Jeffrey Ellis - Page 42

Erica Patterson will take on the iconic role of Eliza Doolittle in the upcoming production of Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, running February 16-March 4 at The Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson. Cavender Lane will play the supercilious Henry Higgins, with Chris Cavin as Colonel Pickering and Elliott Robinson as Alfred P. Doolittle in the revival, directed by veteran Nashville director (and current senior contributing editor to BroadwayWorld.com/Nashville) Jeffrey Ellis.

Hand to God is a ballsy, brassy and in-your-face consideration of life in a Southern church and its impact on the lives of its congregants, exposing the hypocrisy of small-town convention and social mores that continue to evolve at a glacial pace. You'll be singing hosannas in the show's aftermath, reveling in the knowledge that you've seen some very talented people doing what God - or any other higher power or reverential deity - must have intended from the very beginning, as in '…in the beginning…' Who knew a church's puppet ministry could be so intriguingly facile yet uproariously entertaining?

Austin Jeffrey Smith, Taylor Tracey, Jenna Pryor and Julia Nettles will share the stage as co-hosts of 2017 Midwinter's First Night, set for Sunday, January 8, 2017, at The Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson.

Ernie Nolan, an award-winning director and playwright based in Chicago, has been named as the new artistic director of Nashville Children's Theatre, beginning February 1, 2017. Nolan succeeds Scot Copeland, NCT Producing Artistic Director for 31 years, who died unexpectedly in February of this year.

Since its debut in 2008, Nashville's Nutcracker – choreographer Paul Vasterling's holiday-scented love letter to his adopted hometown – has delighted thousands of audience members eager to experience this particularly rapturous paean to this most wonderful time of the year. Eager to set off on a journey of wonder and delight, to be swept away to a fanciful world of dashing princes and beautiful fairy princesses brought to life vivdly by the accomplished dancers of Nashville Ballet's various companies, audiences for nine successive years now have allowed themselves to be caught up in the spectacle of the production which never fails to enthrall and to entertain.

'Something that's sure to please everyone in 2017,' is the promise of Cumberland County Playhouse producing director Bryce McDonald while announcing the upcoming season at the award-winning theatrical venue located in the hill of Tennessee.

Austin Jeffrey Smith, Taylor Tracey, Jenna Pryor and Julia Nettles will share the stage as co-hosts of 2017 Midwinter's First Night, set for Sunday, January 8, 2017, at The Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson. Midwinter's First Night is the annual presentation of First Night founder and executive producer Jeffrey Ellis' First Night's Top Ten of 2017 and the announcement of winners of the BWW Nashville Awards, voting for which continues through the end of December.

Those wacky sisters of Hoboken are back on the job and back in the theatre in Nuncrackers - writer Dan Goggins' latest installment of the continuing saga of a group of down-on-their-luck nuns from New Jersey who are still trying to beef up their rolls, score some longed-for electronic gadgets and launching a cable access TV channel to hawk their own special brand of must-have holiday gifts - celebrating the Christmas season with a variety show that shows off their own questionable talents, along with those of a group of four children from the school at the Convent of Mount Saint Helen's.

With a cheerful attitude that knows no bounds, Eubie - the happiest elf at the North Pole - is determined to spread his apropos spirit of the season wherever he goes in Harry Connick Jr.'s The Happy Elf, now onstage at Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre in a delightful production directed by Ryan Bowie and starring the appealing John-Paul Fox in the eponymous role.

Families everywhere know the beloved holiday movie that inspired a new musical, and now they can meet Buddy the Elf and see him like they never have before, live onstage in The Arts Center of Cannon County's new production of ELF the Musical Jr., running December 9-11 in Woodbury. The one-act Young at Arts Series show runs approximately one hour.

Some grand holiday traditions are exactly what is needed in these turbulent times and nothing is more pleasing than the 2016 version of Nashville Repertory Theatre's live stage version of A Christmas Story, the theatrical treatment of the movie of the same name that somehow captures all the memories and nostalgia, all the laughter and mayhem of the holiday season.

While there are always rumors of closings and real estate transactions happening willy-nilly, Chaffin's Barn continues to thrive and to entertain and to give both audiences and theater folk an opportunity to get to know one another better and to be transported and transformed via the magic of live theater. I hope that Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre remains a vital part of Music City long after I've been reassigned to review shows in the afterlife.

Nuncrackers, described as "the fourth hilarious show" in Dan Goggins' long line of musicals featuring the "Little Sisters of Hoboken," takes the stage of The Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson for a December 1-17 run, under the direction and musical direction of Ginger Newman, with choreography by Jamie London.

It's 1968 and The Wonderettes - the all-girl pop group made famous in The Marvelous Wonderettes musical - is at at Harper's Hardware for the annual Christmas Bash as Actors Point Theatre Company presents Winter Wonderettes December 15-18 in Hendersonville.

Nashville's Nutcracker, Nashville Ballet's longstanding holiday tradition returns to Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall, running December 3-23 for the ninth consecutive year, featuring the Nashville Symphony and weaving together the vibrant history of the city with one of ballet's most beloved and timeless tales.

Described as "a show the whole family will enjoy," The Christmas Schooner is the story of the first Christmas tree ship and the family who risked their lives to fill Chicago with the Christmas spirit; it features a powerful, moving story, an exquisite score of original music and traditional holiday favorites.

An affectionate throwback to the early tradition of American Theatre for Young Audiences, NCT's production of Cinderella is heavily influenced by the British 'Panto' tradition of fairy tales. Much as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is presented at holiday time on stages throughout America, there are dozens of 'Panto' treatments of Cinderella presented as a family Christmas treat on stages throughout England annually.

Pipeline-Collective presents the Nashville premiere of Nick Payne's award-winning play Constellations at the Belmont Little Theatre, running December 16, 17, 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. Directed by David Ian Lee, the plays stars Jason Griffith and Karen Sternberg.

As challenging a work of theatrical artistry that you could possibly conceive of, Parade affords BUMT students a sublime opportunity in pursuit of excellence in a production that vociferously demands to be seen and experienced. It is one of the year's best musicals in a Nashville theatrical season that has boasted one after another significant stage triumphs, with two leading performances that are stunning in their complexity and passionate delivery.

You gotta admit: A lot has changed in this world since Nashville audiences were first treated to The Book of Mormon two years ago. The extended run in 2014 at Tennessee Performing Arts Center set records for ticket sales, garnered great critical acclaim and knocked the socks off the thousands of people witnessing the bold, brash and irreverent musical for the very first time.