All is "Well" at Barksdale

Posted by Bruce Miller
One of the strongest influences on my notion of what distinguishes a great theatre from the rest of the crowd comes from the 20 or so years I subscribed to Arena Stage, the granddaddy of all major professional theatres, still going strong in Washington D. C. I began my Arena journey in my junior year of college, 1970 – 71. Two of my professors and mentors were subscribers—Jack Welsh and Ruth Salisbury. They were looking for someone to round out the car pool. If memory serves, Jack fronted me the money and I paid him back bit by bit over the school year.

I renewed my subscription annually after that, working my way over two decades into the best seats in the house. For many years I continued to subscribe with Jack and Ruth (Phil Whiteway joined our intrepid group sometime in the early 70s). Later Phil and I struck out on my own, eventually recruiting our girlfriends / wives, Donna and Terrie. Dianne Graham was with us for several years. Then Phil and Donna dropped out around the time that PJ was born in the early 80s, and Terrie and I called it quits when she became pregnant with Hannah during the 1989 – 90 Season. After the kids, who had the time or money?

Anyway, one of the things I learned during this double decade experience was that some of the shows I enjoyed the most were the ones I knew the least about. They may or may not have been “great” plays—time is the only judge of that. They were “of the moment,” almost ephemeral, often loosely crafted works of whimsy and/or drama, not necessarily meant to stand the test of time. They were part of the zeitgeist. They gave us lots to talk about on the ride home.

I particularly recall History of American Film and The Marriage of Bette and Boo, both by Christopher Durang, Pueblo, Isn’t It Romantic? by Wendy Wasserstein, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window by Lorraine Hansberry, Moonchildren by Michael Weller, Status Quo Vadis by Donald Driver, Streamers by David Rabe, and Nightclub Cantata by Elizabeth Swados, among many, many others.

I LOVED the fact that Arena, under the brilliant artistic direction of Zelda Fichandler, had the daring to mix it up. Interspersed with the Arthur Millers and Thornton Wilders, with the Ibsens and Chekhovs and Brechts, would be young and current writers who were testing the boundaries and breaking the molds.

At Barksdale Theatre, my artistic decisions are influenced absolutely by Zelda’s aesthetic. I wish we had the resources to do more Millers, Wilders, Ibsens, Chekhovs and Brechts. I’m proud that we have the daring to include in each season new, lesser known (at least in Richmond) works such as our current production of Well by Lisa Kron, and our recent productions of The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl, The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane, Brooklyn Boy by Donald Margulies, Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey, and Melissa Arctic by Craig Wright.

Only by exploring new work do we grow as artists and audiences.

If you’d like to join us on the journey, we invite you to round out the car pool.

See you at the theatre.

--Bruce Miller

Snow White Takes Up Powerlifting

Posted by Bruce Miller
As I was making breakfast for Curt at 6:10 am this morning, Terrie walked into the kitchen after having picked up the paper at the end of our driveway. “Donna Deekens is going to be on Wife Swap,” she informed me. I dropped the spatula.

I’d never seen the TV show with this provocative name, but I’d heard of it. In my imaginings it conjured up images of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.

For those not old enough to remember this quadrupley-ampersanded title, B&C&T&A was an iconic late 60s film (which I loved, by the way) about wife swapping, swinging, open marriage, free love, quad, polyamory, partnertausch … the morals of some of what we considered in the late 60s may have been pathetic, but the vocabulary was expansive.

Anyway, until this morning, I’d never expected to hear the words “Donna Deekens” and “wife swap” in the same sentence.

Donna Deekens is a longstanding friend of mine. She, Phil and Donna Whiteway, and I were theatre majors together at the University of Richmond. Donna Deekens (Donna Strother in those bygone days of yore) played Bianca in Kiss Me Kate during her freshman year (my sophomore), and I was one of her Tom, Dick or Harry suitors.

After graduation, Donna spent 20 years playing the Snow Queen during the Saturday afternoon Santa Teas at the Miller & Rhoads Tea Room in downtown Richmond. It was all about singing White Christmas and wearing long white gloves. Phil and I spent those same 20 years producing the rest of the entertainment for the Santa Teas.

(I also hosted the weekly Santa Breakfasts for 20 years at Thalhimers in The Richmond Room. I’m still stopped on the street every now and then and asked if I’m not Snow Bear’s Friend.)

Anyway, good times.

But despite the hint of naughtiness that prompted her casting as Bianca, Donna Deekens has always been the flesh and blood incarnation of Snow White. “Donna Deekens” … “driven snow.” That works for me. “Donna Deekens” … “wife swap.” Not so much.

Quoting from this morning’s Times-Dispatch, here’s a more accurate description of Donna’s Wife Swap-ing experience:

“A Midlothian woman switched families for a week, and tonight, America gets to watch. Donna Deekens, who runs a tea party business, traded places with a tattooed female powerlifter from New York for an episode of ABC’s Wife Swap. The hourlong show airs tonight at 8, locally on WRIC-Channel 8.

‘Contrast is what they’re looking for,’ Deekens said of the show’s producers, ‘and they got it with this one.’ She described the experience as ‘a wild ride … quite an adventure.’

It was an adventure she did not seek. The show’s producers contacted Deekens, having found her Web site—www.virginiateaparties.com—and apparently felt they could build a show around someone who runs a company called Teapots, Treats & Traditions. Deekens puts on tea parties, primarily for children, and along with cups of tea and dainty sandwiches serves helpings of manners, etiquette and social graces.

She and her husband, Bill, a mortgage banker, had not seen Wife Swap until they were invited to apply to participate. ‘It was something kind of scary, and something kind of exciting,’ said Deekens, the mother of two sons. ‘We look at it as trying something completely different. I always think it’s a good thing to learn from other people.’

In this cast, the other people were the McCaslins from Tribes Hill, N.Y., who live in an old elementary school and one-time mental hospital they’ve converted into a powerlifting gym. Their business is called Iron Asylum Gym.

Sandi McCaslin, who can lift more that 300 pounds and has a tattoo on her leg that reads, “Whatever It Takes,” spent more than a week in the Deekens’ suburban Midlothian home setting up tea parties. Meantime, Donna Deekens was in New York, learning all about the gym business and trying to persuade the McCaslins’ two powerlifting daughters to become more feminine.”

Hmmm. All I can say is, time to fire up the TiVo! This is one reality show I don’t want to miss.

As for my friend Donna Deekens, I think she’s great and I can’t wait to see her take this on. Donna is a talented actress and singer, by the way, and a great mom. I’m sure a fun (and wholesome) time will be had by all.

After this night of TV, I look forward to seeing you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

(Note: All photos feature Donna and come from her tea party website.)