The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez, a Nashville Repertory Theatre presentation, is in TPAC’s Johnson Theater through February 21. The set design was not too much and not too little. Set just before and after the shooting of Abraham Lincoln, this play is not about the war or Jews or government. It is about relationships. When the former older slave says to the younger, “You were born in this house,” a fact unknown to him, we know things are going to be complicated. There’s much more to be said but I suggest you just go and be surprised. (ed. note: See our preview here).
Inside Out Atlas, another original script by Cori Anne Laemmel, is at The Theater Bug in its new location for three more days, Thursday-Saturday, February 12-14. The new location, 4809 Gallatin Pike, is at the very back of the New Life Baptist Church on Gallatin Pike, just south of Briley Parkway. If you turn left onto Gallatin Pike when you exit the parking lot, you will be mere feet from the entrance ramp going toward Opry Mills. Inside Out Atlas deals with the questions and fears and hopes of adoption. It is presented in cooperation with Miriam’s Promise.
Opening on Thursday, February 12:
The Vagina Monologues — at Vibe Nightclub, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. — is comprised of monologues that deal with various aspects of the feminine experience. Presented by the Music City Theatre Company, it features Karen Kirby, Amie Lara, Julia Nettles, Terry Occhiogrosso, Sarah Shepherd, Memory Strong, Mindy Tolbert, and Elizabeth Turner, and is directed by Bradley Moore and Elizabeth Turner. All performances of The Vagina Monologues are Pay What You Can with a suggested donation of $10. All proceeds from the shows will benefit Nashville YWCA.
The King Stag by Carlo Gozzi opens in the Benson Theatre at McClurkan, Trevecca Nazarene University, and runs through February 21. From Trevecca’s website: “Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a host of hand-made puppets and masks brings the magic of love to Trevecca Nazarene University in Carlo Gozzi’s comic commedia dell’art masterpiece.”
There is no fear of Friday the 13th, apparently, as there are at least ten shows opening!
The Ryman Diaries by Debbie Watts in The Fourth Floor Theater at West End United Methodist Church, February 13, 14, and 15. It is based on information about Captain Tom Ryman who built the Ryman Auditorium and his wife Bettie Baugh Ryman.
Hedda Gabler by Henrick Ibsen, in the Troutt Theater through February 21, is the 8th annual collaboration between Actors Bridge Ensemble and Belmont University Department of Theater and Dance. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is at the Center for the Arts, Murfreesboro through February 22; Getting Sara Married by Sam Bobrick is at Encore Theatre Company, in Mt Juliet through February 28; The Beaux’ Stratagem by George Farquhar, a Vanderbilt University Theater presentation, is at Neely Auditorium through February 21.
Dearly Departed, a Community Playhouse presentation, is at the South Jackson Civic Center Tullahoma, through February 22; Seussical is in the Collins Auditorium at Lipscomb University) through February 22; The Jungle Book is at the Arts Center of Cannon County in Woodbury through February 21; Sabrina Fair is at the Springhouse Theatre Company (formerly Lamplights) in Smyrna through March 1; and Driving Miss Daisy is at the Hendersonville Performing Arts Company (Formerly Steeple Players Theatre) through March 1.
On Monday, February 23, Hannah Elias, conceived by Johnnie ‘Blue’ Gardner and written by Nathan Ross Freeman, will be read in the Centennial Black Box Theater, Centennial Arts Activity Center. It’s the 35th event in the Metro Nashville Parks Theater Department’s New Play Reading Series.
For more, visit the NowPlayingNashville.com theatre category.
