Evans Donnell
TN Rep Offers Extremely Tasty ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
Tennessee Repertory Theatre’s extremely tasty Little Shop of Horrors should satisfy the appetite of anyone who enjoys good musicals. Just remember this delightful dish goes off the menu soon. Yes, it’s no surprise the Rep has brought Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s 1982 “comedy horror rock musical” to highly entertaining life. Producing artistic director [...]
Whit Stillman Returns with Engaging ‘Damsels in Distress’
Whit Stillman likes to examine the human condition without letting reality intrude too often. That charming habit largely serves Damsels in Distress, his first film in 14 years. Satire and absurdity found happy homes in Stillman’s acclaimed Metropolitan (1990), Barcelona (1994) and The Last Days of Disco (1998). Even then, the privileged young people [...]
Beatles Tribute ‘RAIN’ Guaranteed to Raise a Smile
After experiencing the magical national tour of RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles, let me say that I feel fine. It was no hard day’s night for this boy watching very talented performers come together to twist, shout and entertain. The return of RAIN to Tennessee Performing Arts Center Tuesday was a resounding success from [...]
‘Screwtape Letters’ Stage Adaptation is Out of This World
A widely-praised play can create high expectations that go unfulfilled in performance. But those lofty pre-show standards can also be exceeded – the impeccable Fellowship for the Performing Arts stage adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters certainly does. Producer/director/actor Max McLean and his co-director Jeffrey Fiske transformed Lewis’ 1942 epistolary novel into an [...]
NaFF Breaks Records as Festival Spotlights Superb Stories
It’s a safe bet Nashville Film Festival Artistic Director Brian Owens and his colleagues are happy – though understandably exhausted – after the 2012 NaFF broke records and spotlighted stories from Music City and around the world. “I’m elated. I think every part of me is happy except my feet,” Owens says, laughing. “I [...]
‘Footnote’ Offers More than Passing Reference to Life
Footnote is no mere annotation. Joseph Cedar’s tale of a father-son rivalry has plenty to say about life during the hour and 45 minutes it flickers across the screen. The American-born Israeli filmmaker has penned a witty and wry script and trusted it to disciplined actors. The resulting movie was unsurprisingly honored with a [...]
