Archives for July 2019

On Monday, July 29th, members of Nashville’s theatre community will gather at Street Theatre Company (1120 Elm Hill Pike) at 6 p.m. to celebrate one of Music City’s true theatrical treasures, Martha Wilkinson as she and husband, Donnie Hall bid Middle Tennessee farewell. After three decades as an integral part of the performing arts landscape of Nashville and the surrounding area, including an astounding thirty year history with Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre—twenty of which she served  as the company’s Artistic Director—Martha will be moving on to Harriman, Tennessee where she and Donnie will be working at the newly formed Three Rivers Theatre Company.

Over the weekend, I had the chance to chat with Martha for the latest installment of my recurring interview feature, Rapid Fire 20 Q. During our conversation, we touched on Martha’s earliest theatrical memories, some of her favorite roles, what brought her to Music City in the first place. We also spoke about her amazing theatrical career—thus far—and what the future holds for her.

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JHP: For those who may not know, you come by your love of performing naturally, you father having been an actor himself. Were you the type of kid who did ‘performance’ for family members any chance she got or were you more of an introvert? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: OH YES! I would put on the 45 record of Debbie Boone singing You Light Up My Life and perform it for my parents and their dinner party friends in front of the console stereo. I did that with  Hopelessly Devoted to You and There Are Worst Things I Could Do from the Grease movie soundtrack as well. Introvert is not part of my DNA lol.

JHP: When did you first step foot on stage? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: Besides elementary school pageants, Pippin when I was a freshman in high school. My pal, Nikki Hajosy encouraged me because she said ” you can sing so good!” So, I auditioned and I was cast in the chorus ( as we called it then) and the rest as they say is history!

JHP: Did you know from that moment that was the life for you? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: Immediately! the stage was, and of course still is, my favorite place to be. I absolutely love the palpable energy of it

JHP: From what I know, you grew up in Rome, Georgia. Were you involved in theatre there?

MARTHA WILKINSON: I was involved in my high school theatre program and then college program. I did not work for the community theatre there. I was also a lead singer for a cover band in high school, The Allies we called ourselves. So, when not in school plays I was with them doing gigs around town.

JHP: After college in Georgia, you attending North Carolina School of the Arts…I gotta know…was it like the movie and TV series FAME? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: YES! it was like a whole lil world in and of itself! I felt like Irene Cara! 😉 It was groovy! A day consisted of dance ( jazz and modern), voice class, stage combat and then the afternoon was a 3 hour intensive acting class. In the evenings we’d all hang out in the theatres and watch dance students rehearse. It was all art all the time!!

JHP: Following your education, it was on to Nashville to pursue a career in country music. What was your first impression of Music City? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: I grew up in Rome GA which was/is a small town…Nashville seemed HUGE to me, but I LOVED it! I had spent a lotta time in Atlanta growing up, so it wasn’t scary, I was thrilled to be there! When I moved, I knew two people in Nashville besides the producers on my demo.

JHP: OK, just between us…are there any bootleg recordings of Martha Wilkinson, aspiring country diva? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: Haha! yes, there are…

MARTHA WILKINSON: That is correct, Pam Atha as the choreographer and also a murderess

JHP: What do you remember about your first show at Chaffin’s? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: Well of course the magic stage!  And I just loved the people and thought it was an awesome place to work…it was comfortable.

JHP: Since that fateful night, you’ve been in more than 100 shows at Chaffin’s. Did you ever fathom being there thirty years, let alone becoming one of Nashville most well-known and beloved members of the theatre community? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: I did NOT ever fathom that! Haha! Best laid plans huh? I never had the dream to move to NYC but, I figured I probably would at some point. But the opportunity to work all the time was intoxicating! And a couple marriages kept me close to home too. 🙂

JHP: Do you have any favorite Chaffin’s roles that you remember especially fondly? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun and Roxie in Chicago. 

JHP: Of course Chaffin’s wasn’t the only place you’d perform. What are among your favorite non-Chaffin’s roles? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Mrs Potts in Beauty and the Beast, Joann in Company, Audrey in Little Shop…

JHP: OK, so when you and I chatted for a Rapid Fire Q&A about your recent star turn in Chaffin’s Kiss Me, Kate, we touched on the fact that you and Matthew Carlton had both done the show years ago. Are there any other shows from your past that you’d like the chance to revisit? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: Well, I’ve already revisited some… Steel Mags (3 x), Sweeney (2x) Pump Boys and Dinettes ( 3 x), Noises Off ( 3 x), Barefoot in the Park ( 2x), Rumors (2x)…blah blah blah 🙂 I’d love to do Ursula and Joann again.

JHP: While the bulk of your theatrical career has focused your attention here in Nashville, you’ve also ventured outside Music City from time to time, including critically acclaimed performances in Beauty and the Beast as Mrs. Potts and Ursula in The Little Mermaid. Is the energy of an audience who may not be as familiar with you as your longtime home audience at Chaffin’s any different? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: It is different but in a very good and gratifying way. When they enjoy my performance, I know they’re enjoying my talent for my ability, not just because they know me as “Martha and she’s always good.” It’s reassuring from time to time to be reminded “I still got it!” lol

JHP: What are some of the craziest things that’s happened to you during a performance? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: Oh my… well, a drunk patron threw a doubles glass at me and Brian Russell back in 1990, my skirt fell off during Newsies one night and my strapless dress came down one night in a Christmas show and well, the audience got “two” special presents, an audience member walked across the Barn stage in the middle of a scene to go to the bathroom… :b

JHP: While those may be the craziest, in my humble opinion, your brilliant turn as Mrs. Lovett in Nashville Repertory Theatre’s Sweeney Todd has to rank among your best. To what do you attribute the magnificence of that performance in that particular show? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: I just connect with that character- not that I wanna make pies outta people lol, but the theatricality of her, the humor, the communicating mostly thru song… it’s just everything to me. I’m always happy to be on stage but I’ve  never been happier on stage than in that show.

JHP: That role also garnered you accolades as Best Actor in both The Tennessean and Nashville Scene’s readers poll. Adding to your many First Night awards. Where do you keep them? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: I’m not much of a “show off” of things… but, the mrs Lovett one is on my shelf in my office as is my first night honors medal which is in a shadow box frame

JHP: It was recently revealed that you’ve decided to leave your post as Chaffin’s Artistic Director. How difficult was it to make that decision?

MARTHA WILKINSON: EXTREMELY difficult! I’ve cried A LOT! lol  I literally grew up there. I mean, 31 years is a long damn time! I attribute so much of who I am as a performer to the support and opportunities the Chaffin’s gave me. But, like all good things, it was time for a change. I really feel I had achieved what I hoped to achieve there as an Artistic Director and it was time to pass on the baton. 

JHP: Looking forward, you’ve taken on a new position as Managing Artistic Director of the newly formed Three Rivers Theatre Company in East Tennessee. Your husband, Donnie Hall joining the theatre team as Producer. How excited are you for this new chapter in your theatrical career? MARTHA WILKINSON: SOOOOOO EXCITED! Oh my goodness! Its a dream come true actually. Something Ive thought about for a long time; moving to a small town and starting a community theatre and sharing what Ive learned with others eager to explore the arts. AND, I get to do it with this handsome smart funny hubs of mine! Lucky much? God is good! The community is VERY excited too and the venue, Princess Theatre, is GORGEOUS!

JHP: Dang…twenty questions seems like a lot, unless I’m chatting with someone I’ve gotten to know and admire over the years, so I’m gonna cheat a little and make this last one a two-parter… 1) What are your hopes for your new theatrical home at Three Rivers Theatre Company? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: That the events and arts education we provide, for children and adults, will contribute to the growth of commerce and appreciation of the arts in Roane County- to be a strong member of this community.  I cannot wait to see it grow and flourish. 

JHP: AND….2) What are your hopes for your beloved 30-year theatre family in Nashville? 

MARTHA WILKINSON: I want them to SOAR and work all the time, be happy, grow and come visit me.

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Martha’s Middle Tennessee friends and fans won’t have to travel to East Tennessee just yet. As luck would have it, before she announced her upcoming move, she was cast in Studio Tenn’s upcoming 2019/2020 season opener, Mamma Mia, on stage at Jameson Theatre at the Factory in Franklin August 16-September 5. Martha will be playing Rosie, the free-spirited longtime friend and fellow Dynamo, joining Melodie Madden Adams as Tonya and Erica Aubrey as Donna. CLICK HERE for tickets. Then it’s on to Harriman, TN’s historic Princess Theatre for what Martha promises to be a great upcoming theatre season. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for Three Rivers Theatre Company’s August 10 screening of the classic film, The Wizard of Oz or for tickets to their three day runs of the stage musical, Smoke On the Mountain.

To keep up with Martha and all things Three Rivers Theatre Company, like them on Facebook or CLICK HERE to join their email list.

Interested in coverage for your latest entertaining endeavor? Click the contact page and drop me a note. You can also follow JHP Entertainment on Instagram and Facebook.

The many faces of Martha Wilkinson

As I mentioned in my recent Rapid Fire 20 Q with the cast and director of Annie—currently on stage at Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre now through Saturday, August 3—for nearly 100 years, we’ve had a soft spot for the precocious yet lovable ginger-haired orphan. From Harold Gray’s 1924 comic strip to the mid-70s stage musical, to film an TV adaptations in the 80s, 90s and 2000’s, Annie is engrained in our pop culture conscious. With director Joy Tilley Perryman taking charge of bringing Annie back on stage at The Barn (the show last played the legendary dinner theatre back in 2011), I had no doubt this production would be an enjoyable one. After all, who doesn’t love a rags-to-riches story set to a few toe-tappin’ tunes? Even as the show’s musical director, Rollie Mains and musicians Daniel Kozlowski, Luke Easterling and Raymond Ridley begin the Overture, I was reminded of just how many memorable songs are amongst the Annie soundtrack…each and every one of them as hummable and memorable as the next.

The combination of Perryman’s knack for directing comedy, paired with some stellar adult casting choices and a cavalcade of undeniably charming youth come together to surpass all expectations, resulting in not only what is easily the best production of Annie I’ve seen since the aforementioned 80s film, but…and I can’t believe I’m saying this…one of the best productions of a show I’ve ever seen at Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre. That’s a statement not to be taken lightly, because The Barn has a 50-plus year reputation for putting on some of the most enjoyable and talent-filled dinner theatre experiences around.

As is customary when a show involves a number of younger cast members, Chaffin’s Annie actually has two separate youth casts. When I attended opening weekend, Ava Rivera was playing Annie, alongside Lilah Benjamin, Daisy Urbanowicz, Olivia Harper, Adriana Rivera, Annalaura Lyon and Abigail Levy as her fellow orphans. Rivera, making her Chaffin’s debut, plays Annie with impish spunk. Visually, Rivera is reminiscent of Ashley Johnson, the young actress who played Annie opposite Joan Collins’ baddie in the 1995 direct-to-video iteration (what can I say? I’m a fan of both the American orphan and the British legend). For a Barn first-timer, Rivera certainly embodies her precocious character, establishing her character’s plucky optimism from the beginning with the show opening Maybe and continuing to present a believable performance of a young girl longing for a better Tomorrow going toe-to-toe with her adult co-stars as well as holding her own with scene stealers like the aforementioned Benjamin, who plays youngest orphan, Molly. (I’m just going to make a prediction right now…Annie 2025 at Chaffin’s starring Lilah Benjamin).

Can’t mention the orphans without praising the show’s choreographer, Lauri Dismuke. While watching the kids perform what I”ll dub Dismuke’s Orphanography—the succinct and precisely performed choreography during It’s a Hard Knock Life—I had a revelation. THIS number just might be my all-time favorite musical theatre number in all of musical theatre. I mean…down-trodden kids forcibly performing domestic chores for a haggard, drunken marm…come on!

Speaking of the other orphans, each of the young girls playing Annie’s fellow orphans posses a stage presence that, at one point or another during the show, draws you eye to them, Perryman’s direction, coupled with the young girls’ own inimitable charm working perfectly in tandem to achieve this. As indicated above, there are two youth casts for this production of Annie. Rivera leading one, which plays certain performances, while Elle Wesley, also making her Chaffin’s debut, leads the other at alternativing performances, with Aubrey Rogers, Samantha McWright, Demetrius Knowles II, Hailey Ridgeway, Grayson Caughey and Adison Rodgers rounding out Wesley’s fellow orphans. Word has it both sets of orphans and both Annie’s turn in equally enjoyable performances, so I’m just gonna go ahead and suggest seeing the show twice.

 On the subject of enjoyable performances, the adult cast isn’t too shabby either. Galen Fott, whose recently shaved head shines like the top of the Chrysler Building (sorry, couldn’t resist) is absolutely perfect as the initially gruff but eventually loving Daddy Warbucks. A longtime member of the Nashville theatre community, Fott’s Daddy Warbucks marks a long-overdue return to The Barn, having last appeared at the dinner theater in the late 80s. From appearances in Nashville Opera’s The Cradle Will Rock and Nashville Repertory Theatre’s A Doll’s House, Part 2, to Nashville Children’s Theatre’s The Little Mermaid—and just last week, during Annie’s run, an invite-only table read for a new work presented as an immersive theatre pop-up courtesy Studio Tenn—recently, it seems I can’t see a show without Fott being amongst the cast…and that’s a great thing. With every role, Fott brings a powerful presences and unmistakable talent, and his Warbucks is no different. He’s ultimately charming as Annie’s future father, their shared stage time perfectly believable as the loving father/daughter dynamic unfolds.

While Annie is indeed the lead, Molly,the scene-stealer and Daddy Warbucks, the most-changed among the characters, Miss Hannigan, Rooster and Lily easily provide the most laughs as the scheming, yet ultimately unsuccessful villains. To that end, and to her advantage as a director, Perryman has enlisted the aide of three familiar faces to Chaffin’s audiences.

Jenny Norris is a dream—or is it devilishly delicious nightmare—as the drunken and deceitful orphanage caretaker, Miss Hannigan. Whether seductively sidling up to Daddy Warbucks or drunkenly devising a plan to scheme, Norris’ Hannigan is comedy gold. Her Act 1 highpoint, Little Girls, which she performs while simultaneously sipping from a flask and casually ripping the head off a doll, is equal parts frighting and delighting. Plus, you gotta love that ever-present flask throughout the show resulting in Hannigan appearing more and more inebriated, thus allowing her true colors to show through as the show goes on. A not-so-subtle, but absolutely brilliant bit of direction and characterization.

Aiding and abetting Norris’ Miss Hannigan in her schemes are Curtis LeMoine and Christina Candilora as Rooster Haningan and Lily St. Regis. LeMoine, fresh off a show-stooping turn in Studio Tenn’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, returns to The Barn having turned up the heat with his Too Darn Hot number during Chaffin’s recent Kiss Me, Kate. Candilora, who will forever be my favorite Gypsy Rose Lee, returns to The Barn having stolen hearts as Jovie in their holiday production of Elf. Together, and alongside Norris, these three dastardly villains make a life of crime seems a viable alternative. Just as the kids wow during the previously noted Hard Knock Life sequence, Norris, LeMoine and Candilora bring the audience to rousing applause during Easy Street, making Dismuke’s villainography look…well…easy.

It’s not just the orphans and the main adults who make Chaffin’s Annie look easy though. The supporting cast is also simply spectacular. Natalie Rankin’s Grace is everything sweet and wonderful a potential new mom for Annie and new love interest for Daddy Warbucks should be. Daron Bruce turns in a truly presidential (well, what the term use to mean) performance as FDR. Hannah Clark, Delaney Jackson and Katie Yeomans are pitch-perfect as the melodious Boylan Sisters. J. Robert Lindsey is sure to make you smile as charming radio announcer, Bert Healey. Vicki White and the rest of the ensemble, including Gerold Oliver, Kelsey Brodeur, David Benjamin Perry, Seth Brown, Emma Puerta, Morgan Riggs, Austin Jeffrey Smith and Scott Stewart are all a joy to behold, most notably, during the all-in—and surprisingly eerily timely—We’d Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover. Not only does this particular number sadly resonate with current political and social events of the day, but thanks to the sheer magnitude of the talented cast, with everyone singing, it’s hauntingly beautiful. Gotta love a musical in Music City. I’m from here and I’m still constantly blown away by the talent in this town.

Then there’s Annie’s faithful pup Sandy. Played by breakout star, Rufus. While his diva tendencies tend to show through, some scenes you just wanna lay on the stage and ignore the cute little curly-top who’s belting out Tomorrow, you gotta love a dog in a show and Rufus’ Sandy gets two paws up from this reviewer.

When I noted earlier that this production of Annie may well be my favorite Chaffin’s show ever, I really meant it. From the implausible, yet ultimately yearned-for story of an orphan girl seemingly randomly chosen to spend the holidays with a less-than-warm billionaire, that involves literally cartoonish villains and an audience with President FDR, to a soundtrack peppered with memorable tune after memorable tune, to Perryman’s skill at directing a laugh-filled show in the square (God, I love Chaffin’s still-functioning descending stage!), and a cast with not a misstep in the bunch, to paraphrase yet another Annie song, I Think YOU’RE Gonna Like It Here!

Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre’s Annie runs through August 3 with performances Thursday-Sunday. Thursday matinees begin at 12 noon (doors at 11a.m.), while Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening performances begin at 7:30p.m. (doors at 5:30). There will be a 2 p.m. (doors at noon) Sunday matinee on July 21. The Thursday, July 25 noon matinee will featuring signing for the hearing impaired, and there will be a Wednesday matinee on July 31 at noon (doors at 11a.m.). 

Thursday matinee tickets are $19 for show only or $27.50 for show and a Box Lunch. (Wednesday matinee will also offer the Box Lunch option). Evening show tickets are $13 for children 12 and under, $20 for youth/students and $35 for adults. Living up to their Barn Dinner Theatre name, Chaffin’s also offers a full buffet option or a la carte menu items for their evening and Sunday lunch matinee performances. Chaffin’s delicious buffet, featuring a choice of entrees (including a veggie option), and a number of side items is available for an additional (but completely worth it) $15.95, while the a la carte menu items (also quite tastily) range in price from $6.95 to $10.95, plus there’s a wide array of desert options to choose from $2.50 to $5.00. CLICK HERE to check out the menu.  CLICK HERE to purchase tickets or call 615.646.9977 to make reservations with the box office. To keep up with the latest from Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre, find them online at ChaffinsBarnTheatre.com, ’like’ them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram and Twitter.

Interested in coverage for your latest entertaining endeavor? Click the contact page and drop me a note. You can also follow JHP Entertainment on Instagram and Facebook.