THEATER: Irving Berlin's White Christmas (November Issue)

With Christmas right around the corner, calendars begin to fill up quickly with many holiday activities, parties and traditions.  From the Rockettes to the Skaggs Family Christmas, there are certainly many ways to be festively entertained in our area.  One item on my to do list is catching Irving Berlin’s White Christmas at the TPAC.  It opens on November 13^th and runs through November 18^th. 

Back when there was much more time to spend with extended family during the holidays, I would stay with my relatives in Northeast Mississippi.   Most of our time was spent doing something musical or theatrical.  We were kind of like the Partridge Family on Hee Haw with flair!  My closest cousins are sisters, and they had a tradition of performing “Sisters” from White Christmas.  It was always one of my favorites. 

With the show coming to Nashville, I was given the opportunity to interview someone in the cast.  Of course, I chose a sister!  Stefanie Morse is playing the role of Betty Haynes, which she says is her most favorite role to date.  She also really enjoyed playing Diana Morales on the European Tour of A Chorus Line.  One role she has not played but is a dream of hers is Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.

During Stefanie’s short stay in Nashville, she plans to visit friends and family and hopes to see some great live music.  I think we’ve got that covered!  We’re also discussing a tour of Williamson County together.  She wants to see as much as she can, and of course, I’m proud to show it to her!

 

As a musician, I’m always curious as to what types of music performers enjoy.  Stefanie says she has very eclectic taste.  She loves Sara Bareilles, Adele, Gavin DeGraw…singer/songwriter stuff.  She has loved Streisand since she was very young and loves to sing from the Golden Age of musical theater.  “They don't write 'em like that anymore.”

I really enjoy getting to know actors before seeing a show.  I’m excited to start my holiday season off with Stefanie and the rest of the cast, as I am now “dreaming of a White Christmas!”

MUSIC: The Ryman (November Issue)

When going to a concert, I prefer an intimate venue.  Sure, I enjoy smoke and lights in an arena filled with power ballads from the gods of rock from time to time, but a more personal setting is always my first choice.  The Ryman Auditorium provides just that place for me to satisfy my appetite for good music the way I like it.  I love the atmosphere, the vibe, the acoustics, the history and the variety of performers.  Over the years, I’ve been to the Ryman to see Ben Folds, Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Paramore, Trey Anastasio and even the Fresh Beat Band.  Did I mention variety?

My husband and I invited a friend from Boston a few years ago to come and do “Nashville stuff”, which consisted of a lot of new things for us, as well.  One of the stops on our itinerary was the tour of the Ryman.  There was so much more to it than I had ever imagined.  I got chills sitting in a dressing room thinking of all the great artists that had been looking in the same mirror before taking the stage.

Recently, I was invited to take a personal tour of the Ryman to dig a little deeper into its history and see it from a different perspective.  Upon my arrival, I received an apology that we wouldn’t be able to take a full tour due to Jamey Johnson’s band doing sound check and warming up, but I became even more excited.  As a musician, seeing what goes on the day of a show was definitely right up my alley. 

With levels being checked and instruments being tuned in the background, I listened to stories of how the Ryman was built and what the conditions were like.  Something that you don’t hear on the regular tour is how the bricks were still warm when they were placed.  They were made on site because there were no cars and trucks to haul them.  There are dips in the bricks in certain places where the fingers of the men placing them went in.  You can see a lot of the dips on the walls inside when you are about to enter the auditorium. 

My list of performers is only a tiny fraction of the talent that has been brought to Nashville because of the Ryman.  Elvis, Mae West, Louis Armstrong, Helen Keller, Bob Hope and many more have been on that stage.  Hank Williams, Sr., was unknown when he first played at the Ryman at the Grand Ole Opry and was called back out for six encores that night.  It’s the birthplace of bluegrass and where Johnny and June fell in love.  Did you know that the “Hokey Pokey” was recorded there?  I could go on and on…

If you haven’t been to the Ryman to see a show or take the tour, don’t wait any longer.  It’s so much of what makes Nashville the wonderful place that it is.  And when you go, be sure to touch the dips in the bricks.  It will be our little secret.

LITERATURE: Lizzie’s War by Margie Gould Thessin (November Edition)

Margie Gould Thessin, owner and co-founder of Franklin on Foot, has written a book called Lizzie’s War from a perspective for young readers to understand Franklin’s Civil War history.  I decided to try it out on my young reader to begin a dialect with him about the significance of what happened in our town.

My son, Hudson, is five years old.  He’s a little young to really understand all that the book entails, but it was a great way to lay a foundation for his future understanding of why our history is so important to us. 

When I told Hudson that we were going to read a book about a war, he said, “Hold on, Mom”, left the room and came back with an orange plastic gun saying, “Now I’m ready”.  He likes props.  Due to the fact that the majority of his war knowledge involves using the force against the dark side, I’m surprised he didn’t come back with a light saber.  I explained to him that the war we were going to read about was quite different than what he knows about in a galaxy far, far away. 

Illustration by Col. Samuel A. Whitson

Because of the title, Hudson’s first concern was that a little girl had to fight a war.  However, his concern quickly shifted to Lizzie’s brother, William, when he found out he was the one fighting.  He has had a hard time wrapping his little mind around the fact that William didn’t want to be on the “United States team”.  I didn’t try too hard to get him to understand all the facts.  I decided that he could relate to locations in the story so we started there.  For him, the best way to explain was to tell him how close something was to where the Mellow Mushroom is now.  When we’re driving around town, I remind him of parts of the story, when we pass places that are referenced.   

We’ve had some good conversations about the book, but I think he’s going to stick with learning more about Jedi Knights for now.  I will definitely encourage him to read it again in future.  I learned quite a lot from reading it myself.

For more information about Margie Gould Thessin or Franklin on Foot, visit www.franklinonfoot.com or call 615-400-3808.  Lizzie’s War retails for $12 and is a 140-page trade paperback.  It may be purchased through the website or at local bookstores.

MUSIC-Giancarlo Guerrero (October Issue)

Here in Williamson County, we have an unbelievable amount of talent in our midst.  I could write a story everyday for this column and still not cover everyone worth mentioning.  So I will continue to share with you the ones that I have the privilege of getting to know who shine the most.  Giancarlo Guerrero, the conductor of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, is definitely fits in that category. 

I recently spent an afternoon with Gioncarlo, and it was incredible.  We talked a lot about his love for Nashville and all the things that make it so unique.  He certainly does not take any of it for granted.  He says that of all the places he has conducted, Nashville is his favorite.  There is nowhere else where you can hear a world-class symphony and go a couple of blocks and then hear the best country and blue grass music around. 

Unlike many other conductors, Gioncarlo lives where he conducts.

He believes that the music director should be a part of the community.  He wants to learn the people and know what works here.  He desires everything to have relevance to Nashville in the present time.  His being here and having access to Nashville gives him the ability to serve the community through performances and outreach, and he feels he has a huge responsibility to keep audiences for years.  Giancarlo wants to get rid of the myth that classical music is for a certain class of people.  He wants everyone to know that the orchestra has something for all audiences.  He says even what to wear can be scary, but when he goes to a symphony that he is not conducting, he prefers to wear his blue jeans. 

When Giancarlo is conducting, he welcomes spontaneity.  He trusts his musicians so much that he gives them the freedom to make changes in the moment, if they feel moved to do so.  Not the actual music per say, but more of the energy and response to the audience’s reaction.  He also loves when things happen in the audience that some conductors would find disturbing.  For example, one time someone dropped a glass of wine from a side balcony, and it shattered on the stage.  He thought it was funny.  He adores children in the audience and hearing their laughter.  There has, however, been an incident that he could have done without.  He accidentally stabbed himself with his baton.  When he removed it, he was bleeding so much that he had to put it back in.  I guess the show must go on whatever the cost!  No matter the situation, he handles it with grace and style.

After visiting with Giancarlo, I was fortunate enough to attend a rehearsal, and it was more laid back than I imagined it would be.  Every time he addressed the orchestra he would start by saying “My friends”.  He is definitely not a stereotypical conductor.  Someone in the brass section dropped his smart phone (probably in the middle of a game of “Words with Friends”), and Giancarlo did not say anything about it.  I love that about him.  He knows that the caliber of musicians he is working with do not need to be on a tight leash.  If I were in the orchestra, he is definitely the conductor I would want leading me. I would be the one dropping the phone, hopefully in the middle of a triple letter, triple word score.

Artist- Jerry Quinlisk (October Issue)

I feel very blessed to say that over the past few months I have been getting to know Franklin artist and horticulturalist, Jerry Quinlisk.  We’ve been acquaintances for years, but we’ve never really connected.  Now that I know his story, I’ve been thinking, “Wow, how did I miss this?”  He definitely has an amazing story to tell and so much of it is expressed through his art.

Jerry invited me to his historic Franklin home to talk art and show displays of his work.  The home has become a gallery, including a dining room turned studio.  His work is so colorful that the walls really come to life and made me want to know what inspired all of them.  I had no idea the depth of his story and how invested I would become in it.

After suffering a back injury 19 years ago, Jerry could no longer partake in his favorite pastime of playing golf.  Ten years prior, someone told him that he was not a landscaper, he was an artist.  Inspired by the memory of this statement and needing a new hobby, he decided to take some art classes at the Watkins Institute in Nashville to learn how to draw.  He then took lessons from the legendary Bunn Gray who taught him to apply paint.  Jerry says he doesn’t draw classically.  He calls it “expressive art”.  It is very personal and comes from within.  There is always a part of each piece that is a self-portrait.  He approaches art as if it is a puzzle on the surface, and the work itself is trying to solve the puzzle.  In the end, it looks different than what was in his mind at the start.  The most enjoyable part of creating is the place that he goes in his mind, his “happy spot”.  It gives him peace and tranquility.  Which he definitely deserves…

 

Jerry was very open with me about his past and gave me permission to share it.  He has struggled with alcohol and substance abuse and said he had no idea at the time how bad he felt.  A diagnosis of liver cancer changed his life.  As I sat in his home, we talked of how serious his condition was and how much he needed a new liver.  With tears in my eyes I tried to stay on task and asked him how all this affected his art.  He said that his battle with cancer and being clean have changed the art.  It’s more introspective.  Before, it had been more lighthearted.  In the last year, he starting working in pastels, which suits his temperament better since he doesn’t have to mix the paint.  It’s a more rapid process, and he did one a day for a while. 

The afternoon spent with Jerry was at the beginning of August, by the end of August, I am so happy to say that Jerry received a new liver.  He is cancer free.  He is doing well and continuing to express himself through his art.  Before our meeting, Jerry drew a portrait of me.  Since he says there is always a part of himself in each piece, I hope he sees some of himself in me.  It would be quite an honor.