Ron Murphy

BroadwayWorld South Carolina Awards December 5th Standings; A CHORUS LINE Leads Best Musical!

It's December, and the first standings of the month have been announced as of Tuesday, December 5th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld South Carolina Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

Latest Standings Announced For The 2023 BroadwayWorld South Carolina Awards; THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG Leads Best Play!

Happy Holidays! The latest wave of standings have been announced as of Monday, November 27th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld South Carolina Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

Latest Standings Announced For The 2023 BroadwayWorld South Carolina Awards; A CHORUS LINE Leads Best Musical!

The latest wave of standings have been announced as of Monday, November 20th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld South Carolina Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

Studio Tenn Inaugurates Sparkling New Turner Theatre With Electrifying MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET

A musical retelling of producer Sam Phillips' serendipitous gathering of four of music's most notable Southern boys - Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley - at his Memphis-based Sun Records Studio on December 4, 1956, Million Dollar Quartet will set your feet to tapping out a steady rhythm from its very first moments (a performance of Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes” that very nearly blows the roof off Studio Tenn’s brand spanking new Turner Theater at The Factory in Franklin) and will keep your heart pumping right along to the very final notes of Jerry Lee's “Whole Lotta Shakin’” that closes out the concert musical that is directed by Studio Tenn artistic director Patrick Cassidy and featuring an exceptional cast of performers who pay homage to their eponymous counterparts with so much talent and commitment that you’re breathless – but still wanting more – by the time the curtain closes two hours later.

BWW Review: ELF THE MUSICAL Brings Holiday Magic and Fun to Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse

Luckily, for audiences at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse (where Elf, The Musical runs through December 21 in a delightful and sparkling production helmed by producing director Bryce McDonald), the role of Buddy is entrusted to Chris Hallowes, who has proven himself the personification of the term a?oesong-and-dance mana?? during his tenure at the Playhouse, and who once again proves his mettle with his latest onstage assignment. Were it not for the fact we've always considered Hallowes a star, we'd say Buddy is a starmaking performance for him.

BWW Review: WINTER WONDERETTES Takes You On a Delightful Holiday Trip at Cumberland County Playhouse

There's no better way to ease into the hijinks and hubbub of the holiday season than with a nostalgic trip down memory lane with the awesomely talented, tremendously charming and oh-so-delightful quartet, aka the Marvelous Wonderettes, in Roger Bean's confectionary Winter Wonderettes, the seasonal follow-up to his popular The Marvelous Wonderettes, which first introduced us to Cindy Lou, Betty Jean, Suzy and Missy.

BWW Review: Cumberland County Playhouse's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is a Monster Hit With Hancock at the Helm

Who'd have ever thought a seven-foot-tall, dark, handsome and green chap a?' crafted from the bits and pieces of various fellows gone home to meet their maker, as it were a?' could prove to be so likable, charming and, we daresay, sexy? But leave it to Mel Brooks (and Gene Wilder, his co-writer on the 1974 film) to create such a protagonist and to surround him with memorable characters in a story set to music that's a wonderful homage to the very best of classic Broadway and silver screen musicals!

BWW Review: Lazzaro and Donegan Lead Dazzling JOSEPH... Revival at Cumberland County Playhouse

Powerhouse vocals from its two leading players (Anthony Lazzaro and Cassie Donegan), along with focused direction, spirited choreography, effusive music coming from the pit and an eye-popping visual design aesthetic combine to make Cumberland County Playhouse's most recent iteration of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat another in a long line of onstage hits sure to attract audiences eager to escape the sultry heat of a Tennessee summer.

BWW Review: Fascinating MATILDA Brings Her Magic to Cumberland County Playhouse Through August 18

Now, through August 18, audiences at Crossville's Cumberland County Playhouse have the opportunity to fall in love with Matilda and her ragtag and inspiring band of schoolmates as they take on an adventure that is certain to delight and to engage. Directed by Jess Griffin and featuring a cast of fresh and energetic performers who bring Matilda The Musical to glorious life onstage, CCP has another resounding hit to its credit, which might be quite unlike anything that's come before it and heralds even more technical and design innovation that sets the company apart from all others in the region.

BWW Review: Cumberland County Playhouse's FOREVER PLAID Offers Heavenly Music and Other-worldly Comedy

Certainly, if you're lucky enough to spend a scant two hours in the company of Cumberland County Playhouse's Forever Plaid - comprised of Chris Hallowes, Ross Griffin, Paul Gary and Justin Burr - you'll feel like you've been good, thanks to their heavenly harmonies, delightful performances and all-around good-guy affability.

BWW Review: Christine Rowan is a Revelation in Cumberland County Playhouse's BRIGHT STAR

'Based on a true incident' seems a phrase best reserved for a hardboiled television detective series, circa 1954 - perhaps followed by a title card reading, 'A Quinn Martin Production' (if you're of a certain vintage, you'll get my meaning) - but in the case of Bright Star, the Tony Award-nominated musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell now onstage at Cumberland County Playhouse through June 6, it's definitely fitting.

First Night's Top Ten of 2018 Announced in Nashville Tonight

In anticipation of the gala 30th anniversary celebration of The First Night Awards, Tennessee's best and brightest in live theater were revealed tonight as First Night's Top Ten of 2018 - reviewer and critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual recognition for theater in the Volunteer State - were announced during a Facebook Live presentation from Nashville.

BWW Review: IRVING BERLIN'S HOLIDAY INN Kicks Off The Holiday Season With Style at Cumberland County Playhouse

What better way to leave behind the turmoil of the modern world than by indulging in a bright, shiny new musical burnished with the warm glow of nostalgia and featuring a score by the inimitable Irving Berlin? We can't imagine anything more fun - or more timely, for that matter - than a couple of hours or more spent in the audience of Cumberland County Playhouse to experience the company's latest musical treat: Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn.

BWW Review: Director McDonald Raises the Bar With CCP's Remarkable SWEENEY TODD

Fog comes billowing out over the footlights, bringing with it a pervasive sense of foreboding that sets the tone for the next three hours of what is - without any fear of exaggeration - the most satisfying theatrical experience of 2018. Eye-poppingly gorgeous, with a design aesthetic that's perfectly wedded to the source material provided by composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and book writer Hugh Wheeler, and featuring some of the most electrifying performances we've ever witnessed at Cumberland County Playhouse (where they know a thing or 100 about staging musicals), Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is spectacular.

Tuesday 5(+1): SWEENEY TODD's Weslie Webster and Lauren Marshall

Managing to find time amid a typically busy week in Crossville, actors Weslie Webster and Lauren Marshall - who play Mrs. Lovett and the neighborhood beggar woman, respectively - graciously agreed to submit to The Tuesday 5(+1) and to answer our questions with enough candor and intrigue to ensure audiences come see their show!

The Friday 5(+1): Brett Mutter of Cumberland County Playhouse's SWEENEY TODD

Managing to find time amid a hectic tech week, actor Brett Mutter - who plays Beadle Bamford - graciously agreed to submit to The Friday 5(+1) and to answer our questions, hopefully, intriguing potential audience members with some background about his theatrical career and to explain why he thinks you should reserve your tickets now for Sweeney Todd.

First Night's Top Ten for 2018 Announced in Nashville

First Night's Top Ten for 2018 - critic Jeffrey Ellis' annual review of the best in Tennessee theater were revealed last night during a live Facebook broadcast, with the hosts of Midwinter's First Night (Ashley Wolfe, J. Robert Lindsay, Tosha Pendergrast and Ben Pendergrast) announcing the productions and performances recognized among the best of 2017.

SLEEPY HOLLOW Musical Opens at Cumberland County Playhouse 10/13

Cumberland County Playhouse presents an all-new musical version of Sleepy Hollow by Tony Award nominees Hunter Foster and Paul Gordon, running October 13-November 11 in Crossville.

Photo Flash: Take A Look At The Cast of SLEEPY HOLLOW At Cumberland County Playhouse!

SLEEPY HOLLOW runs through November 11 at Cumberland County Playhouse. Take a look at the cast in these production photos!

SLEEPY HOLLOW Musical Opens at Cumberland County Playhouse Today

Cumberland County Playhouse presents an all-new musical version of Sleepy Hollow by Tony Award nominees Hunter Foster and Paul Gordon, running October 13-November 11 in Crossville.