Nashville theatre's top performances of '09: The Ensembles

If, indeed, "it takes a village," and if, as the poets say, "no man is an island," then perhaps no art form is more collaborative than live theatre. With a village of artists backstage and offstage assuring that each production is mounted, then coming to life during each performance, the collaborative effort is renewed. And what audiences see onstage is the collaboration of artists, the people who comprise the acting ensemble, the folks who bring the stagebound script to life, sending it soaring into our imaginations.

During 2009, as Nashville theatre companies stretched themselves further, challenging audiences, casts and crews, there were some ensembles whose work stood out from the rest. Those casts, and their productions, make up our list for Nashville Theatre's Top Performances of '09: The Ensembles...

• A Christmas Story. Directed by Rene Dunshee Copeland. Tennessee Repertory Theatre. Starring Samuel Whited, Jeff Boyet, Jamie Farmer, Andrew Kanies, Eric D. Pasto-Crosby, David Wilkerson and Shane Bridges. Tennessee Rep's A Christmas Story may be as good as it gets this holiday season. Wrapped up in a spectacularly designed package by Gary Hoff and featuring the cleverly imaginative direction of Rene Dunshee Copeland, it's the one Christmas gift you owe yourself this year. And it's a surefire way to lift your spirits and make you forget all the bad news that inundates your everyday life.Phillip Grecian's theatre script artfully includes all of the movie's highlights, all of those moments you know by heart and all of the minutiae that has made A Christmas Story a favorite for years. Based upon the wonderfully wry and witty writings of that quintessentially middle-American of mid-century essayists, Jean Shepherd (caught so vividly on film, thanks to Leigh Brown and Bob Clark), the play is not necessarily a slavish re-creation of the film, but rather an affectionate and certainly heartfelt homage.Copeland's skilled hand is seen in every moment onstage, her practiced eye focusing on the smallest of details and her wealth of theatrical experience felt keenly in the superb ensemble performance of her merry band of seven, altogether charming and talented, actors. With Hoff's beautifully crafted and colorful set providing the ideal backdrop for the play's action - and bringing to life in TPAC's Andrew Johnson Theatre, the environs of Hohlman, Indiana, circa 1940 - this production delightfully embraces the sentimentality of the season while injecting with humor, verve and nostalgia.

• Dead Man's Cell Phone. Directed by Bill Feehely. Actors' Bridge Ensemble. Starring Brooke Bryant, Paul Gatrell, Judy Jackson, Kurt Schlachter, Cynthia Tucker and Alice Raver. In veteran director Bill Feehely's production, Sarah Ruhl's comedy is both gentle and provocative, unyielding in its indictment of our society's dependence on cell phones and the accompanying loss of personal interaction. Feehely guides his actors, all of whom are uniformly well-cast, with care, remaining faithful to the playwright while giving The Players an opportunity to excel at their jobs. Brooke Bryant confidently plays Jean with a blend of naivete and worldliness (as the plot thickens, as it were) and exudes a warmth and compassion that is well-balanced by her comic timing and assured delivery. Thanks to an otherworldly visit from Gordon - Paul Gatrell, in a deft performance that blends snarkiness and charm to great advantage - we learn the truth about his life and his somewhat lurid shortcomings. Gatrell and Bryant play well off each other, displaying the essential chemistry which make their relationship, despite the lack of one, seem real despite its surreal trappings.Judy Jackson is funny as Mrs. Gottlieb, Gordon's haughty and salty-tongued mother, delivering some the script's best lines. Kurt Schlachter is fine as Gordon's nebbishy younger brother Dwight (so named because his mother felt the name "Dwight" was getting short shrift), and his budding romance with Jean is sweetly conveyed. Cynthia Tucker, as Gordon's vampishly blond mistress, is delightfully entertaining with her cartoonish Boris-and-Natasha accent and her character's musings on what makes a woman a woman. And, finally, Alice Raver is a delicious revelation as Gordon's shrewish wife, Hermia. Raver displays a gifted hand at comedy, her jarringly hard-edged accent very consistent, and her command of the role impressive.

• Eat the Runt. Directed by A. Sean O'Connell. GroundWorks Theatre. Starring Cee Anthony, Marc Mazzone, Lisa Marie Wright, Frank Preston, Adele Akin, Reischa Feuerbacher and Lily Palmer. Avery Crozier's play manages to be both intellectual and entertaining without a hint of condescension or superiority. Thanks to veteran director A. Sean O'Connell's sure-handed mounting of the work and her exceptionally well-cast ensemble, the absurdly comic tale is altogether believable and relatable. Eat the Runt provides an evening of richly compelling theatre on all levels. Somehow Crozier manages to cut a wide swath through contemporary societal manners and mores, touching on such heretofore incendiary (not to mention timely) topics as religion, politics, racism, sexism and white supremacy. He very deftly handles his task, crafting a comedy that is sure to provoke thought while providing a healthy dose of raucous laughter. O'Connell's cast might well deliver the season's best ensemble performance. Clearly, it's the best we've seen thus far, featuring some new faces along with some of Nashville theatre's best-loved veteran actors, including Adele Akin, Reischa Feuerbacher, Cee Anthony, Marc Mazzone, Lily Palmer, Frank Preston and Lisa Marie Wright. Each of the actors is given an opportunity to shine onstage in Crozier's cleverly written script and they each take up the challenge with confidence. Simply put, there isn't a false moment to be found during the seemingly short two-act comedy.