Jeffrey Ellis - Page 34

Among those students feted for their outstanding performances was Tullahoma High School's William Kuebitz, a top three finalist for his performance as Bert in Mary Poppins. Performing 'Step in Time' from the show, William gained a thunderous ovation from his fellow actors and other supporters in the audience that night, which was the culmination of his high school career.

With this - our latest regular feature - we hope to rectify that and shine the spotlight on the individuals who make the shows run with the precision of a Swiss timepiece. Thank You, Places… is our opportunity to edify the theater-goer by introducing you to some of the best production stage managers to be found on the planet. Today, we introduce you to PSM Suzanne Spooner-Faulk, known as "Spoonie" to her friends, family and legions of admirers, one of Tennessee's finest...

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! It's Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - and we hope you've sufficiently recovered from Memorial Day Weekend so that you're able to face the rest of the week with the necessary intent to achieve all that's possible in a world where white pants and white shoes are acceptable (it's summer, after all…well, unofficially, from a social standpoint)! All of this prompts us to ask the musical question: What did you do this holiday weekend? Social media was fairly abuzz with all manner of outings and adventures perpetrated by the theaterati, including both Amy Prough Stumpfl and Nancy Allen attending a performance of Hamilton in Chicago, where Belmont University Musical Theatre alumni Candace Quarrels and Chris Lee are starring!

Tara Winton directs, as Woodbury's Arts Center of Cannon County presents Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, with music by Wayne Barker. Opening Friday night, June 2, it runs through June 11.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! Welcome to the start of Memorial Day Weekend: It's Friday, May 26, 2017 and time to live life dramatically! It really sounds like we should be cutting a ribbon somewhere to herald the start of the long weekend that kicks off summer, but instead we sit here in front of a computer screen, remembering and reminiscing, in hopes of providing you with something to read while you sit by the pool, waiting for the SPF37 to kick in!

Feeling the urge to let your imagination run wild, your spirit to soar or to just leave the world in which you live and go on an adventure? Sounds like a trip to the theater is in order! Luckily, companies all over the Volunteer State have been hard at work, creating new productions to transform and to transport, shows that will entertain you this summer. That's where THE NASHVILLE THEATER CALENDAR comes in handy: Peruse our listings every week to find out what shows you should see!

Jason Lewis directs the regional premiere of Reefer Madness the Musical to close out ACT 1's 2016-17 season, opening June 9. A musical satire based on the 1936 cult film classic, Reefer Madness the Musical opened in Los Angeles in 1998. The book and lyrics were written by Kevin Murphy with music by Dan Studney.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! Welcome to Thursday, May 25, 2017! So, here's the thing: We're up far earlier every morning than we'd actually choose to be, given the choice, and today we were lost in slumber, having a really terrific and very intriguing dream - I was in Louisville with my best pal Patrick Wilson.

Carole King is an American treasure: a singer/songwriter of much renown, she possesses the showbiz bona fides that place her among the highest echelons of creative endeavor and for more than 50 years, she has provided the soundtrack for the lives of so many of us that you can't help but be caught up in an emotional fervor of remembrance and revelry when you hear one of her hit songs.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! It's Wednesday, May 24, 2017! How do we know this, you might ask? Well, we spent last evening at TPAC'S Andrew Jackson Hall, soaking up every possible bit of Carole King: The Beautiful Musical - wait, it's the other way around - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and despite the earworm known as 'One Fine Day,' we are still floating on the inspiration and memories of opening night.

Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre unveiled its upcoming 'Season 35: Discover the World Behind the Curtain' at a fundraiser last Friday evening at the home of arts supporters Mark, Ricki, John Mark and Will Holleman.

You might be surprised by this, but A Second Helping, the musical now onstage through the weekend at Cumberland County Playhouse' Adventure Theatre, has more in common with The Godfather, Part II than you might expect. Both of them, as sequels to the original material that spawned them, do something sequels usually are incapable of: They're better than their precursors.

Winner of the 2016 Nashville High School Musical Theatre Award (which in 2017 became known as The Spotlight Awards) as best actor in a musical, Ashton Harris is yet another starring light in Kristin Moon and Will Butler's company of outstanding young actors at Hillsboro High School.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! It's Tuesday, May 23, 2017, and we are all so very lucky to be alive and to be engaged in the creation of live theater - in Tennessee, no less - with the ability to live life dramatically and to reflect on the world around us. And what a world it is: Last night, people in Nashville were exultant…the Nashville Predators won the Western Conference Playoffs to advance to the Stanley Cup Final of the National Hockey League!

Ross Griffin's dramatically flamboyant portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in Cumberland County Playhouse's magnificent production of the Tony Award-winning Million Dollar Quartet would be reason enough to buy a ticket to see the fast-moving, tune-filled salute to one of music's most legendary nights that didn't end up with some star dying in a plane crash or surviving a car wreck.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! According to my iPhone today is Monday, 22 May 2017 - the weekend, busy as it was, is over and we're left hankering for a few days off in order to relax and rejuvenate…which makes us ponder this musical question: What are your plans for next weekend? In our mind, of course, our mama is warning us that such queries are symptomatic of us 'wishing [our] life away,' as she would always admonish us to live in the now instead of trying to leap-frog over the next five days. So sayeth my beloved mama: 'Live life dramatically.' Therefore, a nap might have to suffice…

Today, we introduce you to PSM Cecilia Lighthall, one of Tennessee's finest: My first SM assignment in college was Selkie. I had been an ASM before that. But, that was my first one as lead. My first professional show was Cabaret at Chaffin's Barn in 2004. My most recent show was Posterity with Nashville Repertory Theatre.

Meggan Utech and Gracie McGraw will make their Chaffin's Barn debuts this summer, joining Barn favorite Martha Wilkinson in Sister Act, the hilarious, five-time Tony Award-nominated musical, opening June 8 and running through July 22.

The role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the Lynn Ahrens-Stephen Flaherty-Terrance McNally musical Ragtime is one coveted by actors of all ages - not the least of whom is Siegel High School student Caleb Mitchell, who took on the challenge of bringing the character to life in his school's production of the show earlier this spring. And for his efforts, Mitchell was one of three finalists for The Spotlight Award, the culmination of the 2016-17 Nashville High School Music Theatre Awards.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! Down in the right-hand corner of my computer screen, it tells me that its Friday, May 19 - which means that Memorial Day Weekend is just a week away! - how in the world did we make it from New Year's Day to Memorial Day in what seems to me to be like 15 minutes? When you figure that out, please give me a heads-up so I can better prepare for Christmas shopping! And that, of course, has me wondering what shows we'll be seeing during the next holiday season which, in turn, prompts me to ask the musical question: What's your favorite Christmas or holiday-themed stage offering?