Broadway (conference) and Back: the reviews are in

Some of the staff went to a Broadway conference recently.  We talked about what’s coming, what’s going, what’s selling or not, and tried to sort out the why’s and how’s.  Oh, and we got to see some celebrities and shows.  We know, it’s a tough gig.

To keep our reviews brief, we enforced an 145 character Twitter rule.  So here are a few thoughts.

ONCE - Successfully reliant on the talent of the performers & the strength of the script. So amazing I HAD to leave with the CD...and I never do that.    - Christi

ANYTHING GOES is just plain fun! My favorite was “You’re the Top”…hysterical.  It's just a good-time, goofy show...and the dancing/tap at the end of Act I is AMAZING!    - Jacquie

WAR HORSE – These are not puppets, these horses live, breathe & flick their tails!  A marvel to behold, and a touching reminder of the overlooked WWI.   The buzz is justified.    - Steve

TRACES – I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I got artistry, athleticism, and sheer guts.  Think Cirqué w/o pomp & circumstance.  An edgy show that keeps theater fresh & exciting.   - Akil

THE LION KING - 30 seconds into the show’s opening, I realized why so many love this engaging and (still) unique production… and why so many friends were shocked I hadn’t seen it. A must see. - Tony 

Catch us over a drink and we'll tell you about the other shows we saw: Ghost the Musical; Sister Act; Newsies; Peter and the Starcatcher; One Man, Two Guvnors; Jersey Boys and more.

Adventures in Flight

Earlier in May my husband and I had the chance to go out to The Great Tennessee Air Show at the Smyrna Airport. To be honest, it was a terrible day for an air show - pouring down rain the majority of the time we were there that morning. Not an ideal morning for the wife, standing in the rain looking at planes. However, to my surprise, rounding the corner to park for the show, I saw what could best be described as a graveyard for old airplanes...a smile immediately hit my face. Right before me was an old Pan Am 727 jet! Here in Smyrna, TN could possibly be one of the last remaining Pan Am jets - if not the last. I present the Pan Am Boeing 727 "Clipper Troubadour."

- A special thank you to Michael Davis Photography for providing the interior photo of the Pan Am 727.

To the ordinary person this may look like a big pile of rusting mess, but to me...what a piece of history and how exciting! Where had it been, what cities had it visited, who had ridden on it? Traveling recently I found myself looking around on the plane while we were waiting for take-off. There were so many other “stories” on that plane besides my own. Honeymoons, adventures, or just coming home to the ones you love. Coming back to this Smyrna gem, brings a sense of nostalgia that maybe one of its stories was Frank Abagnale’s.

Next year TPAC will be presenting Catch Me If You Can based on the movie by DreamWorks Pictures and Frank Abagnale’s true story that inspired it. For more info, click here.

The nuts and bolts of a Boeing 727:

-94 seats
-580 mph
-1700 mile range
-3 Pratt & Whitney JT8D Engines
-The Boeing 727 went into service February 1964. Pan Am ordered 25 B727 on February 1,1965 at roughly $4.1 million each. 

Happy flying,

Jacquie 

Need Something To Do?

If you need something to do this weekend, especially indoors since it will be pretty hot, I recommend checking out the John Mellencamp art exhibit at the TN State Museum. This museum is our neighbor in the James K. Polk building at 505 Deaderick St. What’s great is that you can bring the kids along to learn some cool stuff about TN, and simultaneously take in one of the best art exhibits in Nashville right now for free.

I had a chance to check out Mellencamp’s art last night. The faces of his work share details of his memories and experiences with those who look into their eyes. It’s nice to think that you are looking at the artist’s emotional connection to the people he chose to paint and, in turn, understanding the artist himself. This exhibit marks the first museum tour of Mellencamp’s work.

Nothing Like I Planned: The Art of John Mellencamp will be showing at the TN State Museum until June 10. For more information

It’s good to be a “Tony”

I’ve been saying it for years, but now several of my fellow TPAC’ers are thinking of legally changing their names before June. (I’m looking at you, “Antoinette” Schork.)

That’s because Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris, producers of SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark, have announced a special “Tony” performance on Sunday, June 10^th at 3:00 p.m., in which anyone with the names Tony, Anthony, Antoinette, Toni, or Antonio is eligible for a pair of free tickets.

According to BroadwayWorld.com, the “stunt” is a snarky response to the fact that the production received only two Tony Award nominations since it is scheduling the promotion on the same night as the Tony Awards (June 10th, 7:00 p.m. CST).

“It has been brought to our attention that the Tony’s have been honoring Broadway for years, and we thought it was about time to repay the favor,” Cohl and Harris said in a joint statement. They added, “Nothing would make us prouder than to have more Tony’s than any other show on Broadway on Sunday, June 10.”

So all you other Tony’s out there (at least the ones planning to be in New York in June) can visit the Foxwoods Theatre Box Office (213 W. 42nd Street) at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 4, and if you’re lucky to be one of the first 100 attendees, you could get a coupon good for a pair of tickets to the June 10^th matinee.

-Tony

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice. Or, get invited. Or, in the case of the Nashville Symphony, both.

In case you missed Jessica Bliss’ post for The Tennessean, our friends over at the Nashville Symphony have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York on Saturday, the closing night of the Spring for Music festival.

Bliss:

Nashville is one of only six symphonies to be selected for this year’s festival, and this concert — with its 121 musicians, multi-conductor pieces and program as brilliant as it is rare — will showcase the dynamic and diverse musical offerings of Music City.

 ...And Nashville’s participation in this event is a tangible representation of how much musical art matters in this city. It is a chance to create an institutional identity and bring worldwide attention to Nashville, a city that strives to position itself as the country’s music capital.

According to the post, this will be the Symphony’s first appearance at Carnegie Hall since its booster-filled fundraiser for the $123.5 million Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which was completed in 2006. HISTORIC NOTE: Did you know the Nashville Symphony used both the historic War Memorial Auditorium and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall as its home? 

If you're like us and want to give a warm send off to another great Music City ambassador you may want to attend the free and open dress rehearsal tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Schermerhorn. First come, first served.

You can also follow Bliss' coverage of the Symphony's trip to the Big Apple in her online diary at Tennessean.com/Music and at @TNMusicNews.

PHOTO: A public rehearsal by the Nashville Symphony served as a send-off to Carnegie Hall and the group’s May 12 performance at the famous concert hall. It will be the second time the performance group has played at Carnegie. (Photo: Larry McCormack/The Tennessean)

-Tony