Ginger Newman Stars As 'Mama Rose' To Highlight Keeton Theatre's 2012-13 Season

First Night Award-winning actress-cabaret artist, music director, conductor, all-around theater personality-Ginger Newman tackles the role of "Mama Rose" in the musical theater classic Gypsy to highlight the 2012-13 season at The Keeton Theatre, which celebrates its tenth year with shows to appeal to both theater and movie aficionados alike, featuring several local premieres heretofore unproduced by Nashville area companies.

The season opens with the wildly popular hit Legally Blonde, The Musical based on the famous movie with Nashville native Reese Witherspoon. This musical has won numerous awards both in the United States and in the UK, and was hailed as "Musical theatre at its best – great songs, witty lines, smart, sassy, spectacular" by London's Daily Telegraph. Legally Blonde, The Musical will be presented September 13- 29.

In November, Keeton offers up the tony award winning Sweet Charity-the story of unlucky-in-love Charity Hope Valentine, a dance hall hostess who always gives her heart and her dreams to the wrong man. Set in 1960s New York, Sweet Charity features a score with numerous hit numbers including: "Hey Big Spender", "If My Friends Could See Me Now" and "The Rhythm Of Life.".Originally directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, the show's iconic choreography will be set by Adams-Johnson while the show's direction will be handled by Jamie London, with musical direction by Ginger Newman. Sweet Charity will run November 1-17.

For Christmas, the Keeton Theatre presents A Christmas Carol, The Musical written by Lynn Ahrens and Alan Menken. This spectacular musical extravaganza ran for ten years at Madison Square Garden and was the basis of an NBC Hallmark Entertainment special. Touting the optimistic sentiment that "it's never too late to change" A Christmas Carol, The Musical will run November 29-December 16.

February brings on 9 to 5 The Musical, the musical theater hit based on the 1980 movie and featuring music and lyrics written by Tennessee's favorite daughter, the incomparable Dollly Parton and featuring a book by Patricia Resnick. The high energy musical, which includes the songs "Backwoods Barbie" and "Nine to Five," was nominated for fifteen Drama Desk Awards, the most for a production in a single year, as well as four Tony Awards and the Grammy award for Best Musical Show Album. 9 to 5 will run February 7-23.

Next, the Keeton Theatre presents Gypsy, starring  Newman as Mama Rose. The musical's score features many songs that became popular standards  including "Small World,"  "Everything's Coming up Roses," "Some People," "Let Me Entertain You"and "Rose's Turn." Considered one of the crowning achievements of the mid-20th century's musical theatre catalog, Gypsy is presented on the Keeton stage May 2- 18.March ushers in the internationally acclaimed hit Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Based on the popular 1988 film, the show centers on two con men living on the French Riviera, who unsuccessfully attempt to work together only to find that the small French town isn't big enough for the two of them. They agree on a settlement: the first one to extract $50,000 from heiress Christine Colgate wins and the other must leave town. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels runs March 21-April 6.

Finishing out the season will be The Sound of Music, a show the Keeton patrons have been begging to see for several years, according to Jane Schnelle, executive director of the center. The Rogers and Hammerstein classic is based on Maria von Trapp's The Story of the Trapp Family Singers  and features many songs that have become standards including the title song "The Sound of Music," "Edelweiss," "My Favorite Things," "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" and "Do-Re-Mi." The Sound of Music graces the Keeton stage June 13-29.

The Keeton Theatre offers performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Each performance is preceded by a delicious three course meal starting at 6  p.m. for dinner, with lunch seating at 1  p.m. Tickets are $27 for dinner and show and $22 for show only with a special show-only price of $12 on Thursday nights.

In addition to the 2012 – 2013 Season offering, the Keeton Theatre presents a special engagement of Into the Woods as the 2012 summer offering July 12-28. This Sondheim classic, which originally starred Bernadette Peters and Joanna Gleason, combines all the beloved Grimm's fairy tales into a cautionary tale will be performed without dinner, but with extensive concessions available. Tickets will be $15 for adults, and $12 for children and seniors, with two special child oriented Saturday matinees on July 21 and 28.

The theater is located at 108 Donelson Pike in the FiftyForward Donelson Station building. The Larry Keeton Theatre is operated by The Senior Center for the Arts, a non-profit corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of FiftyForward.

 

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