David Bridgewater meets James Lipton...OK,so not really; he just answers his questions...well, Bernard Pivot's questions...(oops...another long title)

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

Extra! Extra! Just look at the headlines! (A Sondheim lyric from Gypsy...get it? The Mamma Rose's to the right? Anyone? No one? OK.)

We have our latest installment from the cast of our production of The Member of the Wedding. (Opening tonight! I'm so excited!)

David Bridgewater, most recently seen in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern, has joined in the fun and filled out the Bernard Pivot/James Lipton questionairre.

So here goes:

1. What is your favorite word?
Home. Make no mistake; there are all kinds of homes. You can be at home on stage, with a good book, on a basketball court, in the mountains or in the arms of a lover. It’s the feeling of complete contentment. That feeling of, “Thank God I’m here.”

(It really brings up an image of Diana Ross singing "Home" in The Wiz, doesn't it? No? OK...well...anyway...on with David's answers.)

2. What is your least favorite word?
Goodbye.

3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?
There is nothing more powerful than passion. It doesn’t matter if you are acting, teaching children, exercising, writing a book, building a table or bagging groceries. If you are passionate and focused, that is quite the turn on.

4. What turns you off?
Condescending people. How many degrees you hold or how much money you have makes no difference. Treat everyone with respect. No matter if you are speaking with a senator or a janitor, be respectful of the person. Ignorance does not mean a lack of education. I’ve known a great many ignorant people with degrees on their walls.

5. What sound or noise do you love?
There is a sigh that’s made. You can hear dogs make it often. It’s a sigh that says, “I am so content, safe and happy right now.” When my daughters are tired at the end of a long day, they lay in my arms, they breathe in deep and sigh out slow. There is simply no better sound.

6. What sound or noise do you hate?
(Sorry, you kids!) I hate plastic, synthesized, brainless music or would-be poets screaming a rhyme to a programmed beat and calling it “music”. I like instruments. I like singing. I don’t want robots making my music.

7. What is your favorite curse word? (Have at it. I obviously won't post it for real, but in some approved somewhat censored fashion)
Ah, so many cuss words, so little time.
I have two. Neither one is all that exciting or colorful, but…
G**D*****. It has a great pop. And it’s versatile:
“G**D***** that hurts!!” or
“Did you see that girl wearing the thing, with the thing and those things? G**D*****!!!”

I’m also fond of JACKA$$. “You stupid JACKA$$!” Ya can’t beat that one either.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Again, so many… A counselor or therapist would be closest to my heart. A writer. A bottleneck blues musician. A wildlife photographer.

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Anything corporate. I hate wearing a tie and I hate the obsession of money.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Two things:
“Where the hell have you been!?”
“I know, Dave. It’s okay. You did your best. Come on in.”

--David Bridgewater

"Odd Couple" Closes Flush with Laughs

Posted by Bruce Miller

We closed The Odd Couple today to a sold-out house, a theatre full of laughter, and a standing ovation. Congratulations and thanks to all involved.

We had three shows running simultaneously this summer--a first for us. Into the Woods, Disney's High School Musical and The Odd Couple. All three shows were hits, with lots of sold out performances. All three ended on a high note.

As soon as the house lights came up after Odd Couple curtain call, Joe Pabst (the director) and I scurried onto the stage to begin collecting the props we had lent to the production. As soon as the audience cleared, Jeff Clevenger (Speed), Jennifer Frank (Gwendolyn Pigeon) and Dave Bridgewater (Oscar Madison) joined us. Seems that over the years we’ve all learned the same valuable lesson. When you lend a prop to a show, be sure to claim it immediately after the final curtain call, or expect never to see it again.
Somewhere there’s a black hole that contains all the props that are routinely sucked into it approximately 60 minutes after each show ends. These props are destined to remain missing forever. It’s one of the laws of stage physics. I guarantee you that anyone who comes looking for props tomorrow will walk away empty handed. I’ve never figured out where the props go, but they go somewhere. And they go very quickly.

Jeannie Kilgore, who’s been subbing for stage manager Joseph Papa this week, warned me that one of the tin coffee mugs went missing in action this week, before the show even closed. It seems that Scott threw it down the hall one night, as Felix is supposed to, midway through Act II. The mug has never been heard from since. Seems Scotty’s got a great pitching arm. And the black hole was waiting, like a catcher, just offstage, behind home plate. Go Red Sox!

Jeannie also apologized for her faux pas during last night’s curtain speech, dutifully performed by Phil Whiteway. Phil and his family headed off to Nags Head today. Since he knew he’d be missing the final performance, he attended last night to personally thank our outstanding cast and crew.

Whenever Phil shows up at the theatre, he feels honor bound to make a curtain speech. God bless him for it. I HATE making curtain speeches, and more times than not, I ignore my responsibilities (opportunities?) and remain silent. Phil is far more responsible than I. He knows that making curtain speeches is an important component of our efforts to raise funds and sell tickets. So he selflessly mounts the stage, time after time, exercising due diligence for himself and also for me.

Anyway, as his pre-show welcoming speech was drawing to a close, Jeannie Kilgore was pushing buttons in the booth, preparing for the first sound cue (pre-show music) that she intended to start as soon as Phil finished. But, Jeannie, as I said earlier, is only filling in for Joseph Papa, and didn’t know exactly which button was which. So just as Phil was on his last two or three sentences, Jeannie hit the button that started a particularly loud rendition of the second sound cue—a exuberant toilet flush coming from off stage right. Phil apparently played it to the hilt and graciously allowed himself to be flushed off stage. The audience laughed uproariously. Jeannie was mortified.

At least we now know how to end Phil’s curtain speeches and still get a robust first laugh for the show.

Thanks again to everyone who made The Odd Couple such a hit. You couldn’t have been more Odd, and we appreciate it.

--Bruce Miller

For Tonight's Performance, the Role of ...

Posted by Bruce Miller

Few things are more disappointing in the world of theatre attendance than sitting down for a show you’ve been looking forward to, and discovering that little slip of paper in your playbill, or hearing that dreaded announcement over the loud speaker – “For tonight’s performance, the role of (insert the name of a pivotal role here), usually played by (insert the name of the actor you’ve been waiting six weeks to see here), will be played by (insert the name of an actor you’ve never heard of here).”

There’s a very funny section in Scrambled Feet, the hit Off Broadway satirical revue from 1979, that goes like this: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. At tonight’s performance of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the part of Martha, usually played by Kathryn Hepburn, will be performed tonight by our lovely stage manager, Carla Agump. The part of Nick, usually played by Al Pacino, will be performed tonight by Shlomo Pincus. The part of Honey, usually played by Madelyn Kahn, will be deleted from the script for this evening’s performance. And the part of George, normally played by George C. Scott, will be performed tonight by our talented lighting designer, Yoshitero Nakamura. Enjoy the show!”

There I sat at Hanover Tavern last Saturday evening, knowing what I was about to hear, but still not quite prepared for the enormity of it when it finally came. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Barksdale Theatre’s production of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple. At tonight’s performance, the role of Roy normally played by Steve Moore will be played by Joe Pabst. The role of Cecily Pigeon normally played by Jennifer Meharg will be played by Vickie McLeod. And the role of Felix Unger, normally played by Scott Wichmann, will be played this evening by Richard Koch.”

Now I’m not meaning to equate Richard Koch with “an actor you’ve never heard of” or “our talented lighting designer, Yoshitero Nakamura.” Richard, Vickie and Joe are all stars in their own right. Nonetheless, hearing that there will be three replacements, one of them a lead, in a cast of only seven, sounds daunting. It gives one pause.

But then the show started. Joe Pabst was up first, filling in for Steve who needed to be with his family in Danville. And Joe was great! The poker scene just pinged right along. If anything, it was tighter and funnier than when I last saw it five weeks ago. Then Richard had his big entrance as Felix Unger. He started out slow, as the character is meant to, but after only ten minutes, he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand.

By the time Vickie entered, no one even remembered that there were understudies performing in that evening's show. Vickie, just like Richard and Joe, was perfection, and the entire show was an absolute delight. I missed the original cast, of course. They also are terrific. But I can’t tell you how proud I was of the three temporary replacements.

It says a lot about the depth of talent that exists in Richmond that three new actors can step into a show without missing a beat. They brought their own charms and talents to the roles, found new and exciting moments, and honored the original production just enough so that no one in the rest of the cast was thrown at all. It was a joy to watch. I was glad I came home early from vacation just to catch this performance.

On behalf of all the audience members who laughed themselves silly, thanks to Richard, Vickie, Joe, and everyone else involved. As Scott, Jen and Steve all return to the show this week, they can rest assured that their standby's did them proud!

--Bruce Miller

One Pair of Turtle Doves for Another

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

This weekend in our smash-hit production of The Odd Couple at Hanover Tavern, two of the stellar cast members will be stepping out, making room for two stellar pinch-hitters.

Scott Wichmann, who plays neat freak Felix, and Jen Meharg, who plays the delightful Cecily Pigeon ... or is it Gwendolyn? ... will be stepping out of the show this weekend. Richard Koch and Vicki McLeod will be filling their shoes. The fun thing is that Scott and Jen are a married couple and so are Richard and Vicki.

Major replacements isn't something that happens too frequently on Richmond stages because generally our shows don't run for months or even years, like shows can on Broadway or Off-Broadway. Take Line by Firehouse favorite Israel Horowitz, which is often called the longest running show in history. Granted it only plays one night a week. Or consider Forbidden Broadway which has been running in one incarnation or another since 1982.

The only Broadway production that I have seen twice was John Doyle's incredible re-imagining of Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. I saw it with Patti Lupone (who was awe-inspiring) and then when she was on vacation, with her replacement Judy Kaye. I had heard such great things about Judy Kaye's work in other productions of Sweeney Todd and in her Tony-winning turn in Souvenir, I went back to see her. My favorite moment of hers was when she was upstage-right playing the xylophone (this is one of those John Doyle shows where the actors are also the orchestra) with a look of abject terror on her face. Now, it should be noted that she was up in the corner and maybe wasn't too concerned with being seen, and she did learn the show knowing that she'd be subbing for only a week or two. Nonetheless, her performance was fantastic (very different from Ms. Lupone's, but fantastic still).

It was very funny when I was calling Ticketmaster to order tickets and check on availability because every time I asked about the show they said "Patti Lupone will not be appearing in this performance. Judy Kaye will be taking her place." I KNOW! That's why I'm going back!

But I digress...sometimes, in Richmond, especially with a long-running show like The Odd Couple, there is a time when some of our performers have to step out for a few performances. The last time I remember this happening was several years ago during Barksdale's production of Where's Charley? when the late, great Jim Hilgartner had to leave a couple of weeks before the end of the run and the side-splitting Joe Pabst took over the role of Mr. Spettigue. Incidentally, Joe is the director of our hit production of The Odd Couple! (Not to say that it hasn't happened since, but that's the last time I remember.)

So this was really supposed to be about Vicki and Richard and now I've gotten off-track and...well...anyway...so when I asked Vicki about Richard and herself, I got a very fun response, which I had thought I would use as information for writing about them, but it seems more fun to leave in her voice and just post her own words (I'm awaiting permission from her to do this):

"Let's see...Richard and I met in 1987, working on a locally written, produced and performed comedy pilot for WCVE, Channel 23. The show aired on all the PBS stations in Virginia, with the hope that it would be picked up and become a regular show. Alas, it did not and so we have remained cloaked in obscurity, rather than rising to become Famous PBS Stars.

Okay, how about...Richard loves sleeping very late (whenever possible), eating pizza (he could eat it every night and never grow tired of it, or so he claims) and listening to the music of Mozart and the Beatles, among many other types of music. We both love all kinds of music, listen to it every day and have a huge collection of CDs.

I love working out (I am a personal trainer, certified through the American Council on Exercise), helping others work out and eating really healthy stuff (like a bowl of oatmeal and egg whites, cooked together, or a huge salad with chicken or tuna on it). I also like to eat junk on occasion: really unhealthy buttered popcorn, nachos and beer or big, mean pancake breakfasts with lots of strong, black coffee. I love getting up at or before dawn and going to bed early. I love reading historical diaries and being in the country. I am an introvert, though many people don't believe me when I tell them that."

I would like to add that the first time I saw Richard or Vicki onstage was in Run for Your Wife at Swift Creek Mill Playhouse. Also in that cast were Joy Williams (who appeared recently in Barefoot in the Park at the Tavern, The Magic Flute with Theatre IV and who I just taught with in the Stage Explorers session at Hanover Tavern), Paul Deiss (who is Music Director for the soon-to-open production of Urinetown at Swift Creek Mill), Jason Marks (last seen in Little Shop of Horrors with SPARC), and...Joe Pabst! It was a riot! So when I make it out to see The Odd Couple this weekend (if I can find a seat in a sold out house) I will try very hard to shake the image of Vicki McLeod looking stunning in her lingerie.

--Billy Christopher Maupin

NPR offers XOXOXO to "The O C"

It took a while, but the National Public Radio review of The Odd Couple at Hanover Tavern is in, and it’s another rave! The O C runs for only four more weeks—it’s gotta close on August 19 so that we can load in Deathtrap. It’s great to see a 40-year old play come so beautifully to life—a true American classic in the making. Don’t miss it. For a good time, call 282-2620, and make your reservations TODAY!

Here are a few highlights from John Porter’s review:

“Writing a review of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, now playing at Barksdale Hanover Tavern, is a relatively simple task. I’ve just got to find ways to say, 'It’s brilliant' for the next three minutes or so.

First of all, there’s the script. This is one of Simon’s early works that shows just how much of an American genius he really is. The dialogue sparks like an electric live wire and it gives the actors a broad canvas on which to paint their characters.”

“Then there’s the cast. How do you go wrong with two very strong leads who are on the top of their game? David Bridgewater is delightful as the king-sized larger than life slob known as Oscar Madison. He feels free to let loose with an over-the-top performance that breathes new life into one of the premiere characters of the American comedy stage. His partner in crime, the always strong Scott Wichmann, is just about dead-on perfect as uberneat Felix Unger.”

“The supporting cast includes a mix of well-known performers and new faces. The veterans include Steve Moore, Jeff Clevenger, Jennifer Frank and Jen Meharg, who all turn in strong performances.”

“On the technical side, the costumes by Heather Hogg evoke the early sixties very well. No, nobody is dressed up in tie-dyed bell bottoms, this was a different class altogether. The set by Terrie Powers and David Powers has a nice touch with autographed sports pictures on Oscar’s walls, lending credence to the proper era and telling us a little bit more about his character at the same time. The lighting design is by Bennett J. Fidlow and adds well to the evening.

Director Joe Pabst shows a deft touch with Simon’s dialogue. On the surface it can seem deceptively simple, but like Shakespeare or Mamet, Simon’s words have a distinct ebb and flow. If it’s not played just right, forget it, the whole thing comes crashing down like a house of cards.

In this case, the house stays up and rocks with laughter all night long.”

“I can always use more laughter in my life, and an evening of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, may just be the perfect way to pass a summer’s night.”

ocococococococ

It would be hard to beat a review like that! Insider’s Tip: Scott Wichmann and his wife Jen Meharg will be out of the show from August 8 through 12, replaced by the wonderful Richard Koch and his wife Vickie McLeod. Then Scott and Jen will be back for closing week. So if you’re a big fan of either couple, be sure to catch the show during the week they’ll be playing. Or if you're a fan of both couples ... come see it twice!

--Bruce Miller

One Less Koch in our Kitchen

We bid a fond farewell to Richard Koch, our Production Manager and all ‘round great guy. Richard has worked on and off for Theatre IV and Barksdale pretty much since his college graduation in the late 80s. We could never have asked for a more faithful and hard working employee. Or a more steadfast friend.

But now dear Richard has moved onward and upward to a similar position at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, where he’ll be working for Henrico County, earning more money and better benefits while tackling a much more manageable work load. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

To say that we will miss Richard would be the understatement of the century. But hopefully we won’t have much time to miss him, because rumor has it that Richard will now have many more opportunities to appear as an actor in our various productions.

In fact, negotiations have just been completed to have Richard fill in for Scottie Wichmann as Felix Unger for a week in August during the run of The Odd Couple. So we're happy to say "Farewell" and "Welcome Home" both at the same time.

--Bruce Miller

Propping Up "The Odd Couple"

How nice it was to see a prop gain attention in Susan Haubenstock’s rave review of The Odd Couple, now playing at Barksdale Hanover Tavern. “Terrie Powers and David Powers provide the shabby Manhattan apartment set, with the requisite swinging door to the kitchen,” Haubenstock comments in the Times-Dispatch. “There’s even an A&P grocery bag for authenticity.”

Well, actually there are three, sitting jauntily upstage center as the curtain rises (if we had a curtain), filled with authentic-looking garbage from the mid-60s. Judging from his rubbish, Oscar Madison has a bit of a sweet tooth (Junior Mints, Little Debbie Snack Cakes) and limited cooking ambitions (lots of crushed Campbell’s Soup cans, Lays chips bags, and empty egg cartons). He also seems to enjoy the occasional drink.

But what about those A&P bags? I decided to go directly to the source—the brother/sister design team of Terrie and David Powers.

“Actually they’re Ukrop’s bags,” confessed Terrie, “but I turned them inside out, removed the paper handles, ironed them, and then glued vintage A&P logos onto each bag. Including the staining (I wanted each bag to look like it had been there for a while, so I ‘painted’ grease stains onto the appropriate places), the three bags took me about five hours.”

“I didn’t know at first what grocery chains would be appropriate for mid-60s Manhattan, so I went on-line to research grocery trends during that period. I learned that A&P was a market leader in Manhattan throughout the mid- and late-60s. And when I researched A&P logos, I eventually found the 1964 logo that we’re using. Luck was with me. The vintage logo is red, orange and yellow (the one pictured above is slightly newer and all red). The orange and yellow worked perfectly because those colors and shades are in sync with the color palette I’m using throughout the set.”

“I transferred the logo onto Picasa, the image system I use on my computer, and blew it up to the correct size, adjusting the colors to be sure they didn’t fade as the image enlarged. I then printed the logos, cut them out and adhered them to each bag.”

“The part I hadn’t counted on was how wrinkled the bags would become as I turned them inside out. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t flip them without the wrinkles. So that’s when I decided to iron the bags, mainly so that the logos would adhere properly. With just a little bit of steam, the ironing worked perfectly. After gluing the logos on, I ironed them too, until they really conformed to the bags’ surface.”

As producers, we’re so appreciative of the hard work of our props staff. Our directors and casts need no “propping up,” but our productions do. Jay Dempsey’s props for Into the Woods, and Terrie’s props for The Odd Couple and the upcoming Disney’s High School Musical, show just how much can be achieved by going the extra mile.

When you go to The Odd Couple, take a minute to notice the 1964 Manhattan White Pages that sits on the downstage phone table. That was about a 6-hour project, and it’s authentic in its appearance, complete with cover ads for the New York World’s Fair.

See you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Summertime Thoughts on the Fourth of July

Posted by Bruce Miller
It's a DAY OFF!! As I enjoy it, I'm reminded of why the summertime has become so crazy at B'dale and TIV.

A unique and important characteristic of our two nonprofit companies—one that is seldom noticed, at least publicly—is that we employ our core team of 40 professional theatre artists year round. In this way we’re different from our peer organizations, the Richmond Symphony and the Richmond Ballet, and our predecessor theatre, TheatreVirginia. Our core artists do not take the summer off. They earn vacations, to be sure (two to three weeks, depending on the number of years they’ve been employed). But they also earn paychecks – 52 weeks a year.

We do this for one simple reason. We believe theatre professionals deserve the security of year-round employment just like everyone else. We don’t send our core team on hiatus in the summer because we want to enable them to continue to work at Barksdale and Theatre IV year after year. All management studies suggest that seasonal employment encourages turnover, whereas year-round employment encourages stability.

Our employment records at Barksdale and Theatre IV seem to prove these findings. For years our companies have benefitted from the longest employee longevity and the lowest turnover of any major arts organization in the Commonwealth.

In order to make this year-round employment possible, we engage in year-round programming. In fact, the sun-drenched days of summer are now among our busiest.

Throughout July, we will be continuing the run of our hit musical Into the Woods at Barksdale Willow Lawn (featuring Audra Honaker and Russell Rowland as Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, pictured to the left). And we'll be keeping the laughs coming with our hit comedy The Odd Couple at Barksdale Hanover Tavern (featuring Jen Meharg and Jennifer Frank as the Pigeon Sisters, pictured below and to the right).

In partnership with Steward School, we will be opening the Greater Richmond High School All-Star Musical, which this year happens to be Disney’s High School Musical, involving nearly 50 students from 20 area schools in a fully produced three-week run at the magnificent Cramer Center in Richmond’s West End.

We have enrolled 100 elementary school students in our hugely popular Stage Explorers day camp, this year operating out of both our Willow Lawn and Hanover Tavern facilities. We have extended our Coffee & Conversations program, sponsored by Rostov’s Coffee & Tea, into July, and continued our essential Bifocals Theatre Project for senior artists and audiences into the month of June.

This Friday, a terrific vocal ensemble from the cast of Disney's High School Musical will even be singing the national anthem at the Diamond.

And this Sunday, an All Star Jam will conclude the 06-07 season of our terrific live music series, Stretchin' at Barksdale, produced by Richmond's most charming impresario, B. J. Kocen. Brad Tucker, Craig Evans, Harry Gore, Chris Fuller, Jackie Frost, Stephen Leckey and the Beej himself will be making organic music all evening long for a meager $10 cover charge--the best live music deal in town.

So, “Why is the summer so busy!?” Because we're working our hardest, every day, to increase the professionalism of our company, with one goal in mind—living up to the responsibilities of being Virginia’s leading professional theatre.

--Bruce Miller

"The O C" Knocks 'Em Dead at Tavern

The first review is in (Sunday, July 1, Richmond T-D) and The Odd Couple is a smash hit!

“Hilarious!” raves Susie Haubenstock in this morning’s newspaper. “Neil Simon’s beloved 1965 play still has the ring of truth. Barksdale Theatre’s second Hanover Tavern season validates their premise: classic comedies and mysteries are reliable crowd-pleasers. No playwright is more trustworthy than Neil Simon. And no Neil Simon play is more foolproof than The Odd Couple.”

If this iconic masterpiece of good humor is in fact foolproof, that’s a good thing, because we surely have a passel of fools working their hindquarters off on this production. Divine fools, to be sure. Fools who, like Neil Simon, have the ability to see what is true in life, and then make merciless fun out of it.

If you can’t laugh at life’s ups and downs, what can you do? The Odd Couple, as everyone in the English-speaking world must know by now, is about two men who are recently divorced, who decide to move in together and immediately begin to drive each other crazy. Both men are lemons, but leave it to Neil Simon to make lemonade.

“Scott Wichmann is great as always,” praises Haubenstock, “with the combination of physical comedy and neurotic dialogue, and his ear-clearing snorts are unlike any other sounds made by man.”

“Bridgewater plays Oscar as a sort of combination Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton from ‘The Honeymooners.’ His quiet moments on the phone with his ex-wife are as believable as his air-freshener attack on Felix.”

Rounding out our lunatic cast are four exceptional poker buddies – Jeff Clevenger, Steve Moore, Mark Persinger and Derek Phipps – and two delightfully ditzy British coquettes – Jennifer Frank and Jen Meharg.
“The four poker buddies are totally convincing,” continues Haubenstock in her hit-making assessment, “especially Jeff Clevenger, who speaks with the music of Brooklyn. The Pigeon sisters are wacky and hysterical. Gwendolyn (Jennifer Frank) is especially alarming in her scary bouffant wig, and it’s fun to see Jen Meharg, Wichmann’s wife, play Cecily opposite him.”

With additional kudos going to Joe Pabst for his expert direction, Terrie Powers and David Powers for their well designed set, and Heather Hogg for her magnificent ‘60s costumes, the T-D review is glowing to say the least.

But Haubenstock reserves her biggest praise for Neil Simon himself, and justifiably so. “It’s no accident that this play has spawned a hit movie, a TV series and numerous adaptations over the years—it’s a modern classic. Pabst’s program note suggests that Simon will eventually join George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart in the American comedy pantheon, and surely he’s right about that.”

“The American comedy pantheon.” You can’t beat a review like that.

Congratulations to all involved. And if you don’t have your tickets yet for this summer-long fun fest, please call our box office today.

Bridgewater and Wichmann to Star as Felix and Oscar

The most hilarious mismatched roommates in the history of Broadway comedy are coming back to Hanover Tavern in this brand new production of one of America's favorite comedies. Directed by Joe Pabst (last seen at Barksdale in Brooklyn Boy), The Odd Couple will open June 29 and run through August 12, with extension probable.

And who will be filling Felix's shiny wingtips and Oscar's grubby sneakers? None other than Barksdale and Theatre IV All-Stars (and audience favorites) Dave Bridgewater (last seen at the Tavern in Over the River and Through the Woods) and Scott Wichmann (last seen as the Cowardly Lion in Theatre IV's The Wizard of Oz).

Other cast members include the two delectible Pigeon sisters (Jennifer Frank and Jen Meharg) and the four poker-playing buddies (Jeff Clevinger, Steve Moore, Mark Persinger and Derek Phipps). All indications are that The Odd Couple is going to sell out fast, so please call the box office to make your reservations TODAY!

Last produced by Barksdale in 1973, Neil Simon's irrestibly funny play tells the story of two friends (one divorced and the other recently separated) who decide to share an apartment … with sidesplitting results. Don't miss the sheer pleasure of rediscovering all over again the reasons we all first fell for this rousing American classic.