Money Woes Convince Ambush to Step Down from ACTC Appointment

Posted by Phil Whiteway

We were sorry to learn this week from the Washington Post that Benny Sato Ambush, former artistic director of TheatreVirginia, has resigned his new position as artistic director of the African Continuum Theatre Company in Washington, D. C.

In Where Are They Now – Benny Sato Ambush (Sunday, Nov 4 2007), I wrote in this blog about Benny’s excitement for his new appointment, and about our excitement to welcome him back to the region. On Nov 14, Jane Horwitz reported in the Post that Benny now has decided to step down as acting artistic director and will not be accepting the fulltime position.

“The theater had announced a season it couldn’t afford to launch,” Benny is quoted as saying. “It was a cash flow crisis, you bet.” Stating that his relationship with the African Continuum was always amicable, Benny commended the ACTC Board for “some really good and hard work” in determining the extent of their financial challenges. He acknowledged that if he had known earlier about the theatre’s cash troubles, “I would have stayed clear of the job.”

In earlier articles in the national press, Benny has lamented that he had not been adequately informed about TheatreVirginia’s money woes until after arriving in Richmond.

As always, we wish Benny the best, and remain confident that his freelance career will continue to flourish, as it has since he left Virginia in 2002.

--Phil Whiteway

Grinch Returns Today to Steal More Hearts

Posted by Bruce Miller
Hannah Zold’s pal, Aaron Galligan-Stierle, will be back on the boards today playing Papa Who in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, thanks to an injunction issued by NY State Judge Helen Freedman. In fact, he’ll have ten shows this weekend, and, I’m sure, a much appreciated paycheck.

But if Jujamcyn Theatres LLC has its way—Jujamcyn is the corporate entity that owns the St. James Theater in which The Grinch is performed—Aaron and his castmates will be back out in the cold again next week.

The Grinch is produced by James Sanna. “We got our Miracle on 44th Street,” he said after the judge’s decision was announced. Hearing the good news, the child actors in The Grinch sang and danced on the courtyard steps.

So what gives?

The labor dispute is between Local One of the stagehands union and the League of American Theatres and Producers, which owns the 27 Broadway theatres affected by the strike. Well, almost. Nine of the 27 theatres are owned by the Nederlander Producing Company of America Inc, which is not a member of the League of American Theatres and Producers and has its own contract with Local One. But the Nederlanders have agreed to stand with the League during this labor dispute.

Apparently 26 of the 27 shows taking place in the League and Nederlander theatres are also co-produced by the League and Nederlander organizations. But Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas is different. Even though the show takes place in a League building, the show is produced solely by James Sanna and his partners. And Sanna has his own contract with Local One, a contract that is not affected by the strike.

This being the case, I don’t know why Local One decided to strike The Grinch in the first place, but they did. Then, when James Sanna brought it to the union’s attention that he had a separate, viable contract with the union, and that his show was not co-produced by the League, Sanna and Local One triumphantly announced that The Grinch would re-open.

But by that time the Jujamcyn organization had seen all the bad press the union had received for shutting down a children’s show at Christmastime, so they decided to lock the doors of the St. James until the entire strike was resolved, putting more pressure on the union.

With his show once again closed, Sanna and Local One went to court to seek an injunction that required Jujamcyn to unlock the doors.

Thankfully, Judge Freedman saw the folly in all this gamesmanship and ordered the Jujamcyn folks to get out of the way and allow the show to go on. “I think one Grinch in this city is enough," Freedman told the packed courtroom.

Immediately thereafter, the Jujamcyn organization announced that they were filing an appeal.

As Charlie Brown would say, ...

--Bruce Miller

Making the Most of Moonlight Memorabilia

Posted by John Steils

Moonlight and Magnolias was the original working title of the novel that you and I know and love as Gone with the Wind. Moonlight and Magnolias is also the title of a hilarious new comedy by Ron Hutchinson that is making the rounds of lots of regional theatres nationwide and will be opening in its Virginia premiere at Barksdale Willow Lawn tomorrow night.

This very funny new play is about an extraordinary rescue mission devised by film producer David O. Selznick, portrayed by Joe Pabst in the photo above and to the right with Joy Williams as his secretary Miss Popenghul. The making of Gone with the Wind was not going well, history tells us, so Selznick fired his original director, George Cukor and, playwright Hutchinson imagines, escaped for five days to his locked office with new director Victor Fleming (portrayed by David Bridgewater in the foreground of the photo above and to the left), and dramatist Ben Hecht to rewrite the screenplay and rescue the film.

Comic madness ensues.

We’re really excited about Moonlight and Magnolias, and we want Richmond to be excited too. We want coming to see Moonlight and Magnolias to be an EVENT, just like going to see Gone with the Wind was an EVENT in the early 40s.

So our marketing department contacted John Wiley, Jr., a great guy and Richmond resident who also happens to be one of the nation’s foremost collectors of Gone with the Wind memorabilia. John’s museum-quality collection has not been shown publicly in Richmond since 1989. But for the last week, John and Judi Crenshaw, our publicist extraordinaire, have been assembling the fascinating memorabilia in our lobby gallery.

Now there are two reasons to visit Barksdale Willow Lawn during the next six weeks—a great play AND a great exhibit. My camera doesn't do justice at all to the artifacts, so please imagine them in much better light.

The gallery display includes copies of nearly every book and biography ever written about David O. Selznick, Victor Fleming and Ben Hecht, the three major characters in the show. There are life-size color cutouts of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett and Clark Gable as Rhett, created originally as lobby displays for the film. There’s an autographed first edition of the novel, with dust jacket—signed by Margaret Mitchell herself.

There are actual front pages from The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution on the days that Ms Mitchell was injured and died. Among a wealth of other Mitchell memorabilia, there are signed Christmas cards and the shiny green book band that was added to all copies of Gone with the Wind after it won the Pulitzer Prize.

Two Richmond women also figure in the collection. The first is Marcella Rabwin, a Richmond-native who wrote Yes, Mr. Selznick after serving as his executive assistant for 15 years. Ms Rabwin’s character is portrayed in the play by Joy Williams. And then there’s Em Bowles Locker Alsop, a Richmond native who was one of only 31 women to be brought to Hollywood for a screen test for the role of Scarlett. Photos and other mementos from both women are featured prominently in the display.

There are also original posters, an original film reel (complete with the film itself), a press badge from the opening of the film in Atlanta, and endless magazine covers, paper dolls and sheet music, many in different languages. Among my favorite items are a series of signed costume sketches.

So, if you enjoy comedy, if you enjoy history, if you enjoy having a great night on the town, don’t miss Moonlight and Magnolias, starring Dave Bridgewater, Joe Pabst and Scotty Wichmann (pictured to the left), and directed by Steve Perigard. And join us in thanking John Wiley, Jr. for sharing his remarkable and fascinating collection with all of Richmond.

--John Steils

Don't Rain on My Mom's Parade

Posted by Bruce Miller

My mother was a native New Yorker, reared on Staten Island, educated and employed in Manhattan. So every Thanksgiving we were all but required to join her in front of the TV to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

My Mom won't be reading this blog, so I guess I can finally confess that I never really cared for the hot air balloons and I was only mildly interested in the floats. But I always liked watching the production numbers from the Broadway shows that are performed on the street in Herald Square at the very beginning of the national broadcast.

You’ll have to turn on Channel 12 early to catch ‘em, but this year there will be performances by the casts of Legally Blonde, Mary Poppins, Young Frankenstein and Xanadu. The latter three shows are not affected by the stagehands strike, and so their performances will include full costumes and props. But poor Legally Blonde—their costumes and props are being held hostage by the stagehands union (don’t ask cause I don’t know how or why) and so they’ll be performing in "substitute sportswear." As if dancing on rainy pavement weren’t difficult enough in your regular shoes.

Also of note, the Virginia Tech Regimental Band will be marching in this year’s parade in tribute to their fallen classmates.

Let’s tune in to cheer them all on.

--Bruce Miller

Taking Stock, Giving Thanks

Posted by Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays. All of us at Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV have many reasons to be thankful.

We are thankful for:

the legacy of hard work, unflappable commitment and uncompromising artistic passion that is our birthright, a gift beyond measure that has been passed on to us by Pete and Nancy Kilgore and Muriel McAuley

a family of theatre artists whose number and talents belie the size of our community, who constantly challenge us to lead and to serve

an intelligent, energized audience that bucks all national trends and continues to grow year after year—an audience that celebrates our successes and pardons our turkeys—an audience that encourages us to risk failure and expects us to do our best

a large and vigilant staff that works selflessly and creatively behind the scenes to generate the energy needed to sustain a major institution (unless you’ve seen them work their magic first hand, you probably have no idea)

financial contributors who believe in the necessity of what we do and are willing to put their money where their hearts are—corporate and foundation donors who understand that it is only through their support that nonprofit arts organizations can work to ensure that everyone has a seat at the table (or at least in the theatre)

trustees who provide the expertise we need to provide ongoing and effective management, who serve as our eyes and ears in the community, who take personal responsibility for the care and feeding of our mission, and who form a bulwark that protects us when times get tough

volunteers who contribute that most precious commodity—time, and who lend encouragement with an unwavering smile

the Virginia Commission for the Arts, under the exemplary leadership of Peggy Baggett (pictured to the right), always caring, always communicating, always holding us to the highest standards

institutional partners like Greater Richmond’s many senior centers and retirement living facilities (Barksdale’s Bifocals Theatre Project); the Hanover Tavern Foundation (our Country Playhouse Season at Hanover Tavern); James River Writers and the READ Center (Virginia Arts & Letters Live); the Latin Ballet of Virginia (Latino Theatre Project); Prevent Child Abuse Virginia and the Virginia Dept of Social Services (Hugs and Kisses); Second Presbyterian Church (the Acts of Faith Festival); Bon Air Presbyterian, Forest Hill Presbyterian and Tabernacle Baptist (rehearsal space); and the Steward School (our summer High School All Star Musical)—all of which help us build capacity to better meet the needs of our community

esteemed colleagues at the African American Repertory Theatre, the Carpenter Science Theatre, the Chamberlayne Actors Theatre, the Firehouse Theatre Project, the Henley Street Theatre, the Richmond Ballet, the Richmond Shakespeare Theatre, the Richmond Symphony, the Richmond Triangle Players, Swift Creek Mill Theatre, Sycamore Rouge, the Virginia Opera Association and many other nonprofit performing arts organizations who help to create the critical mass that keeps all of us afloat

thriving university theatre programs at Randolph Macon, the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University—their faculty expertise and student talent adds to the lifeblood of our theatre

remarkable youth training programs including the Christian Youth Theatre, HATTheatre, SPARC and many others—enabling children to engage in the arts both as participants and appreciators

and most importantly, the hundreds of thousands of individuals who go nameless here, who buy the tickets, book the tours, assemble the groups, make the contributions, and simply do their part each year to ensure the success of Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV.

Thank you. We couldn’t do it without you.

Have a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving.

--Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway

Broadway Stars with Barksdale Roots

Posted by Bruce Miller

I wrote a couple weeks ago about accompanying my daughter and three of her high school friends on a Broadway weekend, and I promised to return to this topic soon to discuss the shows we saw. Tonight’s blog entry is about the first musical of this fall’s trip – The Phantom of the Opera.

Phantom may be the longest running show in Broadway history, but I’d never seen it before last month. I hadn’t even seen the movie. When I go to New York, I almost always choose plays and musicals that I think we may produce one day in Richmond. Because of Phantom’s reliance on a huge production, it never made my list.

So it was a thrill for me to see it with my daughter and her friends, three of whom were also seeing it for the first time. The arrangements of the music and the relative simplicity of the special effects (by 2007 standards) reminded us that the show originally opened in London in 1986. But the classic story, the haunting melodies and the solid production values still captured our imaginations.

The most exciting aspect of our visit with the Phantom, at least for me, was the chance to point out proudly to my four teenage charges the two Phantom cast members who have strong roots with Barksdale and Theatre IV – Kris Koop (pictured below and to the right) and George Lee Andrews.

Kris moved to Richmond immediately after graduating from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in 1987 to work as a touring actress with Theatre IV. She couldn’t have been nicer or more talented. In 1988, she starred as Cinderella in our first production of that Rodgers and Hammerstein classic—our first major musical in the historic Empire. Later that year, she joined Barksdale’s cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and toured with Joseph when it left the Tavern for other venues around the country.

Since 2001, Kris has understudied Phantom’s female leads, and she's played Christine and Carlotta on several occasions. It’s an ideal, top-of-the-heap Broadway job. When not filling in for one of the two leads, Kris appears in the ensemble.

Kris is perhaps most respected in Broadway circles for the leadership she has provided to the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising efforts. She began volunteering for BC/EFA as soon as she moved to NYC. She and her husband, Steve Ouellette, House Manager at the Neil Simon Theatre, live in Queens. When she finally got the call that she was cast in Phantom, she was working fulltime at BC/EFA, and she still works there today. One of her special projects has been pulling together The Phantom Cooks, Part Deux, the charity cookbook that thus far has earned over $80,000 for BC/EFA.

Everyone in the Theatre IV and Barksdale family should be so proud of Kris and her exceptional Broadway accomplishments both onstage and off.

George Lee Andrews (pictured in his Phantom costume to the right) has been in the cast of Phantom since its Broadway opening in 1988, almost 20 years ago. Guinness, literally, is taking note. Today he plays the role of Monsieur Firmin, one of the two new owner-managers of the Opera House.

Ten years before George began his record-breaking run in Phantom, he played Cole Porter himself in the ill-fated Los Angeles professional premiere of Barksdale’s mega-hit, Red Hot and Cole.

And George’s Barksdale connections don’t end there. Hannah Zold (pictured to the left), who appeared at Barksdale and Theatre IV most recently in Into the Woods, The Wizard of Oz, Mame, and The Full Monty, has been close pals with George and his daughter, Shannon Lee, since Hannah and Shannon worked together in The Lost Colony in 2002. Lee is the actual family name; Andrews was added as a stage name. When Shannon Lee married one of Hannah’s best buds from college, Aaron Galligan-Stierle (who will be playing Papa Who in Broadway’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas once the strike allows him to), papa George Lee officiated at the wedding ceremony and Hannah Zold was the soloist.

The photo to the right is of Hannah Zold (leaning in from the right) and Jennings Whiteway in the Barksdale lobby during Hannah’s visit to Richmond a couple weeks ago. The weekend after this photo was taken, Hannah was back in NYC, hanging with the Lee clan, including her Phantom pal George.

It’s great to be able to remind the teens who are forging their first associations with the Barksdale and Theatre IV families in 2007 that many of the major theatre artists in today's national headlines are also a part of the historic Barksdale and Theatre IV clans.

To view a 2004 video of Kris and George and their Phantom cast mates, visit http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Video.aspx?ci=502222.

All of us have reason to be proud and to celebrate the phenomenal success of two great Barksdale and Theatre IV alum – Kris Koop and George Lee Andrews.

--Bruce Miller

Why Do These People Look So Tired?

Posted by Bruce Miller

Well, all right. Scotty, Debra and Joe don’t look so tired. It’s just me.

In the old days, the Barksdale tradition for tech Sundays was for Muriel to make a huge pot of her spaghetti (with green olives, of course) to serve to the cast and crew between the afternoon and evening rehearsals.

Even though we finally arrived at a respectable recreation of Muriel’s beloved meat sauce (minus the cigarette ash that she always claimed to be the secret ingredient), we gave up trying to make the sauce itself in 2002. After two years of cooking at home and hauling the spaghetti fixins to the theatre in giant tubs, we decided enough was enough. If you want to re-experience Muriel’s magnificent abbondanza, you will find the recipe in Erin Thomas’s upcoming theatre cookbook.

Since 2002, we have made our lives easier. We now walk across the Willow Lawn parking lot and enjoy our delicious and moderately priced tech dinner at The Crazy Greek, where the flaming saganaki has become as legendary as Muriel’s spaghetti—well, almost. Our kindly restaurateur friends push several tables together and we all have a grand old time.

The photo shown above and to the right was taken just before the tech dinner for Moonlight and Magnolias. We are standing in front of The Crazy Greek and across the street from El Toro Loco at the Intersection of Insane Eateries. Debra and I are the interlopers. We heard “free meal” and we were there, rushing over from the Tavern after our Sunday matinee of Swingtime Canteen, which opened last week.

To confess, the rushing and the late hours have finally gotten the best of me. After several 100+ hour work weeks in a row, I’ve finally lost it.

Yesterday, I started the day with staff meeting at 9:15, then planned some improvements to the Swingtime sound system, then went to the JCC to seek their guidance on the proper Hanukkah display for the Barksdale lobby, and then sought out and purchased the appropriate electric Menorah (we can’t have lit candles) and other Judaica that we had decided upon. Do you know how hard it is to find a blue tablecloth in Richmond?

I met with Jackie Gann about how to best credit Gino’s Italian Restaurant as our “Doughnut Sponsor” for Swingtime. I checked in on Judi Crenshaw and John Wiley as they set up the amazing Gone with the Wind gallery exhibit in the Barksdale lobby. I received a fund development update from Phil, who had just completed a very successful day raising money. I planned my next moves on two major fee-for-service grant programs that we have in development.

At 4:30, we began a Theatre IV Board meeting (with record attendance, I’m proud to say) and I left the theatre at 6:30 feeling like I’d put in a full day’s work. I made it home by 6:45, and immediately left with Terrie to go to my son’s orchestra concert—he had a solo on the double bass.

Just as we were sitting down at 7 and the curtain was rising, Terrie’s cell phone rang. Mine was on the fritz. It was Ginnie Willard, reminding me that I was supposed to be, at that very moment, directing auditions for The Little Dog Laughed from 7 until 10. So out of the middle school auditorium I ran, and made it back to the Empire by 7:30, where I apologized profusely to the waiting auditionees.

Thankfully, Corey Davis and Jason Campbell had filled in ably in my stead.

How can you really explain being brain dead because you’ve just come out of four weeks of working 15/7 directing Swingtime Canteen while trying to juggle a hundred other responsibilities. You can't. It comes off as whining. Shoot, I’m whining now.

So, why do I look so tired in the photo? And why did I forget about my own auditions—which is about as stupid as you can get? Who knows? To quote my least favorite thing that is said to me with regularity when folks find out I’m employed by a theatre: “It must be nice not to have to work for a living.”

--Bruce Miller

Latest News on Broadway Strike

For the latest info on the labor dispute that has brought the curtain down on most of Broadway, try clicking http://www.entertainment-link.com/event_details.asp?event_id=19079&gclid=CPe9kY_4548CFQhtFQodCWzR6w. From this page, you can click on other links to the latest news from various media outlets.

Talks between Local One (the stagehands union) and the League of American Theatre Producers (representing more than two dozen Broadway houses) began again yesterday (Saturday) and are scheduled to continue, providing some hope that a resolution and resumption of normal activity may happen sometime in the not too distant future.

--Bruce Miller

Boogie Woogie Opening at Barksdale

Posted by Bruce Miller

The strike in NYC may be continuing to cripple Broadway, but here in River City, there are plenty of shows to enjoy. Swingtime Canteen (Barksdale’s recreation of a 1944 USO show) opened last night at Hanover Tavern, Moonlight and Magnolias (Barksdale’s behind-the-scenes comedy about the creation of the screenplay for Gone with the Wind) will open next Friday at our Willow Lawn home, and A Christmas Story (Theatre IV’s stage adaptation of the movie that taught us about the perils of bb guns and leg lamps) will open at the historic Empire on November 30.

Plaid Tidings (the Mill’s holiday visit with their favorite harmonizing guys) opened this past Thursday, A Christmas Carol for Two Actors (Richmond Shakespeare’s holiday perennial) opens Nov 29 at Second Presbyterian, and Twas the Night Before Christmas (the Carpenter Science Theatre’s holiday celebration) will open in the Eureka Theatre at the Science Museum of Virginia on Dec 1.

And you still have tonight to catch Spinning into Butter at the Firehouse, and tonight and tomorrow to see A Lesson before Dying, produced by the African American Repertory Theatre at Pine Camp.

Last night’s opening of Swingtime was great fun. Vilma Gil, Jan Guarino, Audra Honaker, Katrinah Lewis (pictured below and to the left) and Debra Wagoner lent their exceptional vocal talents to thirty-four 1940s standards. Ryan Corbitt (piano), Brian Sulser (bass) and Doug Draucker (drums) added the swing as our on-stage band. And Terrie Powers (set design), Heather Hogg (costume design), Joseph Papa (stage manager) and Alex Whiteway (assistant stage manager) were on hand to receive kudos once again for their terrific work.
Barksdale Trustees Rick Arenstein and Jack Ward were there with their wives Rhona and Beverly. Longtime Barksdale supporters Scott and Nancy Belleman, Roy Burgess, Ed Ramsey and his wife, and Essie Simms added their goodwill to the audience, along with Barksdale artistic alum Glenn and Sybel Crone, Ales Rowe and Bo Wilson. Staff members Jackie Gann, Billy Christopher Maupin, Brad Tuggle and Jennings Whiteway turned out to support the troops, and house/box office staff Jeannie Kilgore, Beverly and Danny Hobson (our ushers extraordinaire), and Brenda and Walt Meier did their usual best to keep all trains running on time.

Many thanks to one and all for a terrific opening, and best wishes to all of Richmond’s theatre community for a successful holiday season.

--Bruce Miller

"Debra Wagoner, AKA Topeka Abotelli Sings in the Key of Q" or Debra Meets Lipton or Debra Wagoner Fills Out "The Questionnaire"

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

Tomorrow night at 8PM the smash Off-Broadway hit Swingtime Canteen opens at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern. I have my tickets; do you have yours? It has already been mentioned that one could hear/watch these five dynamic performers rehearse from the marketing department at the Empire Theatre. I cannot tell a lie: I watched and listened on more than one occasion. These women (Debra Wagoner, Katrinah Carol Lewis, Vilma Gil, Audra Honaker, and Jan Guarino) sound AMAZING!!!

There are so many great shows opening this month! Swingtime on Friday, Moonlight and Magnolias next Friday at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn, and Theatre IV's production of A Christmas Story next Friday (yes, it's adapted from the movie!!!). Ooh...also Spinning Into Butter is playing at the Firehouse Theatre Project through this Saturday. It's pretty incredible: beautiful set (Edwin Slipek, Jr.), very interesting, thought-provoking play, and all of the actors really bring it to the table...or desk...so to speak (Katie McCall, Melissa Johnston Price, Fred Iocovo, Tony Santiago, Matt Polson, and our very own Robert Albertia). Oh, and A Lesson Before Dying is playing at the African American Repertory Theatre through this Sunday. From what I hear, it's a really fantastic production. Essie Simms in particular was very adamant about how great the show is. Plus, it features Darius T. Epps, another Barksdale Theatre employee!

So...back to the subject at hand...I get a bit excited about good theatre...and there's so much of it here! It's so exciting to live in this community! Anyway...to Debra's questionnaire...

I must point out that I found it rather amusing that Debra shares many of the same answers as Joy Williams (whose questionnaire you can see two posts below). And she hadn't read Joy's before answering. Just a fun little thing.

So...to "The Questionnaire"!

1. What is your favorite word?
Yes

2. What is your least favorite word?
No.
Big surprise, huh?

3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?
Getting it right. I’m a terrible perfectionist.
A live audience….and knowing when you “have them.” I’ve often been asked why I don’t do more cabaret type gigs…get myself a little band together, etc. And I guess it’s because I like telling stories. And musicals to me are the best of both those worlds. You get to tell a story to the audience with words and music. Some people turn their noses up at musical theatre. But it IS most definitely an art form. And when it’s done well, it can be very transporting.

4. What turns you off?
People who hate musical theatre, HA HA!
But seriously, folks, I’m turned off by willful ignorance. Deliberate cruelty. Intolerance.
And little things like people who don’t use their turn signals……

5. What sound or noise do you love?
Laughter. Applause. Can’t pick just one sound.

6. What sound or noise do you hate?
Hmmmmm……microphone feedback. I would swear that I’ve sustained some hearing loss over the many years of dealing with microphones. I’ve never really enjoyed using them. But they are a necessary evil, I guess.

7. What is your favorite curse word?
F***. I have a potty mouth...It might be because out of pure contrariness; I started cursing when someone told me: “You have such a sweet face I can’t imagine you ever saying dirty words”. Well, f*** that s***.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Costume design. But, gee, I need to learn how to sew. The only other job I ever enjoyed was being a patient advocate of sorts for the elderly. Walking them through the insurance red tape, etc. I got some nice thank you letters, and some great homemade cookies doing that job! It felt really great knowing that I was helping these folks out. That was many years ago, and the healthcare/insurance system is even worse than it was then. Geez!

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Anything to do with politics.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Come on in and sit right down and make yourself at home.

You can read more about Debra and her goings on and her debut album, The Hopeful Romantic, which features a really stellar interpretation of "No One Is Alone" from Into the Woods, among others, at http://www.debrawagoner.com/.

Be sure to check out Debra and all the ladies in Swingtime Canteen at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern, running November 23 - January 20. Opening weekend is already sold out so be sure to purchase your tickets soon!