Tickets On Sale Friday for Two Schermerhorn Symphony Center Upcoming Performances
by BWW News Desk

(Jan. 27 2:00 AM) - Nashville Symphony announces the addition of two new performances at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, with tickets on sale beginning Friday, January 27th at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at NashvilleSymphony.org, at the Schermerhorn box office or by phone a t615.687.6400.

AIDA, THE COLOR PURPLE Headline Circle Players' Newly Announced 63rd Season
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 26 2:33 PM) - Nashville productions of Aida and The Color Purple highlight the 63rd season announced today by Circle Players, the community theatre that’s been treating audiences to award-winning shows since 1949. In addition, the company will mount a production of The Piano Lesson, the August Wilson classic that was first produced by Circle Players in its 1993-94 season, the acclaimed musical Next to Normal (which is currently running in Memphis in its Tennessee premiere starring Belmont University graduate Ben Laxton and will be produced later this season by Boiler Room Theatre), and the regional premiere of Band Geeks, an all-youth production directed by Catherine McTamaney.

BROADWAY AT BETHLEHEM to Feature Wilkinson, Osborne and More
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 26 10:20 AM) - What is described as "an incredible slice of Broadway" comes to Franklin for the sixth annual Broadway at Bethlehem – Divas & Desserts benefit on Saturday, February 18 with an array of talented performers including Broadwayworld.com award-winning actors Dietz Osborne and Martha Wilkinson co-hosting and featuring singers Megan Murphy Chambers, Melodie Madden Adams, Laura Matula, Kandace Williams and Maggie McNulty at the Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Performing Arts Center, 2419 Bethlehem Loop Road in Franklin, Tennessee.

Towne Centre Theatre Presents Night of January 16th 2/10-3/3
by BWW News Desk

(Jan. 25 5:00 PM) - Towne Centre Theatre will present Night of January 16th by Ayn Rand from February 10 – March 3, 2012.

Nashville Children's Theatre Announces Start of Registration for Summer Camps and AVENUE Q, SCHOOL EDITION
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 24 7:12 PM) - Nashville Children’s Theatre (NCT) kicks off its Summer Drama Camp registration on Saturday, February 11 at 8 am. 2011-12 season subscribers and friends of NCT at the Explorer level and higher are eligible for Early Bird registration, which begins on Saturday, February 4 at 8 am.

Dance Theatre of Tennessee Debuts New Series of Master Classes With DeJesus, Calvert
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 24 6:53 PM) - World-renowned dance and ballet masters will lead and teach intermediate to advance and professional level classes created from their unique experiences. Classes are open to the public, with a maximum class size of 35 attendees. The cost to participate is $15 for students and community members.

Director Greg Greene Talks About Blackbird Theater's Upcoming PACIFIC OVERTURES
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 24 1:54 PM) - Nashville audiences—and chattering, anticipatory theater critics—will be given the opportunity to weigh in with their own impressions of Pacific Overtures, thanks to an ambitious production from Blackbird Theater, the acclaimed company now in its sophomore season at David Lipscomb University’s Shamblin Theatre.

BWW Reviews: Pat Rulon's Portrayal of Callas is 'Revelatory' in ACT 1's MASTER CLASS
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 24 1:07 PM) - Imperious and commanding, confident and resolute, Maria Callas is the quintessential opera diva—Leonard Bernstein referred to her as “The Bible of opera”—and with her oversized personality and regal bearing, she remains a force to be reckoned with almost 35 years after her death. ACT 1 continues its remarkable 2011-12 season with Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning Master Class, a revealing and intimate portrait of la Divina in the latter years of her storied life and career.

Tickets On Sale Friday for Two Schermerhorn Symphony Center Upcoming Performances
by BWW News Desk

(Jan. 23 9:28 PM) - Nashville Symphony announces the addition of two new performances at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, with tickets on sale beginning Friday, January 27th at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at NashvilleSymphony.org, at the Schermerhorn box office or by phone a t615.687.6400.

Carol Irvin Stars As Daisy Werthan in DRIVING MISS DAISY at Cumberland County Playhouse
by BWW News Desk

(Jan. 21 5:00 AM) - Carol Irvin, Michael Ruff and Daniel W. Black star in Cumberland County Playhouse’s 48th season-opening production of Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy, which opens this Saturday, January 21.

C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters Returns to Nashville 4/27-28
by BWW News Desk

(Jan. 20 2:42 PM) - THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, the theatrical adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view, returns to the James K. Polk Theater at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, 505 Deaderick Street, Nashville, Friday, April 27 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, April 28 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

BWW Reviews: MODERN LOVE Pays Tribute to All Those Wacky Romantic Comedies You Know and Love
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 20 1:21 PM) - Eppler’s obvious affection for the genre is apparent from the play’s very first moments—Caldwell gives a high-spirited reading of his role, delivering Eppler’s tongue-twisting dialogue with high caliber self-assurance, while Gore makes the first of his hilarious appearances in the play—and he once again displays his deft hand at creating believable dialogue that’s sharply witty and wondrously clever. The ease with which his characters rattle off the repartee he has written is largely because of his gift of gab, but it also points to the sure-handed direction of the piece by Martha Wilkinson (no stranger herself to the wonderful words cobbled together by Eppler), and the performances of the five-member cast who give life to the scriptbound characters.

Mastering the Class: Pat Rulon Plays Maria Callas in ACT 1's MASTER CLASS
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 20 9:36 AM) - Pat Rulon is cast in the enviable role of Maria Callas in the production, arguably her biggest challenge in a stage career that has included any number of enviable roles. This time, playing opposite her daughter Emily Apuzzo, may be more special in some ways, in others it’s just another day (or night) at the office for the versatile actress who’s played roles both classical and contemporary, both dramatic and comedic. One of the region’s most versatile theater types, she’s certain to attack the challenge of playing the operatic diva with relish and her trademark sincerity and sparkling wit.

Nashville Shakespeare Festival Stages Julius Caesar
by BWW News Desk

(Jan. 20 12:30 AM) - The Nashville Shakespeare Festival will present Julius Caesar, a complex political story with themes of corrupted power, betrayal and tragic consequences, at Belmont University's Troutt Theater Jan. 10-29, 2012.

Ben Folds, The Civil Wars to Pair With Nashville Ballet's Vasterling for Ballet Ball Performances
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 19 3:07 PM) - Ben Folds and The Civil Wars will collaborate with Nashville Ballet artistic director/CEO Paul Vasterling on a pair of original dances to be performed by the company’s dancers during the upcoming Ballet Ball to be held Saturday, March 3, 2012, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Act Too Players Announces Spring Enrollment and Summer Camps, Begins 2/6
by BWW News Desk

(Jan. 19 1:49 PM) - The Act Too Players (ATP), Williamson County’s premier training program for all youths interested in the performing arts have now added several new classes including some that are open for adults.

Holder, Shepherd and Van Diepen star in TOMMY IN CONCERT at STC in February
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 19 1:47 PM) - The Who’s Tommy in Concert is the next offering from Street Theatre Company, continuing the sold-out success of its In Concert series, playing for six performances February 22-26. STC’s 2011 In Concert offerings—Chess in Concert and Ragtime in Concert—were both included in First Night’s Top 11 of 2011 Outstanding Theatrical Events.

Mastering the Class: L.T. Kirk from ACT 1's MASTER CLASS Cast
by Jeffrey Ellis

(Jan. 19 9:52 AM) - Next up is L.T.Kirk, who plays Tony Candolino—the part’s a natural fit for Kirk, after all he’s an accomplished singer—and has been seen on Nashville stages in a variety of roles, including his starring role in Street Theatre Company’s Hairspray, playing the role of Edna Turnblad (opposite director Dan McGeachy as Wilbur), and STC’s Chess in Concert and Ragtime in Concert, as well as ACT 1’s acclaimed staging of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado. His years of experience as an accomplished singer make his perspective on Callas, Master Class and the fictional characters all the more compelling…