Nan Gurley News

In recognition of the centennial of Williams' birth, I conducted a very unscientific survey among Nashville theater folk to determine which of his plays are the most popular and the best loved. Perhaps surprisingly, the top vote-getters in our informal survey were A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof and Summer and Smoke, shows that have been given memorable (so memorable, in fact, that people continue to talk about them) productions in Music City in the last century. Members of the Nashville theaterati have definite ideas where Williams' plays are concerned.

Nashville's Studio Tenn theatre company concludes its inaugural season with Tennessee Williams' classic play The Glass Menagerie, closing February 27 at Belmont University's Black Box Theatre. Williams' play is an award-winning portrayal of a disintegrating family during the depression and is the play that introduced him as one of the preeminent American Playwrights of the 20th century.

In a production brought to life by a talented quartet of seasoned players, Studio Tenn's The Glass Menagerie is the perfect tribute to the Southern Gothic playwright, mere weeks before the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth in Columbus, Mississippi, on March 26, 1911. Bringing Williams' archetypal and semi-autobiographical play to the stage with style and wit, Studio Tenn rings down the curtain on its inaugural season, scoring yet another artistic hit in the process, following its hugely successful productions of Hello, Dolly! and A Christmas Carol.

Nashville's Studio Tenn theatre company concludes its inaugural season with Tennessee Williams' classic play The Glass Menagerie, running February 17-27 at Belmont University's Black Box Theatre. Williams' play is an award-winning portrayal of a disintegrating family during the depression and is the play that introduced him as one of the preeminent American playwrights of the 20th century.

Nan Gurley stars as Amanda Wingfield in Studio Tenn's upcoming production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, presented at Belmont University's Black Box Theatre Feburary 17-27. The Glass Menagerie will conclude Studio Tenn's inaugural season, which has also included critically acclaimed productions of Hello, Dolly! and A Christmas Carol. Williams' enduring classic is an award-winning portrayal of a disintegrating family during the depression of the 1930's and introduced him as one of the preeminent American playwrights of the 20th century.

If you were asked to name Nashville's Top Ten Favorite Musicals, what show would you name as number one? Perhaps surprisingly, when that question was posed to a group of Nashville theater folk, the number one-ranked show is Les Miserables (but perhaps it's not that surprising, since Victor Hugo's book was a huge hit in the American South upon its initial publication in this country), followed by A Chorus Line, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods claiming the remaining slots in the Top Five.

Nashville's Studio Tenn theatre company concludes its inaugural season with Tennessee Williams' classic play The Glass Menagerie, running February 17-27 at Belmont University's Black Box Theatre. Williams' play is an award-winning portrayal of a disintegrating family during the depression and is the play that introduced him as one of the preeminent American playwrights of the 20th century.

Matt Logan is a force of nature. Whether he's helming a burgeoning professional theater company as its artistic director, directing and designing a new production, creating yet another work of theatrical visual art for which he's become justifiably, well, famous - you name it, he does it and he does it well. And he does it in Nashville, which is not exactly the first place you'd think of finding someone of his talent and stature. But Nashville is his home and that's where his heart is, obviously.

William Shakespeare must defend his works' relevancy for the 21st Century in Shakespeare's Case, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival's 2011 winter production. This original play closes Jan. 30 at Belmont University's Troutt Theater.

Should Dick Wolf need any new fresh ideas for his aging Law and Order TV franchise (and recent events would indicate that he might), we would suggest he ring up Nan Gurley, Denice Hicks and Claire Syler - the scribes of Nashville Shakespeare Festival's current hit Shakespeare's Case - for an infusion of new blood and an influx of new plotlines. Of course, those plotlines might not be new, since they'd probably hew pretty closely to the Bard's classics for which the estimable Nashville troupe is best known, but you can rest assured the trio would have a novel take on stories that audiences would enthusiastically embrace.

Nan Gurley stars as Amanda Wingfield in Studio Tenn's upcoming production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, presented at Belmont University's Black Box Theatre Feburary 17-27. The Glass Menagerie will conclude Studio Tenn's inaugural season, which has also included critically acclaimed productions of Hello, Dolly! and A Christmas Carol. Williams' enduring classic is an award-winning portrayal of a disintegrating family during the depression of the 1930's and introduced him as one of the preeminent American playwrights of the 20th century.

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...

Mining the depths and heights of their own life experiences to bring to life onstage a plethora of challening and compelling characters, dramatic actresses in Nashville were at the pinnacle of their talents in 2010. Thoroughly captivating their audiences night after night, they put their tremendous talents on display with no-holds-barred performances that have raised the bar for actresses who follow in their wake in the coming seasons. And these ten women gave what we considered to be the most noteworthy performances of the 2010 season...

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...

William Shakespeare must defend his works' relevancy for the 21st Century in Shakespeare's Case, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival's 2011 winter production. This original play runs Jan. 13-30 at Belmont University's Troutt Theater.

William Shakespeare must defend his works' relevancy for the 21st Century in Shakespeare's Case, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival's 2011 winter production. This original play runs Jan. 13-30 at Belmont University's Troutt Theater.

With an imaginative staging and details-oriented direction by Matt Logan, with the superb musical direction of Nathan Burbank and the spirited choreography of Ashley Anderson McCarthy (who does double duty as 'Minnie Fay' in the cast - and has never looked lovelier onstage), Studio Tenn's first official season kicks off in high style with this charming production that is as colorful and heartwarming as any we've seen.

With its 2010-2011 season ready to kick off next month with a production of Hello, Dolly!, Studio Tenn promises to fully engage the Nashville theater community as their primary source of talent, and likewise commit to having Broadway, film and/or national tour-credited talent involved in every production.

A cast of more than 125 performers took to the stage of the Troutt Theatre at Belmont University to fete the eight members of the 2010 Class of First Night Honorees in a production that featured the best of the best of Nashville theater and included a surprise appearance by Joseph Mahowald, winner of a 1989 First Night Award, now playing the role of Franklin Hart Jr. in the national tour of 9 to 5: The Musical, which opened in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, September 21.