Jeffrey Ellis - Page 38

Carrie Brewer's fiery portrayal of the man who would ultimately become King Henry IV is certain to resonate with audiences for the compelling production of William Shakespeare's Richard II - onstage at Shamblin Theatre through April 23 in a joint production from Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Lipscomb University Theatre - especially in contrast to Caroline Amos' highly theatrical portrayal of the eponymous king whose indecision and lack of personal gravitas results in his ultimate demise.

Strong performances from a quartet of Nashville actors and capable writing and direction by Jeff Swafford should be enough to create a compelling and engaging stage play. Unfortunately, those elements don't add up to what we'd hoped for in Woodland Entertainment's production of Crazy All These Years, onstage at Nashville's Darkhorse Theatre through next weekend.

Nashville Children's Theatre (NCT) yesterday revealed its 2017-18 Season - its 86th season and its first under new executive artistic director Ernie Nolan - featuring three regional premieres and the return of a holiday season favorite by the late Scot Copeland, NCT's longtime producing artistic director, who led the company's rise to national prominence during his tenure.

Opening day is here: Everybody's favorite bedtime book is magically transformed into an imaginative, unforgettable theatrical experience as Goodnight Moon takes the stage at Nashville Children's Theatre April 13 through May 14.

Opening tonight at Nashville's iconic Darkhorse Theater is multi-hyphenate Jeff Swafford's (he's a playwright-producer-filmmaker-director, among other things) play Crazy All These Years, which stars a cast of Nashville's best-known actors, including Jennifer Richmond, Michael Adock, Cinda McCain and Daniel Hackman.

Nashville Shakespeare Festival continues its 2017 season with Richard II, a co-production with Lipscomb University, which will run from Thursday, April 13, through Sunday, April 23. The rarely-produced play features an all-female cast and will be performed at Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre. Photographer Kenn Stilger captured Tuesday night's dress rehearsal in the accompanying photographs.

Spring is here! Why doesn't my heart go dancing? Well, Mr. Lorenz Hart, personally, we are too damn busy with creating the magic of live theater: We're directing a show (Daddy's Dyin'…Who's Got the Will? opens next week - April 20 - at The Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson, thank you very much) and trying to make it out to see as much theater in Nashville as possible before old age takes its toll - it's tough out there for a theater critic!

In spring of 2016, Cathy and JJ Street pulled up roots in Nashville - a place they called home for 13 years - and moved eastward to Wilmington, North Carolina, leaving behind scores of friends who'd become like family to them and relinquishing the reins to Street Theatre Company to Jason Tucker, under whom the acclaimed theater company continues to thrive in Music City.

Fun Home, Waitress and An American in Paris headline the 2017-18 HCA/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC Series, which leads off with the world premiere of a new musical in development - Part of the Plan, an original musical written by Kate Atkinson and Karen Harris and featuring songs from the catalog of famed singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg.

Actors Bridge Ensemble - Nashville's most forward-thinking and cutting-edge professional theater company - teams up once again with Belmont University Department of Theatre and Dance to celebrate their tenth anniversary as artistic collaborators with Jessica Dickey's The Amish Project, a moving and provocative presentation that allows the two companies' strengths to be fully on display, giving audiences much to consider in the post-show haze of introspection and remembrance.

Oozing charm, exuding confidence and with a sense of effortless style, Broadway's song-and-dance man Matthew Morrison makes his Music City debut in a three-night stand at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, backed by the Grammy Award-winning musicians of the Nashville Symphony under the baton of conductor Steven Jarvi.

Writer/producer/director Jeff Swafford debuts Crazy All These Years, the stage version of his screenplay which he made into a film last year, at Nashville's Darkhorse Theatre next week for an April 13-22 run. Starring Cinda McCain, Michael Adcock, Jennifer Richmond and Daniel Hackman, Swafford's play is one of Spring 2017's most eagerly anticipated productions.

Nashville Ballet boldly steps into the future with a 2017-2018 performance season that promises to showcase the full spectrum of the art, from the pinnacle of classical ballet to fearless contemporary works. The upcoming season will be rounded out by the return of highly anticipated fan favorites and the 10th year of Nashville's Nutcracker.

Katie Callaway is the real deal. She's passionate about her pursuit of art - as an actress in Nashville she made a name for herself on local stages and now that she's living in Los Angeles, she's becoming a much sought-after name for film and TV projects - but she's just as serious about, as corny as it may sound, just being a good human being.

Led by a trio of veteran Nashville-area actors - Dan Zeigler, Pat Street and Lynn Yates - the quartet of eponymous characters is completed by Ryan Chavez Richmond, who is quickly making a name for himself (and gaining more than a little notoriety along the way) on local stages. The four of them are joined by Jeanne Valcarcel Drone as Cassandra and Nikki Gavin as Nina in Durang's rollicking comedy that is sure to make you laugh uproariously one moment and bring tears to your eyes in the next.

No matter how you go about it - regardless of the circuitous route you take to divine an answer - Matthew Morrison just won't give any details away about his upcoming stint on the TV behemoth Grey's Anatomy. Forget that it's been the subject of pop culture buzz and an internet frenzy earlier in the week, the actor, who refers to himself as 'a song and dance man,' won't give up any spoilers to satisfy clamoring fans and inquisitive reporters.

Miles and Erica Aubrey, Nashville-based performers with a broad range of Broadway, TV, film, and music credits, will lead a full day of performance workshops and serve as celebrity co-hosts for the Nashville High School Musical Theatre Awards, or 'Spotlight Awards,' presented in partnership between the nonprofit Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) and Lipscomb University on May 13.

For the fifth year running, Opera Memphis will be in midtown for ten days of opera, concerts, parties, and more, including the reading of a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the US Army. Midtown Opera Festival takes place March 31-April 9 at Playhouse on the Square.  

Just in case you are unaware, heed this advice: There is perhaps no better place on earth to catch some future Broadway stars (and, no doubt, some Tony Award winners-to-be) than in Nashville. If there is any other more fertile breeding ground for musical theater stars than what you may find among the assemblage of burgeoning talents at Belmont University - particularly among the students enrolled in the school's musical theatre program, now celebrating its 19th season - we implore you to supply directions for our edification.

Jackie Welch, Tamiko Robinson Steele and Lauren Frances Jones together onstage are like the royalty of Nashville theater: three formidable actresses who bring a wealth of experience to any role they play as individuals. Yet, collectively, the three women are more than mere forces of nature, they are nature itself, their remarkable talents combining to create a theatrical experience that will long be remembered, venerated and discussed among those people fortunate enough to see them in Nashville Repertory Theatre's stunning production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun.