Opened by a group of local high school and college students in 1975 (10 years after the formation of Circuit Playhouse) this venue has developed into a fine professional theater. It features a repertory group of actors appearing primarily in major Broadway plays and musicals. Each Christmas season sees a sprightly production of Peter Pan. The location, near the Overton Square Entertainment District, makes dinner and the theater an easy evening out. Tickets for individual performances are often available on short notice.

Although founded 10 years before Playhouse on the Square, its partner theater, Circuit Playhouse puts on excellent productions of lesser known, more innovative plays than Playhouse on the Square or Theatre Memphis. The quality here reveals the depth of the acting talent in the city that produced Kathy Bates and Michael Jeeter, among others.

The Theatre Memphis is equipped with not one, but two stages. The Lohrey Stage is the larger of the two, with around 300 seats. The Next Stage is a smaller black-box space with flexible seating and no set number of seats. Theatre Memphis is a community theater, not exactly innovative or cutting edge (for fear of alienating their season ticket holders). They are best known locally for their long-running, yearly production of A Christmas Carol. Other popular shows are: (Lohrey Stage) Dracula, Cinderella, Rumors, and Bus Stop. (Next Stage) Art,Stones in His Pockets, and Godspell.

Located in an upscale suburban area on the east side of Memphis, the Germantown Community Theatre emphasises on mainstream plays and musicals popular with the predominantly affluent, family-oriented local audience. Particularly successful here are those stage adaptations of literary works read in college English classes.

This tiny theater in the entertainment area of Overton Square serves as a venue for a number of small performing arts groups. The arrangement allows these cutting-edge groups to survive without having to come up with the funding for permanent facilities, which greatly increases the variety of productions available in Memphis. Some of the groups that stage productions in Theatreworks are the Memphis Black Repertory Theatre and Voices of the South, a group specializing in plays by and about women.

People come to here for two primary reasons,which is the 270 kinds of beer and the hot fudge pie. However, you can get an excellent hamburger or choose from the selection of Creole-style dishes if you want something more substantial. The restaurants in the Pinch area occupy buildings that served as homes and shops to the immigrant population that lived here in the 1800s and early 1900s. Thus, they have a somewhat shabby, but charming, atmosphere. The restaurant's decor has earned scene settings in several of the John Grisham movies filmed in Memphis, including The Firm.

This Pinch District pub is sort of memorial to the Irish immigrants who settled in this area. Enjoy a good selection of beer in the old, dark wood interior and with Irish memorabilia on the walls. Live music on the weekends brings in a wide variety of customers, all ready to have a good time. The menu features Irish Beef Stew and Potato soup, along with juicy 1/2 pound hamburgers.

The specialties piroshki and beef stroganoff, are well prepared. Entrees such as a Chilean fish dish called Escolar and a terrine that layers polenta with wild mushrooms and feta cheese make an eclectic menu. Strudel and napoleons make lush desserts and served in large portions. More than 27 varieties of Vodka and a short wine list is also available. Murals are featured in the main dining room, with Eastern European folk arts and crafts, and samovars once used to prepare tea. There is a small outdoor patio for a pre-dinner drink. Enjoy belly dancing on Friday and Saturday nights.

This slightly grungy pub attracts patrons with its pool table and its outdoor, tree-shaded deck. Wednesday nights pull in professors and graduate students from the university, along with the usual crowd, for the Kudzu Pub Quiz, a trivia contest in which the questions get more obscure as the beer flows more freely. Regular teams compete for the pride of winning, but anyone is welcome to join in.

Located in respectable, artsy Midtown, J-Wags has been in Memphis longer than any other establishment catering to the gay population. It remains known as the best spot to see a female impersonator show. Cher, Barbara, Diana Ross - you can catch them all here and for a fraction of their Las Vegas prices. The bar is open throughout the day, unusual in this fairly conservative community, making it a great place to go if you're in jet lag and cannot sleep. Drink specials change each night. The show is performed Thursday through Saturday nights only.