2023-24 seaason

Knot Awards Banquet Celebrates 55th Season in Style

June 30, 2024

2024 Pull-Tight Players Knot Awards Banquet

The theme was black and white, but the talent and dedication on hand the evening of June 29, 2024 in Franklin spanned the spectrum. Pull-Tight Players celebrated the end of our 55th season with awards, songs, laughs and cheers. Longtime artist members and banquet committee co-chairs J.T. Landry and Mark Buchanan gave us a night to remember, opening the evening’s festivities with an appropriately rewritten version of “Welcome to the Renaissance” from our 56th season opener, Something Rotten!

Knot Awards Banquet committee co-chairs Mark Buchanan and J.T. Landry

Board of Directors President Johnny Peppers then offered remarks that brought attention to the team spirit of Pull-Tight Players. He noted the many unseen and unrecognized volunteer activities that keep our organization running year after year. Johnny also thanked our outgoing board members Jennifer Bennett, Leslie Berra, and Wade Woodruff; and welcomed our incoming members Mark Buchanan, Jeanne Drone, and Joey Echeverria.

And speaking of Something Rotten!, the awards ceremony included a decidedly un-rotten preview of the musical that featured its two lead cast members. Pull-Tight newcomers Caylin Maguire (Bea) and Aaron Gray (Nick Bottom) performed “Right-Hand Man” from the show.

Following is the complete list of our 2024 Knot Award winners.

Show Awards

Guys and Dolls

Congeniality – Meredith Seymour
Techie – Bre Hall, Choreographer

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Congeniality – Phil Fitzgerald
Techie – Tim Massey, Set Chief

A Tuna Christmas

Congeniality – Bryan Kratoska
Techie – Tim Massey, Set Designer & Set Chief; Clay Walker, Costume Designer

Home, I’m Darling

Congeniality – Bryan Kratoska
Techie – Carmela Hofstee, Stage Manager

A Fox on the Fairway

Congeniality – Jon Kieffner
Techie – Dan Linney, Set Designer & Set Chief; Jim Hofstee, Set Crew

She Loves Me

Congeniality – Meredith Seymour
Techie – Steve Mook, Set Designer & Set Chief

Acting Awards

Best Lead Actress – Abby Newman as Amalia Balash, She Loves Me
Best Lead Actor – Chad Stem as Thurston Wheelis et al., A Tuna Christmas
Best Supporting Actress – Sydney Hooper as Ilona Ritter, She Loves Me
Best Supporting Actor – Chad Stem as Ladislav Sipos, She Loves Me
Best Featured Actress – Debbie Kraski as Sylvia, Home, I’m Darling
Best Featured Actor – Will Kleiner as Arpad Laszlo, She Loves Me
Best Ensemble Actress – Isabel Behr as Ensemble, She Loves Me
Best Ensemble Actor – Elijah Bell as Busboy/Ensemble, She Loves Me

Board of Directors Awards

Newcomer of the Year – Bryan Kratoska
Jim Highfill Techie of the Year – Steve Mook
Behind the Scenes – Meredith Seymour
Howard Tellis Friends of the Year – Gene and Marnie Cotton
Cam Davis Spirit Award – Bre Hall

Artist Member Awards

Player of the Year – Steve Mook
Hall of Fame – Carmela Hofstee

Board of Directors President Johnny Peppers

Pull-Tight’s 55th Knot Awards Banquet Set for June 29

June 3, 2024

Saturday, June 29
Franklin Elks Lodge
485 Oak Meadow Drive
Franklin, TN 37064

Cocktail hour: 6 p.m.
Dinner: 7 p.m.

We will celebrate a memorable 55th season in style with cocktails, dinner, and awards to recognize Pull-Tight’s sensational shows, spectacular performances, and significant contributions from our artist membership. You may even see a musical taste of our upcoming 56th season. It’s an evening you won’t want to miss.

Recalling Truman Capote’s infamous 1966 Black and White Ball, our event space will be decked out in hues of black and white. We ask attendees to reflect the theme with their most festive and stylish ensembles.

Awards for acting, congeniality and technical achievements will be presented, as well as awards for Player of the Year, Hall of Fame and more.

Tickets include a catered dinner from Chef Kevin Livingston, the Pop-Up Chef. A cash bar will be available for spirited beverages.

President’s Blog – January 2024

January 12, 2024

Happy New Year to our season ticket holders, patrons, government partners, corporate partners, and volunteers!

Johnny Peppers, president of the Pull-Tight Players board of directors

What an amazing end to 2023 at the theater. So many great things have been happening over the last few months. We sold out our second show of the season, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, directed by Greg Grimsley, and our Christmastime offering, A Tuna Christmas, directed by Cindy Davis Massey. These two shows couldn’t be more different from each other, and that is one of the best parts of Pull-Tight’s seasonal offerings. You are almost guaranteed to see many different things over the course of a season. The Board of Directors is hard at work finalizing the titles for our 2024-2025 season. Look for that announcement in the coming months.

Next is Home, I’m Darling, directed by Pat Street. This play by British playwright Laura Wade won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2019. It is a real treat to bring new art to the community of Franklin, whether it is born a few miles away or across the pond. I hope you plan to catch this one – tickets go on sale on January 22.

Our Youth Actors Guild and Jr. Youth Actors Guild are preparing for auditions for We Will Rock You, School Edition, to be performed at Freedom Middle School in May. Do you know someone ages 6 to 18 who would like to participate in a musical? Check out the audition page for more information and a link to the sign-up form. Do you know a youth who would like to work with a mentor behind the scenes to learn lighting, sound, crew, or stage management? Email the directors, Leslie Berra or Hollie Osteen to learn about these opportunities.

We saw such growth throughout 2023 in volunteer involvement and personal and corporate giving. It amazes me when I look back at the two hundred volunteers who worked on shows on and off stage, the many hundreds of people who have donated to Pull-Tight in the last year, the thousands of people who enjoyed a performance, and the tens of thousands of memories our community created.

We hope you will join us in 2024 by seeing a show, volunteering for the organization in some way, showing your support with a financial donation, or finding a way to share our love for the arts and the City of Franklin, in which we thrive.

Thank you,
Johnny Peppers
Pull-Tight Board of Directors President

Pull-Tight Announces Cast for Southeastern Premiere of ‘Home, I’m Darling’

December 5, 2023

Director Pat Street has chosen the actors and actresses who will bring to life Laura Wade’s award-winning Home, I’m Darling on the Pull-Tight Theatre stage. This British comedic drama will have its Southeastern U.S. premiere when it opens Feb. 2.

“We had a great turnout for auditions and have ended up with a thrillingly talented cast,” said the director. “This is definitely an ensemble show, with characters who go through a full range of emotions, and a little jitterbugging thrown in for good measure. Every actor truly has to stretch and carry their weight, and we have the exact right group to do that. Can’t wait to get started!”

The cast is as follows:

Judy	Chelsea Craig
Johnny	Bryan Kratoska
Fran	Jennifer Bennett
Sylvia	Debbie Kraski
Alex	Erin Knight
Marcus	John Scamardella

The show will run through Feb. 17. Tickets will go on sale Jan. 22.

Home, I’m Darling is presented by arrangement with Knight Hall Agency Ltd.

Two Actors Cast for December’s ‘A Tuna Christmas’

October 18, 2023

Director Cindy Davis Massey is “over the moon” to announce the two actors who will be broadcasting 12 times from radio station OKKK in the third-smallest town in Texas. A Tuna Christmas will debut Dec. 1, with tickets going on sale Nov. 20.

“We had an outstanding turnout and could have cast the show at least three different ways,” said Massey. “This politically incorrect satire is sure to have audiences rolling in the floor.”

Bowd Beal will appear as Arles Struvie. He is a veteran Nashville actor who has played Thurston Wheelis in both A Tuna Christmas and Red, White and Tuna. As with his underwear, Beal was looking for a change.

Chad Stem will appear as Thurston Wheelis. He is a Nashville native and former teacher, but just like Bertha Bumiller, those kids drove him crazy. He holds two master’s degrees in theatre. Stem was last seen in The Crucible, produced by Elite Studio Works at the Darkhorse Theatre, but witchcraft in Salem can’t top the shenanigans in Tuna, Texas.

Together, Beal and Stem will portray more than 20 characters from the town of Tuna. This is both actors’ first appearance on the Pull-Tight stage.

A Tuna Christmas is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.

Knot Awards Banquet Celebrates 55th Season in Style

Show Awards

Acting Awards

Board of Directors Awards

Artist Member Awards

Pull-Tight’s 55th Knot Awards Banquet Set for June 29

Saturday, June 29
Franklin Elks Lodge
485 Oak Meadow Drive
Franklin, TN 37064

Cocktail hour: 6 p.m.
Dinner: 7 p.m.

President’s Blog – January 2024

Pull-Tight Announces Cast for Southeastern Premiere of ‘Home, I’m Darling’

Two Actors Cast for December’s ‘A Tuna Christmas’

Contact Us

Get a peek behind the curtain!

Find us in Downtown Franklin, Tenn.

Show Awards

Acting Awards

Board of Directors Awards

Artist Member Awards

Saturday, June 29Franklin Elks Lodge485 Oak Meadow DriveFranklin, TN 37064

Cocktail hour: 6 p.m.Dinner: 7 p.m.

Contact Us

Get a peek behind the curtain!

Connect with us

Find us in Downtown Franklin, Tenn.

Saturday, June 29
Franklin Elks Lodge
485 Oak Meadow Drive
Franklin, TN 37064

Cocktail hour: 6 p.m.
Dinner: 7 p.m.