Lauren Shouse

‘The Crucible’ Gets a Gen-Z makeover: Rapid Fire 20Q with Cast & Director of Nash Rep’s ‘John Proctor is the Villain’; at TPAC’s Johnson Theatre October 2-18

October 1, 2026 by Jonathan Pinkerton

Playwright Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor Is the Villain turns Arthur Miller’s The Crucible upside down, trading Salem’s witch trials for a Georgia high school classroom where feminism, friendship, consent and long-held assumptions are suddenly up for debate. As Nashville Repertory Theatre brings the acclaimed Broadway hit to Nashville for the first time, JHPEntertainment fires off 20 questions for director Lauren Shouse and cast members Lucas Calhoun, Norah Younger and Advika Ravishankar about reexamining a classic, finding the humanity beneath their characters and navigating the complicated—and sometimes hilarious—world of growing up. From a teacher caught in the middle to young women finding their voices, this Rapid Fire 20Q goes behind the scenes with the artists bringing Belflower’s provocative, funny and conversation-starting play to TPAC ‘s Johnston Theatre stage.

RAPID FIRE 20Q WITH CAST MEMBERS AND DIRECTOR OF NASHVILLE REP’s JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN

RAPID FIRE WITH JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN‘s LUCAS CALHOUN

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Carter Smith is the English teacher who becomes the faculty advisor for the girls’ newly formed Feminism Club, which makes you one of the relatively few male voices in a play dominated by young women. What has been interesting about occupying that particular place in this world—and being the guy who has to know when to speak and when to simply listen?

LUCAS CALHOUN: I am an insatiably curious person. My experiences are wholly my own and in so limited in their breadth. To be surrounded by people whose journey through life has granted them unique and foreign experiences to me is a gift. If ever I have to consider when to listen or speak the answer is almost always listen. I’m not sure Carter would agree.

Carter’s pedagogy lies deeply in giving his students a voice. He creates a space where students are encouraged to question, challenge, fail, and fully express their viewpoints outside the restrictive conventions of their small religious town. To him this requires control. This ideology is called into question when Shelby returns and tests Carter’s control, belief in himself, and his skill as a teacher. That particular challenge is the interesting bit.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Your own résumé includes graduating from The Second City Conservatory in Hollywood and eventually teaching in Second City’s youth program. Did that experience working with younger performers give you any particular insight into the rhythms, humor or occasionally gloriously unpredictable energy of the teenage world you’re surrounded by in this play?

LUCAS CALHOUN: Kimberly Bellflower masterfully captures the contradiction of the teenage experience. That sense of ‘knowing everything’ while in a constant state of insecurity over their understanding of the world. The Second City in addition to my training at Improv Olympic made me an active and attentive listener who searches for the new and unexpected. The beauty of working with teenage characters is their lives are rich with new and unexpected experiences. I just need to be willing to go along for the ride.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Carter is teaching The Crucible while his students are essentially dismantling some of the assumptions behind it. As an actor playing the teacher, do you find yourself thinking about the difference between teaching young people what a story says and encouraging them to question why the story has been told that way?

LUCAS CALHOUN: I’m not sure there is any daylight between “what a story says” and “why the story has been told that way.” Both are essential when seeking meaning. This play challenges the fallacy of “evergreen art” by pitting a known historical allegory against a modern dialogue.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: You’re also a dad to a young daughter. While you have a few years before you’re faced with the inevitable task of helping her navigate some of the challenges young women face in today’s cultural climate, has working on this play planted any new seeds in your mind about how you hope to keep the lines of communication open with her?

LUCAS CALHOUN: One strength my wife and I share is the willingness to have difficult conversations. I admire my daughter’s bravery and self actualization at such an early age. She’ll inevitably face difficult challenges and uncertainty – I’m confident when those moments arise she’ll advocate for herself.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Carter spends a lot of time in a room where the conversation is getting increasingly complicated, personal and uncomfortable. What’s the one thing about playing him that has surprised you most—and has there been a moment when you thought, “Okay, Carter, you really need to sit down and let the kids talk now”?

LUCAS CALHOUN: I imagine experiencing Carter from the audience and as the performer might be very different. To elaborate before we open would be doing both a disservice, but therein lies the surprise.

RAPID FIRE WITH JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN‘s NORAH YOUNGER

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Shelby Holcomb is described as someone whose brain works faster than her mouth—and whose mouth works pretty darn fast—while also being someone people have consistently underestimated. What part of Shelby’s personality was the easiest for you to connect with, and what part required you to dig a little deeper?

NORAH YOUNGER: The part of Shelby’s personality that was the easiest to connect with was her rage. To be completely honest, as a woman experiencing the world outside the shelter of childhood, everything that is wrong and broken with the world makes me ragefully angry. Shelby’s frustration with her circumstances and with the troubles she must face was a very accesible connection for me. One aspect of Shelby that required me to dig a little deeper was the trauma she carries into this show. Without giving too much away, Shelby has been through some shit, and the majority of my character research was toward the short and long term psychological effects of some of those events.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Shelby’s return to school after being away for a while changes the temperature in the room pretty quickly. Without giving away too much, what do you think she desperately wants the other girls—and perhaps the audience—to understand about her?

NORAH YOUNGER: Shelby’s desperation in this show comes from the need for her friends to listen to her. Shelby is constantly dismissed, interrupted, and never taken seriously by authority figures and her own best friends. So as a result she finds ways to make people listen.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: There’s a lot of very serious subject matter in John Proctor Is the Villain, but Belflower also gives these girls plenty of humor, pop-culture references and teenage attitude. I was struck at how perfectly the playwright captures the speech pattern and tone of 2018 youth. As someone who isn’t too far removed from their own teen years, has that aided you in finding Shelby’s voice?

NORAH YOUNGER: Somehow, Kimberly wrote Shelby’s speech pattern in a way that very much emulates my own, which has connected me to the character in such a beautiful way. Kimberly’s genius use of dialogue has given me so much insight into not only the character but her relationships with the others. So much of this show is dependent on the character relationships, and the text informs so much of those distinctions.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: With all the pop culture and music artist references present in the dialogue of the girls, while reading the script in anticipation of chatting with your director and cast mates, I couldn’t help but thing…this work could absolutely be a musical! Humor me…What tune, past or present could easily be Shelby’s ‘theme’?

NORAH YOUNGER: “Mad Woman” by Taylor Swift could easily be Shelby’s Theme. The song expresses how society scorns women who seem “crazy” and “angry” because women are never allowed the space to react proportionately to any terrible situation. Any time they speak up it seems like they are “breathing flames”.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: This play really depends on the feeling that these young women know each other—their friendships, frustrations, inside jokes and occasional explosions all have to feel lived-in. What has the fast-paced process of bonding with this cast been like?

NORAH YOUNGER: The bonding aspect of this play process has been one of the easiest parts for me. Not only is everyone in the cast just a lovely human, this play gives permission to be seen, to feel, to speak to not only the audience but also to us, as actors. I clicked with the other girls almost instantly on the surface level. But working on this play has brought the deepest, most vulnerable part of my soul to the surface; fragile and exposed, and my cast mates see this part of me every day and still accept me and love me through it all.

RAPID FIRE WITH JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN‘s ADVIKA RAVISHANKAR

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Raelynn Nix initially looks like she has the whole small-town high-school experience figured out—the cheerleader type who has spent much of her life living according to other people’s expectations. What did you discover underneath that exterior that changed the way you saw her?

ADVIKA RAVISHANKAR: Rae definitely looks like she has it all figured out, but honestly, almost none of it was ever up to her. Her dad is the town preacher, so everyone knows him, which means everyone knows her too. She isn’t just representing herself; she’s representing her dad and her whole family, so there’s an image she always has to maintain. What she actually wants doesn’t really matter, because everyone has already decided who the head cheerleader and preacher’s daughter is supposed to be. Once I understood what her life has been like, it completely changed how I wanted to tell her story. Her arc felt so much bigger, and her struggle felt so much more real.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: I love that Raelynn is dealing with some pretty complicated questions about identity, relationships and the expectations placed on her. Is there a particular aspect of her personality or her journey that feels surprisingly close to something you recognize in yourself?

ADVIKA RAVISHANKAR: Setting aside the fact that I was a high schooler in 2018 (funny enough, I read The Crucible that year too), there’s a lot I recognize in her. I’m definitely not from a one-stoplight town in Georgia, but there are real similarities between Raelynn’s community and the one I grew up in, especially with the unspoken expectations about who you’re supposed to be. Throughout the show, Raelynn tries to take up as little space as possible. Women are so often taught to be agreeable, never make mistakes, and have everything figured out, and I know what it’s like to be shamed for not fitting the mold people build for you. Whenever I speak my mind or let my personality show, I’m sometimes told I’m ‘too much’ or that I need to ‘calm down.’ So, like Rae, I find myself shrinking back to avoid ruffling any feathers. But also like her, I feel free to break away from those expectations when I’m leaning into the female friendships in my life. My friends from high school and the ones I found in college make me braver than I’ve ever been about just being myself, the same way Shelby and the feminist club do for Rae.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: One of the fascinating things about John Proctor Is the Villain is watching these characters discover that growing up sometimes means questioning things you previously accepted without thinking twice. What is the biggest question Raelynn finds herself wrestling with—and has exploring that question changed anything about how you view her?

ADVIKA RAVISHANKAR: I think the biggest thing Rae wrestles with is who to believe. When the show starts, Shelby’s been gone for a while, and no one really knows why, so the whole town has a theory. Rae and Shelby have a complicated history, and she’s stuck choosing between what people are saying and what she knows about the girl she grew up with. For someone who’s always gone along with the crowd, that’s huge. It might be the first time she’s ever had to make up her own mind and actually stick to it. It’s easy to see her as a follower, but watching her learn to trust herself showed me she’s had this quiet strength the whole time. Questioning something that people around you take as fact is scary, especially when you have as much to lose as she does. And really, the debate over whether John Proctor is a villain is just the tip of the iceberg. Once Rae starts asking whether the hero of The Crucible is actually a hero, she starts asking that about everything she grew up believing, like how girls are supposed to act and who always seems to get the blame.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: What has working with Lauren Shouse been like? With a young ensemble tackling material that can become emotionally intense, what does Lauren bring into the rehearsal room that helps everyone feel comfortable enough to take risks?

ADVIKA RAVISHANKAR: I cannot say enough good things about Lauren. She’s reminded me that the best work comes from a room where you’re allowed to be fully yourself, messy and vulnerable and all. I didn’t expect this show to hit so close to home, and it can be really hard to let your guard down enough to do these characters justice. Lauren is constantly checking in with us, and on the days when the material hits too hard, she always makes sure our mental and physical well-being comes first. She’s also created a space where we’re free to play with these characters and the world around them, and she’s encouraged us to make them our own and lean into the relationships we’ve built with each other. I think that’s a big part of why the friendships onstage feel so real: we’ve built real ones offstage too!

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Finally, this is a show about a group of teenagers who spend a lot of time talking, arguing, laughing, challenging one another. IF the characters in John Proctor had a group chat, who do you suspect would be the first person to get kicked out? AND who would quietly remove themselves from the chat?

ADVIKA RAVISHANKAR: For who’d get kicked out first, my gut says Mason, but not permanently. He’s hilarious and means well, but he’d absolutely send something out of pocket, and Nell (or even Beth) would clock him and put him on probation for a couple of hours while he “thinks about what he’s said.” Then he’d get added back just in time to send a notes app apology that Beth probably edited for him. Quietly leaving could go a couple of ways, but my first instinct is Rae. Lee would say something dumb, and she’d just leave without a word because she doesn’t want to deal with it.

RAPID FIRE WITH JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN DIRECTOR LAUREN SHOUSE

JHPENTERTAINMENT: You’re an Associate Professor of Theatre Directing at Middle Tennessee State University, where your teaching includes directing and script analysis. How much did the classroom side of your life—particularly teaching students how to break down a script and make directing choices—inform your approach to directing this predominantly younger cast?

LAUREN SHOUSE: I love working with young people and feel fortunate to have a front row seat to people in the critical stage of becoming who they are and finding their own unique voice. So for me, this process continues to teach me, not only all the cultural references that go over my head as they chat at lunch, but just what matters to them as individuals and as a generation. Also working with Governor’s School of the Arts for the last 5 years has given me the opportunity to see just how naturally Kimberly Belflower has crafted the language of this play for teenagers. The cast has said many times that they speak just like their character. It has been a gift to work with this exceptionally talented cast. Their energy has been infectious and the future is bright.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: John Proctor Is the Villain was just on Broadway last year, and now you’re the director introducing Kimberly Belflower’s very timely take on The Crucible to Nashville audiences for the first time. Is there an extra bit of excitement—or pressure—that comes with getting to be the person who brings a brand-new Broadway title home to Nashville?

LAUREN SHOUSE: I feel lucky and excited as this play has been on my list since I first read it in 2019. Also, the very first show I worked on with Nashville Rep was the 2007 production of The Crucible – I was the assistant stage manager. So, it has been fun to come full circle nearly 20 years later.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: The Johnson Theater at TPAC is considerably more intimate than a traditional proscenium setting. With a play that essentially puts us inside the world of a close-knit group of high schoolers—where conversations, alliances and secrets can change in a heartbeat—what does that intimacy give you as a director?

LAUREN SHOUSE: I love working in the Johnson with the thrust staging, especially for a fast-moving play like this. The dialogue is snappy and the tension builds throughout the play, so being close and especially if you are on the side audience banks, you feel like you are eavesdropping in the best way. I also feel like we just get to share the emotional moments of the play in a more impactful way, where the audience have the access to the actor and are collectively gasping or laughing with them.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: While researching your chat with you and members of your cast, I loved Mason’s line at about the midway point of the play when he says, “I feel like I’m reading a completely different play…I thought The Crucible was about witches.” One of the things I love about John Proctor Is the Villain is taking a canonical work like Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and essentially saying, “Okay, but what if we look at this story differently?” If you could give another classic play the John Proctor Is the Villain treatment and reexamine it through a modern lens, which one would you love to tackle—and why?

LAUREN SHOUSE: Oh man, what a question! I am sure I would have a deeper answer with more time, but my first thought is just to look at the genre of the Golden Age musical and how women were depicted in many of those “classic” musicals. I feel like in almost everyone one, the women give away their agency almost immediately and so I would love to explore what would it be like for a young woman today to play such a role and what does it say to our students? Those are the questions I would love to investigate in that genre.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Without giving away the discoveries audiences will make along the way, what do you hope people walk out of the Johnson Theater thinking—or perhaps talking about—after experiencing John Proctor Is the Villain?

LAUREN SHOUSE: For me, this play is specifically about that moment in adolescence where we stop regurgitating the things our parents, teachers, church, government leaders said verbatim, and we shape our own individual truth. I hope the audience will ask what stories they have readily believed because someone in power told them it was true. John Proctor Is the Villainreminds us that the question is not simply whether we will tell the truth. It is whether we will have the courage to listen and act when someone else does.

With its mix of sharp humor, teenage candor and questions that refuse to stay neatly inside the classroom, John Proctor Is the Villain is sure to give audiences plenty to chew on long after the final curtain. We’ll leave the last word to Lauren, Lucas, Norah and Advika—because sometimes the most interesting part of rewriting the story is discovering what happens when someone finally asks, “But who gets to tell it?”

Nashville Repertory Theatre‘s John Proctor is the Villain opens at TPAC’s Johnson Theatre (505 Deaderick Street, Nashville, TN 37243) Friday, October 2 and runs weekends through Sunday, October 18. Thursday thru Saturday evening performances are at 7:30pm. Saturday and Sunday matinees begin at 2pm. Tickets range in price from $45.53-$89.23 (including fees). CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

Following John Proctor is the Villain, Nash Rep presents Disney‘s Frozen starring Rachel Potter as Elsa and Aleia Eagleton as Anna, with Lane Adam Williamson as Hans, Colin Carswell as Kristoff, Reagan Allen as Olaf and Connor Adair as Sven. Frozen will be presented in TPAC’s Polk Theatre from December 4-20. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets or for more information. As always, check out Nashville Rep online and follow them on Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram.

If you wanna follow JHPEntertainment to find out who I’m chatting with for my next Rapid Fire Q&A, or for my take on the latest local and national theatre, music and movie offerings, find us at JHPEntertainment on Facebook, JHPEntertainment onInstagram and JHPEntertainment on Twitter. Got an event or show we should know about, drop us a line at the Contact tab. Till then, #GoSeeTheShow!

Rapid Fire 20Q with cast of ‘Waitress’; Opening Nashville Rep’s 40th season with shows at TPAC’s Polk Theatre thru Sunday, September 22

September 19, 2024 by Jonathan Pinkerton

Following last weekend’s hugely successful opening, Nashville Repertory Theatre continues celebrating their 40th season opener as the sweet treat that is Waitress: The Musical resumes with its second and final week on stage at TPAC’s Polk Theatre with performances Thursday-Sunday, September 19-22. Based on the 2007 film of the same name, the stage musical, with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson, made its Broadway debut in 2016, garnering four Tony nominations during the show’s initial run. As the 2024/2025 season opening at Nashville Rep, their presentation is directed by Lauren Shouse and features a cast lead by Sarah Aili, Annabelle Fox and Piper Jones. Last week, while the cast was readying for Opening Night, I had the chance to chat with these four talented individuals for my latest Rapid Fire 20Q interview feature. What follows are those conversations.

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Rapid Fire 20 Q with cast members and director of Nashville Rep’s Waitress: The Musical

Rapid Fire with Waitress star, Sarah Aili

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Who is Jenna to you?

SARAH AILI: Jenna is life unfolding. Jenna is a dreamer and someone who doesn’t know that she’s allowed to believe in herself. Jenna is a remarkable woman and human who gets stuck in the folds of what her small town would call “normal”, or at least what the webs of her family patterns would call “normal” and she, through relationships and her own will to breathe in life, overcomes the weight of her circumstances. She is a raw, radiant and real woman.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Among you co-stars is Dustin Davis, who plays Jenna’s domineering husband, Earl. There are some volatile scenes between the two. How do you prepare for those moments and what helps you put those tense feelings aside afterwards?

SARAH AILI: Wow, that’s a big question! Honestly, I’m so grateful for the rehearsal process—that’s where I find my truth in the emotions and circumstances of each scene. When it comes to high-stakes moments like the ones between Jenna and Earl, I like to draw from my own life experiences. I connect to something real that I’ve felt, something similar to the emotions in the scene, and allow myself to fully feel it. From there, I make decisions as an actor about what will best serve both my scene partner and the show. It’s a bit like choosing the right spices for a pie! To let it all go, to the best of my ability, I put my attention on what is in front of me and with this show, there is so much joy, on and off stage!

JHPENTERTAINMENT: What is it about the character of Jenna, or the story of Waitress that you find relatable?

SARAH AILI: Jenna and I share a lot in common as women—we dream, we doubt, we love fiercely, we crave, we bake, we love our mamas, we have complex relationships, we face our fears, we rely on the important women around us, and above all, we are human. What resonates most with me about Jenna, and the show as a whole, is its genuine humanity. None of us are perfect, and all of us are deserving of the life we want to live, surrounded by the people we call family.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Just between us…pie or cake?

SARAH AILI: PIE!! With berries and a little vanilla bean ice cream please! Throw in pecans and I’m a happy camper! Although, if we are talking about Guava Cake, that’s truly IT for me. Guava Cake above all else!

JHPENTERTAINMENT: A Soft Place to Land, which Jenna performs alongside Dawn and Becky, is among my personal favorites in the show. How much fun are you having with Annabelle Fox and Piper Jones, who play Dawn and Becky?

SARAH AILI: Piper Jones and Annabelle Fox are the icing on the cake for me in this show. I absolutely love sharing the stage with them, and we’ve had such a blast exploring these roles and relationships together. Offstage, it’s just as special. I genuinely look forward to spending time with these two amazing, talented people every day. Honestly, I feel that way about the entire cast!

Rapid Fire with Waitress co-star, Piper Jones

JHPENTERTAINMENT: What’s your favorite aspect of Becky, the character you play in Waitress?

PIPER JONES: I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Becky and finding the very human, relatable parts about her. She’s funny and real. She’s the friend who isn’t afraid to hold the mirror up to your face and call you in instead of out. I’ve loved playing against the “sassy” trope (don’t get me wrong, she’s still got the fire) and digging into her other layers.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: In Act 2, you get your solo chance to truly shine with I Didn’t Plan It. Having known you for years, I cannot wait for this moment. Have you been given the opportunity to offer input collaborating with Sarah Michele Bailey, the show’s musical director?

PIPER JONES: Sarah Bailey (SMB) is truly fantastic. It’s been a joy working with her on this show! We’ve gotten to see many iterations of each other— her as MD, me as MD, being in a cast together, singing in the studio. It’s always a blast to create with Sarah. Jenna, Dawn, and Becky sing several trio numbers together and SMB has given me the opportunity to sort of act as a bit of a vocal captain with the girls. I appreciate the vote of confidence and I’ve enjoyed getting to pull some vocal nuances out of our trio. I’m excited about I Didn’t Plan It, too. It’s definitely an in-your-face way to start Act 2.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Within the context of the show, Jenna chooses Becky and Dawn to be godmothers to her daughter, Lulu (played by Rosemary ‘Roxy’ Delger. As an educator in your off-stage life, you’re used to working with kids, right? How has that aided you in your on-stage time with Roxy (and perhaps even some of your more childlike co-stars )?

PIPER JONES: I haven’t really had to wear my educator hat much during this process. You know, Roxy is already an old pro and my goodness she’s a cutie pie! Roxy is always on her mark (honestly, more than I am most of the time haha!).

JHPENTERTAINMENT: I saw on your Facebook that you, in another media moment promoting Waitress, cited your Mama’s Chess Pie as your all-time favorite. Heck, I think you and I might hold the record for most Chess Pie-related Facebook posts. So, a two-parter… 1) What is it about your Mama’s Chess Pie? AND…2) I think you might like my Mama’s Chess Pie, too, so when are we gonna trade recipes?

PIPER JONES: Ha! I do post about her Chess Pies a lot. It’s probably because she only makes the around the holidays, so it’s a special little treat that only comes around once a year. And honestly, I’m not even sure why I love her pies as much as I do. I know she’s particular about what brands of sugar (which must be a freshly opened bag), butter (you gotta buy the good stuff), and flour (which also must be freshly opened)…see what I did there? Anyway, I think her Chess Pie is the right balance of gooey sweetness, where you can kinda see that layer of sugar in the middle and the texture is always just right. Most of the time I can manage to sneak a piece right out of the oven (she hates that, though. They’re supposed to set up as they cool). But I mostly think I love them because of the nostalgia they hold. I bet your mama makes a great chess pie! And swapping recipes? You’d have to ask Dr. Jones if she’d part with hers 😉

JHPENTERTAINMENT: Oh, I see what you did there, and I italicized accordingly! Which leads perfectly to my final question for you…Waitess’ opening number, What’s Inside begins with the hypnotically repetitive mantra-like lyrics ‘Sugar, Butter, Flour’. In keeping with the recipe theme…what ‘ingredients’ make up What’s Inside you on your best days?

PIPER JONES: My best days are coffee, music, naps.

Rapid Fire with Waitress co-star, Annabelle Fox

JHPENTERTAINMENT: How familiar were you with Waitress prior to auditioning for the role of Dawn?

ANNABELLE FOX: I was lucky enough to see the original cast of Waitress on Broadway back in 2015! My friend impulsively bought us tickets and I didn’t know much about the show other than the fact that the music was written by Sara Bareilles. Sitting in the audience that evening, I realized then and there that Dawn would soon become a dream role of mine; one I would chase… until now.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: How would you describe Dawn?

ANNABELLE FOX: Dawn is particular, organized, controlled, and incredibly sweet. She is a little awkward but I think that’s what makes her so lovable!

JHPENTERTAINMENT: About midway through Act 1, you’re tasked with performing When He Sees Me, arguably one of the show’s most memorable musical moments. I love that it ranges from comedic to heartfelt. What’s it like performing this song and have you found a personal connection to the lyrics?

ANNABELLE FOX: Performing When He Sees Me is SUCH a gift. It is such a well written song and takes Dawn along with the audience on a beautiful journey of self discovery and assuredness. I love getting to embody her quirks, spunk, and dance with my wonderful cast mates! I loved the song instantly when I saw the show on Broadway and have sung the song in many concerts and for numerous auditions. I’m so excited to get to share my version of the song with Nashville!

JHPENTERTAINMENT: On the subject personal connections, among your cast mates is your real-life husband, Douglas Waterbury-Tieman who plays Dawn’s latest suitor, Ogie. Of course this isn’t the first time the two of you have shared the stage, having first met while you both were attending Belmont. What’s your favorite aspect of being on stage together?

ANNABELLE FOX: Getting to perform with Douglas is always so fun. The last time we performed together was in his original musical Johnny & the Devil’s Box at the Cumberland County Playhouse in December 2022. Playing opposite each other in a show we have loved for many years is a dream. The biggest advantage is our comfortability with each other. Ogie and Dawn are such heightened silly personalities so it’s super fun just being goofy with my husband! He is so wonderful and SO FUNNY so it’s quite the challenge to not break character!

JHPENTERTAINMENT: The show is choreographed by Joi Ware. How is Joi as a choreographer AND…What’s a typical choreo rehearsal been like?

ANNABELLE FOX: Joi is absolutely wonderful and the choreography in our production is so moving, story centric, and engaging. She has done such a wonderful job of bridging dance and transition and helping each moment flow seamlessly, backed by our incredible ensemble and leads. A typical choreo rehearsal looks like learning, Joi breaking down the choreography for us, workshopping the movement, figuring out spacing, running the choreography a few times, and then filming it to keep on file to go back to and review with. With such a quick rehearsal process this has been essential! The whole creative team has been so warm, supportive, and passionate during this process and I feel so grateful for the ways they have empowered our whole cast to rise up to tell the very best version of this story. Enjoy!

Rapid Fire with Waitress director, Lauren Shouse

JHPENTERTAINMENT: How did you come to direct Waitress for Nashville Rep?

LAUREN SHOUSE: This is the third show with baked goods I have directed for the Rep after Superior Donuts and The Cake, so clearly I love sweet plays. This musical had been on my list for some time as I love a heart-centered story and I am a huge Sara Bareillis fan, so when Micah-Shane Brewer told me they were programming it, I jumped at the opportunity. I have been so lucky to be able to call Nashville Rep an artistic home over the years – this is my 10th production with the company as director.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: What is it about the show that drew you to the project?

LAUREN SHOUSE: Besides being a fan of the music, I love to tell stories about women and transformation. This is a story about how we get unstuck and the resilience it takes to break a cycle and start a new life. There is a beautiful core of female friendship in this play and the way we need our fellow women to help us break free. While it is a musical comedy, I love the mess we see in this play and how authentic it feels to our real lives — when we feel stuck, we often make a bunch of hasty choices to shake things up. The characters in this play are no different and are driven by this core question of: what if I will never be more than what I have already become? I relate to that question at this point in my own life and I imagine many of our audience members will as well.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: The publicity photos seem very straight-forward and could easily be direct from the Broadway production. How have you found balance as a director in presenting the basics of what fans of the show expect, while putting your (and your talented cast’s) own stamp on it?

LAUREN SHOUSE: As someone who teaches directing students to always find their own unique point of view on a production, it is especially challenging when there is a wonderful pro-shot of the Broadway production that many people have recently seen. But from the beginning of this process, we talked about keeping some of the iconic moments that fans expect, but really making it our own intimate story. One of the things we have tried to do is deepen the backstory of Jenna and her mother – I wanted to add her to the song Soft Place to Land to show the story of where Jenna got her dreams and that she can be a good mother because she had a good mom, but she will need the support of her chosen family in Becky and Dawn to keep her going. We also wanted to lean more into the struggle of the waitresses’ everyday routine at the top of show — the women find refuge in each other, but not necessarily the work and the patrons. That way we see a real change in the final number as they have had to fight to make change. And in collaboration with our amazing choreographer Joi Ware, we have really tried to put our own stamp on the movement of the ensemble throughout the play and in the specifics of the big production numbers.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: When I chatted with members of your cast, I touched on their thoughts on working with some of the behind the scenes folks including your musical director and choreographer, so I’ll continue with another vital piece of the pie (pun fully intended). What sort of discussions did you have with scenic designer, Gary Hoff concerning the set design and overall look of the show?

LAUREN SHOUSE: We wanted it to feel intimate and in a bigger space like the Polk that really meant pulling the action as close to the audience as possible. We talked about how much we loved the style of the original Adrienne Shelly movie and used that for inspiration of making it feel like we are looking inside a cherry pie… extending the metaphor that Jenna hides in her baking and part of her journey is breaking through the crust to make peace with what’s inside. We wanted the band to be on stage as an expression of her inner self (similar to the ensemble) and we wanted the structure of the diner to always be there as it is such a fixture in Jenna’s life and ultimately transforms at the end as she does.

JHPENTERTAINMENT: I always like to end these conversations by asking a variation on the following…What do you hope audiences remember long after seeing Waitress at Nashville Rep?

LAUREN SHOUSE: That everything changes and we all have the power within ourselves to make that change. We all deserve a slice of that pie.

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Nashville Repertory Theatre’s Waitress continues at TPAC’s Polk Theatre with performances Thursday-Sunday. Thursday-Saturday evenings at 7:30p.m. & Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2p.m. CLICK HERE for tickets or more info.

Following Waitress, Nashville Rep’s 40th Anniversary Season continues with Our Town onstage at TPAC’s Johnson Theatre October 25-November 3 CLICK HERE for tickets. In the meantime, check out Nashville Rep online and follow them on Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram.

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