Preview: River & Rail’s ‘Fat Ham’ Channels the Bard

One of the many reasons that Shakespeare’s plays are still with us both as literature and dramatic production is that they carry universal themes that seem to exist happily outside of their original context. That is the case with River…

Most Read ARTS KNOXVILLE Stories of 2023

If one was looking for a definite sign that the peripheral effects of the pandemic had at last faded away, 2023 was an almost perfect answer. Readership of articles on Arts Knoxville grew some 20% over 2022, paralleling the increase…

Review: River & Rail’s ‘It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’ – Fabulous Holiday Theatre

For its December offering, River and Rail Theatre Company has chosen a work that is a delightful and entertaining contradiction in such a theatrical discussion—It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

Wednesday Arts Miscellany: Another Busy Weekend

This week and weekend, holiday-themed theatre offerings abound at River & Rail Theatre Company, Clarence Brown Theatre, and Theatre Knoxville Downtown. While I haven’t heard of any sing-alongs, Nief-Norf is sponsoring its annual participatory “walk-along” Unsilent Night. And, of course,…

Review: River & Rail’s Thought-Provoking ‘A Case for the Existence of God’

BY ALAN SHERROD   The last ten years, or so, have been big ones for playwright Samuel D. Hunter. Along with a MacArthur Fellowship, his seventeen produced plays since 2010 include The Whale from 2012 which he subsequently adapted for…

River & Rail Theatre Co. Announces Its 2023-24 Season of Plays

River & Rail Theatre Co.— operating in the Old City Performing Arts Center, 111 State Street— has announced its 2023-24 season of four plays. The company is also introducing Memberships to its theatre-goer experience. Memberships are available in several tiers…

Review: River & Rail Theatre Co. Explores Secrets and Truths in ‘Fun Home’

BY ALAN SHERROD   Successful works of theatre have a way of holding up a mirror to its viewers, its reflection revealing universal truths that touch each individual with memories and revelations specific to their own lives. That is certainly…

Preview: The Musical ‘Fun Home’ Opens at River and Rail Theatre Co.

BY AMANDA BROOKS   “What would happen if we spoke the truth?” ― Alison Bechdel River & Rail Theatre Company is rounding out their 2022-2023 season with their largest production of the season – Fun Home. The show is a…

Review: Powerful Theatre – Katori Hall’s ‘The Mountaintop’ at River & Rail Theatre Co.

BY ALAN SHERROD   They say “You never want to meet your heroes,” a statement that can certainly be bandied about when discussing Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop which opened this past weekend at River & Rail Theatre Company. In it,…

Preview: Katori Hall’s ‘The Mountaintop’ at River & Rail Theatre Company

BY AMANDA BROOKS   “…Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like…

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