OPERA, DANCE, THEATERby Martin Brady Iolanthe, presented by Nashville Opera, Feb. 3-11 in TPAC’s Polk Theater African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Jan. 27-April 30 at Frist Center for the Visual Arts For all its success with serious high opera, Nashville Opera Association has also exhibited a happy affinity for the lighter works of the repertoire. The company continues its 25th anniversary season with this slightly less familiar Gilbert & Sullivan operetta with a fairyland setting, rousing melodies, clever lyrics and political satire. Under the direction of Roger Stephens, dean of UT-Knoxville’s School of Music, the cast includes Kirsten Gunlogson, Julie Cox, Melissa Parks and Mark Whatley, with Gary Aldrich performing the tongue-twisting “Lord Chancellor’s Nightmare Song.” The Nashville Symphony Orchestra accompanies, under the baton of Maestro William Boggs. In conjunction with the performance, the Opera will host its first-ever Little Fairy Contest for youngsters ages 6 to 10, with the winner appearing on-stage during Act 1. Contestants may register at www.nashvilleopera.org or by visiting the Nashville Opera Center at 3628 Trousdale Drive, Suite D, during normal business hours. Call 255-ARTS for ticket information. Anything Goes, presented by Boiler Room Theatre, Jan. 27-Feb. 25 at The Factory at Franklin First produced in 1934, Cole Porter’s classic musical comedy has been revised and revived through the years, with its 1987 Lincoln Center mounting going a long way toward re-introducing its kitschy charms to modern American theatergoers. High society, romantic entanglements and a benign kind of skulduggery converge on a London-bound ocean liner, while a cast of comic-minded players belts out some of Porter’s greatest tunes, including “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “You’re The Top,” “Friendship,” “It’s De-Lovely” and the effervescent title tune. The show’s fun-filled, over-the-top performance requirements should lend itself to a fine production. Lewis Kempfer directs, and Jamey Green provides the musical direction of a seven-piece instrumental ensemble. Erin Parker returns to the BRT stage as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney. For tickets, phone 794-7744. Recent Tragic Events, presented by Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Jan. 26-Feb. 18 in TPAC’s Johnson Theater On the surface a play that connects viewers to the tragedies of 9/11, Craig Wright’s oddball comedy is set in Minneapolis and revolves around an unlikely blind date. Romance is on the table for discussion but, most tellingly, so is chance and the role it plays in our lives. Meanwhile, spaced-out supporting characters invade the scene, their humorous contributions inevitably trumped by the appearance of prolific world-class writer Joyce Carol Oates—in the guise of a sock puppet. The Rep’s production of this Nashville premiere is directed by associate artistic director René Copeland and features a youthful but experienced cast, including Anitra Brumagen, Jenny Littleton, Pete Vann and David Wilkerson. Call 255-ARTS for more ticket information. Mother Courage and Her Children, presented by People’s Branch Theatre, March 9-18 at the Belcourt Theatre In what is probably its most ambitious undertaking ever, the experimentally driven People’s Branch Theatre offers Bertolt Brecht’s epic drama, which nominally concerns the fortunes of war but gained historic stature from the playwright’s original “expressionistic non-realism” style. Brecht breaks theatrical convention to tell a profoundly sympathetic story while reminding an amused and sometimes outraged audience that they’re in fact observing a live performance. Jeffrey Frace, who directed PBT’s successful version of 1984 earlier this season, returns to oversee the company’s inventive uses of movement, multi-media and music in search of a three-dimensional work of art. The larger-than-usual PBT cast features Brenda Sparks, Denice Hicks, Matthew Carlton, Brian Webb-Russell, Brandon Boyd, Josh Childs and Tia Shearer. Call 254-0008 for ticket information.  The Firebird and The Rite of Spring, presented by Nashville Ballet, Feb. 17-19 in TPAC’s Polk Theater This exhibit brings together painters representing each of Tennessee’s three Grand Divisions: Memphian Pinkney Herbert, Nashville’s Carol Mode and Whitney Leland from the faculty of UT Knoxville. All three paint in classic abstract styles, but, as the title suggests, these artists produce distinct bodies of work—as a start, they work from different definitions of what constitutes abstraction and how to use it. Leland resides in a purely abstract realm, while there is a greater referentiality in Pinkney’s evocations of fire and water and Mode’s meditations on medical and physiological qualities of sight. Nashville Ballet’s first effort of 2006 is a celebration of the landmark achievements of composer Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). The Russian’s early 20th century masterpieces were written at the height of his youthful powers, and achieved world renown when staged by the noted dance and music impresario Sergei Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes. The Firebird (1910), choreographed here by ballet artistic director Paul Vasterling, is marked by passionate music that relates the tale of a mystical otherwordly creature who arrives to teach humanity about love. The Rite of Spring is Stravinsky’s most notorious orchestral work, its dramatic rhythms and daring atonalities—not to mention dark and erotic themes—having caused a near-riot at its 1913 debut. This rendition of the work features the choreography of the late Salvatore Aiello, and is guaranteed to present the company with a stiff artistic and physical challenge. Due to mature content, this program is not recommended for younger audiences. Call 255-ARTS for ticket information. The Underpants, presented by Actors Bridge Ensemble, Feb. 17-25 at Darkhorse Theater  Steadily gaining credence as a writer—with works like Shopgirl and Picasso at the Lapine Agile—comedian/actor Steve Martin is the brains behind this adaptation of Carl Sternheim’s 1910 German farce. Politically incorrect stereotypes invoke the humor in a story concerning what happens after the wife of a boorish bureaucrat unwittingly drops her panties in front of the king. Relying as much on slapstick as on character and wordplay, Martin’s update has been mounted by many regional theatrical companies. Don Griffiths directs the Nashville premiere with a veteran cast that includes Matthew Carlton, Holly Allen, Rachel Agee and Josh Childs. Call 228-4970 for tickets. Also Worth Noting Theater Hairspray, campy musical following the travails of 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big dreams, as she tries to secure a spot on a TV dance show, presented by TPAC’s Broadway Series, Jan. 17-22 in Jackson Hall. Tuesdays With Morrie, the story of a career-obsessed journalist’s life-changing friendship with a dying mentor, based on Mitch Albom’s best-selling memoir, Feb. 14-19 in TPAC’s Jackson Hall. Spoon River Anthology, Edgar Lee Masters’ 1915 collection of poems spoken by the deceased residents of rural Spoon River, Ill., presented by the Artists’ Cooperative Theater, Jan. 20-28 at Darkhorse Theater. Talley’s Folly, a tale of love between an accountant and a small-town spinster who struggle to overcome their pasts on a summer evening in 1944, presented by the Artists’ Cooperative Theater, March 3-11 at Darkhorse Theater. Oleanna, a female university student accuses her professor of sexual harassment, presented by the Tennessee Repertory Theater, March 2-4, 9-11, 16-18 and 23-25 in TPAC’s Johnson Theater. Blackbird, the harsh tale of downtrodden Lower East Side lovers clinging to each other and their sanity, presented by Groundworks Theatre, Feb. 3-11 at Darkhorse Theater. The Trials and Tribulations of Staggerlee Booker T. Brown, a Faustian riff about a minister who sells his soul for another chance at youthful debauchery, presented by Sista Style, March 17-25 at Darkhorse Theater. A Woman Called Truth, the story of Sojourner Truth, runaway slave, abolitionist and advocate for women’s suffrage, presented by the Nashville Children’s Theater, Jan. 31-Feb. 19 at NCT’s Hill Theatre. The Wind in the Willows, based on the classic book by Kenneth Grahame with music by Gilbert and Sullivan, presented by the Nashville Children’s Theatre, March 7-April 9 at NCT’s Hill Theatre. Minton Sparks & Friends at TPAC: Voices of Today, a series of performances by writer, poet and storyteller Minton Sparks with revolving guest stars including Ami Mattison, John Jackson and Rodney Crowell. Four unique performances between January and April. Call TPAC or visit www.tpac.org for more information. The Exonerated, presented by the Actors’ Gang as part of Great Performances at Vanderbilt, examines capital punishment and the justice system, Jan. 31 at Langford Auditorium. Mr. Greenjeans (My Misinterpretation of Kobo Abe’s The Green Stockings and What I Thought the Incredible Hulk #130 Would Be About When I Saw The Cover), a work by local playwright Nate Eppler, Jan. 17-18 and 23-25 at Bongo After Hours Theater. Dance Richard Alston Dance, hailed as the finest modern dance company in the U.K., performs Jan. 24 in Langford Auditorium, part of the Great Performances at Vanderbilt series. DanceBrazil, masters of the Brazilian martial art Capoeira exhibit powerful dance moves and jaw-dropping athleticism, Feb. 23 at Langford Auditorium, part of the Great Performances at Vanderbilt series. Phoenix Dance Theatre, a British group of 10 dancers, presents motifs ranging from pop culture to classical art to current events, April 13 at Langford Auditorium, part of the Great Performances at Vanderbilt series.