Rebekah Durham News

It's the stuff of theatrical legend. Or perhaps it's the perfect recipe for a theatrical endeavor of legendary proportions. You must simply bring together eight of Nashville's finest actresses under the direction of a man who is helping to change the face of local theater with his inventive, imaginative original works. Then give them two noteworthy scripts from the late 20th century and place them in a rehearsal hall to prepare for public consumption

Nashville Rep will present two plays in repertory as a part of its popular REPaloud staged reading series in an effort to prod discussion about issues related to successful women. The series will take place November 12 - 15 at Nashville Rep's Rehearsal Hall (NPT Studio A, 161 Rains Avenue) and will include David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winner Glengarry Glen Ross featuring an all-female cast (Wednesday, November 12 and Friday, November 14) and Caryl Churchill's Top Girls (Thursday, November 13 and Saturday, November 15). The same cast of talented Nashville actresses will be featured in the staged readings of each play.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre has worked with Pulitzer Prize-winners, Tony Award-winners, and Oscar Award-winners (largely through its burgeoning Ingram New Works Project). And now Nashville's flagship professional theatre can add a Heisman Trophy-winner to that list: Eddie George. The former Tennessee Titan will headline the February production of The Whipping Man.

Nashville audiences that embraced Playhouse Nashville's inaugural season of fully produced original plays by local writers will have even more to experience this year beginning in April with Garret Schneider's ULTRASOUND starring Cori Anne Laemmel, Rebekah Durham, and Laura Crockarell.

Scheduled for April 28 and 29, The Ten Minute Playhouse is the next entry in Playhouse Nashville's 2013 season in residence at Street Theatre Company located at 1933 Elm Hill Pike. Deadline for submissions by Tennessee playwrights is 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 7. Submissions may be sent as PDF attachments via email to TMPHSubmissions@gmail.com.

Nashville actor/singer/musician Geoff Davin has released his latest music video 'White Beat,' written by the multi-talented performer himself. The star of Boiler Room Theatre's The Rocky Horror Show and Circle Players' Company, the versatile Davin surrounds himself with an all-star cast of some of Music City's favorite stage stars. For more information, go to www.GeoffDavin.com.

There is absolutely no doubt about it: The playwriting trio of Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten very clearly know the people about whom they write so prolifically. Their affection and respect for the Southern way of life is obvious in every honey-drawled word, as is their abundant understanding of Southern people and folkways themselves. It's something that fairly reverberates through every line, every script, every moment they create for the stage-and it provides a heartbeat that is as real as the smell of honeysuckle hanging heavily on the warm summer winds.

Chris Bosen and Nate Eppler, the curators of The Ten Minute Playhouse-named one of the Top 11 Theatrical Events of 2011 by The First Night Honors-have been invited by Street Theatre Company to present new programming in-residence during the 2013 season.

Bobby Wyckoff, a favorite of audiences at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, directs The Dixie Swim Club, the latest offering from the playwriting team of Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, running August 23-September 30 at the dinner theatre located at 8204 Highway 100 in West Nashville.

Apparently, it is Elvis Week in Nashville (at least according to the fine folks at Loveless Cafe), so before we head out to the theater for a full weekend of show openings and the like, a trip to West Nashville for a slice of the Loveless' Elvis pie is in order (for the uninitiated, that's peanut butter, banana, bacon and homemade whipped cream-the four basic food groups, according to The King.), so before we slip into a diabetic coma, here's installment #7 of Music City Confidential, all the news that's fit to print from onstage, offstage, backstage and beyond…

Now, we're the last to try to stir up trouble or to further flame the fires of jealousy or envy, but we thought we'd share with you some photographs of some of those lovely ladies who could delight their audiences just by standing there-but whom inspire and encourage us all with their superb onstage talents. So, here's our recommendation, take a look at these photographs, then find out on which stages you can find these women this summer, then make a reservation and go to the theater…

What better way to kick off Sunday-and to celebrate Father's Day!-than with the latest installment of Music City Confidential! Here's where you'll find all the news that's fit to print (or not-depending on your perspective) from Nashville's ever-growing, ever-fascinating live theater industry. Amid the florid prose and flowery praise, you'll find all the stories that don't quite fit anywhere else, some of 'em kind of gossipy, some of 'em stone-cold serious, some of 'em just lists of names you need to know. You'll also find photos from our new "Intermission@" series, details about the latest cast parties and various and sundry minutiae-the veritable flotsam and jetsam-from backstage, onstage, offstage and beyond…

Directed by Nate Eppler, Here Lies Jeremy Troy stars Rebekah Durham, Andy Kanies, Jennifer Richmond, Will Sevier and Lane Wright. Eppler, in addition to acting and directing, is a playwright and teaching artist based in Nashville. His plays include Keeping Up With the Joneses, The Shorty Hawkins Play, Modern Love and Long Way Down. Eppler is the recipient of both the Tennessee Arts Commission Professional Development Support Grant and the Individual Artist Fellowship. He is playwright-in-residence for Tennessee Repertory Theatre.

With a cast filled with some of Nashville's most talented stage performers, director Paul J. Cook's version of Company-now onstage at The Keeton Theatre in a sparkling new production from Circle Players-is brimming over with theatrical riches. But if you had to pick just one from among this cadre of showstopping stars, I'd pick one Ms. Debbie Kraski, whose Joanne in as memorable as any you might have seen, and as heartbreakingly genuine as any you might ever have hoped to witness.

Named as First Night's Outstanding Musical of 2011 was Lipscomb University Theatre's production of Hairspray, directed and choreographed by Justin Boccitto. ACT 1's production of American Buffalo, directed by Ryan Williams, claimed top honors as First Night's Oustanding Play of 2011, and the national touring company's Memphis, the Musical, which played Andrew Jackson Hall at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, was named as First Night's Outstanding Touring Production of 2011, besting productions of Spring Awakening, In The Heights, Wicked and Les Miserables.

With a capacity crowd of 200 people on hand at The Keeton Theatre, First Night founder and executive producer Jeffrey Ellis, who covers theater, opera and dance throughout Tennessee for BroadwayWorld.com, unveiled his choices via First Night's Top 11 of 2011, while the winners of the BroadwayWorld.com Nashville and Tennessee Theatre Awards were announced by co-hosts Britt Byrd, Jamie Free, Katherine Sandoval Taylor and Lar'Juanette Williams.

Playwright Nate Eppler, Mas Nashville's FIVE, the Boiler Room Theatre, Lipscomb University's Hairspray, ACT 1's American Buffalo and the national touring company of Memphis, the Musical were the top winners at Sunday night's Midwinter's First Night at Nashville's Keeton Theatre, which also featured the presentation of the BroadwayWorld.com Nashville and Tennessee theatre awards.

When director Paul Cook held auditions for Circle Players' production of Stephen Sondheim's Company, he had no trouble finding a devoted and enthusiastic cast for the show, which opens January 6 at the Keeton Theatre.