O&AN | February 2020

Explore the Arts Courtesy of Nashville Ballet

Singer-Songwriter Harlan Howard once described country music as “Three chords and the truth.” The truth about Nashville in 2020 is that we’ve got a lot more to offer beyond country music. The city’s Arts and Culture scene these days goes way beyond neon-lit honkytonks and the slow wail of a pedal steel. The performing arts institutions around the city are part of the cultural bedrock upon which the city builds its pride. Whether opera, ballet, classical music, musical theatre, or plays, Nashville offers plenty of resident, local, and collegiate companies and touring shows to fi ll your evenings!

The city’s largest performing arts center is the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, or TPAC (505 Deaderick St.). Under the leadership of new CEO Jennifer Turner, TPAC’s three stages welcome hundreds of thousands of guests each year. The 2472-seat Andrew Jackson Hall houses the touring Broadway series, the Nashville Ballet, some performances by the Nashville Opera, and various one-night engagements. The smaller 1075-seat James K. Polk Theatre hosts more intimate performances by touring comedians and speakers and some productions by Nashville Repertory Theatre. Rounding out the trio is the 256-seat Andrew Johnson Theatre, a fl exible black box space where the majority of Nashville Rep’s work is performed. (tpac.org)

Celebrating its 35th season, Nashville Repertory Theatre fea

tures cutting edge new works, classic American dramas, and popular musical comedies. Its casts regularly feature Nashville’s finest local actors and singers. Every May, the Rep hosts its Ingram New Works Festival, an annual workshop for young playwrights to create new works in conjunction with experienced and often award-winning writers. Since 2009, the Ingram New Works Project has supported the development of over 60 new plays. (nashvillerep.org)

The Nashville Opera, which will begin its 40th anniversary season in the fall, celebrates the traditions of both grand opera and daring new works every year. Under the leadership of Artistic Director John Hoomes, Nashville Opera delights its audience with two mainstage performances at TPAC’s Jackson Hall and two intimate chamber-style productions at its Noah Liff Opera Center facility in Nashville’s Sylvan Heights neighborhood. (nashvilleopera. org)

Nashville Ballet, led by Artistic Director Paul Vasterling, brings the world of classical dance to TPAC’s two largest stages. Founded in 1986, Nashville Ballet presents hallmark works of ballet repertoire and creates contemporary dance presentations throughout its season. The Martin Center for Nashville Ballet, also located in Sylvan Heights, provides rehearsal and training facilities for the company and its youth dance academy. (nashvilleballet.com)

Nashville Children’s Theatre is the oldest continually operating professional children’s theatre company in America. Operating from their playhouse just southeast of downtown, NCT introduces younger audiences to the art of theatre through youth-friendly plays and performances. Don’t be mistaken that the work is all fluff, though. NCT plays entertain and educate. Additionally, the NCT Drama School helps train the next generation of Nashville’s stage stars. (nashvillechildrenstheatre.org)

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s mission may be narrower than those of its counterparts, but Executive Artistic Director Denice Hicks doesn’t allow the Bard to be stodgy. With daring casting, intriguing productions, and the choice to tour its productions across Middle Tennessee, NSF brings Shakespeare out of your dusty freshman English class and into visceral focus as these centuries-old pillars of English theatre come alive in a Winter season presented at Belmont University and an outdoor Summer season at OneCity in Midtown. (nashvilleshakes.org)

Last but hardly least among Nashville’s cultural institutions is the Nashville Symphony. Housed in the breathtaking Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the Symphony’s classical and popular offerings cover the spectrum from Beethoven to Bob Dylan. Under the direction of Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero, the Symphony entrances audiences with its technical virtuosity and lyrical ensemble playing. The Grammy Award-winning ensemble is situated in the heart of downtown, only a block off Broadway. (www.nashvillesymphony.org)

The arts in Nashville thrive in an environment that is filled to overflowing with music. While we may be known as The Music City for our roots in country music, Nashville’s performing arts companies excel at delivering world-class entertainment for every kind of audience. From black tie opening nights to Broadway hits from Ballet to Berlioz, for those in search of theatrical and classical offerings, Nashville is more than ready to stand and deliver.