Jeffrey Ellis - Page 140

Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, the big comedy hit of last season on Broadway in a revival starring Angela Lansbury as the wacky medium Madame Arcati, comes to the stage of Nashville's Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre in a new production directed by J. Dietz Osborne and starring Martha Manning in the role that won Lansbury her latest Tony Award. Opening Thursday, February 11, Blithe Spirit runs at Chaffin's Barn, the city's premiere dinner theatre that was voted one of Nashville's Top 10 Tourist Destinations, through March 13.

Mary McCallum is a force of nature. As one of the most visionary people now creating live theatre in Nashville, she's constantly in motion - writing, directing, producing, acting - you name it, Mary's doing it. In true entrepreneurial spirit, when she saw a dearth of stage roles available to her, she made her own possibilities by finding a vehicle in which she could act and produce.

If you love musical theatre, you'll absolutely fall in love with The Drowsy Chaperone, the fun and frothy show now holding sway in Andrew Jackson Hall at Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Winner of five Tony Awards (more than any other musical in the 2005-'06 season), The Drowsy Chaperone plays like a love letter - a true valentine, if you will - to that uniquely American art form, the musical comedy. Could anything be more apropos during this season of hearts and flowers?

Rene Dunshee Copeland is, perhaps, the best stage director in Nashville (competing with her husband, Scot Copeland, the heart and soul of Nashville Children's Theatre, for claim to the imagined title), having brought some of the most memorable works to local stages during her career . And with Tennessee Repertory Theatre (where she is producing artistic director) celebrating its 25th Anniversary Season this year, she has gone for broke, helming all four shows included in the silver season.

In celebration of Black History Month, SistaStyle Productions presents the world premiere of Mary McCallum's Fly, Girl!, a fictionalized look at the life of aviatrix Bessie Coleman. The play, directed by noted Nashville actor/director/educator Barry Scott, opens at Darkhorse Theatre on Friday, February 19, continuing through February 27. Coleman (1892-1926) was the first African-American to become a licensed airplane pilot and was the first American of any race or gender to hold an international pilot's license. McCallum's play follows Bessie from her girlhood in Texas, where she picked cotton and dreamed of flying, then on to Chicago and ultimately to France, becoming known in the process as 'Queen Bess' the aviatrix.

There may be actors who could give better performances as john and jen than Patrick Waller and Martha Wilkinson but they would have to be some sort of imaginary, dream-like apparitions to even come close to the stunningly brave and thoroughly focused interpretations given by these two exemplary Nashville artists. Consider it an ideal marriage of actors and characters, the perfect confluence of artists at their creative best coming together to breathe life and renewed vitality into their fictional counterparts, who are so richly drawn and evocatively written by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald in their chamber musical now onstage at Chaffin's Backstage at the Barn in the debut production of Johnny Peppers' 3Ps Productions.

Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, the big comedy hit of last season on Broadway in a revival starring Angela Lansbury as the wacky medium Madame Arcati, comes to the stage of Nashville's Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre in a new production directed by J. Dietz Osborne and starring Martha Manning in the role that won Lansbury her latest Tony Award. Opening Thursday, February 11, Blithe Spirit runs at Chaffin's Barn, the city's premiere dinner theatre that was voted one of Nashville's Top 10 Tourist Destinations, through March 13.

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)'.

Signs of a New Day: The Z. Alexander Looby Story will close on February 6, 2010.

No matter what anyone else may say, Johnny Peppers is definitely the hardest working man in Nashville theatre. Sure, there are those people who might give him a run for his money, but this week there's just no contest. Not only is he producing two shows opening on successive nights, he's playing the lead in one of them.

'Martha' is Martha Wilkinson, an actress who's been on the scene for more than 20 years, performing on stages all over town, racking up glowing notices other actresses would kill for, carting off nine - count 'em, nine! - First Night Awards, being named the Nashville Scene's best actress, ranking atop Nashville.BroadwayWorld.com's year-end review for 2009, and winning hearts every time she walks onstage.

Good naturedly, Waller takes the ribbing from Wilkinson and Fudge in stride, which is quite a good thing considering they are masters of the game. Longtime friends and professional collaborators, the worldly wise and experienced pair have welcomed Waller into their charmed inner circle with open arms - and the easy camaraderie among the three is by turns compelling, rollicking and, quite frankly, amazing. In conversation (particularly in an interview about their current project) , where one starts, another takes off and the third continues, with punch-lines abounding, self-deprecation the rule of the day and laughter at every turn. It's an easy give-and-take that promises a particularly entertaining production of the Andrew Lippa-Tom Greenwald chamber musical, john and jen.

'Proof is the kind of play directors live to work on: a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner.,' says Tennessee Rep Producing Artistic Director René D. Copeland. 'When a play wins both awards you can figure that not only is it of excellent quality as a script, but it has also been successful at winning over audiences. I love a smart, moving play that is also highly entertaining. The structure of it is clever, and it is one of those plays with many layers. The characters are fascinating; the dialogue is brilliant; the story is rich. This is a play that I have wanted to direct, and I am just delighted that the circumstances of the 25th anniversary have given me the opportunity to bring it back.'

Poor Tim Fudge! Could we all just join hands, figuratively speaking, and lift our voices in prayer (to whomever or whatever you feel like praying) for this multi-talented man who is faced with a most daunting task: He's the musical director for john & jen, the Andrew Lippa-Tom Greenwald musical being mounted by Johnny Peppers' 3Ps Productions and starring Martha Wilkinson and Patrick Waller, for a three week run at Backstage at the Barn.

Roxy Regional Theatre celebrates the music of Johnny Cash, the legendary 'Man in Black,' with Ring of Fire, the musical review running February 12-27 at the theatre in downtown Clarksville.

While she obviously spends a lot of time working on the administrative requirements of running a theatre company in Nashville, she also finds time to display her many talents onstage. Most recently, she starred in the company's critically acclaimed (which means I really liked it) production of The Great American Trailer Park Musical. And somehow, in the aftermath of that show and amid all the hubbub of the holiday season, Cathy found time to sit down and respond to our questions. This week, then, she is in the spotlight for 'A Life in the Theatre.' Enjoy!

Ted Swindely, author and creator of Always...Patsy Cline, will direct the world premiere production of Parrish Stanton's musical, One Kiss Cafe, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Ford Theatre, March 11-28. Produced by Nashville-based Phoenix Rising Entertainment Inc., auditions for the new musical will be held this weekend, January 30 and 31.

The Nashville Association of Art Dealers (NAAD), a large art gallery membership located in neighborhoods across Nashville, continues its citywide gallery alliance with Art After Hours on Thursday, February 4, from 5 to 8 p.m. This month's art event provides art lovers and patrons a wonderful opportunity to explore Nashville's active art scene.

Ludwig's play focuses on the lives of George and Charlotte Hay, itinerant actors performing Cyrano de Bergerac and Private Lives in repertory during the heyday of the 1953 theatre season in Buffalo, New York. Charlotte dreams of becoming a Hollywood star, while George is happy on the stage, considering live theatre far superior to film. But when word comes that famous Hollywood director Frank Capra is coming to give George one last shot at film stardom, all manner of hilarity ensues as miscommunication runs rampant backstage - and onstage.

How important then is this play - now onstage at Nashville Children's Theatre in a stunning production helmed by NCT producing director Scot Copeland - designed for younger audiences? Frankly, its impact is immeasurable, but it most certainly presents the story of young diarist Anne Frank in such a way that younger audiences should never be able to forget the Holocaust, nor should they ever question the reality of those dark days in the human experience.