TOPDOG/UNDERDOG by Christopher Lei, Jake Silver, and Joseph Toye

Suzan-Lori Parks wrote the play Topdog/Underdog; it was performed from February 9th to February 24th at Johnson Theater at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville, Tennessee. On the night of February 15th, the audience was composed of local Nashville theater enthusiasts and a handful of Vanderbilt theater students. Topdog/Underdog delineates the story of two…

Posted by Jake Silver on March 10, 2019 in 1010 blog posts, Analysis Essay, Blog posts, News, Production Review

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PIPPIN by Madison Lindeman, Lily Jaremski, and Hassatou Diallo

Pippin, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson, was Vanderbilt Off-Broadway’s 2019 mainstage production, performed January 17-19 in Ingram Hall. Pippin tells the story of a young man considering suicide as he searches for meaning and fulfillment. He is joined in his quest by a troupe of players…

Posted by Madison Lindeman on February 4, 2019 in 1010 blog posts, Analysis Essay, Blog posts, Production Review, Musical theatre, Vanderbilt Off-Broadway

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A Gentleman’s Guide to Comedic Homicides; or, The Great Musical Paradox of Our Generation

It was a dark and chilly night in January. There was no rain, but the wind rustled my skirts as I stalked along the streets of downtown Nashville. A tall building loomed; a flashing red marquee and the impression of darkened, reflective windows—The Tennessee Performing Arts Center. We had arrived. I stepped inside, removed my…

Posted by denneysg on February 25, 2017 in Production Review, 2017, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Broadway tour, hilarious, London, musical comedy

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Great Fun at Gentleman’s Guide

          In 2014, I fell head over heels for musical theatre. Soon, I was constantly humming show tunes, and the phrase “I’d kill for tickets” entered my regular lexicon. That June, I attended my first ever Tony Awards watch party — and was the only one to correctly call the winner for…

Posted by Katherine Gillett on February 25, 2017 in Production Review

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“Stop! Wait! What?!:” The Unconventional Entertainment of A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER

If your preferences tend more toward romance than slaughter, you may want to avoid A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, a musical which gives the two equal billing in title only. Likewise, if your theatrical tastes tend toward tidy plot resolution and flashy production numbers, this isn’t your show. Freedman and Lutvak’s Gentleman’s Guide…

Posted by Elizabeth Varley on February 24, 2017 in Blog posts, Production Review

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The Last One You’d Expect

As someone who has grown up surrounded by athletics, currently works in athletics, and hopes to work in athletics the rest of my life, you could say that going out to the theatre to see a musical is not one of my main hobbies. However, because it was a class requirement, I borrowed my friend’s…

Posted by prestoct on February 24, 2017 in Production Review, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Kevin Massey, Tennessee Performing Arts Center

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Damn Yankees Steals the Bases–and my Heart

          I’ll be the first to admit that when Vanderbilt Off-Broadway (VOB) announced Damn Yankees as their 2017 Mainstage Production back in May 2016, I was more than a little disappointed. Damn Yankees follows Joe Boyd, a middle-aged, All-American man who sells his soul to the Devil, alias Mr. Applegate, in exchange…

Posted by Katherine Gillett on February 21, 2017 in Production Review

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“Those Damn Yankees”

  Baseball, America’s favorite past-time, gains a little more “heart” in Vanderbilt Off-Broadway’s (VOB) production of Damn Yankees. Taking a step into the 1950’s, we follow Joe Boyd (Sammy Lyons) as he strikes a deal with the Devil, known as Applegate (Alex Schecter), to help Joe’s favorite team, the Washington Senators, make it to the…

Posted by Salvador Miranda on February 17, 2017 in Production Review, 50s, Alex Schecter, Damn Yankees, Devil, Fifties, Golden Age Musical, Lindsey Mullen, Megan Ward, Michael Maerlender, Monyae Kerney, Vanderbilt Off-Broadway, VOB, women

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Those Damn Yankees Did it Again

On January 20, 2017, in Blaire School of Music’s Ingram Hall, nearly every seat was filled with audience members anxiously anticipating Vanderbilt Off-Broadway’s performance of Damn Yankees. The buzz floating around Vanderbilt’s campus was that the production was a hilarious rendition of the original 1955 Broadway show. Not to say I wasn’t looking forward to…

Posted by prestoct on February 17, 2017 in Production Review, Choreography, Connection, Damn Yankees, Megan Ward, Michael Maerlender, Musical Number, Vanderbilt Off-Broadway

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Yamn Dankees: VOB’s 20th Mainstage Production

With about as much verve as the Washington Senators, Vanderbilt Off-Broadway (VOB) begins the spring semester with the Faustian baseball musical Damn Yankees. Many thought the show was an unusual pick for an organization like VOB, whose last mainstage productions included more contemporary pieces like Legally Blonde and The Addams Family. But director Hannah Lazarz’…

Posted by denneysg on February 17, 2017 in Blog posts, Production Review, 1956, Abbott, Alex Schecter, Baseball, Emily Carskadden, Evan Blum, Hannah Lazarz, heart, Jess Powers, Joe Hardy, Lindsey Mullen, Lindsey Swearingen, Mainstage, Megan Ward, Michael Maerlender, musical, puns, Sammy Lyons, Shoeless Joe, sports, team, Vanderbilt Off-Broadway, Washington Senators, Yamn dankees

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