Faith Kelm

There are some lovely moments to be found in Birds in Church, the latest production from Nashville's Rhubarb Theatre-a refashioning of the company's first production almost ten years ago, both of which feature vignettes selected from among playwright and former priest Joe Pintauro's Metropolitan Operas. There are lovely moments, to be certain, along with some that are almost riotously funny, genuinely moving and clearly provocative.

On September 2, 2012-during the presentation of The First Night Honors-a new Nashville and Tennessee theater tradition was unveiled with the presentation of the First Night Robe. Fashioned after and inspired by the legendary Broadway Gypsy Robe, the First Night counterpart is presented to someone who is making their first appearance on a Nashville-area stage.

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.

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…

Named as First Night's Outstanding Musical of 2011 was Lipscomb University Theatre's production of Hairspray, directed and choreographed by Justin Boccitto. ACT 1's production of American Buffalo, directed by Ryan Williams, claimed top honors as First Night's Oustanding Play of 2011, and the national touring company's Memphis, the Musical, which played Andrew Jackson Hall at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, was named as First Night's Outstanding Touring Production of 2011, besting productions of Spring Awakening, In The Heights, Wicked and Les Miserables.

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.

With almost 150 performers taking to the stage of Belmont University's Troutt Theatre on Sunday night, September 4, members of the theater community throughout Tennessee joined together to fete the six members of the 2011 Class of First Night Honorees.

Six of the leading lights of the theater world in Tennessee will be recognized as members of the 2011 Class of First Night Honorees August 27-September 4 as First Night, the Nashville Theatre Honors hosts a series of theatrical events to celebrate their achievements and accomplishments.

First Night: The Honors Gala is set for Sunday, September 4, at the Troutt Theatre at Belmont University, which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with the Red Carpet Event, hosted by Jennifer Richmond and Trey Palmer, with fashion commentary by Cary Street, Joshua Waldrep and Lisa Garner Harrison. Impresario Johnny Delarocco (aka John Pyka) will produce a special Red Carpet performance by his company just for First Night.

Five of the six honorees - Brewer, Hoff, Proctor, Sasser and Shute-Pettaway - gathered on the East Bank of the Cumberland River on Wednesday, August 3, to have their official First Night photographs taken by acclaimed Nashville photographer Barry A. Noland. Atha is out of town until month's end, when she returns for all the First Night festivities.

Six of the leading lights of the theater world in Tennessee will be recognized as members of the 2011 Class of First Night Honorees August 27-September 4 as First Night, the Nashville Theatre Honors hosts a series of theatrical events to celebrate their achievements and accomplishments.

David De Silva, the man behind the creation of one of pop culture's most enduring tales of the individual's creative struggle for self-expression - known the world over as the film and stage musical, Fame - arrives in Tennessee today for the opening of Circle Players' regional premiere of Fame Forever: Talent Springs Eternal, which opens at Middle Tennessee State University's Tucker Theatre for a one-weekend run.

Danny Proctor, Helen Shute-Pettaway, Layne Sasser, Pam Atha, Dan Brewer and Gary Hoff were introduced Monday night as the six members of the 2011 Class of First Night Honorees during the First Night Preview Party, hosted by founder and executive producer Jeffrey Ellis at The Listening Room Cafe in downtown Nashville.

David De Silva, the creator and producer of the motion picture Fame, and also the stage adaptation, discusses his latest endeavor: Fame Forever, a sequel to the hit musical, with director-producer Evan Seplow

There comes a moment, very early on in Kate Adams-Johnson's A Chorus Line (which opened last night at The Keeton Theatre) in which, one by one, each of the actors is caught in the spotlight, with some portentous musical underscoring that heightens the emotional impact of the moment. But what's really telling about that sequence of illumination is how evocatively it telegraphs the stories of each of the actors in the cast. You can tell, almost imperceptibly, what it is that separates the pretenders from the contenders...

Faith Kelm, clearly, is one of Nashville's most versatile dancers, able to take on any role and make it her own. That much was obvious the very first time I saw her onstage, playing Carmen in Circle Players' production of Fame, The Musical during the summer of 2009. She's only gotten better since then. Now in college, pursuing her education (she's a musical theater major at Pittsburgh's Point Park University) as she pursues her dreams, she still makes time for visits home, to see friends, to perform in shows and, of course, to dance.

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...

Swing!, the Broadway musical that celebrates the music and dance phenomenon will play its final show at The Senior Center for the Arts' Nashville Dinner Theatre on February 28.

As good as Swing! is - and it is very good despite some dangerously frightening near-misses and a rather frenetic pace - one thing bothers me: Why did Adams-Johnson, borrowing a journalistic reference, bury her lead in the middle of the second act? Every journalism student learns in News Writing 101 that you never want to bury your lead; you want the most pertinent bit of information in your first paragraph. In the case of Swing!, you're offered tantalizing glimpses of the story's lead as soon as the curtain opens, but the show doesn't deliver the goods until well into the show's second hour.

Directed by Kate Adams-Johnson, with music direction by Ginger Newman, the show features a cast of 18, a live band, more than 30 dance numbers and vocal performances that feature some of the Swing era's greatest hits, including 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and 'It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)'.