Jeffrey Ellis - Page 99

Theater audiences in Nashville will be treated to something new this weekend as the new musical Punchinello, based on the writings of Max Lucado, will be presented in a staged reading at Wallace Chapel at Christ Church Nashville this Friday and Saturday nights.

In the play, 90-year-old Mabel Tidings Bigelow-the first woman to swim the English Channel from England to Franc -insists on celebrating her daughter and granddaughter's annual visit with a croquet party. As the game unfolds, she relives vignettes from the last 80 years, interweaving past and present to reveal the precise moment of opportunity gained and love rejected, the moment that defined her life.

Beginning March 21, the Roxy Regional Theatre will delve deeper into the life and times of the man who penned such classics as The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, with a limited run of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde in theotherspace, the Roxy's 50-seat black-box theatre located upstairs.

The gala will feature a dinner reminiscent of the dinner created for the Titanic's first-class passengers, as well as a silent auction with themed packages. John Joslyn, co-owner of Titanic Museum Attraction, will give a special presentation based on his experience with the Titanic, including a $6 million expedition and multiple Titanic television specials. Mr. Joslyn has developed and currently oversees two high-end Titanic museum-attractions in Branson, Missouri and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Joy Tilley Perryman, who this past holiday season starred in It's A Country Christmas, Carol. Today, Joy shares her memories of her Barn experiences to the ones that we've been sharing for two weeks to celebrate the 45th anniversary…

Smokey Joe's Cafe is a show features nine performers, who take audiences back to the 1950s and 1960s with their renditions of many wonderful hits of the rock and roll era. Four of the male singers come together to form a group reminiscent of the two famous quartets Leiber and Stoller wrote for-the Drifters and the Coasters-while other cast members deliver songs made famous by some of the most powerful figures in the world of music, including Elvis Presley, Dion and Big Mama Thornton.

Vali Forrister, producing artistic director of Actors Bridge Ensemble, talks about Act Like a GRRRL. Act Like a GRRRL, Inc., is an autobiographical writing and performance program for teenage girls. Based in Nashville, the program offers space and support for young women to gain a public voice, work with professional female mentors in a variety of creative fields, and foster friendships with peers from diverse backgrounds.

A square little town in a square little state in the middle of a square decade is about to be changed forever as All Shook Up! takes over the stage. Natalie, a young mechanic, dreams of love, adventure and of one true love who'll take her away from her dreary surroundings. Natalie's best friend Dennis has long had a secret crush on her. Since the Mayor outlawed everything that's fun, it seems like the whole drab town is singing the blues.

Donald Margulies' Pulitzer Prize-winning Dinner With Friends-starring Molly Breen, Holly Amber, Tony Hortert and Bryce Damuth-debuts at Murfreesboro's Out Front on Main this Thursday, running through March 25, in celebration of the theater company's second anniversary.

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actror Daron Bruce, who is one of the most accomplished thespians to be found in Nashville, taking on a wide range of roles that have showcased his talents to perfection, while helping to prepare actors of future generations as head of the theater department at Nashville's historic Hume-Fogg Academic High School, considered one of the top providers of secondary education in the nation. Today, Daron adds his memories of his Barn experiences to the ones that we've been sharing for two weeks to celebrate the 45th anniversary…

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Rona Carter McLaughlin, who is one of the most accomplished actors to be found on a Nashville stage, taking on a wide range of roles that have showcased her abilities to perfection. Today, Rona (who most often is seen onstage at Nashville Children's Theatre) adds her reminiscences of life at The Barn to the ones that we've been sharing since last week…

The spotlight today falls upon Darryl Deason-mild-mannered Murfreesboro dentist-by-day; high-flying, widely respected director/producer/actor-by-night-who shares the spotlight today with Katherine Sandoval Taylor, who opens tonight as Guenevere in The Arts Center of Cannon County's production of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot (playing through March 23; curtain's at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees) which is, interestingly enough, produced by Darryl Deason himself. Ah! Syncronicity (ya gotta love a good calendar application!).

The spotlight today falls upon Katherine Sandoval Taylor, one of Middle Tennessee's favorite performers, who tonight opens as Guenevere in The Arts Center of Cannon County's production of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot (which, interestingly enough, is produced by Darryl Deason, the focus of today's other Friday Five). She's known throughout the country as a concert soloist and is quickly gaining a reputation among the theaterati for her burgeoning resume of stage credits.

Directed by John McDonald and starring Colin Ryan as Leontes, Evy Gildrie-Voyles as Queen Hermione and Brandon Meeks as Polixenes, The Winter's Tale also features Josh Bernaski as Antigonus, Ryan Bowie as Camillo, Hannah Church as Emilia, Jay Doolittle as the Shepherd, Ted Jones as Autolycus, Travis Kendrick as the Clown, Ashley Laverty as Paulina, Gregory Pember (by permission of Actor's Equity) as Florizel and Kendall Anne Thompson as Perdita.

Superior Donuts runs March 17-31 at TPAC's Johnson Theater (with preview performances March 15 -16). Superior Donuts tells the story of how an unlikely friendship can emerge in the most unexpected places as a downtrodden donut shop owner hires a street-savvy, aspiring young writer with hustle and bright ideas. Filled with humor and humanity, Superior Donuts stirs up the challenges of embracing the past, the untold dangers of hope, and the redemptive power of friendship while analyzing the American dream...and how living in America can affect it.

Superior Donuts runs March 17-31 at TPAC's Johnson Theater (with preview performances March 15 -16).Superior Donuts tells the story of how an unlikely friendship can emerge in the most unexpected places as a downtrodden donut shop owner hires a street-savvy, aspiring young writer with hustle and bright ideas. Filled with humor and humanity,Superior Donuts stirs up the challenges of embracing the past, the untold dangers of hope, and the redemptive power of friendship while analyzing the American dream... and how living in America can affect it.

In recognition of The Barn's 45 years of bringing the magic of live theater to the stage, we continue our special series of Onstage at The Barn: Memories from The First 45 Years, with actress Andrea Hodgin Osborne, who made her debut at The Barn in 1994 in Smoke on the Mountain, quickly establishing herself as a favorite of Barn audiences and the Nashville theater community. Among my most vivid memories of Andrea was her performance-along with Tim Fudge and Darren Stuart-of "Our Time" from Stephen Sondheim's Merrily WE Roll Along, which was the closing number for the 1995 First Night Awards at Nashville Children's Theatre (and she toiled, for a while, as my personal assistant).

Elizabeth Hayes directs Jerome Bixby's The Man From Earth-described as "the most unique science fiction ever seen onstage"-as ACT 1 continues its 2011-12 season at The Darkhorse Theatre.

Fresh off of the success of presenting 30 new scripts and being named one of the Top 11 Theatrical Events of 2011 by The First Night Honors, New Works Nashville is now accepting submissions for the third edition of their wildly popular showcase for Middle Tennessee artists, The Ten Minute Playhouse.

Make no mistake about it: Johnny Peppers loves directing shows by Broadway playwright Neil Simon, as evidenced by his two latest theatrical adventures. With Brighton Beach Memoirs performing to audience acclaim as part of Circle Players' 2011-12 season at The Keeton Theatre-coming right after the closing of Barefoot in the Park that was part of Franklin's Pull-Tight Players' season-Peppers has been immersed in the stage works of one of the theater's most prolific writers.