at TPAC's Johnson Theater (with preview performances October 11 - 12).

Steven Dietz's Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure has been performed all over the country, but when Nashville Children's Theatre presents it as the opening production of its 81st season, it will be the first time the play has been presented by a theatre for young audiences. And in another noteworthy first, the production marks the first time that Nashville Children's Theatre has mounted a show of some two hours in length.

SAVE THE DATE: The 2012 First Night Honorees, Most Promising Actors and the First Night Star Award winners will be revealed on Monday, July 23, at the First Night Preview Party...details to follow.

Playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb knows how to deliver such a dramatic jolt and he does so in his play boom, the season-ending production from Sideshow, the "project" of Actors Bridge Ensemble that has brought something new and exciting to Nashville theater-pushing the envelope through a series of innovative theatrical initiatives that are far removed from the staid old comedies and dramas we tend to see so often on local stages.

With a cast led by Broadway veterans Jessica Grove (who ideally captures the spirit and charm of Maria in her thoroughly captivating performance) and Ben Davis (tall and commanding as the naval captain torn by conflicting loyalties and social upheaval), Logan presents The Sound of Music you would expect from him, although in no way can you call it predictable or expected. To the contrary, Logan excels at delivering the unexpected and while The Sound of Music is probably the one show you would expect to be played out in the traditional, often-seen manner you've encountered in numerous other productions, he manages to surprise and delight you with his vision, his concept and his daring.

Broadway veterans Jessica Grove and Ben Davis will star as Maria Rainer and Captain Georg Von Trapp in Studio Tenn Theatre Company's upcoming production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, playing at the historic Franklin Theatre tonight, May 31 through June 17.

Broadway veteran Jessica Grove will star as Maria Rainer in Studio Tenn Theatre Company's upcoming production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, playing at the historic Franklin Theatre May 31-June 17.

Broadway veterans Jessica Grove and Ben Davis will star as Maria Rainer and Captain Georg Von Trapp in Studio Tenn Theatre Company's upcoming production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, playing at the historic Franklin Theatre May 31-June 17.

Broadway veterans Jessica Grove and Ben Davis will star as Maria Rainer and Captain Georg Von Trapp in Studio Tenn Theatre Company's upcoming production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, playing at the historic Franklin Theatre May 31-June 17.

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.

Despite their best efforts, director Lauren Shouse and her amazingly talented cast just can't give Tracy Lett's Superior Donuts the emotional heft-the literary gravitas-that the playwright so mightily struggles for in his sitcomesque script which pales in comparison to his supposed masterpiece, August: Osage County. Clearly, it's the success of that earlier, heavily-decorated and awarded, Pulitzer Prize-winning play that most theatre companies are invoking as they attempt to sell tickets to this decidedly lesser work, hoping to capitalize on its success in hoodwinking an unsuspecting audience.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present the Middle Tennessee premiere of Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts, who won the 2008 Tony Award for his play August: Osage County. Superior Donuts runs March 17 - 31 at TPAC's Johnson Theater (with preview performances March 15 - 16).

Superior Donuts runs March 17-31 at TPAC's Johnson Theater (with preview performances March 15 -16). Superior Donuts tells the story of how an unlikely friendship can emerge in the most unexpected places as a downtrodden donut shop owner hires a street-savvy, aspiring young writer with hustle and bright ideas. Filled with humor and humanity, Superior Donuts stirs up the challenges of embracing the past, the untold dangers of hope, and the redemptive power of friendship while analyzing the American dream...and how living in America can affect it.

Superior Donuts runs March 17-31 at TPAC's Johnson Theater (with preview performances March 15 -16).Superior Donuts tells the story of how an unlikely friendship can emerge in the most unexpected places as a downtrodden donut shop owner hires a street-savvy, aspiring young writer with hustle and bright ideas. Filled with humor and humanity,Superior Donuts stirs up the challenges of embracing the past, the untold dangers of hope, and the redemptive power of friendship while analyzing the American dream... and how living in America can affect it.

Now owned by the second-generation Chaffins-John and Janie, who were recognized among Nashville's Top Entrepreneurs of 2012 by Business Leader Magazine-The Barn has touched the lives of many, both onstage and off-, and today we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actor/director/playwright Dietz Osborne, who made his debut at The Barn in a 1998 production of Guys and Dolls-and up until recently, his was the voice you heard on the company's voice mail system directing you which number to push when you call in to make reservations, inquire about group events or to buy a gift certificate.

Now owned by the second-generation Chaffins-John and Janie, who were recognized among Nashville's Top Entrepreneurs of 2012 by Business Leader Magazine-The Barn has touched the lives of many, both onstage and off-, and today we launch our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Nancy Allen, who first set foot on that magical levitating stage in a production of The Robber Bridegroom, directed by Rene Dunshee Copeland.

When Patty Duke played the role of Helen Keller in the Broadway premiere of William Gibson's The Miracle Worker, she was ten years old, and when Madeleine Hall took the stage of the Franklin Theatre on Thursday night in the opening of Studio Tenn's exquisitely crafted revival of the modern American theater classic, she too was ten years old. And it should be noted that as portentous as Duke's debut came to be known, theater lovers still to come may very well consider Madeleine Hall's beautifully crafted performance just as revelatory and just as noteworthy.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present the Middle Tennessee premiere of Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts, who won the 2008 Tony Award for his play August: Osage County. Superior Donuts runs March 17 - 31 at TPAC's Johnson Theater (with preview performances March 15 - 16).

Emily Landham and ten-year-old Madeleine Hall star as Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller in Studio Tenn's upcoming production of William Gibson's The Miracle Worker. Studio Tenn, resident professional theatre company of the Franklin Theatre today announced complete casting for the production that debuts February 23 and runs through March 4.