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

Filthy Rich. Directed by David Compton. Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre. Starring Erin Parker, Layne Sasser, Nate Eppler and J. Dietz Osborne. Eppler's richly textured script might best be described as a send-up of Anastasia meets Grey Gardens, with some Sleeping Beauty, Annie, You Can't Take it With You and The Grifters (plus an affectionate nod to Fiddler on the Roof) thrown in for good measure, all presented in a farcical manner that works on every level. Kudos to director David Compton for keeping things moving at a good clip and coaxing some stellar performances from his cast of gifted players. Eppler's script tells the outlandish tale of Anna Roman and her daughter, Annie (the Big Edie and Little Edie of Filthy Rich), and a pair of inept grifters named Frederick and Larry who turn up at their dilapidated Hamptons estate in search of a fortune and instead find two wacky women hiding out from the Bolsheviks and some "chizz-eating rats." Eppler's unerring ear for dialogue results in anything but the typical. The script is full of lines that will leave you laughing out loud and there are enough twists and turns on the way to the play's denouement that you will find some delightful surprises along the way. And when voiced by Compton's crackerjack cast of exceptional actors, you can't help but love this show!

See How They Run. Directed by Charles Burr. Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre. Starring Nate Eppler, Stefani Paige, Tammie Whited, J. Dietz Osborne, Lane Wright, Eric Tichenor, Flynt Foster, Erin Parker and Derek Whittaker. Phillip King's See How They Run is classic British farce at its best - complete with mistaken identities, hilarious hijinks and at least four collar-wearing wannabe vicars - and it's given a top-notch production by Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, under the confident lead of director Charles Burr and his exceptional cast. With Burr's expertly cast ensemble enacting the ridiculously absurd situations, you have a winning combination that will delight audiences. Nate Eppler is ideally cast as the vicar, once again displaying a comedic grace and versatility that is his stock in trade. If there is a Nashville actress who could look more like a '40s era pinup girl, we simply can't think of anyone more suited to the role than Stefani Paige, who gives a winsome performance that evokes images of every actress from that era that we can remember. J. Dietz Osborne, of course, is unparalleled in his portrayal of the worldly wise, almost caddish, but thoroughly charming, American actor turned soldier who ends up playing one of the wannabe vicars. TammieWhited is quite good as Ida, the vicarage's housekeeper. The very tall Lane Wright (why doesn't someone mount a revival of Arsenic and Old Lace for this towering actor?) is visually funny as the escaped Communist spy (talk about making some dated material work) and delivers his lines with a stilted, Boris and Natasha-inspired Russian accent. Eric Tichenor, as the visiting minister, gives a veritable tour de force comedic performance in his cameo role, making the most of his short time onstage to create a terrifically funny characterization. Flynt Foster is fine as Sgt. Towers and is confident enough to play his role somewhat buffoonish in order to garner the audience's approval and laughter. Derek Whittaker is superb as the visiting Bishop of Lax (who also happens to be Penelope's uncle), giving a outlandishly appealing take on the role, what with his blend of double-takes, pratfalls and the like. But my hat is off to Erin Parker who gives the evening's most inspired performance. You may find yourself looking twice at Parker and your program to prove to yourself that it is truly she who is hiding behind Miss Skillon's tweedy suit and sensible shoes (and rather large backside).

Steel Magnolias. Directed by Rene Dunshee Copeland. Tennessee Repertory Theatre. Starring Mary Jane Harville, Marin Miller, Martha Wilkinson, Ruth Cordell, Brooke Bryant and Denice Hicks. Six of Nashville's finest actresses are conducting a master class of sorts at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center - the occasion is the opening production of Tennessee Repertory Theatre's 25^th anniversary season and the vehicle is Robert Harling's beloved Steel Magnolias, the now iconic tale of Southern women, their immeasurable strengths, their fiery grace and their unique brand of affectionate, sometimes biting, humor. Directed by Tennessee Rep's singularly accomplished producing artistic director Rene Dunshee Copeland, this fine production is so much more than a mere revival of the company's 1989 production, although it once again stars Mary Jane Harvill in the role of M'Lynn. Harvill is much better suited to the role now age-wise, and her life's experiences provide the necessary emotional heft and foundation for her character's emotional arc in the two-act play. Her Act Two monologue, in which she rails against God and the uncertainty of life in response to her daughter's untimely death, is particularly poignant and heart-rending. As Shelby, a character often played to maudlin excess, in a pitch-perfect performance Marin Miller plays her exquisitely. Her Shelby has the appropriate sharpness beneath the sweetness, thus providing a much-needed counterpoint that allows the character to be more relatable and, frankly, more believable. Copeland has cast four other superb actresses in the play and, quite honestly, I have a feeling that playwright Harling would have a hard time imagining any actress delivering his trademark quips and bon mots more effectively or more convincingly than Martha Wilkinson as Truvy. Entrusted with some of Harling's best one-liners and most memorable quotes that are now etched in our Southern lexicon (and every gay man's book of outrageous quotes), Wilkinson delivers the goods in her own heartbreakingly real way that is refreshingly free from stagy artifice. Cast as Clairee, the elegantly beautiful Ruth Cordell has an ease of delivery and a grace of movement that typifies the Southern matron in all her glory. Brooke Bryant's Annelle is the very picture of restraint, which saves the naïve character from becoming a cliché. But, clearly, if anyone in the cast threatens to steal the show from her capable castmates, it's Denice Hicks as the neighborhood harridan Ouiser Boudreaux, who can do it. One of the region's most respected stage actresses (and directors--she's also artistic director for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival), Hicks' performance is revelatory in its scope-a good thirty years younger than the character she plays, she becomes every Southern town's rich, eccentric, old lady whose harshly frank exterior belies her heart of gold. Hicks' confidence is extraordinary and while she does not (in any sense) steal focus from any of the other women onstage, she gives a master class in character acting that is not to be missed.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Directed by Scot Copeland. Nashville Children's Theatre. Starring Patrick Waller, Peter Vann, Vanessa Callahan, Rona Carter, Patricia Taber, Jeff Boyet, Ross Brooks and Henry Haggard. Nashville Children's Theatre opens its 2009-2010 season in high style with its production of the Ken Ludwig-Don Schlitz musical, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. With the mischievously appealing Patrick Waller in the title role, backed up by an ensemble of some of the most talented actors to be found in Nashville, NCT's staging is far more successful than the Broadway version mounted in 2001, thanks in large part to the skillful editing that was necessary to create a more accessible work for younger audiences. Skillfully and knowingly directed by NCT's producing director Scot Copeland, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer tells Mark Twain's classic tale of young Tom, his best mate Huck Finn, his feisty girlfriend Becky Thatcher and all the other colorful characters to be found in St. Petersburg, Missouri, circa 1840. With music and lyrics by Don Schlitz, a member of Nashville's very own music royalty, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a tuneful, lyrical work, and Schlitz delivers a largely theatrical score. Paul Carrol Binkley's musical direction is spot on and his onstage musicians provide an exceptionally gifted musical underpinning to the onstage action. Waller's clear tenor and boyishly charming portrayal of young Tom Sawyer allow him to clearly stand out among the cast members. He sounds especially good on "Here's My Plan" as he relates Tom's efforts to gain the town's sympathy and adoration by running away, and his duet with Becky (winsomely played by the lovely Vanessa Callahan in her NCT debut) on "To Hear You Say My Name" is one of the show's musical highlights. In this adaptation, the ensemble of eight actors play the 20-plus characters found in the original script, and they each deliver remarkably restrained-and yet somehow larger than life-characterizations. Peter Vann is vividly warm, funny and clever as Huckleberry Finn, playing the perfect foil to Tom. Patricia Taber plays Tom's loving Aunt Polly, who as envisioned by Ludwig is both younger and sweeter than the book's original character. Taber's very earth-motheriness (if there is such a word) make her the perfect actress for the role; her "Angels Lost" is beautifully sung and is particularly moving. Jeff Boyet (playing Judge Thatcher, among other roles that include Tom's prissy brother Sid) is quite good, and he excels in his part of "Angels Lost," as well. Rona Carter is sweetly compelling as Widow Douglas and her onstage chemistry with Vann makes their duet of "I Can Read" especially memorable. Ross Brooks is superb as the broodingly scary Injun Joe and Henry Haggard plays a quartet of roles with seasoned aplomb. It's hard to imagine Copeland-or anyone for that matter-assembling a more skillful cast to bring this musical to life.