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

Three Days at the Kennedy Center

Anne Murphy Douglas, President of the Board of Theatre IV, and Bennett Fidlow, new Board member at Barksdale Theatre, joined Phil and me for a three-day seminar with Michael Kaiser and others at the Kennedy Center. We returned yesterday afternoon after a highly informative, intensive and fun learning experience. We’re eager to put our newfound insights to good use here in Richmond.

For those who don’t know, Michael Kaiser (who also recently spoke at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Center) is a world-renowned arts leader. Prior to becoming President of the Kennedy Center in 2001, Michael served as Executive Director of the Royal Opera House (the largest performing arts organization in the UK), Executive Director of American Ballet Theatre, Executive Director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater (the world’s largest modern dance organization), and General Manager of the Kansas City Ballet.

Spending two and a half days with Michael feels a little like cramming a year of arts administration training into 20 hours. Part of his brilliance is that he is able to speak clearly and simply, boiling down his extensive experience and research into comprehensible two-hour sessions. His focus areas at seminars such as this include Building an Effective and Energized Board, Strategic Planning, and Institutional Marketing. Other senior executives from the Kennedy Center staff spoke from their areas of expertise: Business Management, Development, Technology and Program Marketing.

Phil and I have been in our positions for 32 years, and never have I felt more in sync with a speaker. In point after point, it was clear that Michael knew exactly what he was talking about. And the points he made applied not only to mammoth international organizations (the Kennedy Center has an annual budget of approximately $160 million) but also to large regional organizations like Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV (combined annual budgets of approximately $5 million).

If you’ve been to many seminars like this, you know that experts can sometimes speak for hours in a theoretical realm, offering little practical advice. Michael knows how to cut to the chase—how to identify the challenges we face and then offer specific suggestions on how to address these challenges. It really was a terrific learning experience, very validating, mind-stretching and informative.

Special thanks to the Virginia Commission for the Arts for funding our participation through their Technical Assistance grant program, and to Anne and Bennett for giving up their time to join us. This is one seminar that I think will pay off handsomely in the futures of Barksdale Theatre, Theatre IV and the Metro Richmond arts scene in general.

Hail and Farewell to

Our sold out production of Smoke on the Mountain closes this Saturday evening. I’m going to be sorry to see it go. Along with Brooklyn Boy at Barksdale Willow Lawn (another show that I loved), Smoke was our entry in this year’s Acts of Faith Festival. I couldn’t have had more fun directing (and watching) this small but heartwarming musical.

Every time you pick or direct a show, it says a little bit about you. I like what Smoke says about me. It connects two important parts of my life—my life as a theatre professional and my life as a person of faith.

I enjoy being an elder, liturgist and Sunday School teacher at Bon Air Presbyterian Church. But like many Presbyterians, I’m not particularly comfortable wearing my religion on my sleeve. To tell the truth, I’m feeling a little uncomfortable now writing this blog entry.

Religion is a personal thing to me; my faith is something I hold on to with a quiet humility. Smoke on the Mountain is not quiet, but it’s certainly humble. It takes place in a small Southern Baptist church in 1938. The central message of the play, to me, is Jesus’ teaching that we should love and accept each other rather than judge and exclude.

In Smoke, Eric Williams is really wonderful as a recovering alcoholic who has recently been released from prison. In Act II, he delivers a moving monologue about how Jesus shared the loaves and fishes with a multitude of men including unlikely congregants like himself. That monologue always chokes me up.

If there’s one thing I’m sure about in my faith journey, it’s this. God loves and extends his grace equally to all of us. Those Christians who choose to judge and shun rather than embrace their fellow men are missing the point.

Smoke was my breath of fresh air. I thank so much the wonderful cast: Emily Cole Bitz, Julie Fulcher, David Janeski, Billy Christopher Maupin, Drew Perkins, Aly Wepplo and Eric Williams. They lit up the stage every night with their open, loving hearts—and their great talents.

I thank our inspired designers: Bennett Fidlow, Heather Hogg, Terrie Powers and David Powers. Their church in the valley by the wildwood was a sanctuary of good will in these troubling times. More than once in the past couple of weeks have I recalled my favorite lyric from the show.

Soft as the voice of an angel breathing a lesson unheard

Hope with a gentle persuasion whispers a comforting word

Wait till the darkness is over, wait till the tempest is done

Hope for the sunshine tomorrow after the darkness is gone

Whispering hope, oh how welcome thy voice

Making my heart in it’s sorrow rejoice

I rejoice in Smoke on the Mountain. Thanks to artists and audiences alike for this opportunity.