Jeffrey Ellis - Page 103

Starring Heather Anderson, Josh Bernaski, Ryan Bowie (who does double duty as director of the production) and Ashley Laverty, this celebration of the mating game explores the journey from dating and waiting to love and marriage, and reveals the agonies and triumphs of in-laws and newborns, trips in the family car and pick-up techniques of the geriatric set.

If you can find a more joy-filled, inspirational musical than Regina Taylor's Crowns-a tribute to African-American women, their church-going traditions, their friends and families and their gorgeous chapeaux-I can't imagine what it could possibly be! Raising the roof of the historic Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Nashville to praise the Lord and recount the struggles and achievements of generations of proud African-American women resplendent in their fashion and finery, showing off their ingrained "hattitude" with dignity, pride and grace, Crowns works its way into your heart easily, ultimately taking its place in your soul with its universal tale of love, hope and devotion.

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.

What is described as 'an incredible slice of Broadway' comes to Franklin for the sixth annual Broadway at Bethlehem - Divas & Desserts benefit on Saturday, February 18 with an array of talented performers including Broadwayworld.com award-winning actors Dietz Osborne and Martha Wilkinson co-hosting and featuring singers Megan Murphy Chambers, Melodie Madden Adams, Laura Matula, Kandace Williams and Maggie McNulty at the Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Performing Arts Center, 2419 Bethlehem Loop Road in Franklin, Tennessee.

Nashville Children's Theatre (NCT) kicks off its Summer Drama Camp registration on Saturday, February 11 at 8 am. 2011-12 season subscribers and friends of NCT at the Explorer level and higher are eligible for Early Bird registration, which begins on Saturday, February 4 at 8 am.

World-renowned dance and ballet masters will lead and teach intermediate to advance and professional level classes created from their unique experiences. Classes are open to the public, with a maximum class size of 35 attendees. The cost to participate is $15 for students and community members.

Nashville audiences-and chattering, anticipatory theater critics-will be given the opportunity to weigh in with their own impressions of Pacific Overtures, thanks to an ambitious production from Blackbird Theater, the acclaimed company now in its sophomore season at David Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre.

Imperious and commanding, confident and resolute, Maria Callas is the quintessential opera diva-Leonard Bernstein referred to her as "The Bible of opera"-and with her oversized personality and regal bearing, she remains a force to be reckoned with almost 35 years after her death. ACT 1 continues its remarkable 2011-12 season with Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning Master Class, a revealing and intimate portrait of la Divina in the latter years of her storied life and career.

Eppler's obvious affection for the genre is apparent from the play's very first moments-Caldwell gives a high-spirited reading of his role, delivering Eppler's tongue-twisting dialogue with high caliber self-assurance, while Gore makes the first of his hilarious appearances in the play-and he once again displays his deft hand at creating believable dialogue that's sharply witty and wondrously clever. The ease with which his characters rattle off the repartee he has written is largely because of his gift of gab, but it also points to the sure-handed direction of the piece by Martha Wilkinson (no stranger herself to the wonderful words cobbled together by Eppler), and the performances of the five-member cast who give life to the scriptbound characters.

Pat Rulon is cast in the enviable role of Maria Callas in the production, arguably her biggest challenge in a stage career that has included any number of enviable roles. This time, playing opposite her daughter Emily Apuzzo, may be more special in some ways, in others it's just another day (or night) at the office for the versatile actress who's played roles both classical and contemporary, both dramatic and comedic. One of the region's most versatile theater types, she's certain to attack the challenge of playing the operatic diva with relish and her trademark sincerity and sparkling wit.

Ben Folds and The Civil Wars will collaborate with Nashville Ballet artistic director/CEO Paul Vasterling on a pair of original dances to be performed by the company's dancers during the upcoming Ballet Ball to be held Saturday, March 3, 2012, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Next up is L.T.Kirk, who plays Tony Candolino-the part's a natural fit for Kirk, after all he's an accomplished singer-and has been seen on Nashville stages in a variety of roles, including his starring role in Street Theatre Company's Hairspray, playing the role of Edna Turnblad (opposite director Dan McGeachy as Wilbur), and STC's Chess in Concert and Ragtime in Concert, as well as ACT 1's acclaimed staging of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. His years of experience as an accomplished singer make his perspective on Callas, Master Class and the fictional characters all the more compelling…

The Who's Tommy in Concert is the next offering from Street Theatre Company, continuing the sold-out success of its In Concert series, playing for six performances February 22-26. STC's 2011 In Concert offerings-Chess in Concert and Ragtime in Concert-were both included in First Night's Top 11 of 2011 Outstanding Theatrical Events.

Although the events of the story are nearly 50 years old, they resonate deeply-particularly for us Southerners in whose memories they continue to reverberate-and they offer younger audiences a sepia-toned look back at the not-so-distant past that we still must strive to overcome. In short, The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 is a theatrical event that is not to be missed and which, again, spotlights NCT's extraordinary accomplishments and its gift for compelling storytelling.

Next up is Emily Apuzzo, Rulon's oldest daughter (the younger, Sofia Apuzzo, is an acclaimed dancer), who has the unique experience of playing opposite her mom in bringing McNally's play to the stage. A noted opera singer in the Nashville area, she's been featured as a soloist in many concerts and recitals in addition to her work with the Nashville Opera chorus. She's also been a fixture on a variety of local stages throughout her life: Clearly, the Rulon-Apuzzos are a theatrical family and Pat, Emily and Sofia have appeared in numerous stage productions over the years.

With the start of a new year, things are really heating up for the Franklin-based Act Too Players, the training program for younger actors that's affiliated with Boiler Room Theatre, the First Night Award-winning Outstanding Theatre Company of 2011, and run by Sondra Morton (who does double duty as operations manager at BRT). Already, Morton and her team of actors, artisans, designers and all manner of creative types are hard at work on a trio of productions that usher in 2012 and looking ahead to so much more on the horizon in the new year.

First up is Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva, one of the Nashville's most sought-after actresses, who in 2011 made headlines with her performances as MotorMouth Maybelle in Street Theatre Company's Hairspray and in the all-star cast of Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre's latest iteration of Annie, which ran last summer. She capped that off with a knock-your-socks-off performance at The First Night Honors, delivering a soul-stirring rendition of "Random Black Girl" that still has people talking.

Just days before the world commemorates the centennial of the sinking of the HMS Titanic, Circle Players, Nashville's oldest community theatre company, will present a revival of Titanic the Musical, at the James K. Polk Theatre at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on April 5-8.

Carol Irvin, Michael Ruff and Daniel W. Black star in Cumberland County Playhouse's 48th season-opening production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy, which opens this Saturday, January 21.

Nashville actress Erin Parker takes on the role of Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5 The Musical and the premiere of a new musical that focuses on Music City USA are highlights of the 2012 season at Virginia's Barter Theatre.