Nate Eppler, the two-time First Night Award winning playwright of Southern Fried Funeral (with Dietz Osborne) and Long Way Down, will unveil his latest stage comedy with the premiere of Modern Love, running January 12-February 12 at Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre.
Directed by CBDT artistic director Martha Wilkinson, the cast of Modern Love features First Night Award-winning best actress of 2011 Jennifer Richmond, Corey Caldwell : Corey Caldwell (last seen in Boeing-Boeing), Warren Gore (last seen in A Country Christmas, Carol), Amanda Card-McCoy (who made her CBDT debut in the critically acclaimed Boeing-Boeing), Zack McCann (winner of the 2011 BroadwayWorld.com Nashville Theatre Award as Outstanding Younger Actor).
“Who Wrote the Book of Love?” That’s the question posed by Eppler in his new comedy, which investigates the query: Is the world ready to find out that the woman who wrote the book of love is really a man? It's 1940, and Modern Love, a how-to guide for “Modern Girl” is on the top of the bestseller list. But what the world doesn't know is that its author, Rose Lavender, is really a handsome young bachelor! When a reporter from New York Daily magazine comes to interview him, he recruits his modern-woman-on-the-go sister to play the fictional and traditional Rose Lavender. But the reporter from New York Daily is an attractive young woman, and sparks soon fly as she's too smart to be fooled by the ruse. Has the young bachelor met his match? Will the real Rose Lavender be exposed? And is romance in the air?
Modern Love is described by director Wilkinson as “a screwball circus of dressing, cross-dressing and mistaken identity- The whiz-bang battle of the sexes has never been more fun!”
The show’s opening ushers in a new schedule at Nashville’s venerable dinner theatre, Wilkinson explains. Every Thursday and Saturday in 2012 will feature “THEATRE IN THE AFTERNOON,” matinee performance that begin at 12 noon; the house opens at 11 a.m. Tickets are $19 (bring your own lunch), with beverages provided; or audience members can order Chaffin’s boxed lunch for an additional $8.50.
Evening performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday events. The traditional Southern buffet will be served from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with the show’s curtain at 8 p.m. Every Sunday’s performance will begin at 2 p.m., with the buffet served from noon to 1:30 p.m.
A special Valentine’s Day-themed evening performance is slated for Sunday, February 12, with the buffet served from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $180 per couple and includes hors d’oeuvres, the full dinner buffet, the performance of Modern Love, a bottle of champagne, souvenir champage glasses, a rose for the ladies and drawings for door prizes.
Ticket prices for all evening shows (Thursday—Saturday) and Sunday matinees (these prices include dinner and show): $60 per adult; seniors 65 and up $58; students (13-18 years of age) $45; children 12 and under $35. Show only tickets are: $40 adults, $30 for children 12 and under, $35 for students. All prices include coffee tea & soft drinks and tax.
Reservations are required; call (615) 646-9977. Season memberships for 2012 are still available: check out the website at www.dinnertheatre.com and or call the box office for details.
