Nashville Shakespeare Festival at the Harvester
05.18.2023 - Lordy Mercy, Maudine…Now they’re puttin’ on live Shakespeare plays at that Harvester right here in Smithville, Tennessee!
Ever since Bert Driver started promoting live music concerts at his tree nursery years ago, he’s wanted to also showcase many other types of unique artisans–sculptors, painters, metal-workers, musicians, actors, and all types of talented folks who, when their energies are combined with Bert’s team, turn an “event” into an “experience” for the Burlap Room and Harvester audiences.
That quest for new and exciting art and artists naturally led to “live theater”, so on Thursday evening if you were at the Harvester located in Historic Downtown Smithville for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with some clever timely additions), and Macbeth, performed in an educational format, where the actors would perform a scene, and then discuss what we just saw, then you my friend, saw classical live theater performances that were VERY entertaining, and VERY accessible for those of us whose only encounter with Shakespeare was when back when our hormones wanted to concentrate on much more interesting things than a 400-year-old bard (bard, WTH?).
Many thanks to Katie Bruno, Director of Education from the Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Jan Morrison, Company & Tour Manager, made it “oh so easy” to get the talented troupe to the Harvester as a special presentation of the Bert’s on Thursday Series, and helping us create a truly unique experience for our clientele.
The very capable actors were: Andrew Johnson, Ethan Lyvers, Joyce Torres, Mia Zappacosta, and Nick DiPuma.
The Nashville Shakespeare Festival folks are serious about what they do, and they do it very well! We look forward to our next performance by this young, talented, dedicated group of thespians on the Harvester boards. MUCH more entertaining than Shakespeare when I was 17!
Larry Pinkerton (Guitar Player Extraordinaire), warmed up the attendees with an extended set of guitar instrumentals, which included several of his original arrangements of Beatles hits- Thanks, Larry! That was the perfect English spice which added to the flavor of the evening.
(Really would have preferred a lute, but understand they’re hard to come by, and hard to keep in tune).
As always, giant thank yous to Smokehouse BBQ for the excellent fare (BBQ IS the perfect “dinner theater” food), and to the ever-flexible and alert Harvester Security, Service, and Technical Staff.
Up next is Collins Horton (winner of the Harvester’s 2023 TN Songwriters Qualifying Round) and Bobby Kropp at the Burlap Room on Thursday, 5/25, our annual Summer Solstice Shindig with Airshow and Austin Grimm on Saturday, 6/17, and a Jamboree Weekend at the Harvester with East Nash Grass (more info coming this Sunday!)! All the details for upcoming events at burlaproom.eventbrite.com. Stay up-to-date with all the events in the Bert Driver Network (Nursery, Burlap Room, and the Harvester) by signing up for our Burlapper Newsletter - released every other Tuesday morning straight to your inbox!
