MY FAIR LADY, BIG RIVER, SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE Headline Studio Tenn's 2012-13 Season

Four well-known shows and the return of a holiday classic make up the 2012-13 season for Studio Tenn, the professional theatre troupe that calls the historic Franklin Theatre home. Artistic director Matt Logan and managing director Jake Speck made the season announcement during a lively afternoon event, which featured performances from the shows included in the line-up, at the historic theatre in downtown Franklin.

Performers John-Mark McGaha, Laura Matula, Libby Hodges and Joseph Patton presented songs from the 2012-13 musicals for media and audience members on hand for the reveal of the new season’s offerings.

Leading off the season will be Studio Tenn’s rendition of Smokey Joe’s Café, the jukebox musical that features some 39 songs from the catalogue of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (and which is currently in production at The Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson), which will run September 20-October 7. The company moves to the historic Williamson County Courthouse (circa 1858) for its next production, the courtroom drama Twelve Angry Men, running October 18-November 4.

Studio Tenn’s critically acclaimed and audience-embraced staging of the holiday classic A Christmas Carol is set for a December 6-16 run at the Franklin Theatre, following earlier runs in 2010 at Lipscomb University’s Shamblin Theatre and in 2011 at the Franklin Theatre.

The Roger Miller musical about Tom Sawyer’s adventures on the Mississippi River which won the hearts of Broadway theater-goers—Big River—will take the stage for a February 21-March 3 run, while Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady—the duo’s musical version of Pygmalion that features cockney flowergirl Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins—runs May 16-June 6.

"We are so thrilled to be returning to the beautiful and historic Franklin Theatre with four productions this season, including three full-blown musicals," said Jake Speck, Studio Tenn's managing director Jake Speck. "Franklin and Williamson County have demonstrated time and again their love for music and history."

Music and history will converge, Speck said, in Big River, Smokey Joe's Cafe and My Fair Lady: "We are also very excited at the prospect of taking our work beyond the walls of the theater—yet still in downtown Franklin—with Twelve Angry Men at the historic courthouse."

Artistic director Matt Logan explained that part of the nonprofit theatre company's overall artistic vision is to continually “think outside the box.”

“Studio Tenn specializes in reinventing classic productions,” he said. "We always select shows that are generally beloved and have stood the test of time—My Fair Lady and Twelve Angry Men, for example, are among the most Popular Productions of all time—but it is also our artistic promise to bring something new and different to the interpretation. We want you to see these shows like you've never seen them before."

Tickets for the 2012-13 season will be available for purchase through a special pre-sale during Studio Tenn's upcoming run of The Sound of Music, which runs May 31-June 17 at the Franklin Theatre. At each performance of The Sound of Music, audience members will have the opportunity to purchase 2012-2013 Season Tickets at the Box Office in advance of the public on-sale date. Remaining season tickets will go on sale to the public online at FranklinTheatre.com and at the Franklin Theatre Box Office on Wednesday, June 20 at noon.

Studio Tenn is the resident professional theatre company at the newly-restored Franklin Theatre, which was originally built in 1937. Following a multi-million dollar restoration, the Franklin Theatre re-opened to the public on June 3, 2011. It is owned and operated by the non-profit Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County.

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