So Many Openings, So Little Time

Posted by Bruce Miller
I’m in crazy time crunch mode this month. Practically every breathing minute is spent in a theatre, a rehearsal hall, or an administrative office. I’m directing Sanders Family Christmas for Barksdale Hanover Tavern, which means evening rehearsals Monday through Thursday, and daytime rehearsals in three-hour slots on Saturday and Sunday. When I’m not in rehearsal I’m trying to raise money, honor my community and family obligations, and/or plan for Barksdale and Theatre IV’s future.

I like all of it, so I can’t complain about what I’m doing. My complaint is about what I’m not doing—specifically, going to see the shows my friends are in. Even more specifically, I’m really upset with myself for missing Side Show at the Mill. I’m Robyn O’Neill’s biggest fan, and I let her performance (which everyone said was wonderful) slip by unseen, at least by me. (I love your work on stage too, Angie; we don’t go back as far.)

As if missing Side Show were not enough, I’m also about to miss Hamlet at Richmond Shakespeare (I really wanted to see my buddy Jeff Cole); Starting Here, Starting Now with my longtime pals Dee Lynch and Ed Polich at St. Michael’s; and The Music Man at Henrico Theatre Company, directed by brother-in-arms Joe Pabst. Shoot!

I missed young chum Elliot Lau (sounds like a Chinese dish, doesn’t it?) in that play about the Hawaiian shirts at Triangle, but I may be able to catch him in Bite Me. I’ve promised good friend Matt Hackman that I’d make it out to The Nerd at Chamberlayne Actors Theatre. God willing and the crick don’t raise, I’ll be able to honor that promise this coming weekend.

I did make it out to three must-see productions last week – one on Friday night (the annual cabaret at Trinity Episcopal School), one on Saturday night (Shadow Play at Theatre VCU), and one on Sunday afternoon (tick; tick … boom! at Stage 1).

The Trinity cabaret was a one-night affair and my daughter Hannah sang Green Finch and Linnet Bird, performing at this annual songfest for her fifth and final time. She was GREAT, and I couldn’t be more proud. Brian Phillips (who includes theatre director among his many jobs at Trinity) and Brian Rollins (music director extraordinaire) do amazing jobs every day inspiring Trinity students to love the performing arts with not just passion but also intelligence and grace. Every high school should be so lucky as to have teachers like these two.

Shadow Play was the world premiere of a bold, savvy and frequently hilarious performance piece developed over the last several years by David Leong, Gary Hopper and Leland Faulkner. It’s a mind-bending montage of shadow and light, movement and music, comedy and magic—90 or so minutes of tremendous fun. It runs through Nov 23. If you have the chance, you should really go see it.

tick, tick … boom! marks the world premiere not of a particular show, but of a theatre company itself—Chase Kniffen and Peggy Thibodeau’s remarkable Stage 1 Theatre Company. There are those who like their theatre raw and those who prefer a little professional polish. I’ve been known to enjoy both. But I say without hyperbole that tick, tick … boom! is the most impressive, professional, fully realized opening of a new theatre company that I’ve seen in Greater Richmond … ever.

Chase and Peggy have dotted all the i’s and crossed their t’s. They’ve recruited a top notch cast made up of Brett Ambler, Audra Honaker and Durron Tyre—three of the most talented musical theatre performers of their generation. Let’s just face it; Audra Honaker is a phenomenon that Richmond can barely contain.

They have hired a fantastic pit band led by the inimitable Sandy Dacus, and coaxed terrific design work out of three exemplary professionals: Mercedes Schaum (set), Sarah Grady (costumes), and Kenny Mullens (lights). Chase’s direction is first rate. Anyone who would like to see Richmond theatre grow and prosper should go see tick, tick … boom! and support this new and vibrant company.

Well, it’s time to rush off to this morning’s Coffee & Conversations. Hope to see you there. If not, hope to see you in a Richmond theatre soon!

--Bruce Miller


Photo notes: top left: Brett and Durron flying high in tick tick; mid right: Brett and Audra having fun with the green dress; bottom left: all right, it's not from Shadow Play, but rabbit hand puppets appear in Shadow Play, so it's close.

In Memoriam: Lloyd Shockley

Posted by Bruce Miller
Today, I'm afraid, is not turning out to be a good day. Within a couple of hours of hearing of the passing of Elizabeth Prevatt (see the post that follows), I’m saddened again to report the death of a key figure among Barksdale’s legendary actors, Lloyd Shockley. Tom McGranahan called our office this morning with the bad news. Apparently Lloyd's obituary appeared in the newspaper over the weekend but I missed it. We had heard that Lloyd was suffering from cancer and that the prognosis was not good. But no one expected things to progress so quickly.

Lloyd first appeared on the Barksdale Hanover Tavern stage in 1973 as the handsome new actor who starred as Jonathan Harker in Dracula and Paul Bratter in Barefoot in the Park, back to back. He performed in those early years under the name Lloyd Wayne. In ‘75 he joined Barksdale's all-star cast of That Championship Season, followed immediately by the comedy thriller, Catch Me if You Can. In ’76 he appeared in one of the funniest plays I’ve ever seen at Barksdale, My Fat Friend, and in ’77 he channeled John Barrymore in The Royal Family (see both photos).

His most famous role at Barksdale was as McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1979. I use the word "famous" because: a) Lloyd was terrific in the part (I saw him Opening Night and was blown away), and b) early in the run he broke his leg and had to be replaced with no notice by John Tayloe, a talented young actor who had recently appeared in the same role at TheatreVCU. Lloyd’s last role at Barksdale may have been the 1981 world premiere of Bad Day at Black Rock.

Since then, Lloyd has been focusing on his very successful career in marketing, representing clients from around the country, including, I’m told, Walt Disney World.

Lloyd had an edgy energy that drove audiences wild—it was a Jack Nicholson sort of thing. The last couple times I saw him, we talked about his return to the stage. He may have been humoring me, but he always seemed at least somewhat interested. It was like acting was something he looked forward to revisiting sometime after he retired.

After initially posting this memorial, I was reminded by colleagues that Lloyd's last acting gig may have been Theatre IV's production of Hamlet in the Little Theatre, sometime in the early to mid-90s. Hamlet was directed by Gary Hopper (one of Lloyd's co-stars in Bad Day at Black Rock), and starred David Bridgewater. One of the funniest Hamlet stories (and we all know what a laugh riot Hamlet can be) involves Lloyd, so I'll retell it now.

Any of you who have ever been involved in a production with either Gary Hopper or Dave Bridgewater know that these guys relish quirky creativity. Put them together and it's time to sing Katie, Bar the Door.

Lloyd was playing Claudius to Dave's Hamlet. During the rehearsal process, Dave was flipping channels one night and happened upon The Godfather Part II on TV. Dave saw the amazing scene where Al Pacino as Michael goes up to John Cazale as Fredo (Michael's brother) and delivers the "kiss of death," indicating to the world that Fredo must be killed for betraying his family. "Il bacio della morte." You can find the scene at http://www.boxxet.com/Al_Pacino/video:the-godfather-the-kiss-of-death/.

Dave thought this would be a GREAT inspiration for the scene where Hamlet kills Claudius. When he shared the idea with Gary, Gary agreed. So the two of them sat down with Lloyd. They explained to Lloyd their idea: Hamlet (Dave) would stab Claudius (Lloyd), then take the poisoned wine. Hamlet would toast the fallen (but not dead yet) Claudius, take a big swig of the wine (Hamlet knows by this time that he's been poisoned, so what's he got to lose), and then give Claudius the "kiss of death."

From all accounts, Lloyd, who was a pretty straight-forward actor, listened to their idea with this twisted, skeptical smile growing on his face, eyebrows rising higher and higher as the details emerged. The look on his face has been described to me as "priceless." Then, just as everyone thought Lloyd was going to laugh them out of the room, he snorted and said, "Well, all right. But no tongue!"

They wound up playing the scene with the "kiss of death" every night, and it never failed to elicit a gasp from the audience. Thanks to Dave for reminding me of this story.

Good ole' Lloyd. He was only in his mid-60s. He left us far too soon and will be greatly missed. May "flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

In keeping with our tradition, we will dedicate our holiday production of A Sanders Family Christmas at Hanover Tavern to his memory. And we will always honor his on-stage talent and his off-stage friendship.

Note: Both photos come from Barksdale's 1977 production of The Royal Family. The women in the top photo are Rebecca Barrows as Della and Nancy Kilgore as Julie Cavendish. Lloyd played Anthony Cavendish.

--Bruce Miller

Reacquainting Myself w/ Frankie's Meatloaf

Posted by Bruce Miller
About 15 years ago I was privileged to direct Terrence McNally’s lovely two-hander Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune in the Little Theatre at Theatre IV. It starred Irene Ziegler and John Moon, and boy were they great.

People remember it as a Theatre Gym production, but it wasn’t. It was back in the days when Theatre IV staged full fledged adult seasons of its own in the Little Theatre. Frankie and Johnny was a part of these seasons, as were our productions remembered with equal fondness: Crimes of the Heart, A Shayna Maidel, our first Shirley Valentine, Gary Hopper's Hamlet, and Stand Up Tragedy.

One of the many fun aspects of Frankie and Johnny is the cooking that happens onstage. Just as in Shirley Valentine, every night the actress playing Frankie makes a Western omelet, and the actor playing Johnny makes a meatloaf sandwich. One of my jobs was to make the meatloaf that emerged each night from the fridge and was sliced for the sandwich and devoured on-stage.

I relied on the old tried and true meatloaf recipe that my dad gave me when I went off to college. It’s quick and easy to make, it’s relatively cheap, it freezes well so you can make a large batch and save some for later, and it tastes wonderful.

Roy Proctor apparently had a Pavlovian response while watching John Moon slice the meatloaf, slather it with ketchup, slap it between two slabs of bread, and then slowly slide it down his gullet. With saliva flowing, Roy asked me for the recipe. He later ran it in the T-D using the name my father gave the entree when he first presented me with the recipe card. My father had passed several years earlier, so I let the slightly embarrassing name stand in his memory.

Miller’s Mighty Meatloaf

2.25 lbs ground beef—as lean as you can get
4 slices whole-grain bread
1 large sweet onion, minced
1 green pepper, minced
2 medium carrots, minced
2 stalks celery, minced
1 egg
½ cup 2% milk
1 can condensed tomato soup
2 tsp salt
½ tsp oregano or Italian Seasoning
¼ tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced

Cube the bread slices (the older the bread the better) and dry them for about 10 minutes in a warm oven (100°). Mince the onion, pepper, carrots and celery. Remove the bread and preheat the oven to 350°. Crush the dried bread cubes into crumbs. Mince the cloves of garlic. In a medium-large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and kneed them until they are thoroughly mixed. Lightly coat the interiors of two 5” x 9” glass loaf pans with vegetable oil spray. Press the mixed ingredients into the two pans. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Insert a knife between the sides of each loaf and the pan. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove each loaf using two pancake turners, and place the loaves on paper towels to drain. Each loaf serves 4 hearty appetites, and can be cut in half and frozen if desired.

Now that times are lean again and Barksdale is facing some significant recession-driven cutbacks (including my salary), I pulled out the old recipe card today and whipped up a pair of meatloaves for the two omnivores in my family. At least it made me feel like I was being proactive. We're eating half a loaf tonight and freezing the other three halves for later. At a cost of about $1.25 per hearty serving, it’s still a great deal.

And now when I cook it and eat it, I remember not only my dad but also that delicious production of Frankie and Johnny. Meatloaf by the light of the moon. What could be better?

--Bruce Miller