Casey Stampfield: The Musical

CASEY STAMPFIELD: THE MUSICAL,  is a satirical musical about Tennessee’s “Don’t Say Gay” conservative Senator – that would be Stacey Campfield.

This show zings in large part thanks to Chadd Webb’s portrayal of Senator Campfield – in fact ,he’s so good that it might be dangerous – you want to vote for the guy just because it will be so much fun to have him around. Nothing I could say can rival seeing the dude do his thing.

Campfield is joined on stage by what I came to think of as a chorus of voters – none of whom voted for Campfield. It’s a cast of what you might call “Church Street stars.” Daniel Vincent, Steve Mogck, Memory Strong and the lovely Sarah Shepherd. This crew does a little vaudeville about one of the most ludicrous political careers on the books. Some of you may already be familiar with the Senator’s shenanigans, but for those of you who are not, this show will give you the overview.

This show is “cabaret” in the Weimar sense of the word – using performance and particularly song to satirize the scary side of politics, and the sincerely amazing Mike McFaden and his collaborators, Mark Beall and Bradley Moore, fill the evening with exactly that – lots of silly, funny, quirky songs, some using familiar tunes and some with original music by composer Beall. Some titles are THE REPUBLICAN SONG, ARE YOUR KIDS GRADES LOW and the recurring and ominous KICKED OUT motif that wafts throughout the play.

This is the latest entertainment from the Music City Theatre Company, which has planted it’s flat at VIBE, 1713 Church Street in a partnership between a company and a venue that should well serve as a model for how the theatre can evolve here in Nashville. And the show is only an hour long, so as long as you’re already there, check out the great clubs on Church Street!, from TRIBE to VIBE!

The show opened in June but will be coming back for further performances (tba) in the fall around election time.