2017's Midwinter's First Night Set for 1/8 at The Keeton

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.

The 2017 artwork, designed by David Arnold, is being revealed today "to whet the appetites" of theater-goers throughout Tennessee.

"Mad, bad and dangerous to know," Midwinter's First Night is the cold weather follow-up - the more irreverent younger sibling, if you will - to the more august First Night Honors. The history of The First Night Honors and Midwinter's First Night goes back to the 1989 debut of The Dare Theater Awards, which subsequently became the First Night Awards and evolved into The First Night Honors which bowed in 2010.

Festivities get under way at 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 8, at the Keeton Theatre and will feature performances by some of the region's best-known actors.

In addition to the team of co-hosts, performers will include Ashley Wolfe, who made her First Night debut at the January 2016 event, former First Night Divas headliner Memory Strong, the cast of The Keeton's upcoming My Fair Lady and the cast of Center for the Arts' 9 to 5: The Musical. Presenters for the event include Laquita James, Cat Arnold and David Arnold, Cavender Lane, Wesley King, Erica Patterson, Michael Adcock, Katherine Morgan, Britt Byrd, Brittany Blaire Andersen, Patrick Kramer, John Frost Jr., Sheridan Hitchcox, Brandon Hoyt, Shelby Jones, J. Robert Lindsey, Noah Rice, Cassie Hamilton, Amanda Grace Creech and Brooke Gronemeyer.

Other performers and presenters will be named in the coming weeks.

Tickets are $15 per person, at the door, or $12.50 in advance by debit/credit and are available by calling (615) 892-4044.

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