Jeffrey Ellis - Page 96

Granted, most of my research can be credited to two plays by J. Dietz Osborne and Nate Eppler (known professionally as the eponymously named Osborne and Eppler, in the spirit of Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kaufman and Hart and George and Ira…Gershwin…which sorta ruins the sound of my sentence, but what can you do?), an impressive and noteworthy Nashville playwriting team, who seemingly have cornered the theatrical market on such Dixiefied ceremonies and celebrations in their comedies Southern Fried Funeral (which was debuted by Franklin's Bethlehem Players in 2010) and Southern Fried Nuptials (now onstage at Bethlehem Methodist Church in its world premiere production). I'll be sure to include them in the footnotes when my findings are published.

Who's who in Tennessee theater? Sometimes, without a program in your hand, it's difficult to know who's playing whom-hence, our newest feature: Hey, Jef, Here's My Headshot...featuring some of the Volunteer State's best-known-or soon-to-be-known all over the freakin' world-thespians. And have you ever wondered who the amazing photographers are who make thEm Look damn good? We're gonna tell ya...Today's actor/subject/model is the gorgeous and talented Halee-Catherine Culicerto, photographed by Arthur Cohen (whom you can contact via www.arthurcohen.com).

It's rather ironic that this week-a week in which members of the Tennessee State Senate considered a bill that would outlaw such "gateway sexual activities" as hand-holding and kissing among the state's schoolchildren-that Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre would unveil its rock-solid production of Spring Awakening, the Duncan Sheik/Steven Sater musical about sexual repression and the perils of denying the possibilities of carnal knowledge and an accompanying sense of self-awareness among teenagers in Germany in the late 19th century.

Who's who in Tennessee theater? Sometimes, without a program in your hand, it's difficult to know who's playing whom-hence, our newest feature: Hey, Jef, Here's My Headshot...featuring some of the Volunteer State's best-known-or soon-to-be-known-thespians. And have you ever wondered who the amazing photographers are who make them look damn good? We're gonna tell ya...Today's actor/subject/model is the handsome and talented Britt Hancock, a frequent leading man at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse and on national tours, photographed by Robert Mannis in New York City.

Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, the uproarious and surprisingly poignant story of two bumbling Alabama brothers who have never shot a duck but think they shot an angel, comes to Woodbury's Arts Center of Cannon County for an April 13-28 run.

Carol Irvin, Michael Ruff and Daniel W. Black star in Cumberland County Playhouse's 48th season-opening production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy, which opens this Saturday, January 21.

Director Elizabeth Hayes' staging of the play-which is based upon a work that proved to be Bixby's final story-is confident and creative, her expert handling of her ensemble heartfelt and thoughtful. In fact, it's Hayes' complete understanding of the play which elevates it far beyond what appears on the page. Her artful approach to the material allows it to transcend the obvious manipulation and sentimentality that pervades the script, adapted by Schenkman from Bixby's film script (his final one, he supposedly finished the script on his deathbed, after starting it in 1960) which he filmed on a shoestring budget in 2007.

Who's who in Tennessee theater? Sometimes, without a program in your hand, it's difficult to know who's playing whom-hence, our newest feature: Hey, Jef, Here's My Headshot...featuring some of the Volunteer State's best-known-or soon-to-be-known all over the freakin' world-thespians. And have you ever wondered who the amazing photographers are who make thEm Look damn good? We're gonna tell ya...Today's actor/subject/model is the gorgeous and talented Molly Breen, photographed by Nora Canfield.

Today, the spotlight falls upon Gregory Pember, who is currently onstage at Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre, opening tonight in the Tony Award-winning Duncan Sheik/Steven Sater musical Spring Awakening, based on German playwright Frank Wedekind's play of the same name. Greg takes on the role of Moritz Stiefel, the dreamy-eyed, nervous and sex-obsessed teenager with the interesting hair in the recent Broadway and touring productions-and the role that won John Gallagher Jr. the Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Musical.

Who's who in Tennessee theater? Sometimes, without a program in your hand, it's difficult to know who's playing whom-hence, our newest feature: Hey, Jef, Here's My Headshot...featuring some of the Volunteer State's best-known-or soon-to-be-known-thespians. And have you ever wondered who the amazing photographers are who make them look damn good? We're gonna tell ya...Today's actor/subject/model is the handsome and talented Dan Kassis, photographed by Tyler Andrews (whom you can contact via www.tylerandrews.com).

Now onstage at The Larry Keeton Theatre, in a winning production directed by Ginger Newman and choreographed by Kate Adams-Johnson, Smokey Joe's Cafe offers audiences one of the best nights of theater they'll ever have the pleasure of attending. Seriously! In fact, my love of the musical revue-which features 39 songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who provided much of the soundtrack for the lives led in the middle of the last century-is almost stupefyingly of the adoring variety. Truthfully, I can't pinpoint exactly what it is about Smokey Joe's Cafe that I love so much, but alas, there it is: I love the show without question (hell, I'd marry it if we could get a marriage license down here in the South) and I am particularly in love with the rendition served up by Newman, Adams-Johnson and company out in Donelson.

Who's who in Tennessee theater? Sometimes, without a program in your hand, it's difficult to know who's playing whom-hence, our newest feature: Hey, Jef, Here's My Headshot...featuring some of the Volunteer State's best-known-or soon-to-be-known-thespians. And have you ever wondered who the amazing photographers are who make them look damn good? Today's actor/subject/model is the gorgeous and talented Stefani Paige, photographed by Nora Canfield.

Who's Who in Tennessee theater? Welcome to our new feature...Hey, Jef, Here's My Headshot...featuring some of the Volunteer State's best known actors and the photographers who make them look so great! We start the new series with Evan Taylor Williams, photographed by Alanna Johnson.

Plays and playwrights selected for this edition of the Ten Minute Playhouse are: Dropped Call by Garret Schneider, Lyla Builds a Spaceship by Darren Van Michael, Double Header by Brooke Bryant & Carolyn German, Unfortunate Introduction by James Skelley, Ecotone by Ritchie Simmons, Atheist's Surprise by Joe Giordano, Types by Sean Hills, Bobby Met His Father by Thomas Heine, ReinCarnival by Rachael Swann, World's Finest Team-Ups! by Bob Giordano, Mr. Baxter Learns a Lesson by Laura Cockarell and Cold Fish by Nate Eppler.

The revival of Circle Players' production of Titanic the Musical at TPAC's James K. Polk Theatre runs through April 8.

Circle Players, one of the first resident companies at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, makes a triumphant return to that cultural edifice in downtown Nashville to mount its latest revival of Titanic the Musical just in time to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking in the frigid waters of the north Atlantic.

Today, the spotlight falls upon Jama Bowen, who is currently onstage at TPAC's James K. Polk Theatre, playing Marion Thayer in Circle Players' revival of Titanic the Musical, the latest project for her in a very busy 2012 for the versatile actress.

You can now add Senate candidate to actress and activist Park Overall's resume, as the Greeneville, Tennessee, native announced today that she has filed qualifying papers to see the Democratic Party's nomination to challenge Republican Bob Corker for his U.S. Senate seat.

Two critically acclaimed plays that are among the most compelling works in contemporary theater will make up the 2012-13 season of Nashville's Blackbird Theater, which embarks upon its third season of "intelligent entertainment" with productions of John Logan's Red and Peter Shaffer's Amadeus.

Completely charming and thoroughly engaging, Click Clack Moo-Cows That Type is given a colorful and upbeat production at Nashville Children's Theatre, under the direction of Scot Copeland who leads his terrific five-person ensemble through the musical that draws on 1960s-style pop and 1940s-flavored swing music to tell its fanciful story.