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.

Home for the Holidays Helps Habitat for Humanity

Posted by Phil Whiteway

Last night’s (Sat Dec 15) late night performance of Barksdale’s Home for the Holidays benefit cabaret was another huge success! Many thanks to those of you who answered the call and showed up to partake of the fun and fellowship. Approximately 40 theatre regulars purchased tickets for the 11 pm performance on Barksdale Willow Lawn’s lobby stage. I couldn’t make it last night, but Bruce and his son Curt were there managing the house. From what they tell me, a grand time was had by all.

(Curt especially loved Jill Bari Steinberg [pictured to the right]impersonating Erin Thomas Foley talking about what might befall Jill Bari if she ever auditioned for a part that Erin really wanted. Just listening to Curt's rendition on the phone made me double over laughing.)

If you want to take part in this super-entertaining program (and I hope you do), be advised that only two shows remain. Home for the Holidays will hold its farewell performances this coming Monday, Dec 17, and Tuesday Dec 18, 7:30 pm both nights in the Barksdale Willow Lawn lobby. Tickets are $25 for the general public and $20 for Barksdale or Theatre IV subscribers. All proceeds go to benefit the Richmond Theatre Artists Fund, governed by RAPT (the Richmond Alliance of Professional Theatres) and managed by The Community Foundation.

If you come on Monday night, you’ll not only be helping the Theatre Artists Fund, you’ll also be lending your support to the Richmond Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. As many of you know, Habitat is an outstanding nonprofit organization that uses mostly volunteer labor to build affordable housing for working families of limited means, making it possible for them to own their own home. It’s an exemplary cause.

When leaders at Habitat read about Home for the Holidays in the paper, they thought it would be a perfect match for their cause. They called me, said that they’d like to purchase approximately 35 tickets as holiday recognition for their hard working Board, and asked for group rates. Ordinarily the group rate is $20. But for an outstanding nonprofit like Habitat, I lowered the rate to $15, making it possible for them to attend and stay within their budget for a holiday gathering.

As of this writing, 15 tickets remain for Monday night’s performance, and 21 tickets remain for Tuesday evening. I'm really hopeful that these final tickets will be sold! Please join us if you can. Our volunteer singers are among Richmond’s finest. Brett Ambler, pictured to the right, is one of the ten multi-talented performers. They provide a WONDERFUL, heartwarming, fun and lively show … and a GREAT way to give back to the theatre community we all know and love.

Hope to see you there on Monday or Tuesday evening. I’d love nothing more than for Bruce and Chase to have to work through their dinner break setting up overflow seating!

Merry Christmas and Happy Post-Hanukkah.

--Phil Whiteway

Great Spirit, Great Music, Great Cause

Posted by Bruce Miller

Singing to raise spirits and charitable funds is a time honored Christmas tradition.

I’ve just returned from our first Home for the Holidays cabaret. The 16 or so patrons who attended tonight really had a grand time, but I confess I’m disappointed because it appears that the crowds this week are going to be small. As of this writing, we only have 14 reservations for tomorrow evening (Tuesday, Dec 11 at 7:30).

I sure would like to see that change.

The show itself is wonderful. Brett Ambler, Corey Davis, Audra Honaker, Katrina Lewis, Jason Marks, Robyn O’Neill, Fernando Rivadeniera, Janine Serresseque, Erin Thomas, Durron Tyree and Tony Williams sing and play their hearts out for 90 minutes, entertaining with a combination of holiday favorites and Broadway standards. Jan Guarino is sick this week (say a prayer for her recovery by Thursday’s Swingtime Canteen), but tomorrow Cathy Motley-Fitch will be filling in for her. The singers are all volunteering their talents to raise money for the Richmond Theatre Artists Fund. And yet only a few folks are turning out for these first two performances.

Tomorrow (Tuesday’s) show will be a pay-what-you-can performance, and 100% of ticket revenues will go to the Richmond Theatre Artists Fund, governed by RAPT (the Richmond Alliance of Professional Theatres) and managed by the Community Foundation. So if you can’t afford the $25 suggested donation, please come tomorrow (Tuesday) evening—and bring five or six of your friends. It’s a GREAT way to jump start the holiday spirit, and it’s an even better way to support the volunteer performers, who would much prefer to be singing to a full and enthusiastic house than a room half-filled with empty tables.

If don’t understand what the Theatre Artists Fund is all about, and therefore don’t feel inclined to support it, let me try to change your mind. In the past ten years of so, there have been five times when the theatre community came together on an emergency basis to help one of our members deal with a life threatening situation.

We raised $6 thousand or so to keep a roof over the head of one of our colleagues during the final months of his life when he was too sick to work but was nonetheless evicted from his apartment. We raised $8 thousand or so to prevent a lifelong theatre administrator from losing her home when her husband was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, had to stop working, but needed to be out of work for six months before his disability insurance kicked in. We raised several thousand to install a new furnace in the home of a beloved director who was returning from open heart surgery to an unheated home in the dead of winter.

In every instance I’ve counted myself blessed to be a part of a community that cared so much about taking care of its own. The Richmond Theatre Artists Fund lets us begin to meet these emergency needs before they happen. It lets us raise funds on a strategic rather than a crisis basis. The Fund doesn’t exist to help someone out when they’re between jobs and having trouble paying their cable bill. The Fund exists to meet the critical needs of our brothers and sisters when accident or illness stops them in their tracks. No matter how much insurance we have, none of us can protect ourselves from everything. God willing, the Richmond Theatre Artists Fund will be there to help with emergency expenditures when we need help the most.

Isn’t that worth a few bucks and 90 minutes of your time? Don’t you want to support your colleagues who are giving up seven nights in December to try to help others?

Upcoming shows are tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7:30, this Saturday at 11 pm, and next Monday and Tuesday at 7:30. All performances are in Barksdale’s Willow Lawn lobby. Please call the Barksdale box at 282-2620 to make your reservations.

I hope you’ll join us for this wonderful, joyous and very worthwhile performance.

--Bruce Miller

Holiday Happenings Kick Off This Week

Posted by John Steils

If you’re looking for a way to jump start your holiday celebration, you need look no further than Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV. Our upcoming roster of eight different productions and special events is bound to include something smile-inducing for you and yours. We’re YOUR theatre, so please join in the fun.

1. Home for the Holidays
This is Barksdale’s third annual benefit concert for the Richmond Theatre Artists Fund. Not only will you enjoy a great 2-hour evening of entertainment from some of Richmond’s finest theatre singers, you’ll also be supporting a great cause. This year’s line-up of super-stars includes Brett Ambler, Corey Davis, Jan Guarino, Audra Honaker, Katrinah Lewis, Jason Marks, Robyn O’Neill, Fernando Rivadeniera, Janine Serresseque, Durron Tyree, and Tony Williams at the piano. Erin Thomas is our emcee. Performances are on the starlit Barksdale Willow Lawn lobby stage, with attendance limited to 80 guests sitting cabaret-style at reserved tables. Click for more details.

2. Bifocals Theatre Project
If you’re 55 or older, or if you know a theatre lover who is 55 or older, you really should connect with Barksdale’s Bifocals Theatre Project, our fun and fast-moving initiative designed to serve Greater Richmond’s senior theatre artists and audiences. On Thurs Dec 6 and Fri Dec 7, our Bifocals troupe will present a half-hour version of the radio drama It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Bob Albertia, and featuring the acting talents of Bob himself plus Tom Bass, Woody Eney, Joel Grow, Donna Knicely, Chase Kniffen and Ali Thibodeau. The performance will take place on the lobby stage at Barksdale Willow Lawn. Seating for lunch (optional) begins at 12 noon, and the performance begins at 1 pm. Attendance is limited to 80 guests, and tickets must be reserved in advance. Following the Friday performance will be the annual Bifocals Christmas Party, which is open to all theatre lovers 55 and over, free of charge. Click for more details.

3. Indonesian Shadow Puppet Performance and Concert - FREE
Also this Fri Dec 7, in partnership with the Modlin Center for the Arts at Bruce and Phil’s alma mater (the University of Richmond), Barksdale will present free performances of a traditional Indonesian shadow-puppet performance featuring Dr. Andrew Clay McGraw (ethnomusicologist and music professor at the University), Gusti Putu Sudarta, Dalang (shadow master and musician), and John MacDonald (gamelan musician). Free performances will be at our historic Empire Theatre, conducted as a part of First Fridays. Call Catherine Dudley for more information, 643-2477. And while visiting the historic Empire on First Friday, be sure to enjoy the art photos of Jay Paul, now on display in our lobby gallery. Click for more details.

4. Stretchin’ at Barksdale – only $12 for a GREAT concert
Stretchin’ at Barksdale is our free-wheeling, grab-a-beer-and-chill-to-the-music concert series, presented on Sunday evenings in the “living room” lobby at Barksdale Willow Lawn. This Sun, Dec 9, 6 pm, national rising star Justin Townes Earle, son of country superstar Steve Earle, will be taking the stage with Richmond great Susan Greenbaum. B J Kocen is our impresario and emcee. It’s the best deal on the best music in town. If you enjoy live music in a laid back “at home” atmosphere, you’d be crazy to miss it. No reservations. Purchase tickets at the door. Click for more details.

5. Rostov’s Coffee & Conversations - FREE
Get outa here! You’ve NEVER been to a Coffee & Conversations event??!! Well, there’s no time to start like the present. Next Tues, Dec 11, 9:30 am, join us in the lobby of Barksdale Willow Lawn to hear all the backstage stories directly from the horses’ mouths. Our three leading men of Moonlight and Magnolias will answer all your questions and reveal all the backstage insights you’ve been dying to know. And if you can, come a little early. Rostov’s delicious coffee, hot tea and pastries are available for a suggested donation of $3. No tickets or reservations required. Click for more details.

6. A Christmas Story – Empire Theatre
A great, hilarious play, suitable for the entire family age 6 to 106. You can read review quotes elsewhere on the blog, or call the Theatre IV box office for more info. 344-8040.

7. Moonlight and Magnolias – Barksdale Willow Lawn
A laugh-fest comedy about the making of the screenplay of Gone with the Wind. You can read review quotes elsewhere on the blog, or call the Barksdale box office for more info. 282-2620.

8. Swingtime Canteen – Barksdale Hanover Tavern
A joyous, toe-tapping, boogie-woogie recreation of a USO show from Christmas 1944. You can read review quotes elsewhere on the blog, or call the Barksdale box office for more info. 282-2620.

See you at the theatre!

--John Steils

Retraction and Apology

Posted by Phil Whiteway

First, let me apologize to all parties involved. With nothing but good intentions, we at Barksdale have facilitated the publication of incorrect information. We regret that it happened. If we have confused or offended anyone, we’re sincerely sorry.

We have great affection and respect for Cynthia McMullen. This misstep is our fault, not hers. We apologize to her as well.

In her On the Aisle column in Sunday’s Times-Dispatch, she listed 23 talented and beloved performers in the cast of this year’s Home for the Holidays benefit cabaret, noting that the roster was “subject to change.” The problem is, twelve of the 23 outstanding singers listed will not be appearing in the holiday cabaret, and nine of them hadn’t even been contacted. Also, the names of two of the performers who will be taking part in the cabaret didn’t make it onto the list.

The annual Home for the Holidays cabaret raises money for the Richmond Theatre Artists Fund, sponsored by RAPT (the Richmond Alliance of Professional Theatres) and managed by The Community Foundation.

After spending yesterday trying to figure out what went wrong, we now understand our error. There were three computer lists of performers created during the planning of this year’s cabaret. The first list included many of our favorite theatre singers with established reputations and name recognition. The second list included up-and-coming performers who are still relatively new or unknown to the ticket-buying public. (We created this second list because we wanted to add some "new blood" to this year's cabaret.) The third list was narrowed down from the first two, and included the names of the performers whom we invited to participate in Home for the Holidays 07.

In an inner-office communication, a staff member mistakenly emailed the first list of established singers while intending to email the third narrowed down list. The mistake went forward from there without anyone realizing it. When Debra Wagoner declined the invitation to perform due to a scheduling conflict, her name was removed from the list, as requested, but it was removed from the wrong list.

So the list that wound up being distributed to media outlets was the list of some of our favorite theatre singers with established reputations, minus Debra Wagoner. A couple of other favorite theatre singers were also not on the list, for a variety of reasons.

We apologize. As soon as we realized our mistake, it was immediately corrected in the form of updated information being sent out and published in the paper. Individual notes of apology are being written. We regret that our clogged schedule creates situations ripe for error. We try hard to open shows and distribute accurate information all around.

The finalized list of performers, as of last night, is: Brett Ambler, Corey Davis, Jan Guarino, Audra Honaker, Katrinah Lewis, Jason Marks, Robyn O’Neill, Fernando Rivadeniera, Janine Serresseque, Durron Tyree, and Tony Williams at the piano. Erin Thomas is our emcee.

It’s a great group. We’re embarrassed and sorry that other names were distributed to the media without their knowledge or consent. I hope everyone involved, whether you are an artist or an audience member, will forgive us for this blunder. I ask for your understanding and appreciate your acceptance of this heartfelt apology.

--Phil Whiteway

Cole II - Fun with Photo / Singing on Soundtrack

Our Where Are They Now blog entry on Michael Cole received a welcomed comment from Carol de Giere (picutred to the left), webmaster of a comprehensive, free Stephen Schwartz e-zine (http://www.theschwartzscene.com/), brought to you by http://www.musicalschwartz.com/, the official fan site for Stephen Schwartz. The article and photo that appear below are sent by Carol, and they're a fun addition to the Michael Cole / Stephen Schwartz saga. We post them here with Carol and Michael’s permission.

Those with good memories (and some longstanding Richmond theatre knowledge) will know that the face that has been replaced by Stephen Schwartz's visage in the photo Carol sent is none other than Richmond’s own Joe Inscoe, TheatreVirginia’s Ebenezer Scrooge extraordinaire, pictured here (seated to the right) in our production of The Drawer Boy, with Brett Ambler and David Bridgewater.

And now the story from Carol:

Michael Cole doctored a photo that started as a publicity still from a production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at TheatreVirginia, in which Michael portrayed the role of Fred. Stephen Schwartz's face was added later. Michael provides background explanation for this playful photo in the text that follows.

"It doesn't happen often, but sometimes I sit down at my desk in my office on West 54th Street and among the to-do's and checks and bills, I find a hand written note from Stephen Schwartz on a yellow

legal pad asking me to go on some crazy errand. This errand might involve cab rides or trips on the subway. It might also include meeting so-and-so at such-and-such a place to pick up a package to be addressed and delivered to Federal Express so it will arrive at its destination by the next business morning. Or the note might instruct me to take the keys from the kitchen counter and move his car from one side of the street to the other on the days when 'alternate side of the street parking rules are in effect.' This errand includes sitting in the car for an hour until the parking rules allow me to legally park his car again.

One day Stephen was feeling very "Dickensian" as he was scribbling a note to me that would send me running all around the city doing his chores. He invented a "Pen name" and jokingly signed the letter Ezekiel Scrubb, Esq. When I see a note signed "Ezekiel" I know I'm off on a merry chase. He always apologizes to me before he sends me on one of these errands, and though I appreciate it, I never feel an apology is necessary. Aside from doing the usual bill paying and office managerial duties, a big part of my job is to do anything I can to make his life easier and less stressful. I decided I wanted my own pen name and now sign my notes to him simply 'Boy.' "

Michael also sends this current news:

Folks might like to know that Stephen Schwartz has a new Disney movie coming out in November of this year, and I had the terrific pleasure of singing on the soundtrack. Here is a link to the fantastic trailer for Enchanted - Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz:

http://www.collider.com/entertainment/news/article.asp/aid/4505/tcid/1

This is actually a different link than the one that Michael provided, but I couldn't make his link work on my computer. More info on Enchanted can be found on Carol’s e-zine at:

http://www.musicalschwartz.com/disney-movies-enchanted.htm