Don Chaffer

Stage Musical Inspired by Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in Development

A new musical inspired by Nashville's Bluebird cafe, where artists including Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill played early in their careers, is being developed for the stage. 

Review: Matt Logan Directs 'Stunning, Powerful, Deeply Moving' THE HIDING PLACE in Nashville Premiere

Stunning. Powerful. Deeply moving. The words come rather easily in an attempt to adequately describe the awe-inspiring performances to be found in director Matt Logan’s beautifully crafted production of A.S. Peterson’s The Hiding Place. Now onstage in its Nashville premiere at the Soli Deo Center (which, to be frank, is equally notable and worthy of excessive praise) at Christ Presbyterian Academy through July 23, the play – which had its premiere in September 2019 at A.D. Players in Houston, Texas – proves to be both accessible, engaging and, we daresay, hopeful even as it tells a story from one of the darkest eras in human history.

BWW Interview: Lori & Don Chaffer of Nashville-Based Duo Waterdeep Discuss New Musical 'The Unusual Tale of Mary & Joseph'

Nashville based duo, Don & Lori Chaffer have been making music together for a long time. With over 15 full-length albums under their belt, they continue to write and record music and, as of the last 10 years, musicals. Yep musicals.

Premiere Stages to Present 2017 Play Festival Winner FOSTER MOM

Premiere Stages at Kean University will present Foster Mom by Chris Cragin-Day, the winner of the 2017 Premiere Stages Play Festival, September 7-24 in Kean University's Zella Fry Theatre (Vaughn Eames Hall, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, N.J.).

BWW Interview: Playwright Chris Cragin-Day and FOSTER MOM at Premiere Stages

Premiere Stages at Kean University will present Foster Mom by Chris Cragin-Day, the winner of the 2017 Premiere Stages Play Festival from September 7-24 in Kean University's Zella Fry Theatre. Broadwayworld.com had the pleasure of interviewing Chris about her career and the upcoming show.

Premiere Stages to Present 2017 Play Festival Winner FOSTER MOM

Premiere Stages at Kean University will present Foster Mom by Chris Cragin-Day, the winner of the 2017 Premiere Stages Play Festival, September 7-24 in Kean University's Zella Fry Theatre (Vaughn Eames Hall, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, N.J.).

Plays from Neil LaBute, Alan Zweibel and More Set for SUMMER SHORTS 2017, Starting Today at 59E59

59E59 Theaters will welcome Throughline Artists with SUMMER SHORTS 2017, the annual festival of six short plays tailor-made for summer viewing, now celebrating its 11th season. SUMMER SHORTS 2017 begins today, July 21 and runs through Saturday, September 2.

Stage Vets Headed to SUMMER SHORTS 2017 at 59E59 Theaters

Casting is complete for SUMMER SHORTS 2017, produced by Throughline Artists at 59E59 Theaters. SUMMER SHORTS 2017 begins on Friday, July 21 and runs through Saturday, September 2.

Plays from Neil LaBute, Alan Zweibel and More Set for SUMMER SHORTS 2017 at 59E59

59E59 Theaters will welcome Throughline Artists with SUMMER SHORTS 2017, the annual festival of six short plays tailor-made for summer viewing, now celebrating its 11th season. SUMMER SHORTS 2017 begins on Friday, July 21 and runs through Saturday, September 2.

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI for May 18, 2017

GOOD MORNING, THEATERATI! Welcome to Thursday, May 18, 2017…It's #TheatreThursday! which begs the question: How do you propose to live life dramatically? And, while we're on the subject, what shows are on your agenda this weekend? Let us know what you plan to see and what led you to make your choice! We'll pass the word along to the powers-that-be!

York Theatre Company Announces May Developmental Reading Series

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Interim Executive Director; David McCoy, Chairman of the Board), dedicated to the development of new musicals and the preservation of musical gems from the past, as part of its acclaimed Developmental Reading Series, will present staged readings of three new musicals.

PlayPenn Announces Spring 2017 Theater and Playwriting Courses

PlayPenn, Philadelphia's artist-driven organization dedicated to improving the way in which new plays are developed, has announced their Spring 2017 education offerings.

First Night's Top Ten of 2017 Announced in Music City

First Night's Top Ten of 2017 - critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual review of the best in Tennessee theater - were revealed tonight during a live Facebook broadcast at 7:30 p.m. (CST), with Actor's Bridge Ensemble and Studio Tenn/TPAC leading the nods in this year's listing of categories.

The Maxamoo Podcast Previews the 2016 New York International Fringe Festival

We discuss what we're looking forward to at the 20th annual New York International Fringe Festival. Jose, Jack, Liz and Lindsay describe the weird, sincere, and wacky one-person shows, musicals, and dramas that caught our attention among the nearly 200 shows at this year's festival. Fringe NYC runs August 12-28, 2016 at 16 venues across lower Manhattan (and Central Park). Tickets are only $18/show.

CRITIC'S CHOICE: The (Summer) Game's Afoot, Y'all!

Is it just me or is everyone else amazed by how quickly 2016 seems to be moving - in a theatrical sense, at least - and what with Memorial Day Weekend upon us, we're gobsmacked (gobsmacked, I tell ya!) by the wide range of productions offered up by Tennessee theater companies this weekend. Included are Street Theatre Company's Assassins, Center for the Arts' 42nd Street down in Murfreesboro, Rumors out at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre and the final performance of The Sparkley Clean Funeral Singers at Cumberland County Playhouse.

Critic's Choice: Rumor-Mongering and Pageant-Hopping in Nashville

They're dishing up some tasty Rumors at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre - along with the bountiful buffet of Southern delicacies - while at Donelson's The Larry Keeton Theatre, the last two performances of Beth Henley's The Miss Firecracker Contest are served up this weekend, and the national touring company of Mamma Mia! winds up its weeklong stand at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall. And the intrepid Nashville Repertory Theatre Professional Interns present their very own production of Gruesome Playground Injuries.

Critic's Choice: The Shows To See This Weekend

Shows are opening (Carolyn German unveils her latest, Go From Here, and Nashville Ballet revives Carmina Burana, both this weekend), shows are closing (your last chance to catch The Taffetas at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre before they go the way of The Plaids is this weekend) and The Miss Firecracker Contest is back onstage at Donelson's Larry Keeton Theatre for the second of three weekends. Obviously, the 2016 theater season continues to reveal itself at a breakneck pace, giving audiences a veritable buffet of offerings from which to choose.

Critic's Choice: People to See, Shows to Do

Shows are opening, shows are closing and Fiddler on the Roof is back onstage for Actors Pointe Theatre Company while Tom Sawyer takes a bow at Springhouse Theatre in Smyrna! Obviously, the 2016 theater season continues to reveal itself at a breakneck pace, giving audiences a veritable buffet of offerings from which to choose.

BWW Review: CCP's SPARKLEY CLEAN FUNERAL SINGERS

Lori Fischer's The Sparkley Clean Funeral Singers does what so many shows before it have attempted: To create a completely new world out of whole cloth and set it down amid the already existing world (in which we mere mortals ply our collective trade), peopled by characters who are easy to love or at least accessible enough to be engaging and fun to watch. Where Fischer's new musical - now onstage at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse - succeeds so impressively is in its refreshing storytelling structure that invites audiences into the fictionalized version of Ashland City, Tennessee, where people care deeply about their neighbors and are likely to sing songs displaying their affection and which are bound to make you guffaw (probably more than once).

Friday 5: SPARKLEY CLEAN's Hancock and Webster

There's a new show premiering at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse: The Sparkley Clean Funeral Singers by Lori Fischer, the author of last year's Barbara's Blue Kitchen. Fischer's latest musical follows the adventures of two singing sisters from Ashland City, Tennessee, and the people who love them. Our question: Does Stratton's Diner (arguably the best burger joint ever in the history of the world) still exist in Fischer's depiction of the Cheatham County town? Director Bryce McDonald is being tight-lipped about it.