The Show Must - Ah Choo! - Go On

Posted by Bruce Miller

So you know that cold/flu bug that seems to be wiping out everyone you meet? Well, that same destroyer of throats, noses, sinuses and any and all other body parts having to do with breathing, talking and basically standing upright seems to have hit 4/5 of the cast of Swingtime Canteen.

The only healthy songstress—at least we hope she’s still healthy—is Vilma Gil.

It all started last week with Jan Guarino. We love Jan. So apparently did some airborne virus. Our five wonderful singers were all doing just fine until, with little warning, Jan shows up one night sounding like a frog—and feeling like a frog who’s been run over by a beer truck. Trooper that she is, she went on stage all smiles and, only on occasion, had to cut one of her songs or quickly summon the other women to join her at the microphone to cover the melody.

Jan was feeling so badly on Monday we cancelled Tuesday’s performance to give her a little rest before shows began again on Thursday. I went out to the Tavern Thursday night to see how Jan and the show were doing, only to find the entire dressing room now packed with wheezing, sneezing, coughing women.

All dressed up in their 1940s gowns and hairdos, they looked lovely but were starting to sound like the Andrews Sisters with a foghorn filling in for Maxine.

So why not send in their understudies? As most of you know, that answer is simple. We don’t have understudies. The economic model of a 156-seat theatre performing four times a week is this. You count on selling at 75% capacity (approximately 470 tickets per week). With subscriber, group and other discounts, you plan on averaging $32 per ticket (approximately $15,000 per week). To that earned revenue, you add approximately $4,000 in contributed support (contributions make up just about 21% of gross revenue).

From that $19,000 in gross weekly revenue, subtract:
$2,300 for talent and nightly personnel;
$2,200 for royalties and music rental;
$2,100 for weekly allocation towards sets, lights, costumes and sound;
$2,000 for rent and other facility expenses;
$1,900 for ad buys, brochures, subscriber campaign allocation;
$1,600 for playbills, box office, Internet ticketing and credit card fees;
$1,500 for marketing, promotion and group sales personnel;
$1,100 for development and accounting personnel and audit allocation;
$900 for support facilities (offices, shops, rehearsal hall) and website allocation;
$550 for insurance and business fees; and
$2,850 (15%) for overhead.

Which leaves nothing, nada, zero, goose egg for understudies.

So, many MANY thanks to the heroines of this story, our noble actresses who approach those vintage microphones night after night feeling miserable but looking like they’re on the top of the world, singing gamely on even though they know they’re not sounding their very best. Like so much in the Greater Richmond theatre business, our actors and other theatre artists carry the day, night after night and show after show. They bear much of the weight of our industry on their shoulders, even when they’re feeling lousy. All of us, administrators and audience members alike, owe them our undying gratitude.

--Bruce Miller

Our Policy Regarding Understudies

Posted by Bruce Miller

A couple comments have crossed my desk in the last few days focusing on our policy and practice regarding understudies. Phil and I had a vigorous discussion this afternoon around this issue, arguing pro and con so that we could both wind up on the same page. It was a fascinating debate.

Let me sum up where our thoughts now stand. I do so partially because we're curious how each of you might feel about these matters.

If an actor becomes incapacitated and is unable to go on stage for one or a few performances, we will try to perform the show with an emergency understudy, if such a remedy seems appropriate, and if a capable replacement can be found on an emergency basis. Recent examples include the following.

* Scott Wichmann injured himself during a performance of Scapino! Because of the unique nature and size of his role, we felt it would be impossible to find a suitable replacement with no notice. We cancelled three performances until Scott was well enough to perform again. The cancelled ticket holders were disappointed.

* Robin Arthur became ill during the run of Mame. The director/choreographer of the show, K Strong, was able to go on in her place, albeit with no rehearsal. The show went on as scheduled with no cancellations, and the audience was pleased.

* Robin O’Neill lost her voice during the final weekend of Into the Woods. The director/choreographer of the show, Robin Arthur, was able to go on in her place, book in hand, for one performance. The show went on as scheduled with no cancellations, and the audience was pleased.

If an actor informs us of a performance conflict before rehearsals begin, we have the choice of hiring that actor or someone else. If we choose to hire the actor with the conflict, it is our responsibility to hire and rehearse a capable understudy to take over the role in the original actor’s absence. The expectation is that there will be no appreciable drop in artistic quality while the original actor is away. Recent examples include the following.

* Susan Sanford informed us before accepting her role in The Man Who Came to Dinner that previously arranged vacation plans made it impossible for her to perform during one week of the run. We hired and rehearsed Jan Guarino to replace her during that week. Jan did a great job and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the show. Coincidentally, Susan had stepped in for Jan several months earlier when Jan had to leave the cast of Annie Get Your Gun to begin another contract.

* Emily Cole Bitz informed us before accepting her role in Smoke on the Mountain that she had a family commitment that would cause her to be out of town during one week of the run. We hired and rehearsed Marianne Minton to replace her during that week. Marianne did a great job and the audience loved the show.

* Scott Wichmann and Jen Meharg informed us before accepting their roles in The Odd Couple that they had an out-of-town wedding obligation that would cause them to miss one week during the run. We hired and rehearsed Richard Koch and Vickie McLeod to take their places for one week. Richard and Vickie were outstanding, and the audience saw just as good a show as they would have seen with Scott and Jen.

In every instance that an actor has become sick and we have sent a talented but less-than-fully-prepared understudy on stage to play the part, every audience member who has communicated with us has expressed appreciation for us not canceling the show, despite the less than total preparedness of the understudy.

In every instance when an actor has taken a planned leave of absence and we have sent a fully prepared understudy on stage to play the part, the audience has seemingly loved the show. A few audience members, however, have complained that our box office staff failed to notify them of the actor’s planned absence when they purchased their tickets.

When an actor’s absence is planned, we always issue a press release in advance of the understudied performances. Local media outlets sometimes run these press releases; often they do not, or they run them after the fact. We also always announce the planned for cast replacement on this blog. Ticket buyers who want to know about any and all planned cast replacements can always come here to find out what’s up.

In emergency and planned situations, we follow national theatre protocol. We do not ask our box office staff to inform ticket buyers of cast replacements or understudies. There are several reasons why.

1. What we sell at our box office are tickets to shows, not tickets to the solo performance of one actor.

2. We believe it demeans the work of the remaining cast and the understudies to “alert” ticket buyers to a cast change, indirectly implying that the new cast is somehow less worthy than the original cast.

3. We fear that the mere act of informing ticket buyers of the presence of an understudy may make them feel compelled to choose another week, thereby placing an unfair burden on the remaining cast and the understudy who are then forced to perform for half-houses or worse.

4. It is not possible or appropriate to provide our box office staff with all the information they may need to answer questions about why the actor is absent, how large is the role of the absent actor, how close is the skill set of the understudy to the skill set of the original actor, is the understudy fully prepared, how does the cast change impact the show.

5. We have no way of knowing which audience member is determined to see which actor, and we don’t want to put ourselves in a position of second-guessing who is coming to Annie Get Your Gun specifically to see Jan Guarino, or The Man Who Came to Dinner specifically to see Susan Sanford, or Smoke on the Mountain specifically to see Emily Cole Bitz, or The Odd Couple specifically to see Scott Wichmann and/or Jen Meharg. We welcome questions from ticket buyers about whether this or that favorite actor is going to be in this or that performance. Our box office staff will do its best to answer those questions, but we don’t initiate them.

6. Finally, if a single ticket buyer is dissatisfied with any aspect of a Barksdale performance, we welcome their constructive criticism and we apologize for their disappointment. If a subscriber is dissatisfied with any aspect of a Barksdale performance, we offer them a cash refund, no questions asked.

We always announce understudies to the audience prior to the performance in which the understudy will be appearing. And if we were to ever believe that any given Barksdale performance were to be less than professional, we would offer refunds to all ticket buyers who requested them, be they single ticket buyers or subscribers.

This is our policy regarding understudies. We believe it is in keeping with national best practices. We believe the refund policy goes well beyond national best practices. We welcome your input and opinions.

--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

A Smokin' Pinch Hitter

The cast of Smoke on the Mountain had quite a twist last weekend when Marianne Minton came in to pinch hit for Emily Cole Bitz who plays Denise, one of the twins. She’s the girl. It’s kinda fun because Emily is the annual fund manager for Barksdale Theatre/Theatre IV, while Marianne is the annual fund manager for the Richmond Symphony! I mean, come on, does it get more Twilight Zone than that! (Pause for you to listen to the theme music in your head.)

Emily deserted…er…left for a time for Arizona, a trip planned long before Smoke. We did miss her terribly, but did have an absolutely fantastic time with Marianne in her short time with us. Below you can see how much fun Marianne was having with Reverend Oglethorpe (Billy-Christopher Maupin) in the dressing room (3 flights above the onstage action)!

Barksdale On The Road (and Plane)

Phil Whiteway and I just returned from leading a group of 27 intrepid Barksdale and Theatre IV supporters on a ten-day tour of London and Paris. Here's a photo of our group standing in front of the flying buttresses at Notre Dame. Working hand-in-hand with our good and capable friends at Covington Travel, Barksdale plans annual trips to international locations with a theatre connection. For this time next year, we're planning a tour of Shakespeare's Italy. The Bard himself probably never visited there, but Italy was certainly a locale of choice when he was deciding where to set his plays.

This year it was London and Paris, and we all had a wonderful time. The group was exceptional--27 of the most fun, easy-going and agreeable people we'll ever hope to meet. We made lots of new friends, and enjoyed spending time with some long-standing pals as well.

Not wanting to bore anyone with "vacation slides," I'll comment only on one of the more interesting experiences we had. Several months ago, we booked great center orchestra seats for the new London production of Equus, which opened a few days before we arrived. And it's a good thing we did. Equus is now a huge hit, with the largest advance sale of any non-musical in the history of London's West End.

When the show opened to rave reviews, we were excited to have been so smart as to reserve our seats well in advance. The show, as many readers will know, co-stars Richard Griffith (last year's Tony winner for History Boys) as Martin Dysart, the role Pete Kilgore made his own in Barksdale's wonderful 1978 production of this 20th Century British classic. And prompting the greatest buzz, this new production of Equus also co-stars Daniel Radcliffe who is achieving international acclaim playing Harry Potter in the several films. Young Daniel is 17, and chose Equus as the vehicle he would use to break free from his Harry Potter image. And break free he does, appearing, as the script requires, completely nude for about ten minutes in Act II.

The good news is that Daniel Radcliffe does a great job. The bad news, at least on the day we were there, was that Richard Griffith called in sick, and we saw his understudy in the role. Now, those of you who see a lot of theatre (and I bless you for it), have doubtless encountered any number of understudies in leading roles. And I can honestly say, of the countless understudies I've seen, the vast majority of them have been outstanding.

But at Equus, I regret to say, we saw something I've never seen before on Broadway or in London. The understudy was not in any way prepared to play the part. In fact, about five minutes into Act I, the actor pulled a script out of his hip pocket and proceeded to read his lines from the script for the rest of the show. Also, he apparently didn't know his blocking. Lights would change on stage, and various characters would be left in darkness because the understudy playing Dysart wouldn't move to his appointed place on cue, and the rest of the cast was forced to work around his ineptitude.

At first I thought that perhaps the understudy was also ill, and we were seeing a last minute replacement. But such was not the case. The understudy we saw was the actor who normally played the stable owner, and so his photo was in the playbill, and his name was listed as the one and only understudy for Martin Dysart. He's the one we saw, unfortunately he simply wasn't up to the task.

Those of you who know Equus can imagine how damaging it is to the show for Dysart to read from the script, and give a fairly uninspired reading at that. The British gentleman who walked just in front of me as we exited the theatre at the end of Act II was livid. And I don't blame him. With a full house paying $80 to $100 per ticket, there's no excuse for actors (even understudies) to not know their lines.

I was pleased when I returned to Richmond to learn that when Steve Perigard had to step into Lyle Lyle Crocodile as an understudy for a few days during our absence, he did so having learned all his lines and blocking. It's nice when Richmond can succeed even as London fails.

And talking about Richmond successes, I saw Firehouse Theatre Project's excellent production of This is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan on Friday evening. More on that tomorrow.

--Bruce Miller