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…
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: Traditions Get Even Better with CBT’s ‘A Christmas Carol’
CBT has been offering up various theatrical productions based on the Charles Dickens classic novella for decades, with many regular theatre-goers—and many occasional ones—making attendance a part of their own Holiday tradition.
Review: CBT’s ‘The Moors’ — Deliciously Dark and Atmospheric
BY ALAN SHERROD A strange, old Victorian house on the edge of the bleak, disorienting moors of Yorkshire… characters that suggest the Brontë sisters and their dissolute brother, Branwell…and, of course, the arrival of a new governess with a…
Preview: CBT’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ Builds Up Steam This Week
Murder on the Orient Express Based on the Agatha Christie novel—Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig Clarence Brown Theatre Previews on Wednesday and Thursday, September 6 and 7 with opening night on Friday, September 8; Runs through Sunday, September…
Review: Clarence Brown Theatre’s ‘Hair’
BY ALAN SHERROD Hair, the rock musical that opened off-Broadway in 1967 and had a substantial Broadway run of four years, practically defined a generational era in American cultural history, not just with its statements of love, peace, and…
This Weekend: Entertainment Choices—and decisions—Abound
This week/weekend will be one of those that offers something for every one with an arts and/or music interest. Unfortunately, you may find yourself confronted with some painful choices and inescapable conflicts. Here is our rundown of events you may…
Review: ‘Men on Boats’ at Clarence Brown – Old History, New Perspective
BY ALAN SHERROD On its most basic level, the Jaclyn Backhaus play, Men on Boats, which opened Friday evening in the Lab Theatre of the Clarence Brown, is a retelling of the 1869 exploratory journey made by John Wesley…
Preview: ‘Men On Boats’ at the Clarence Brown Lab Theatre
BY AMANDA BROOKS “It’s interesting to me to sort of take that idea of male conquest, give it to someone who usually doesn’t have that right, and sort of put that into the roles themselves.” – Jaclyn Backhaus, playwright…
Review: Clarence Brown Theatre’s ‘Trouble In Mind’ Throws a Powerful Spotlight on Lost Opportunities
BY ALAN SHERROD Had things gone differently for playwright Alice Childress in 1957, her play Trouble in Mind would have had the honor of being the first play written by a Black woman on Broadway. Of course, things didn’t…