Category: Intermission Impossible

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Intermission Impossible Theater

The Show Will be Delayed: Ostranders on Hold

It was a tough call in a time when so many are making tough calls.

But the Ostranders — that annual celebration of Memphis theater — has been postponed. It had been scheduled for this coming Sunday but, thanks to a resurgent Covid pandemic, could be set back to October.

“We really, really debated going ahead with it, but we weren’t sure if anybody would want to come,” said Elizabeth Perkins, the event’s program coordinator. “And the whole point this year, since we had not judged any shows last year, was really to see each other and reconnect, and then honor Andy Saunders as our lifetime achievement. And if we couldn’t do that, then what was the point of doing it right now?”

Perkins is hoping to do it in October, but that all depends on availability of a venue and if the pandemic numbers have improved. The Ostranders have long been at the Orpheum, but depending on the situation, they may go for an outdoor location or a smaller celebration.

Whenever and wherever it happens, Saunders, as was announced last month, will be given the 2021 Eugart Yerian Award for Lifetime Achievement, an annual honor for a notable contributor to local theater.

In a typical year, awards are given in numerous categories along with special awards. Since there were far fewer productions in the last year, Perkins said there wouldn’t be the usual voting by judges for best actors or best screenplays or best sound or best design or any of the usual competitive categories.

“The idea was going to be it was a party with no judgment,” Perkins said. “So we had no judgment last year. And if you wanted to wear a ball gown, there would be no judgment. If you wanted to wear your pajamas, no judgment.”

She said that Jason Eschhofen, the resident sound designer at Playhouse on the Square, is putting together production numbers. And the special awards will be given. But Perkins is really hoping to be able to say, “We’re kicking off this next season of theater and Memphis and life is normal and won’t it be so great to go back to the theater!” But, as she ruefully admits, “Of course we can’t say that.”

The Ostranders ceremonies are sponsored by Memphis magazine, ArtsMemphis, and the Orpheum.

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Ballet Memphis Live and in Person (At Last)

Ballet Memphis rehearsal. Photo by Ziggy Mack.

Ballet Memphis’ first in-person program in a little over a year is “Paquita in the Park,” a program of three diverse works that will be done on the stage of the Levitt Shell this weekend.

“The dancers are so excited to perform in front of a live audience,” said Steven McMahon, artistic director of Ballet Memphis. “‘Paquita in the Park’ is outdoors, and the audience will be socially distanced, so it is not quite a return to ‘normal,’ but it feels like we are working our way towards it.”

The program will include:

Water of the Flowery Mill, choreographed by Matthew Neenan. The ballet was inspired by the Arshile Gorky painting of the same name, and is set to music by Tchaikovsky.

Being Here With Other People, choreographed by McMahon, is set to music by Beethoven.

Paquita, the ballet classic, is being staged by Julie Marie Niekrasz and McMahon after the choreography of Marius Petipa.

“We are optimistic about the future and hope that we will be able to present a regular season later this year,” McMahon said. “Until then, we are thrilled to be able to share our work in this capacity.”

The performance is an hour and a half and will include two short intermissions.

Attendees can bring lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic baskets, or get food from food trucks that will sell only prepackaged food.

There is a reduced capacity of 400 tickets per show per Health Department guidelines, and masks are required.

Performances are 7 p.m. on Friday, April 9th and Saturday, April 10th. Gates open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 on the Ballet Memphis website.

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Hattiloo Fellowship Cultivates Arts Managers

The arts administrators participating in the Black Theatre Managers Fellowship at Hattiloo: (clockwise from upper left) Kai EL' Zabar, Christie M. Howard, Ayana Williams, and Rhonda Wilson.

Hattiloo Theatre is putting a focus on arts management with its inaugural session of the Black Theatre Managers Fellowship.

This July, four arts managers from four cities will participate in the program that provides practical training in arts administration. The class will be in residence in Memphis for a three-week intensive session led by Hattiloo Theatre executives, consultants, and experts from the field. The fellowship, a three-year program, will see the group of fellows return for additional three-week sessions in 2022 and 2023.

The four are Kai El Zabar, executive director of ETA Creative Arts Organization in Chicago; Ayanna Williams, managing director of Blues City Cultural Center in Memphis; Christie Howard, managing director of Jubilee Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas; and Rhonda Wilson, founder and executive director of Star Center Theatre in Gainesville, Florida.

The program will provide academic training in nonprofit arts management, finance, planning, fundraising, board management, and marketing. Networking and mentoring will continue between sessions. The fellows will develop strategies to address the most pressing challenges facing their theaters.

The Black Theatre Managers Fellowship is funded by the Black Seed — a national strategic plan to create impact and thriveability for Black theater institutions.

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Intermission Impossible Theater

The Envelope Please: The Ostranders Must Go On

CREDIT: Jon W. Sparks

Carla McDonald

Crystal Brothers and Travis Bradley in the musical Cats at Theatre Memphis last year. Brothers won an Ostrander on Sunday for best featured performer and Bradley won along with Jordan Nichols for best choreography in a musical.


The annual celebration of Memphis theater was Indecent several times, had lots of Cats, savored Jelly’s Last Jam, and though it had no direct Shakespeare, it made much ado over the Book of Will.

The 37th Ostrander Awards Sunday evening was like no other. That’s not hype, it’s just fact, thanks to 2020 being, well, 2020. The annual event was virtual, with attendees watching on Facebook or YouTube. Theater people were not crowding into the Orpheum Sunday evening, not thrilling to one energetic musical production number after another, not casting admiring/envious glances at gasp-worthy fashions and not participating in multiple toasts. Presumably some of that went on anyway, but with much diminished clusters and, one prays, appropriate social distancing.

Furthermore, there was not the usual quantity of productions to judge since the coronovirus shut down all stages mid-March, truncating seasons everywhere that would usually have run into the summer.

But the shows that did go on gave much to applaud, and the Ostrander Award judges gave particular love to Cats from Theatre Memphis (TM) with six awards, Indecent from Circuit Playhouse (CP) with five, and Jelly’s Last Jam from Hattiloo with four. Playhouse on the Square (POTS) earned three each for Book of Will and the musical Memphis.

Also winning were TM’s Next Stage (Next) with two awards for A Few Good Men, Germantown Community Theatre’s (GCT) double for Next to Normal, Hattiloo’s two for Eclipse, and single awards for Mamma Mia! at TM and On Golden Pond at POTS.

In the Collegiate Division, seven awards went to Hissifit at the McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College (Rhodes), four plaques to Inherit the Wind at the University of Memphis (U of M), and four awards to Raisin in the Sun at Southwest Tennessee Community College (SWTCC).

Jon W. Sparks

Dennis Whitehead Darling won for best direction the second year in a row.

Dennis Whitehead Darling won the Ostrander for direction of a musical for 2019’s Jelly’s Last Jam, his third directing honor in two years. This time last year, he picked up two awards for directing, one in the community division, one in collegiate. 

Winning for best direction of a drama was Dave Landis for helming Indecent. Supplementing that was a special award given this year for Seamless Integration of Direction, Choreography, and Music Direction. That went to the trio of Dave Landis, Daniel Stuart Nelson, and Tammy Holt for Indecent at Circuit Playhouse. 

Ann Marie Hall, winner of the 2020 Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award

Ann Marie Hall was this year’s recipient of the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award. Hall got her start in theater in grade school when she was a frequent visitor to the principal’s office for talking too much and doing impressions from TV shows. The solution came when she got into a play in the eighth grade. “I realized I could be really silly and people would laugh at me and I wouldn’t get in trouble,” she recently told Memphis magazine. Her devotion to the stage never stopped after that and she’s become, in her words, “the consummate community actor.”

Sunday’s event, despite being forced to be virtual, was pulled off with considerable energy as Elizabeth Perkins, Ostranders program director, determined several weeks ago that the show would go on, pandemic or no. Up until the end of June, the hope was to have it old style at the Orpheum, but when it became evident that was a no-go, it was decided to have it online and celebrate the truncated season with virtual gusto.


Here are the winners of the 2020 Ostrander Awards:

COMMUNITY DIVISION

  • Excellence in Set Design for a Drama: Tim McMath, On Golden Pond, POTS
  • Excellence in Set Design for a Musical: Jack Yates, Cats, TM
  • Excellence in Costume Design for a Drama: Lindsay Schmeling, Indecent, CP
  • Excellence in Costume Design for a Musical: Amie Eoff and André Bruce Ward, Cats, TM
  • Excellence in Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design for a Musical: Karen Reeves and Brooklyn Reeves, Cats, TM
  • Excellence in Props Design for a Drama: Eli Grant, Book of Will, POTS
  • Excellence in Props Design for a Musical: Eli Grant, Memphis, POTS
  • Excellence in Sound Design for a Drama: Carter McHann, Indecent, CP
  • Excellence in Sound Design for a Musical: Carter McHann, Memphis, POTS
  • Excellence in Lighting Design for a Drama: Mandy Kay Heath, A Few Good Men, Next
  • Excellence in Lighting Design for a Musical: Mandy Kay Heath, Mamma Mia!, TM
  • Excellence in Music Direction: Tammy Holt, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo
  • Excellence in Choreography for a Musical: Travis Bradley and Jordan Nichols, Cats, TM
  • Best Supporting Actress in a Drama: Raven Martin, Eclipsed, Hattiloo
  • Best Supporting Actress in a Musical: Katy Cotten, Next to Normal, GCT
  • Best Leading Actress in a Drama: Donita Johnson, Eclipsed, Hattiloo
  • Best Leading Actress in a Musical: Dawn Bradley, Memphis, POTS
  • Best Supporting Actor in a Drama: John Maness, Book of Will, POTS
  • Best Supporting Actor in a Musical: Willis Green, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo
  • Best Leading Actor in a Drama: Stephen Garrett, A Few Good Men, Next
  • Best Leading Actor in a Musical: Johann Robert Wood, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo
  • Best Featured Performer: Crystal Brothers, Cats, TM
  • Best Ensemble in a Drama: Indecent, CP
  • Best Ensemble in a Musical: Next to Normal, GCT
  • Best Production of a Drama: Book of Will, POTS
  • Best Production of a Musical: Cats, TM
  • Excellence in Direction of a Drama: Dave Landis, Indecent, CP
  • Excellence in Direction of a Musical: Dennis Whitehead Darling, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo
  • Best Original Script: When We Get Good Again, POTS@TheWorks
  • Special Award — Seamless Integration of Direction, Choreography, and Music Direction: Dave Landis, Daniel Stuart Nelson, and Tammy Holt, Indecent, CP
  • Best Original Script: When We Get Good Again, POTS@TheWorks
  • Otis Smith Legacy Dance Award: Jared Johnson
  • Larry Riley Rising Star Award: Jason Eschhofen
  • Behind the Scenes Award: Christina Hendricks
  • Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award: Ann Marie Hall


COLLEGIATE DIVISION

  • Excellence in Set Design: Brian Ruggaber, Inherit the Wind, U of M
  • Excellence in Costume Design: Bruce Bui, Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Excellence in Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design: Juliet Mace, Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Excellence in Sound Design: John Phillians, Inherit the Wind, U of M
  • Excellence in Lighting Design: Jameson Gresens, Inherit the Wind, U of M
  • Excellence in Music Direction: Eileen Kuo, Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Best Supporting Actress: Raina Williams, Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Best Leading Actress: Mary Ann Washington, A Raisin in the Sun, SWTCC
  • Best Supporting Actor: Joshua Payne, A Raisin in the Sun, SWTCC
  • Best Leading Actor: Toby Davis, Inherit the Wind, U of M
  • Best Featured Performer: Syndei Sutton, A Raisin in the Sun, SWTCC
  • Best Ensemble in a Musical: Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Best Ensemble in a Drama: A Raisin in the Sun, SWTCC
  • Best Production: Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Excellence in Direction: Joy Brooke Fairfield, Hissifit, Rhodes
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Intermission Impossible Theater

VIDEO: Mini-Golfing on the Orpheum Stage

VIDEO: Mini-Golfing on the Orpheum Stage

Why mini golf on the Orpheum stage? Check out our original story here.

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Orpheum Opens Stage for Mini-Golf (Yes, You Read That Right)

CREDIT: Orpheum Theatre

Orpheum Theatre

When COVID-19 shuts a door, it opens the stage at the Orpheum Theatre for Broadway-themed mini-golf.

Theater officials announced Tuesday that they’ll open a nine-hole course right on the now-empty stage beginning Saturday, August 15th. The course will be open Thursdays through Sundays through the fall of 2020. It will be the first public event the Orpheum has hosted since March 14th.
Orpheum Theatre

“This may well be the wackiest idea I have ever had in my years in the theater business,” said Orpheum president and CEO Brett Batterson. “But with our stage sitting empty for the time being, we had to get creative.

“The support of our patrons during this time has been vital. However, we still need help to ensure that the Orpheum survives this pandemic. Mini-golf on the Orpheum stage is an incredibly fun way to support us at this time.”
[pullquote-1-center] Guests will enter through the stage door on Beale Street to access the course. Each green represents a Broadway show that has played on the Orpheum stage, including Hamilton, Memphis, Wicked, The Color Purple, Disney’s The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Chicago, and Fiddler on the Roof.
Orpheum Theatre

Reservations are $10 per person with a limit of four people per party. Capacity is limited to 36 people per 90-minute slot. Play is unlimited in each time slot. Pre-registration is required at orpheum-memphis.com/minigolf. Reservations will open two weeks before each tee time. To buy out the course for a socially distanced private event, contact Joy Brown at brown@orpheum-memphis.com.

Face coverings are required at all times and social distancing will be enforced. 

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Ostrander Award Nominees Announced

Despite the havoc wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, there will still be Ostrander Awards this year. Of necessity, however, it will be virtual and, thus, without the usual hubbub of well-lubricated, fashion-conscious elbow rubbing of the area’s theater community in and around the Orpheum.

Not that participants won’t still enjoy their beverages and dress in high style — they’ll just have to do it remotely. It’s what happens when there’s a plague on all our houses.

And on top of that, the Ossies will be honoring a shortened season. Elizabeth Perkins, Ostranders program director, says the last show to be considered closed around March 15th (the Ides of March, of course). The list of nominees, therefore, is slightly shorter than in usual years, but remains the best in Memphis theater.

The nominees were revealed this evening live on Facebook and YouTube. Already announced was that Ann Marie Hall would receive the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award. You can plug into the awards ceremony scheduled for August 30th. More info is here.

The Ostranders are sponsored by Memphis magazine and ArtsMemphis.

NOMINEES, COMMUNITY AND PROFESSIONAL DIVISION

Set Design – Drama

Jack Yates, A Few Good Men, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Megan Ward, When We Get Good Again, POTS@TheWorks

Phillip Hughen, Indecent, Circuit Playhouse

Tim McMath, On Golden Pond, Playhouse on the Square

Set Design – Musical

Brian Ruggaber, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Daniel Mueller, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Jack Yates, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Jack Yates, Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Props – Drama

Eli Grant, Book of Will, Playhouse on the Square

Eli Grant, On Golden Pond, Playhouse on the Square

Eli Grant, When We Get Good Again, POTS@TheWorks

Laurie Boller, The Pillowman, New Moon Theatre

Terry Dean, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Harrell Theatre

Props – Musical

Eli Grant, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Jack Yates, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Jack Yates, Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Jack Yates, Ruthless! The Musical, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Lighting Design – Drama

Justin Gibson, Book of Will, Playhouse on the Square

Mandy Kay Heath, A Few Good Men, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Trey Eikleberry, Indecent, POTS@TheWorks

Trey Eikleberry, On Golden Pond, Playhouse on the Square

Trey Eikleberry, The Humans, Playhouse on the Square

Lighting Design – Musical

Becky Caspersen, Matilda The Musical, Harrell Theatre

Justin Gibson, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Mandy Kay Heath, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Mandy Kay Heath, Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Tao Wang, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Sound Design – Drama

Carter McHann, Indecent, Circuit Playhouse

John Phillians, A Few Good Men, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Zach Bederrine, Detroit 67, Hattiloo Theatre

Sound Design – Musical

Carter McHann, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Joshua Crawford, Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Reyn Leyman, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Costume Design – Drama

Amie Eoff, A Few Good Men, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Kathleen R. Kovarik, Book of Will, Playhouse on the Square

Lindsay Schmeling, Indecent, Circuit Playhouse

Costume Design – Musical

Amie Eoff & André Bruce Ward, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Amie Eoff, Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Andrea Washington Brown, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Kathleen R. Kovarik, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Hair/Wig/Makeup – Musical

Buddy Hart & Rence Phillips, Ruthless! The Musical, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Karen Reeves & Brooklyn Reeves, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Grace Wylie, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Music Direction

Angelo Rapan, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Gary Beard, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Jason Eschhofen, Next To Normal, Germantown Community Theatre

Jeff Brewer, Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Tammy Holt, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Choreography

Emma Crystal, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Travis Bradley & Jordan Nichols,, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Travis Bradley & Jordan Nichols, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Whitney Branan, Head Over Heels, Circuit Playhouse

Whitney Branan, Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Ensemble – Drama

A Few Good Men, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Eclipsed, Hattiloo Theatre

Indecent, Circuit Playhouse

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Harrell Theatre

The Humans, Circuit Playhouse

Ensemble – Musical

Cats, Theatre Memphis

Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Next To Normal, Germantown Community Theatre

Supporting Actress – Drama

Caroline Simpson, When We Get Good Again, POTS@TheWorks

Jessica Jai Johnson, Detroit 67, Hattiloo Theatre

Raven Martin, Eclipsed, Hattiloo Theatre

Rebecca Johnson, Indecent, Playhouse on the Square

Rekeitha Morris, Women In The Pit, Hattiloo Theatre

Supporting Actress – Musical

Daneka Norfleet, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Jenny Odle Madden, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Katy Cotten, Next To Normal, Germantown Community Theatre

Lindsey Roberts, Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Nichol Pritchard, Ruthless! The Musical, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actor – Drama

Gabe Beutel-Gunn, A Few Good Men, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Isaiah Rosales, Indecent, Playhouse on the Square

J.S. Tate, Detroit 67, Hattiloo Theatre

John Maness, Book of Will, Playhouse on the Square

Steven Burk, The Humans, Circuit Playhouse

Supporting Actor – Musical

Bruce Huffman, Next To Normal, Germantown Community Theatre

Jarrad Baker, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Kevar Maffitt, Kinky Boots, Playhouse on the Square

Oliver Jacob Pierce, Next To Normal, Germantown Community Theatre

Willis Green, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Featured Performer

Crystal Brothers, Cats, Theatre Memphis

JoLynne Palmer, The Humans, Circuit Playhouse

Justin Allen Tate, Memphis,  Playhouse on the Square

Leading Actress – Drama

Bianca McMillan, Detroit 67, Hattiloo Theatre

Brooke Papritz, The Humans, Circuit Playhouse

Donita Johnson, Eclipsed, Hattiloo Theatre

Pamela Poletti, Women in the Pit, Hattiloo Theatre

Leading Actress – Musical

Amy P. Nabors, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Dawn Bradley, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Lorraine Cotten, Next To Normal, Germantown Community Theatre

Renee Davis Brame, Ruthless! The Musical, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Leading Actor – Drama

Dave Landis, Book of Will, Playhouse on the Square

Donald Sutton, Indecent, Circuit Playhouse

Emmanuel McKinney, Detroit 67, Hattiloo Theatre

Ryan Scott, Quills, New Moon Theatre Company

Stephen Garrett, A Few Good Men, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Leading Actor – Musical

Johann Robert Wood, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Justin Allen Tate, Kinky Boots, Playhouse on the Square

Nathan McHenry, Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

Direction – Drama

Courtney Oliver, When We Get Good Again, POTS@TheWorks

Dave Landis, Indecent, Circuit Playhouse

Lawrence Blackwell, Detroit 67, Hattiloo Theatre

Maya Robinson, Eclipsed, Hattiloo Theatre

Tony Isbell, The Humans, Circuit Playhouse

Direction – Musical

Cecelia Wingate, Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Dennis Whitehead-Darling, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Olivia Gacka, Next To Normal, Germantown Community Theatre

Travis Bradley & Jordan Nichols, Memphis, the Musical, Playhouse on the Square

Travis Bradley & Jordan Nichols, Cats, Theatre Memphis

Best Production of a Drama

A Few Good Men, Next Stage at Theatre Memphis

Book of Will, Playhouse on the Square

Detroit 67, Hattiloo Theatre

Eclipsed, Hattiloo Theatre

Indecent, Circuit Playhouse

Best Production of a Musical

Cats, Theatre Memphis

Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo Theatre

Mamma Mia, Theatre Memphis

Memphis, Playhouse on the Square

NOMINEES, COLLEGIATE DIVISION

Set Design

Brian Ruggaber, Inherit the Wind, University of Memphis

Karen Arredondo, Hamlet: Fall of the Sparrow, University of Memphis

Lighting Design

Anthony Pellecchia, Hamlet: Fall of the Sparrow, University of Memphis

Jameson Gresens, Inherit the Wind, University of Memphis

Sound Design

James Baker, Hamlet: Fall of the Sparrow, University of Memphis

John Phillians, Inherit the Wind, University of Memphis

Costume Design

Alexandra Filipovich, Hamlet: Fall of the Sparrow, University of Memphis

Bruce Bui, Hissifit, McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College

Hair/Wig/Makeup Design

Alexandra Filipovich, Hamlet: Fall of the Sparrow, University of Memphis

Juliet Mace, Hissifit, McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College

Music Direction – one nominee

Supporting Actress

Azaria Henderson, A Raisin in the Sun, Southwest Tennessee Community College

Camille Long, Inherit the Wind, University of Memphis

Dinah Mitchell, Hissifit, McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College

Jordan Cardell, Hamlet: Fall of the Sparrow, University of Memphis

Raina Williams, Hissifit, McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College

Supporting Actor

Elijah Bienz, Inherit the Wind, University of Memphis

Joshua Payne, A Raisin in the Sun, Southwest Tennessee Community College

Lance Raikes, Hamlet: Fall of the Sparrow, University of Memphis

Featured Performer

Maya Bhutwala & Annabelle Babbitt, Hissifit, McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College

Sarah Guinee, Inherit the Wind, University of Memphis

Syndei Sutton, A Raisin in the Sun, Southwest Tennessee Community College

Leading Actress

Ariona Campbell, A Raisin in the Sun, Southwest Tennessee Community College

Mary Ann Washington, A Raisin in the Sun, Southwest Tennessee Community College

Chloe Violet Tibbett, Inherit the Wind, University of Memphis

Leading Actor

Toby Davis, Inherit the Wind, University of Memphis

Willis Green, A Raisin in the Sun, Southwest Tennessee Community College

Ensemble in a Drama – one nominee

Ensemble in a Musical – one nominee

Best Original Script

When We Get Good Again, POTS@TheWorks

St. Paulie’s Delight, Circuit Playhouse

Direction

Joy Brooke Fairfield, Hissifit, McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College

Sheila Darras, A Raisin in the Sun, Southwest Tennessee Community College

Best Production

A Raisin in the Sun, Southwest Tennessee Community College

Hissifit, McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College

Inherit the Wind, University of Memphis

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Tennessee Shakespeare Announces 13th Season


Tennessee Shakespeare Company’s (TSC) 13th season will get underway next month fully accepting the mandates of the ongoing pandemic while employing as much creativity as possible.

First off is the Dr. Greta McCormick Coger Literary Salon Series, which begins August 30th and will explore more than 40 writers and literary works against a backdrop of seasons, holidays, and events.

The Free Shakespeare Shout-Out Series will visit eight outdoor locations in October with a Romeo and Juliet production. TSC founder and producing artistic director Dan McCleary says it “embraces (and masks) the Elizabethan quarantine Shakespeare refers to in his text.”

Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night takes the Tabor Stage in February, followed by the Elizabethan Feast benefit party, which was cancelled this past season due to COVID-19 restrictions.


Salons and performances will take place on the Owen and Margaret Wellford Tabor Stage with online simulcasts for each performance, filmed by one camera.


TSC will enforce all state and local health safety criteria, including social distancing, family groupings of no more than six, reduced seating capacity to 33 percent, required distance from audience to performers, multiple entry/egress ways, hand-sanitizer stations, and mandatory face-coverings. The Tabor Stage will seat 54 patrons.


“As the world has shut down and our health has been endangered, we have learned how essential classical theatre and education is to our community,” says McCleary. “We thought they were very important.  But in fact, they are necessary. What William Shakespeare, great artists and philosophers, daring social protesters, and quarantined inventors have endured and produced before us should serve as lessons. We need each other, our creativity, and our compassion to live together.”


For more information, go here.

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Circuit Playhouse, POTS Move Season Opening to November

Photo courtesy of Circuit Playhouse, Inc.

As COVID cases have continued to rise in Memphis and Shelby County, many local event venues have had to adjust 2020 plans. In a Tuesday press release, Circuit Playhouse, Inc. (CPI) — The Circuit Playhouse, Playhouse on the Square, and Theatreworks at the Square — announced the cancellation of its productions and programs through October. The organization plans to move its 52nd season opening to November.

The move was decided after “consultation with doctors, city leaders, and the theatre’s leadership and board,” the statement reads.

“Even though CPI’s reopening plans for public performances for Playhouse on the Square and The Circuit Playhouse were approved over the weekend, rising COVID-19 numbers, along with testing challenges … and a general sense of apprehension, I believe it is in the best interest and safety of the cast, crew, staff, volunteers, and patrons to postpone production,” executive producer Michael Detroit said in the statement.

This decision means rehearsals, casting, and pre-production of two season openers scheduled for August will cease. According to the release, Detroit and managing director Whitney Jo said “current talent contracts will be honored, despite the financial hardships facing the theatre. Furthermore, Playhouse on the Square staff will remain employed during the suspension.”

All previously scheduled fall shows, including Little Shop of Horrors, Ink, Junie B’s Essential Survival Guide to School, Murder on the Orient Express, Peter Pan, and the Theatre for Youth touring production of Freckleface Strawberry have been canceled, “with the hope of producing them in a future season.”

Digital content, including the Playhouse at Home Series, will continue to be available via playhouseonthesquare.org and CPI’s social media channels.

“CPI thanks its patrons, students, sponsors, donors, and subscribers for their support and encouragement during these uncertain times,” the statement reads. “Intermissions can’t last forever. We will return to welcome our community back to the theatre soon.”

See the updated production schedule below.

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Revised Orpheum Broadway Schedule Announced

CREDIT: The Orpheum
Orpheum Theatre Group President & CEO Brett Batterson has announced the venue’s revised schedule for the 2020-2021 Broadway season. Performances have been moved out of Fall 2020 and extended until November, 2021. The changes pertain only to the Broadway series and not scheduled concerts and events for the fall.
The Orpheum

Scene from ‘Hamilton’

The revised lineup:
Jesus Christ Superstar: December 8-13, 2020
Cats: February 9-14, 2021
Mean Girls: March 9-14, 2021
Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville: April 13-18, 2021
Hadestown: May 4-9, 2021
Hamilton: July 13-25, 2021
The Band’s Visit: August 24-29, 2021
Disney’s The Lion King: Fall 2021
Come From Away, which had been scheduled as the final show in the 2019-2020 season is now scheduled for October 5-10, 2021.