Cara Richardson - Page 2

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical opened at Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Tuesday night. Rudolph pranced into Nashville bringing Christmas spirit along with several recognizable friends like Hermy, Yukon Cornelius, Clarice, the Abominable Snowman, and, of course, Santa Claus. Based on the 1964 stop-motion animation Christmas special that still plays every year, Rudolph the Musical brings the joy of the television special to the stage, while still retaining all of its charm.

Santa Claus is coming to town! Or better yet, Rudolph. Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center hosts the touring production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer this week. Here at BroadwayWorld Nashville, we had the chance to interview Rudolph himself (or herself!), Lexy Baeza.

Nashville has been blessed this week with the national touring production of The Book of Mormon. Since storming onto Broadway in 2011 and walking away with eleven Tony awards that season, The Book of Mormon has crossed from being a Broadway phenomenon to becoming a pop culture staple. If you ask anyone, chances are pretty good that they've at least heard of The Book of Mormon musical.

Nashville gets a taste of chivalry, sword fighting, and magic with the tour of Lerner & Loewe's Camelot, which plays at Tennessee Performing Arts Center through November 9th. Most people grew up with some version of the story of King Arthur, his wife Queen Guenevere, and Arthur's favorite knight, Lancelot. This makes for a well-known story going into the show, but also sets up the audience for spectacular experience along the way.

The grand story of Camelot comes to Nashville this week with a new touring production making a stop at Tennessee Performing Arts Center. In preparation, Mark Poppleton, who plays multiple roles in the show, has agreed to answer some questions for our Nashville area readers.

Chicago makes its way back to Nashville this week, making a tour stop at Tennessee Performing Arts Center this week. Tuesday night marked the opening for this sexy, yet satirically funny musical. With catchy and memorable music by John Kander and Free Ebb, and a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, this musical takes a hard look at what society views as fame and the role that the media plays in how events and people are viewed.

Nashville Repertory Theatre begins their 30th anniversary season with a bang. Sporting a new name (they were formerly known at Tennessee Repertory Theatre), Nashville Rep presents Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. With direction by Rene D. Copeland, a book by Hugh Wheeler and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd tells the horrific story of love, murder, deception, and deceitfulness.

Once: The Musical brings a taste of Ireland to Nashville this week as the national tour makes a stop at Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Once: The Musical, based on the 2006 indie film, is set in Dublin and centers on two characters known only as Guy and Girl. Their story is as much about the love and power of music as it is about the love between the two characters themselves. The movie's most famous song, 'Falling Slowly' won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Broadway production of Once: The Musical swept the Tony Awards in 2012, receiving 11 Tony nominations and winning 8 Tony Awards including the crown jewel, Best Musical.

A taste of Ireland comes to Nashville with the tour of the eight time Tony Award Winning musical Once. The story of a romance between a couple, surrounded by the music they both love, Once: The Musical is unique in many ways. Evan Harrington heads to Nashville with the touring cast this week. He's graciously agreed to answer a few questions for our Nashville BroadwayWorld.com readers.

Street Theatre Company has yet another edgy rock musical on their hands. Opening today, Passing Strange explores life and the journey one young man takes to self-discovery. With direction by Jon Royal and musical direction by Rollie Mains, Passing Strange is a simple story, but one that will resonate with most every person in the audience.

This week Nashville is gifted the chance to see War Horse at Tennessee Performing Arts Center. It isn't often that a person can say that a horse is the main character of a play, but that's just what War Horse gives you. Set in World War 1 era England, War Horse explores the relationship between a horse and his boy. When the horse, Joey, is sold to the war effort, his owner Albert can't bare to be apart from him and runs away, lies about his age, and joins the military.

Hitting the stage at Tennessee Performing Arts Center this week is the epic World War 1 play War Horse. In preparation for this award winning show, we've been lucky enough to have Maria Elena Ramirez, who plays Rose Narracott in War Horse, answer some questions for us.

Summer is already in full swing in the South. Back yard cookouts and swimming pools, summer camps and vacations are happening everywhere you look. I often find theatre slightly more difficult to find during the summer, so I've done a little research to help you find a good show when you need one. Cause after all, sometimes a nice air conditioned theatre is just the place to be on a humid summer day in Tennessee.

Currently on stage in the Sarratt Cinema at Vanderbilt University is the Circle Players' production of Bare: A Pop Opera. With a book, music, and lyrics by Jon Hartmere Jr and Damon Intrabartolo, Bare: A Pop Opera touches on so many things that young people are facing in today's world. The Circle Players' production, under the direction of Heather Alexander and with musical direction by Eddie Charlton, is the kind of show that I had so many mixed feelings about at first. The initial setting of the story is that which anyone who doesn't come from wealth can be annoyed by. Set in a Catholic boarding school, every child seems to have a life that most of us have never experienced. What starts to pull you in immediately is the thing that seemingly can't be avoided....the connections between these young people and our own lives. Each has something they are dealing with that seems so much bigger than with what they should have to deal.

When you enter Andrew Jackson Hall at Tennessee Performing Arts Center this week, you'll be greeted with a backdrop with these words: "On December 4, 1956, one man brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley together to play for the first and only time. His name was Sam Phillip…The place was Sun Records… That night they made rock 'n' roll history." This sets the mood for the night right away. You can't help but know you're about to see something special. Million Dollar Quartet has come to Nashville. Fluctuating somewhere between a memoir, and musical, and a rock concert, Million Dollart Quartet is set in another of Tennessee's famed cities, Memphis.

Million Dollar Quartet, the musical about an iconic day in the history of music, opens at Tennessee Performing Arts Center this week. In a city so full of music, Million Dollar Quartet is set to fit right in. James Barry plays music legend Carl Perkins in the show and has been kind enough to take some time out of his schedule to answer a few questions for our readers.

Currently running at Street Theatre Company, Violet is a beautiful love story of self-discovery and self-acceptance. With music by Jeanne Tesori and lyrics and book by Brian Crawley, Violet takes us on a journey across the country on a greyhound bus during the mid-sixites.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre begins their Ingram New Works Festival on May 7th. In preparation for the big event, Tennessee Repertory let their playwrights interview each other on their blog. We are sharing those interviews with our readers here at BroadwayWorld.com with the permission of Tennesse Repertory Theatre. Second in the series: Andrew Kramer interviews fellow playwright Jeremey Sony!

Tennessee Repertory Theatre begins their Ingram New Works Festival on May 7th. In preparation for the big event, Tennessee Repertory let their playwrights interview each other on their blog. We are sharing those interviews with our readers here at BroadwayWorld.com wiht the permission of Tennessee Repertory Theatre. First up, playwright Jeremy Sony interviews Nate Eppler.

Expect the Unexpected. This was the tag line for Tennessee Performing Arts Center's announcement of their 2014-2015 HCA/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC series this year. With strong connections to the theatre world and to the music industry, Nashville is the prime place to have a season full of fresh and edgy productions that are still on their first national tour, and TPAC is making that happen with their 2014-2015 season.