Applause for Those Who Didn't Win

Posted by Bruce Miller
I loved the Artsies as much as the next theatre-nut, probably more. I think everyone who won was super-deserving and I offer my hardiest and most heartfelt congratulations.

I especially congratulate the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle for putting so much time, effort and love into this endeavor. It’s a great way to celebrate the diversity of talent and effort in the Greater Richmond theatre scene. And it was a heck of a party.

I’m proud that Theatre IV donated the magnificent Empire for the event, and doubly proud of our staff who made this historic albeit rundown facility twinkle and shimmer and buzz.

In addition to the deserving winners announced Sunday evening, I like to offer my appreciation to some other theatre artists, some nominated and some not.

All the winners who won on Sunday evening and are mentioned below deserved to win. I mean to take nothing away from their wonderful achievements.

Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Design
Joe Doran is fantastic (and a good friend and a heck of a nice person). So is Lynne Hartman. She was nominated for The Clean House, but she could just as easily have been nominated for Children of a Lesser God, Thoroughly Modern Millie or any one of several other shows. I love and will always be inspired by her exemplary work.

Outstanding Achievement in Set Design
Ron Keller is an uber-talent (aagfaahoanp – see above). With significantly smaller budgets, the other nominees also did amazing work. Let me single out one who deserves lots of praise. Lin Heath. Show after show, year after year, Lin quietly creates wonderful sets at Chamberlayne Actors Theatre with tiny budgets and no paid staff. His set for All My Sons was an intimate valentine to post-WWII America that worked in beautiful counterpoint to the betrayals revealed in the play. Lin is an under-recognized (but not under-appreciated) artist. He amazes me.

But let’s leave the Lynne/Lin’s, and move on to the Ali/Aly’s.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Musical
Ali Thibodeau is a singing / dancing / acting dream, and she was incredibly wonderful in Millie. Aly Wepplo is also young, beautiful and talented. I know I have no objectivity about Ms Wepplo, since I directed the show I’m about to mention. Nonetheless, I thought Aly Wepplo was fantastic in Sanders Family Christmas. Her performance and the show received no nominations, but I loved watching the amazing connections she and the rest of the cast made with the audience night after night.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Play
Marta Rainer absolutely blew me away in Rabbit Hole and I've been wooing her for Barksdale ever since. Jan Guarino also blew me away in The Clean House. Jan has been so beloved by the Richmond audience for so long that it’s easy to take for granted how incredibly talented she is. She is a cornerstone of our theatre community, as is the un-nominated Kelly Kennedy. So I just want to tell both Jan and Kelly that I love their work.

Best Actress in a Leading Role – Musical
Audra Honaker is a force of nature and everyone knows how much I love her. People make fun over how highly I think of Ms. H. I think this year, Maggie Marlin also deserves great acclaim. Maggie carried Thoroughly Modern Millie on her capable shoulders. Her co-stars all were award-winners, and her show won Best Musical, but it was Maggie who WAS Thoroughly Modern Millie, and triple-threated her way into the hearts of the Richmond audience. I hope Maggie knows that our award-sweeping musical would have been nothing without her amazing, heartfelt star turn.

Ford Flannagan and Landon Nagel. I thought they were both incredible in The Widow’s Blind Date at the Firehouse. And I thought Ford also was excellent in Normal at Stage 1 (along with Dave Amadee). I thought Landon, Erica Siegel, Richie Gregory and the not-nominated Michelle Schaefer were all terrific in Children of a Lesser God. And in Children’s Letters to God, I thought the ensemble of kids was completely winning—even if they didn’t win on Sunday.

And as for that other ensemble of Joy Williams, James Bynum and Garet Chester--those three pulled off two hit runs in two different facilities, thrilling thousands.

Best Musical
Of course, I’m thrilled that Millie won. I completely agree. And now I’m going to be so bold as to mention the fact that Barksdale produced a very worthy World Premiere musical last season—Mona’s Arrangements by Bo Wilson and Steve Leibman. If this had been the Tony Awards, Altar Boyz, Annie, Trailer Park, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and tick, tick…Boom! would all have been competing for Best Revival, and only Mona’s Arrangements would have been eligible for Best Musical.

Producing a World Premiere is a BIG DEAL, so I mention it here. I thank Bo and Steve for their amazing work. I’m so proud of the entire Mona’s Arrangements team. I hope Richmond theatre will continue to grow to the point where it makes sense to offer an Artsie for Best Original Play or Musical.

Just like the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle, there are hundreds of other performances I loved. Space and time don’t allow mention of them all. But there is plenty of room in the comments for your thoughts.

Thanks again to the RTCC for their great evening on Sunday. See you at the theatre.

--Bruce Miller

Video Interview - Landon Nagel from Children of a Lesser God

Judi Crenshaw interviews actor Landon Nagel about using ASL (American Sign Language) and Signed English as the lead role of James in Barksdale's Children of a Lesser God, on stage at Willow Lawn through March 22, 2009.
More information | Tickets

Our ASL sign interpreted performance for the hearing impaired will be Sunday, March 8 at 2PM. Tickets

Another Rave for "Children of a Lesser God"

Posted by Bruce Miller
John Porter, theatre critic for WCVE-FM, has written a glowing review of Children of a Lesser God. You can hear the review by visiting our Signature Season page, or you can read the transcription right here:
John Porter's Review of Children of a Lesser God

"Few pieces of theatre history have had the lasting impact that Children of a Lesser God has had on mainstream America. When it first premiered in the mid-80s, and when the film version was released, it had a profound effect on raising the consciousness of audiences worldwide towards the issue of deaf rights. You would have to look back to the efforts of Helen Keller to find someone who had more of an impact.

So I was curious to see how the play had held up. I had not seen it since maybe the late 80s, and I was wondering if it would appear dated and didactic. I am delighted to say that it is neither. Children of a Lesser God, now playing at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn, is powerful beyond words, shattering with emotion, the kind of play that holds you in its powerful grip long after the show has ended.

Erica Siegel as the deaf and hard-to-reach Sarah Norman runs her emotions back and forth at full breakneck speed. One minute hostile, the next curious and loving, she is impossible to predict, and as such remains a powder keg waiting to explode. Some actors get into a comfortable rhythm during a performance, but Siegel never settles down, even when you think she has. Siegel delivers a bravura performance that leaves you breathless.

Landon Nagel as James Leeds has the difficult role of portraying a man falling in love while also serving as Siegel’s interpreter for the audience. He sails through these tricky waters easily, and carries much of the emotions of the show on his shoulders. Nagel is a powerful performer, and has blossomed by constant work in the area, and shows a great deal of promise for roles to come.

Other standout performances include Richard Gregory as Orin, the rabble-rouser who fights for deaf rights, Linda Poser as Mrs. Norman, Sarah’s mother, who has been hurt by her daughter and lives mostly in isolation, unsure how to support her daughter and never stopping loving her. Also Kenneth Waller as Mr. Franklin, the man in charge of the school who strives to make life better for his staff and students, but doesn’t deny the difficulty each will face in the world.

On the technical side, director Bruce Miller has chosen very strong artists. Katie Fry’s set is workable, Sarah Grady’s costumes are solid, and Lynne Hartman’s lights are perfect mood setters. At once introspective, other times straightforward, they play through the characters’ memories and evoke the proper moods at every turn.

Over the years I have been accused of only loving so-called serious plays and nothing is further from the truth. I enjoy a light evening’s entertainment as much as the next person. But when offered a deeply satisfying adult evening of theatre that makes you ask questions about the world around you, well, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Children of a Lesser God is a rare play that offers satisfying entertainment, and helps you examine lives you may not otherwise have experienced.

That's a rare evening indeed.

For WCVE Public Radio, I'm John Porter."

Haubenstock Hallelujah

Posted by Bruce Miller

I woke up this morning to good news in the Richmond Times-Dispatch! Guys and Dolls earned its first rave.

Under the headline "Rendition of Popular Musical Full of Dreamy Performances," Susan Haubenstock wrote:

"Finally it comes: the first notes of 'Fugue for Tinhorns,' sung in the new Barksdale-at-Empire production by the supremely gifted Jason Marks. Harmonized and counterpointed by the grittier voices of Landon Nagel and David Malachai Becker, the song is the signal for the treat about to come."

"It's the 1950 Frank Loesser / Abe Burrows / Jo Swerling hit based on Damon Runyon's tales of New York touts and tarts. And in Patti D'Beck's luscious staging, it's a summer dream, set in a Candyland-pallette Manhattan (even the sewer is lollipop-colored) with cheerful lighting by Lynne M. Hartman. Ron Keller's scenic elements cleverly spin, slide and unfold as D'Beck takes us through a fantasy New York where the Save-a-Soul Mission can actually convert a hard-boiled gambler."

I LOVE great reviews, particularly when the show is as deserving as this production of Guys and Dolls. We have approximately 15,000 seats available for sale this summer, and we have high hopes of filling them all.

Here are quotes we'll be excerpting from Suzie's review:

"Irresistible!
One blockbuster number after the next.

Fabulous Throughout ~ A Summer Dream
A Lovely Performance *** A Fantasy New York
Flashy! Snappy! Supremely Gifted!
Perfect!"

We hope you'll make your plans now to join us this summer for this "especially noteworthy" (one last Haubenstock hallelujah) classic American musical. I know you'll be glad you did!

--Bruce Miller