Best Dance Club: The Connection My criteria for a good dance club are as follows: 1) The club must have good music; 2) There must be a lot of people at the club, as I cannot dance and the more people on the dance floor, the less likely I am to stick out; and 3) I don't want to talk to sleazy men. Connection satisfies all my requirements; it's an extremely popular gay club that plays your basic techno and remix music. When you tire of dancing, wander on over to the karaoke room or drag show. They even have a country bar popular with the over-30 crowd and the people who want to slow-dance (something not very possible with techno). Saturday is the big night at Connection—it can get pretty dead the rest of the week. Claire Suddath
Best Theatrical Production: The Trojan Women When a theater group steps out onto a perilous ledge, it behooves us to pay attention, especially when the final product points us in a new direction. Bill Feehely oversaw Actors Bridge Ensemble's Middle Eastern-inspired adaptation of the Euripides classic, cast it with strong females such as Wesley Paine, Jenny Littleton and Vali Forrister, then set the bitter wailing and gnashing of teeth into the environs of an old, dilapidated brick structure that used to serve as a machine shop at the Neuhoff site. There was cool choral singing and an earnestly edgy ambience of violence and sadness that helped proclaim the message loud and clear: war is hell. Martin Brady
Best Drag Queen: Bianca Paige/Rita Ross (tie) Nashville drag, for decades now, has revolved around titans Rita Ross and Bianca Paige. When Ross announced earlier this summer that she would be taking some time off, the burden of supreme style thus fell to Paige, a dynamic performer (Torch Song Trilogy) and social activist whose demeanor and unflappable skill with filth and flash have been delighting audiences for years. While we actively await the return of La Ross, Ms. Page "The Pantomine Rage" is, for the time being, the epitome of Nashville drag at its finest. Jason Shawhan
Best Original Play: Ghostlight Mockingbird Theatre's final production of the year—and maybe its last ever—was this well-crafted look at human behavior via a trio of theater artists caught unawares at rehearsal. The play served as company co-founder David Alford's elegiac commentary on how art imitates life—or was it the other way around? It also provided him with a podium to showcase his own strong acting skills. Jeremy Childs' quirky Palisades, produced by BroadAxe Theatre, was a more adventuresome original script, but where its ambitious structure teetered in Act 2, Ghostlight's long-one-act framework held up admirably. Martin Brady
Best Actor: Mark Cabus Tennessee Repertory Theatre's revelatory production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? served as the highwater mark of former producing director David Grapes' five-year Rep career. Grapes' keenest directorial effort benefited from a fine ensemble, but in particular it was Cabus who forcefully marched us through Albee's devastatingly murky profile of love and marriage. A close first-runner-up is Bill Feehely, for his one-man performance in Actors Bridge's A Night in November. Martin Brady
Best Director: Jeffrey Ullom If the directing art is about creativity, vision and communication, then Vanderbilt assistant professor Ullom trumped his local directorial colleagues with his student version of Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Ullom's innovative use of space, his daring, contemporary adaptive flourishes, and his youthful, energy-plus cast combined for a thrilling production that was a lot hipper and smarter than anyone had a right to expect. Martin Brady
Best Musical Production: Ain't Misbehavin' Five smoothly gifted actor-singers, a tight jazzy combo and an icy cool Gary Hoff set made Tennessee Repertory Theatre's tribute to Fats Waller the slickest locally produced musical of the past year. It was also the final directorial contribution of outgoing Rep executive David Grapes, who exited his sometimes stormy tenure with a definite bang. Martin Brady
Best Place to Get Over a Break-up: Lonnie's Karaoke When it's been determined that your sweet love of a boy/girlfriend has indeed transformed into something more akin to a common ground squirrel, it's without a doubt time to call it quits. True friends will sit there and listen to you moan; even truer friends will sit there and listen as you belt out "I Hate Myself for Loving You" while onstage at Lonnie's Karaoke in Printer's Alley. Maybe it's the buckets of beer, maybe it's the sign on the wall that says, "Absolutely no slow songs after 10 pm," but Lonnie's is the place to go when you've got to get right again. Somehow, amid the dim glow of poor lighting and the smell of stale cigarette smoke, the heartache ends and you once again believe in the power of your own voice. Now whether that voice is tolerable or only mildly unbearable isn't really the issue, for God bless that wait staff's heart, they don't think twice when it's well past midnight and you've yet to dedicate "There's No Getting Over Me" to the one you used to love. At Lonnie's, all the world's a stage and everyone's a star. Lacey Galbraith
Best Hope for Local Filmmaking: Belcourt Theatre No, this won't be another of those "Nashville filmmaking is about to explode!" false alarms. At this point, like a major-label Music City pop breakthrough or a championship Commodores season, that should only be reported after the fact rather than prognosticated. But this much is true: at least a half-dozen locally produced indie features have made their premieres at the Belcourt over the past year, and to a film they've packed the house—often more than once, as with the comedy Rush Night and the thrillers The Bell Witch Haunting and Blind (which actually got a home-video release from the Ardustry imprint). Between the friendly hometown audiences—too friendly, in some ways, but that's another story—and the psychological effect of seeing one's work projected on the big screen, the boost in morale can only encourage others to follow. (It would be nice to see Steve Taylor's upcoming film project with Michael W. Smith and Jeff Obafemi Carr at the Belcourt once it's finished, just because we've seen him so many times in the audience.) Maybe it's just that local indie filmmakers now have a venue for their movies. But factor in the stronger-than-ever Nashville Film Festival, the Watkins Film School, the 48 Hour Film Project, the most admired state film commissioner in a long time in David Bennett, and the grassroots organization Film Nashville, and you find undeniable signs of life. Hope springs eternal, anyway. Jim Ridley
Best Actor in a Musical: Jonathan Tatus Overall, the Chaffin's Barn production of Cabaret lacked for impact. But that didn't stop Tatus from squeezing lots of decadent glee out of the choice role of emcee at Berlin's notorious Kit Kat Klub. Singing with a kind of joyful malevolence, Tatus, along with a chorus of uninhibited, scantily clad chorus girls, managed to salvage the true spirit of the infamous Kander/Ebb musical. Martin Brady
Best Eclectic Bar Crowd: The Gold Rush Only at the Gold Rush can you see hipsters, bikers, black folks, white folks, nicely dressed people, sloppy looking drunks, first dates and never-dateds all having a beer in the same space. Or maybe they're drinking something stiffer. But the point is, everybody's under one roof at the Gold Rush, where the bartender treats you nice and the darkness makes you look better. The room on the right has a romantic feel, but good luck hearing your date over the squawkers at the bar. The middle room's for pool shooters, Golden Tee players and people who generally don't mind getting run over by waitresses and passers-through. Belly up to the bar in the room on the left, or gather around a table with friends—it don't matter—because the Gold Rush takes all kinds. See you there. Liz Murray Garrigan
Best New Theater Company: GroundWorks For years, Bob and Sean O'Connell were well-established contributors to the ACT I community theater company. Now they have founded this progressive project of their own, with sincere plans to expand horizons into the professional realm. Their inaugural production, Tape, was edgy, contemporary and highly entertaining, and the remainder of the forthcoming first season promises more of the same. The fledgling Rhubarb Theatre Company also debuted this past year with a thought-provoking mounting of Joe Pintauro's Birds in Church. Martin Brady
Best Place for a Cheap Date: Percy Priest Lake and Sarratt Cinema If the weather is nice, nothing can beat Percy Priest Lake. For one, your date has to wear a bathing suit. Two, you get to jump off big rocks into cold water. Test your bravery by daring yourself to jump off the highest cliff—over 30 feet—and the surrounding shrubbery that obscures your vision, causing you to hope and pray that you cleared the jump. If you don't want to get your adrenaline pumping, stick to the lower cliffs. You and your date can hold hands and jump the lower ones together. Climb out of the water, dry off with a towel and open the picnic basket for some sliced watermelon. The picnic area has outdoor grills, so bring some hamburgers and hot dogs and have a nice outdoor lunch. Then climb back into the water—after waiting 30 minutes, of course—for a second round of swimming. If it's too cold to swim, Vanderbilt's Sarratt Cinema will provide you with an intimate movie theater experience for just a few dollars. Sarratt Cinema shows a little bit of everything—independent and foreign films, current blockbusters, student projects and vintage classics. Sarratt only shows one movie at a time, so you'll want to check their schedule before you go. Ticket prices will make you think you're back in the 1950s and concessions are only $1. The theatre is usually pretty empty, so you'll have plenty of privacy if you want to sneak a kiss or two. Or 12. Claire Suddath
Best Jukebox: Springwater A good jukebox is a journey, a means of spanning different spheres of experience with groove, melody, and other forms of social lubrication. There are several good jukeboxes throughout the city, but nothing quite approaches the gleeful, insane variety of that at the Springwater. A recent visit hopped from De La Soul's "Jenifa (Taught Me)" to Radiohead's "Let Down" to Cat Stevens' "The Wind" to The Flaming Lips' "What Is The Light," with some Mattoid thrown in for spice. The crowd's laissez-faire approach to entertainment is a blessing; you never know what kind of musical journey you're in for. Jason Shawhan
Best New Crop of Young Actors: Amanda Bailey, J. P. McNeely, Haas Regen, Jennifer Richmond, Marlon Styles, William D. Taylor, Leslie Wallace These folks kept turning up on Nashville's smaller and university stages during the past year, all of them doing notable work spanning the diversity of Shakespeare, Brecht, Elaine May, the Marquis de Sade and lesser-known playwrights. Some of the group have been previously seen in local films as well, but their increased presence in live dramas points the way toward a hopeful future local theater scene. Martin Brady
Best Radio Station: Tie between WRVU and WPLN If Vanderbilt's WRVU (91.1 FM) and WPLN (90.3 FM—NPR's Nashville affiliate) had a love child, the offspring station would satisfy all radio needs throughout the land. What WPLN lacks in musical variety (Chopin is great, but even classical music can't fulfill all your musical desires) WRVU makes up in eclecticism. On any given day, Vanderbilt's radio station broadcasts a mixture of techno, jam band, indie, emo, Industrial/EBM, classical, doo-wop, reggae, south-Asian, jazz and new wave music sure to blow your mind. Nearly all of the WRVU DJs are unprofessional college students, but their short talk breaks and lack of commercials counterbalance any mistakes they might make. But when it comes to news and talk radio, WPLN reigns king. Fresh Air, All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation provide listeners with fuller versions of headline news stories and obscure pieces that fall through the cracks at other radio media outlets. WPLN also covers interesting local stories, such as the recent piece on a Goodlettsville man who received a Bronze Star and five other medals 60 years after his heroic actions in World War II. Between WRVU and WPLN, you'll never have to listen to another Britney Spears song again. Claire Suddath
Best Progressive Arts Program: Great Performances If Nashville has a weak link in the artistic chain of events, it's the dance scene. Thankfully, Vanderbilt University provides this fine series, which fills a critical need by booking modern dance troupes like Joe Goode Performance Group, Brian Brooks Moving Company and Compagnie Marie Chouinard, to name a few recent notables. Great Performances also bridges the gap in other important areas, presenting musical and theatrical artists whose forward-thinking work might never otherwise receive local exposure. Martin Brady
Best Local Actress: Holly Allen Allen had a busy year as an emerging leading lady, but her very best effort, in the People's Branch Theatre production of C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, was a tour de force that well displayed her gifts for elegance and artfulness. Honorable mentions go to Kelly Allen in Boiler Room Theatre's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Misty Lewis in A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas at Nashville Children's Theatre, Pam Wild in the Rep's Virginia Woolf, Evelyn Blythe in the Rep's Diary of Anne Frank, and Wesley Paine in Trojan Women. Martin Brady
