Nashville Theater Calendar 7/20/15

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

Thus, we are happy to present a new feature: The Nashville Theater Calendar, a comprehensive - maybe even exhaustive (lord knows we're exhausted from putting it together, gathering all the info from all over the interwebs!) - listing of theatrical openings for the 2015/16 season. We'll update the calendar every Monday, clearing out the shows that have closed and adding additional information on the shows still to come. Something's missing? That's an easy fix: just send us a message here, on Facebook, or by email at jeffreyellis37215@att.com.

Opened May 22

Cumberland County Playhouse, Crossville: Smoke on the Mountain, running through October 10 www.ccplayhouse.com Smoke takes place on a Saturday night in Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, and the Reverend Oglethorpe has invited the Sanders Family Singers to provide an uplifting evening of song. The audience becomes the congregation as two dozen traditional and original hymns weave together with stories of witness from family members, along with a healthy dose of laughter. Though the Sanders Family try to appear perfect in the eyes of a critical congregation - who are skeptical about the whole notion of a "Saturday Night Sing" - one thing after another goes awry and they reveal their true and hilariously imperfect natures. The honesty, humor (sometimes unintentional!) and faith of this Southern mountain family and the church's new preacher connect strongly with audiences of all ages and faiths, who find themselves part of a very special afternoon or evening.

Opened June 12

Cumberland County Playhouse, Crossville: Mary Poppins, running through August 16 www.ccplayhouse.com Mary Poppins has captivated audiences for generations with its enchanting story, unforgettable songs and dazzling dance numbers. Mary Poppins is the story of a mysterious nanny who magically appears at the Banks household in Edwardian London to care for Jane and Michael Banks. Adventure abounds as she whisks them away to meet dancing chimney sweeps, shopkeepers and an array of colorful characters. NicoleBégué Hackmann will return to the Playhouse stage as Mary Poppins and Jake Delaney will play Bert.

Opened July 10

Arts Center of Cannon County, Woodbury: Bring It On, The Musical, running through July 25 www.artscenterofcc.com Bring It On: The Musical takes you on a high-flying journey through friendship, forgiveness and determination. Bring It On: The Musical tells the story of the challenges and unexpected bonds formed through the thrill of extreme competition. With a colorful crew of characters, an exciting fresh sound and explosive dance with aerial stunts, this all new story is sure to be everything you hoped for and nothing like you expected.

Opened July 16

Gaslight Dinner Theatre, Dickson: Tuna Does Vegas, running through July 25 www.gaslightdinnertheatre.org Gaslight Dinner Theatre continues its 15th Anniversary Season and 70th show with Tuna Does Vegas by critically-acclaimed playwrights Sears, Williams and Howard. With a bang, a twang and a bugle bead, the third-smallest town in Texas descends on Sin City in "Tuna Does Vegas." Neither berg may ever recover, not to mention the audience. This fourth and final foray into Lone Star State eccentricity enjoys a sidesplitting Middle Tennessee premiere at the Gaslight Dinner Theatre.

Opened July 17

Blackbird Theater Company, Nashville, at Hillsboro Comprehensive High School: Myth, A Musical, running through July 26 www.BlackbirdTheater.com A world premiere musical set in the mythological world of ancient Greece, MYTH is the epic and original story of how and why the gods were cast from Mt. Olympus. The princess of Athens and the prince of Thebes are to be married. But an oracle portends doom. The mortals challenge the Fates. The gods intervene. And what follows is an impassioned tale of surprising romances, unlikely heroes, and, of course, the incomparable gods in all of their majestic, decadent glory. Written by Blackbird founders Wes Driver and Greg Greene, with music by Michael Slayton.

Center for the Arts, Murfreesboro: West Side Story, running through August 2 The Center for the Arts will be presenting West Side Story, the revolutionary Tony award-winning production that forever changed American musical theater. A modern retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet set on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the 1950s, West Side Story is the heartbreaking tale of Tony and Maria, star-crossed young lovers caught in a turf war between rival gangs. The well-known musical score full of Latin and Jazz-infused songs includes "Somewhere," "Tonight," "I Feel Pretty," and "America." West Side Story first premiered on Broadway in 1957 and is the result of a collaboration between three theatrical luminaries, the book by Tony award-winner Arthur Laurents, music by Tony and Grammy award-winner Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Tony, Grammy, Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award-winner Stephen Sondheim. The smash hit 1961 film version of West Side Story won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and catapulted the musical to the center of the national conversation. The Center for the Arts' production is directed by Kim Powers, with Musical Direction by Sam Hagler and Assistant Direction and Choreography by Julie

Lakewood Theatre Company, Old Hickory: Play On!, running through August 2 http://lakewoodtheatreco.com/schedule/ This is the hilarious story of a theater group trying desperately to put on a play in spite of maddening interference from a haughty author who keeps revising the script. Act I is a rehearsal of the dreadful show, Act II is the near disastrous dress rehearsal, and the final act is the actual performance in which anything that can go wrong does...

Roxy Regional Theatre, Clarksville: The Music Man, running through August 8 www.roxyregionaltheatre.org Seventy-six trombones will close the Roxy Regional Theatre's 32nd season with a nostalgic bang when Meredith Willson's great American musical classic The Music Man marches onto the mainstage, July 17-August 22. Reprising his role from the 2011 national tour of The Music Man, John Adkison stars as fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill, who cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys' band he vows to organize ... despite the fact he doesn't know a trombone from a treble clef! However, his plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for town librarian Marian Paroo, played by Mary Malaney. A family-friendly story to be shared with every generation, Meredith Willson's six-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy has been entertaining audiences since 1957 with such memorable numbers as the high-stepping "76 Trombones," the romantic "'Til There Was You" and the humorous "Trouble in River City."

Cumberland County Playhouse and Scopes Fest, Dayton, Front Page News: Dayton and the World-Famous Scopes Trial, running through July 27 www.ccplayhouse.com Following last year's held-over, sellout success, the Cumberland County Playhouse and the Scopes Trial Festival of Dayton, will once again co-produce Front Page News: Dayton and the World-Famous Scopes Trial, July 17-19 and 25-26. Presented in the famous courtroom where Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan battled in 1925, this historically accurate play with music premiered during last year's Festival. Based on a script by Deborah Harbin, this new version was created by Playhouse Producing Director Jim Crabtree and Grammy Award nominee Bobby Taylor.

Opening July 23

Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre: All Shook Up, running through August 30 www.dinnertheatre.org Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre - Nashville's venerable entertainment center, which for 49 years has been the theater home to thousands of actors, directors, technicians and artists - has announced the creative team and cast for this summer's eagerly anticipated production of All Shook Up, slated to run July 23-August 30. Nine-time First Night Award winner and Chaffin's Barn artistic director Martha Wilkinson will lead the creative team, which also includes 2012 First Night Honoree Pam Atha as choreographer, and well-known Nashville musician Michael Holmes as music director. DeVon Buchanan, who last summer starred in the Barn's production of Ain't Misbehavin' and who will be choreographing the upcoming Street Theatre Company mounting of Heathers the Musical (with Wilkinson directing), leads the cast as Chad, with Jennifer Richmond (last onstage in Nashville Rep's production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) playing Natalie.

The Arts at Center Street, at TPAC's James K. Polk Theatre, Nashville: Alien The Musical, running through July 26. Jimmy Dolan is loved by his brothers, honored by his foreman, esteemed by his community, and cherished by his wife and kids. In a world of struggle, where solutions to their present suffering are to advance careers and build wealth or criticize the powers and incite revolution, Jimmy sings another song. Set in New York in the late 1800's, a time when Irish immigrants, on average, lived six years after arriving in the new world, "ALIEN: The Musical" explores the tumultuous journey of the Dolan family during those initial years in New York, and follows their family's narrative into present-day California. It is there that their story intersects with "Mexican" immigrants who work in the kitchen of the newly opened "O'Neil's Irish Pub and Family Restaurant." When these two worlds collide, an unexpected twist plunges the Irish and Latinos into a conflict that makes us question what it means to be human; what it means to love and create a hospitable world for those who feel alienated by our ideals or sense of security.

Destiny Theatre Experience, Nashville, at Darkhorse Theatre: Songs for Our Sons, running through July 25, www.darkhorsetheater.com Written and directed by Shawn Whitsell, Songs for Our Sons is a response to recent events and conversations surrounding race, gender, faith and identity, "Songs For Our Sons" sheds light on issues that affect African American communities, specifically young black males. Through a series of vignettes, the piece tackles racial profiling and police brutality, gang violence, poverty, mass incarceration and domestic terrorism.

July 24 and 25

The Theater Bug: The Man With the Light in His Window, an original play by Che Pieper. http://www.thetheaterbug.org. The new play s performed both nights at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5, and The Theater Bug is located at 4809 Gallatin Pike, in Nashville. Pieper was winner of a Theater Bug-sponsored Young Playwrights Competition in which playwrights 18 and under were asked to submit an original one act that runs 30 minutes and is not a musical. Pieces had to be appropriate for actors ages 6-18 and cater to a cast of 15-25. For the winning piece it was work shopped with Theater Bug staff, local playwrights and actors and then rehearsed and performed at the end of the summer. Playwrights will be asked to be a part of the one-week rehearsal process. Pieper's play is based on a short story by the same name: the story about a young boy who becomes fascinated by the mysterious comings-and-goings of his next door neighbor.

Opening July 24

Cumberland County Playhouse: A Chorus Line, running through August 28 www.ccplayhouse.com The ultimate "Singular Sensation," A Chorus Line, will dance its way onto Playhouse Mainstage. This groundbreaking Pulitzer Prize-winning musical is for anyone who has ever put it all on the line, whether for a dream, for attention, for approval, or for love. The show follows 17 would-be dancers in their quest to make the cut for a new Broadway musical. It's what they've worked for - with every drop of sweat, every hour of training, every day of their lives - for the chance to do what they've always dreamed of. One by one, they come forward to share the stories of their lives, putting themselves on the line to get a job in the line. When they're done, so is the audition; and only eight will remain. Winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Score and Book, A Chorus Line is a complex fusion of dance, song and authentic drama, filled with dazzling songs like "I Hope I Get It," "At the Ballet," "What I Did for Love" and "One."

Spaghetti Theatre, Nashville: A Bright New Boise, running through August 2, at Channel to Channel Art Gallery, 427 Chestnut Street, Suite 302B Bethany Langford directs a cast that features ambitious younger players who have emerged from Belmont University's active theater program, including Grace Kelly Mason, Lauren Knoop and Miles Gatrell, along with AEvar Jonsson and with community theater veteran Bradley Moore in the leading role.

Monday, July 27

Nashville Theater's Big Reveal: The 2015 First Night Preview Party at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theater Members of The First Night Honors' Class of 2015 will be revealed at the gala preview party on Monday, July 27, at 6 p.m. at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre. Join us for all the fun and excitement as we introduce our 2015 First Night Honorees, along with our 2015 First Night Star Award Winners and the Most Promising Actors. We'll also reveal some of the dazzling plans we have in store for you at the 2015 Honors Gala, including our emcees for the event, and featuring performances from some of the summer's biggest musical productions. Admission is free and there'll be a cash bar available to help you ease into the First Night season in style. Among the shows represented to entertain you: Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre's ALL SHOOK UP; The Larry Keeton Theatre's NUNSENSE; Center for the Arts' WEST SIDE STORY; Arts Center of Cannon County's GHOST; Circle Players' AMERICAN IDIOT; VWA Theatricals' THE LAST FIVE YEARS...and Janet Holeman from Circle's production of RAGTIME! And helping to make the big reveal and handle introductions of the VIPs: the multi-talented JOEL DIGGS, the intimitable BRITT BYRD, the charming JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN and the glamourous KIM THORNTON NYGREN! For more information, call us at (615) 892-4044.

July 31-August 1

Umbrella, a musical love story, at Darkhorse Theatre, Nashville: An original musical by Steve Leslie and Len Cohen, for two nights only. Tickets are $18; for reservations, call (609) 412-2800 or email papoggo@aol.com.

Opening August 6:

Cumberland County Playhouse: The Fox on the Fairway, running through October 16 www.ccplayhouse.com

The Larry Keeton Theatre, Donelson/Nashville: Nunsense, running through August 22, www.thelarrykeetontheater.org Nunsense is the first production in the 2015 2016 Season at the Senior Center for the Arts and The Larry Keeton Theatre. Directed by Josh Waldrep with musical direction by Ginger Newman and choreography by Tosha Pendergrast, our production is thrilled to be part of a worldwide celebration of the 30th anniversary of the musical Nunsense is a musical comedy with a book, music, and lyrics by Dan Goggin, originated as a line of greeting cards featuring a quipping nun, expanded into a cabaret called The Nunsense Story, before evolving into a full-length musical.

Opening August 7:

The 4th Story Theatre at West End United Methodist Church: Agnes of God, running through August 16 www.westendumc.org/agnesofgod Directed by Robert Kiefer, the award-winning drama stars Carol Ponder, Cathy Sanborn Street and Kaila Wooten.

Arts Center of Cannon County: Ghost, The Musical, running through August 22 www.artscenterofcc.com

Encore Theatre Company, Mt. Juliet: August: Osage County, running through August 22 www.encore-theatre-company.org

Pull-Tight Players, Franklin: Into the Woods, running through August 22 www.pull-tight.com The long-awaited film adaptation of this Broadway classic enchanted film fans last holiday season, and Pull-Tight is proud to present the smashingly original stage version, featuring the unabridged Sondheim score in all its witty and wickedly wonderful glory. The fairy tale characters may be familiar, but their fates are certainly not. Find out what happens after 'happily ever after' this August.

Opening August 13

Nashville Shakespeare Festival at Centennial Park: Henry V, running through September 13 www.nashvilleshakes.org Toward the end of the Civil War, on the eve of battle, enemies come together on a Tennessee battlefield to enact Shakespeare's play about the young king of England who leads his nation in a war against France. Throughout the 19th Century, Shakespeare was performed and read in almost every part of our country. Politicians quoted him in their speeches, generals in their orders, soldiers in their letters home, and slaves and former slaves turned to Shakespeare to educate and inspire. This NSF production, directed by Nat McIntyre, will use Shakespeare's historical drama to reflect on the American Civil War, using the very words that Shakespeare wrote over 400 years ago. His cast includes David Compton, Matt Garner, Ross Bolen, Christy Berryessa, Tamiko Robinson, Matt Rosenbaum, Tony Morton, Aaron Munoz, Alan Lee, Karen Sterberg and members of the NSF Apprentice Company. Henry V runs August 13 - September 13, Thursdays through Sundays and Labor Day Monday at the Centennial Park Bandshell; $10 suggested donation at the date. Food and drink vendors open up shop at 6 p.m. each evening, with pre-show entertainment getting under way at 6:30 p.m. Performances start at 7:30 p.m.

VWA Theatricals, at Darkhorse Theatre, Nashville: The Last Five Years, running through August 22 VWA Theatricals has found its Cathy and Jamie for the upcoming production of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years: Delaney Amatrudo and Luke Denison. Amatrudo and Denison will lead the cast for the musical, which runs August 13-22 at Nashville's iconic Darkhorse Theater. Amatrudo currently studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and Denison is a recent graduate of Indiana University. Audrey Johnson and Andrew Cannata will be stand-bys for the leading roles in the production, which will be directed by veteran Nashville director Jeffrey Ellis (Company, The Rocky Horror Show, Gypsy, Damn Yankees and La Cage Aux Folles), with musical direction by Micah Snow and vocal direction by Lisa Van Wye. Van Wye will produce with Ed Amatrudo; Van Wye and Amatrudo are the principals in VWA Theatricals. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. for each performance, with pre-show music starting at 7 p.m. at Darkhorse Theatre, 4610 Charlotte Avenue in Nashville.

Opening August 18

Act Too Pro, Franklin, at The Franklin Theatre: Mary Poppins, running through August 23. www.acttoopro.com Everyone's favorite practically perfect nanny takes the stage in this Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious musical adventure. One of the most popular Disney movies of all time is capturing hearts in a whole new way: as a practically perfect musical! Based on the books by P.L. Travers and the classic Walt Disney film, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins delighted Broadway audiences for over 2,500 performances and received nominations for nine Olivier and seven TONY Awards, including Best Musical. The cast features Nashville favorite Megan Murphy Chambers as Mary Poppins, Billy Ditty as Bert, Corrie Miller as Winifred Banks. Other cast members include Erica Haines, Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva, Scott Stewart, Heather Webber, Vicki White, Lisa Gillespie, and Jeremy Maxwell. This cast is comprised of individuals who have been teachers, master class instructors, actors, or students with Act Too Players.

Opening August 20

Circle Players, Nashville, at TSU Performing Arts Center: American Idiot, running through August 30 www.circleplayers.net

Sunday, August 23

The First Night Honors: The Most Promising Actors' Showcase

Opening August 28

Street Theatre Company, Nashville, at Bailey Middle School: Heathers the Musical, running through September 13 www.streettheatrecompany.org

Opening September 3

Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, Nashville: Arsenic and Old Lace, running through October 11 www.dinnertheatre.com

Nashville Repertory Theatre at TPAC's Johnson Theatre: Rapture, Blister, Burn, running through September 19 www.nashvillerep.org

Opening September 4

Cumberland County Playhouse: The Foreigner, running through November 5 www.ccplayhouse.com

Opening September 10

Gaslight Dinner Theatre, Dickson: Barbra's Wedding, running through September 19 www.gaslightdinnertheatre.org

Opening September 11

Actors Bridge Ensemble, Nashville, at Belmont's Black Box Theater: Hearts Like Fists, running through September 20 www.actorsbridge.org A superhero noir comedy about the dangers of love. The city's heart beats with fear: Doctor X is sneaking into apartments and injecting lovers with a lethal poison. Lisa's heart beats with hope: Now that she's joined the elite Crimefighters, maybe she can live a life with meaning. And every beat of Peter's wounded heart brings him closer to death, but he's designing an artificial replacement that will never break. Can the Crimefighters stop Doctor X? Do Peter and Lisa have a chance at love? And who is the girl with a face like a plate?

Center for the Arts, Murfreesboro: Harvey, running through September 20 www.boroarts.org

Opening September 17

Studio Tenn, Franklin: Gypsy, running through October 4 www.studiotenn.com

Opening September 18

Encore Theatre Company, Mt. Juliet: The Mousetrap, running through October 3 www.encore-theatre-company.org

Lakewood Theatre Company, Old Hickory: Black Coffee, running through October 4 www.lakewoodtheatreco.com This little known mystery will surprise and delight Christie fans. Written in 1934, the story concerns a physicist named Sir Claude Amory who has come up with a formula for an atom bomb. In the first act, Sir Claude is poisoned (in his coffee, naturally) and Hercule Poirot is called in to solve the case with the twists and turns expected in a true Christie fashion!

Murfreesboro Little Theatre: Of Mice and Men, running through September 27 www.mltarts.com

Springhouse Theatre Company, Smyrna: Fiddler on the Roof, running through October 4 www.springhousetheatre.com Enjoy the memorable music and infectious zest for life found in the village of Anatevka as STC starts the season with one of the most beloved musicals of all time.

Sunday, September 20

The 2015 First Night Honors The First Night Honors continue in 2015 with events taking place throughout the year, culminating with a festival of celebrations showcasing the movers and shakers, techies and artists, the bold and the beautiful.

Opening September 22

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: Dirty Dancing, running through September 27 www.tpac.org

Opening September 25

Cumberland County Playhouse, Crossville: Once On This Island, running through November 6 www.ccplayhouse.com

Opening October 2

Arts Center of Cannon County, Woodbury: 12 Angry Men, running through October 17 www.artscenterofcc.com

Opening October 8

The Larry Keeton Theatre, Donelson/Nashville: The Music Man, running through October 24 www.thelarrykeetontheatre.org

Nashville Rep at TPAC's Johnson Theatre: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, running through October 31 www.nashvillerep.org

October 8 & 10

Nashville Opera at TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall: Puccini's Turandot www.nashvilleopera.org After composing La Boheme, Tosca and Madama Butterfly, what could Puccini possibly do for a final statement? The answer: TURANDOT. Containing some of the greatest operatic music ever written, TURANDOT is the culmination of Puccini's brilliant career. This grand-scale opera is full of thrilling choruses, thundering orchestrations, and a cast consisting of, well, most of ancient China! This magnificent work-which features Pavarotti's signature aria, "Nessun dorma"-promises to be a landmark event for the Nashville Opera and an evening not to be missed. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes (includes two 20-minute intermissions)

Opening October 9

Pull-Tight Players, Franklin: The Foreigner, running through October 24 www.pull-tight.com This perennial favorite from playwright Larry Shue has become an American theatre staple and with good reason. The tale of a mild-mannered English science fiction proofreader who finds himself at a rural fishing lodge in Georgia and on the receiving end of a host of secrets and scandalous tales from other lodge visitors zings from comedy to action en route to a thrilling Act Two climax.

Renaissance Players, Dickson: Cheaper By The Dozen, running through October 18 www.renplayers.com

Opening October 15

Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, Nashville: Alone Together, running through November 15 www.dinnertheatre.com

Opening October 16

Center for the Arts, Murfreesboro: The Addams Family, running through November 1 www.boroarts.org

Street Theatre Company, Nashville, at Bailey Middle School: The Last Queen of Wonderland, running through October 24 www.streettheatrecompany.org

Opening October 20

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, running through October 25 www.tpac.org

Opening October 22

Cumberland County Playhouse: In-Laws, Outlaws, and Other People (Who Should Be Shot), running through December 12 www.ccplayhouse.com

Opening October 23

Encore Theatre Company, Mt. Juliet: Gin Rummy, running through November 7 www.encore-theatre-company.org

Opening November 6

Arts Center of Cannon County, Woodbury: Mary Poppins, running through November 21 www.artscenterofcc.org

Murfreesboro Little Theatre: My Fair Lady, running through November 22 www.mltarts.org

Street Theatre Company, Nashville, at Bailey Middle School: Bat Boy the Musical, running through November 22 www.streettheatrecompany.org

Opening November 10

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: Bullets Over Broadway, running through November 15 www.tpac.org

Opening November 13

Center for the Arts, Murfreesboro: The Glass Menagerie, running through November 22 www.boroarts.org

Nashville Opera at The Noah Liff Opera Center: Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox www.nashvilleopera.org Join us for an intimate voyage through the cultural landscape of America from the 1950's through the 1980s. Delving into such topics as life, death, the atomic bomb and potential annihilation, Eastern philosophy, sex, drugs, rock and roll, war, and significant political events, Hydrogen Jukebox is a kaleidoscope of societal phenomena. Above all, though, Hydrogen Jukebox tries to portray the American People-a collective of individuals searching a better way towards understanding, meaning, and happiness in hectic and often confusing times. This electrifying opera-featuring a haunting, dynamic score by Philip Glass and the prophetic poetry of Allen Ginsberg-promises to overwhelm your senses with a poignant experience that is at once passionately nostalgic and strikingly relevant. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes (with one 20-minute intermission)

Opening November 19

Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, Nashville: Yule Y'all, running through December 27 www.dinnertheatre.com

Gaslight Dinner Theatre, Dickson: Mr. Jingle's Christmas Clause, running through December 19 www.gaslightdinnertheatre.org

Opening November 20

Cumberland County Playhouse: A Sanders Family Christmas, running through December 22 www.ccplayhouse.com

Opening November 27

Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre Backstage, Nashville: Murder at the Howard Johnson's, running through December 27 www.dinnertheatre.com

Nashville Rep at TPAC's Johnson Theatre: A Christmas Story, running through December 20 www.nashvillerep.org

Opening December 3

The Larry Keeton Theatre, Donelson/Nashville: 1940s Radio Christmas Carol, running through December 20 www.thelarrykeetontheatre.org

Studio Tenn, Franklin: It's A Wonderful Life, running through December 20 www.studiotenn.com

Opening December 4

Arts Center of Cannon County, Woodbury: A Tuna Christmas, running through December 13 www.artscenterofcc.com

Center for the Arts, Murfreesboro: White Christmas, running through December 20 www.boroarts.org

Lakewood Theatre Company, Old Hickory: The Lion in Winter, running through December 20 www.lakewoodtheatreco.com Sibling rivalry, adultery and dungeons - Lion in Winter, by James Goldman, is a modern day classic. Comedic in tone, dramatic in action - the play tells the story of the Plantagenet family who are locked in a free for all of competing ambitions to inherit a kingdom. The queen, and wealthiest woman in the world, Eleanor of Aquitaine, has been kept in prison since raising an army against her husband, King Henry II. Let out only for holidays, the play centers around the inner conflicts of the royal family as they fight over both a kingdom, as well as King Henry's paramour during the Christmas of 1183. As Eleanor says, "every family has its ups and downs," and this royal family is no exception.

Pull-Tight Players, Franklin: Holmes For The Holidays, running through December 19 www.pull-tight.com The halls are decked with murder this holiday season at the Connecticut manse of stage actor William Gillette. But whodunit? His mother, Martha? Or one of his fellow actor friends staying at Connecticut Castle for the Christmas weekend? Gillette has played Sherlock Holmes on stage, but now he had better play him in real life before the murderer strikes again.

Renaissance Players, Dickson: A Christmas Story, The Musical, running through December 13

Springhouse Theatre Company, Smyrna: It's a Wonderful Life, running through December 13 www.springhousetheatre.comTraditions are a significant part of the way we experience the joy of the Christmas season. Make a visit to Bedford Falls one of your traditions as you share in the classic telling of the full- stage version of It's a Wonderful Life.

Opening December 11

Murfreesboro Little Theatre: A Coney Island Christmas, running through December 20 www.mltarts.org

Opening January 15, 2016

Murfreesboro Little Theatre: The Exonerated, running through January 24 www.mltarts.org

Opening January 22

Nashville Opera at TPAC's James K. Polk Theater: Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte www.nashvilleopera.org It all starts with a bet. Two young men enter into a wager with an older bachelor to prove the indestructible fidelity of their beautiful fiancées. Lesson #1: Never make bets in which the human heart is involved. This comic opera is the peak of Mozart's brilliant exploration into the workings of love. Following closely on the heels of such masterpieces as The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte is the ultimate statement on the dissimilarity between men and women when it comes to affairs of the heart. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (includes one 20-minute intermission)

Opening January 26, 2016

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: Matilda the Musical, running through January 31 www.tpac.org

Opening February 5, 2016

Pull-Tight Players, Franklin: Southern Fried Funeral, running through February 20 www.pull-tight.com Pull-Tight is thrilled to feature this uproarious homegrown comedy from local playwrights Osborne and Eppler. Families reveal their real selves in light of a crisis, and the Frye family is no exception. You won't want to miss the true colors this zany Southern family paints the occasion with as they lay dearly departed Dewey Frye to rest.

Opening February 11, 2016

Nashville Rep at TPAC's Johnson Theatre: Good Monsters, running through February 27 www.nashvillerep.org

Opening February 12, 2016

Springhouse Theatre Company, Smyrna: Jane Austin's Emma, running through February 28 www.springhousetheatre.com Those who love Jane Austen, as well as those who simply love laughter, life, and... love, will be enchanted by this Paula K. Parker adaptation of one of Ms. Austen's most delightful works.

Opening February 16, 2016

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: Motown the Musical, through February 21 www.tpac.org

?Opening February 18, 2016

The Larry Keeton Theatre, Donelson/Nashville: Sunset Boulevard, running through March 5 www.thelarrykeetontheatre.org

Studio Tenn, Franklin: The Glass Menagerie, running through March 6 www.studiotenn.com

Opening March 9, 2016

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: The Phantom of the Opera, running through March 20 www.tpac.org

Opening March 19, 2016

Nashville Rep at TPAC's Johnson Theatre: Chicago, running through April 16 www.nashvillerep.org

Opening April 8, 2016

Pull-Tight Players, Franklin: Rabbit Hole, running through April 23 www.pull-tight.com Celebrated author David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize-winning play explores the various ways a family copes with unexpected and tragic death, with a deft balance of humor, pathos and hope. Whether or not you have seen the acclaimed Oscar-nominated film adaptation, you won't want to miss this exciting addition to the season.

Springhouse Theatre Company, Smyrna: Tom Sawyer, running through April 24 www.springhousetheatre.com Join master storyteller Mark Twain as he leads us into the world of his most famous character -Tom Sawyer. Tom's adventures never fail to remind us of why great storytelling never grows old.

Opening April 14, 2016

The Larry Keeton Theatre, Donelson/Nashville: The Miss Firecracker Contest, running through April 30 www.thelarrykeetontheatre.org

Opening April 22, 2016

Murfreesboro Little Theatre: Lend Me a Tenor, running through www.mltarts.org

Opening April 26, 2016

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: Mamma Mia!, running through May 1 www.tpac.org

Opening May 6, 2016

Murfreesboro Little Theatre: Backyard Bard: Romeo & Juliet, running through www.mltarts.org

Opening May 10, 2016

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: The Bridges of Madison County, running through May 15 www.tpac.org

Opening May 31, 2016

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: Disney's Beauty and the Beast, running through June 5 www.tpac.org

Opening June 3, 2016

Studio Tenn, Franklin, at Schermerhorn Symphony Center: West Side Story, running through June 4, www.studiotenn.com

Pull-Tight Players, Franklin: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, running through June 18 www.pull-tight.com Trust us - your elementary school spelling bee was never like this! Take a group of neurotic, over-achieving grade schoolers with a dictionary in their hands and hope in their hearts, add a group of equally wacky moderators and stir for a delightful and sharply funny comedy that will have you rolling in the aisles. But don't get too comfy on the floor - you might just be picked to join the bee!

Opening June 7, 2016

Broadway at TPAC, Nashville: If/Then, running through June 7 www.tpac.org

Opening June 9, 2016

The Larry Keeton Theatre, Donelson/Nashville: Thoroughly Modern Millie, running through June 25 www.thelarrykeetontheatre.org

Opening June 10, 2016

Murfreesboro Little Theatre: Butterflies Are Free, running through www.mltarts.org

Opening July 8, 2016

Murfreesboro Little Theatre: Next to Normal, running through www.mltarts.org

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