, JT Harding (music and lyrics) and Peter Zinn (book) tell the story of two brothers chasing fame in Nashville and the struggles that come with that dream.<\/span><\/p>\nThe show draws us into The Wicked Tickle, a Nashville dive bar. Scenic designer Clifton Chadwick captures the essence of a saloon where hopeful musicians chase their dreams of breaking into the city\u2019s music scene. The audience sits at tables as scenes unfold around them, creating an immersive atmosphere. Even in the bustle of a crowded bar, sound designer Jane Shaw ensures that every line is heard clearly.<\/span><\/p>\nIt is open mic night, and two brothers, Drew and TJ, take the stage. They pull us into the world of country music, demanding to know, \u201cWhere\u2019s my party people?\u201d Jonathan Judge-Russo plays Drew, while Stephen Michael Spenser brings warmth and energy to TJ, the younger brother. Together, their strong voices ring out as they portray songwriting siblings united by a shared dream of fame and sold-out stadiums. Despite their frequent arguments. Judge-Russo and Spenser make the brothers feel fully alive.<\/span><\/p>\nAs the brothers perform, agent Leanne (Leenya Rideout) takes notice. She thinks they can write songs to revive the career of aging megastar Stucky Stiles (Andrew Rothenberg). To raise the $2,000 needed for a demo, the brothers agree to make deliveries for local drug dealer Bakerman (also Rothenberg), who exploits broken dreams by selling meth. A mysterious singer named 23 then enters the story. Lauren Lolo Pritchard, known for Broadway\u2019s <\/span>Spring Awakening<\/span><\/i> and the film <\/span>Romance in the Digital Age<\/span><\/i>, gives 23 a striking presence, and TJ quickly falls for her. Her mother, Tammy (also Rideout), is one of the addicts receiving Bakerman\u2019s deliveries. Tammy once dreamed of the fame of a country singer, but the industry defeated her. Rideout moves smoothly between the polished agent and the struggling addict, making each character distinct, while Rothenberg clearly separates the menacing Bakerman from the whiskey-voiced crooner Stucky. With broken dreams, music-industry betrayal, military service, and addiction, the plot has all the makings of a country song. Yet the songs fit naturally into the story and carry the drama forward.<\/span><\/p>\nThe cast plays guitars and other instruments, backed by a band that drives the score. Julianne B. Merrill serves as music director and plays keys, with Drew Bastian on drums, Ann Klein on lead guitar, and Tony Tino anchoring the group on bass. Together, the musicians give the show a steady, vibrant sound, allowing the music and story to blend seamlessly.<\/span><\/p>\nZinn\u2019s book is never overshadowed by the action, thanks largely to how naturally Harding\u2019s songs flow through the story. Their joy and heartbreak move the plot forward while leaving space for the characters\u2019 histories and struggles to unfold. As a result, the audience becomes invested in their pursuit of fame. <\/span>Music City: A New Musical<\/span><\/i> rises above the typical jukebox musical. The two-and-a-half-hour running time, including a fifteen-minute intermission, feels well spent.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source theknockturnal.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"7 Emily Dickinson warned that \u201cFame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate.\u201d Yet every year, aspiring artists flock to Nashville in pursuit of it. In Music City: A New Musical, JT Harding (music and lyrics) and Peter Zinn (book) tell the story of two brothers chasing fame in Nashville and the struggles that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2476358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[436273,487326,383632,487327,456040],"class_list":["post-2476357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-live-theater","tag-music-city-a-new-musical","tag-off-broadway","tag-st-lukes-theater","tag-theater-review"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Music-City-A-New-Musical-Brings-Nashville-to-St-Lukes.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2476357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2476359,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476357\/revisions\/2476359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2476358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2476357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2476357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}