Venture Into the Woods with the Roxy Regional Theatre, Beginning July 16th
July 14, 2010
The Roxy Regional Theatre ventures into the fractured fairy tale world of James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning INTO THE WOODS, beginning Friday, July 16th, at 8:00pm.
When a Baker and his Wife learn they’ve been cursed with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk). In the style of “The Princess Bride,” well-known stories by the Brothers Grimm, as well as other childhood tales, are woven together into a colorful parable about the human search for “happily ever after.” [Read more]
Do not Miss the Sixth Annual Clarksville Writer’s Conference
June 21, 2010
Writing is a lonely profession. Oh, sure, you have lots of company when you’re researching your project (unless all your research in on the Internet), but when you sit down and face that blank page, you’re on your own, my friend.
When an opportunity like the Sixth Annual Clarksville Writer’s Conference comes along, no writer can afford to miss it. Just rubbing shoulders with these highly successful people will give you impetus to keep on creating those masterpieces of your own.
Keep in mind, however, that you don’t have to be a writer to attend. You can be an avid reader and get a wealth of experiences from it too. [Read more]
Comedy on the Cumberland to return July 20th!
June 21, 2010
On Tuesday July 20th, at 7:00pm the Roxy Regional Theatre will host some of the areas funniest comedians who will perform as part of the “Comedy on the Cumberland,” charity event. The proceeds from the event will go to benefit The Clarksville-Montgomery County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Comedy on the Cumberland is the brainchild of Hank Bonecutter, general manager of WJZM 1400 AM radio station, and a comedian.
Proceeds from the July 20th show will go to benefit the Clarksville chapter of the American Red Cross, with proceeds going directly to the local chapter. “The great flood of 2010 not only devastated Clarksville, it also devastated the Red Cross facility on Riverside drive”, said Bonecutter, “While the flood waters have receded, during the flooding the local chapter of the Red Cross put a tremendous amount of their resources into our community, and they are still out there on the front lines helping families in need. So it was a no-brainer for us to do something to help them out, and so our next show is going to be for them”. [Read more]
Forever Plaid brings doo wop to the Roxy Regional Theatre
June 12, 2010
Austin Peay State University along with John McDonald and Tom Thayer of the Roxy Regional Theatre offered attendees of the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts’ Spring Salon Series a sneak preview of the upcoming Musical Forever Plaid.
John McDonald spoke in between musical numbers about the history of the Roxy Regional Theatre, and their plans for the future. They are currently seeking 1000 donors to contribute $1000 each to provide the funding which will allow them to begin the process of building the new Roxy Regional Center for the Arts. If you love the Arts in Clarksville, TN your name should be among the contributors!
Forever Plaid at the Spring Salon Series
June 11, 2010
Austin Peay State University along with John McDonald and Tom Thayer of the Roxy Regional Theatre offered attendees of the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts’ Spring Salon Series a sneak preview of the upcoming Musical Forever Plaid.
Christopher Burawa from the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts had this to say after seeing the preview yesterday said, “The 4 young actors bring it all: doo wop, plaid, and panache!”
Two APSU Professors to Present at Annual Clarksville Writers Conference
June 4, 2010
Two members of the Austin Peay State University community will be featured presenters at this year’s Sixth Annual Clarksville Writers Conference, to be held July 28th-31st on the University campus.
Dr. Blas Falconer, associate professor of English, and Dr. Howard Winn, professor emeritus of history, will speak with attendees, offering encouragement and insights into the field of writing. [Read more]
Roxy Founders to be Featured Guests at June Spring Salon Event
June 1, 2010
In fall of 1983, Clarksville’s arts community received a major boost when Tom Thayer and John McDonald converted an old, downtown movie house into the Roxy Regional Theatre. The historic building on Franklin Street, with its famed neon sign, soon became a cultural hub for the area.
Twenty-seven years and more than 200 productions later, the theater is still thriving. At 7:30pm on June 10th, the Austin Peay State University Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts will host a special Spring Salon event at the Roxy, featuring an evening with both McDonald and Thayer.
John McDonald (left) and Tom Thayer (right).
Alice Randall to Keynote Sixth Annual Clarksville Writers Conference
May 20, 2010
The Clarksville Arts & Heritage Development Council is pleased to announce the Sixth Annual Clarksville Writers Conference, being held July 28th – 31st, 2010, on the campus of Austin Peay State University.
This year’s conference opens with a new two-day tour centered around Clarksville’s rich architectural heritage. Participants will tour structures which tell stories of a community that began in the late 1700’s as a river city, weathered the Civil War, and later became a world center for the dark-fired tobacco trade.
We are very honored to have as this year’s keynote speaker ALICE RANDALL, award-winning songwriter and author of Rebel Yell, Pushkin and the Queen of Spades, and The Wind Done Gone, the New York Times bestselling parody of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind. Randall, a Harvard graduate and current Writer-In-Residence at Vanderbilt University, will speak at the conference banquet at the Clarksville Country Club on the evening of Friday, July 30th. [Read more]
The Witch enchants in the Roxy Regional Theatre’s production of Hansel and Gretel
December 10, 2009
The Roxy Regional Theatre is currently running their version of the enchanting Engelbert Humperdinck opera Hansel and Gretel. Lost siblings come across a sumptuous candy house, occupied by an old woman who has her own reasons for fattening up little children. The show playing December 4 through 19.
The musical play was adapted and is directed by John McDonald. It stars Drew Torkelson as Hansel; Alicia Kelly as Gretel; Brendan Cataldo as the Father; Reischa Feuerbacher as the Mother; and Dr. Thomas King as Rosina Dainty-mouth, the Witch; area children fill the role of the children taken by the Witch to make her gingerbread.
I attended the show on Friday evening, and the house was packed. Continue reading for my review of that performance. [Read more]
Immerse yourself into “A Streetcar Named Desire” at the Roxy Regional Theatre
November 15, 2009
Set in the romantic past of New Orleans Blanche DuBois’s neurotic and genteel pretensions are no match for the brutish realities of her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski.
The Roxy Regional Theatre is currently staging the Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
To fully understand the intricacies of this masterpiece play, in this writers opinion you just have to come from the south. Otherwise it is all too easy to miss the subtle interplay of these delicious personalities as they intertwine in a tapestry that is as old as, well the south.
You have Blanche DuBois the socialite (Alicia Kelly); the submissive wife Stella (Chase Kamata); Stanley the abuser (Justin Barnum); the dotting son Harold (Brenden Cataldo); among others. The acting was tight, performers seamlessly melding into their roles as if they had been born to them.
Blanche DuBois played by Alicia Kelly (Photo by Tom Thayer)
