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

One Pair of Turtle Doves for Another

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

This weekend in our smash-hit production of The Odd Couple at Hanover Tavern, two of the stellar cast members will be stepping out, making room for two stellar pinch-hitters.

Scott Wichmann, who plays neat freak Felix, and Jen Meharg, who plays the delightful Cecily Pigeon ... or is it Gwendolyn? ... will be stepping out of the show this weekend. Richard Koch and Vicki McLeod will be filling their shoes. The fun thing is that Scott and Jen are a married couple and so are Richard and Vicki.

Major replacements isn't something that happens too frequently on Richmond stages because generally our shows don't run for months or even years, like shows can on Broadway or Off-Broadway. Take Line by Firehouse favorite Israel Horowitz, which is often called the longest running show in history. Granted it only plays one night a week. Or consider Forbidden Broadway which has been running in one incarnation or another since 1982.

The only Broadway production that I have seen twice was John Doyle's incredible re-imagining of Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. I saw it with Patti Lupone (who was awe-inspiring) and then when she was on vacation, with her replacement Judy Kaye. I had heard such great things about Judy Kaye's work in other productions of Sweeney Todd and in her Tony-winning turn in Souvenir, I went back to see her. My favorite moment of hers was when she was upstage-right playing the xylophone (this is one of those John Doyle shows where the actors are also the orchestra) with a look of abject terror on her face. Now, it should be noted that she was up in the corner and maybe wasn't too concerned with being seen, and she did learn the show knowing that she'd be subbing for only a week or two. Nonetheless, her performance was fantastic (very different from Ms. Lupone's, but fantastic still).

It was very funny when I was calling Ticketmaster to order tickets and check on availability because every time I asked about the show they said "Patti Lupone will not be appearing in this performance. Judy Kaye will be taking her place." I KNOW! That's why I'm going back!

But I digress...sometimes, in Richmond, especially with a long-running show like The Odd Couple, there is a time when some of our performers have to step out for a few performances. The last time I remember this happening was several years ago during Barksdale's production of Where's Charley? when the late, great Jim Hilgartner had to leave a couple of weeks before the end of the run and the side-splitting Joe Pabst took over the role of Mr. Spettigue. Incidentally, Joe is the director of our hit production of The Odd Couple! (Not to say that it hasn't happened since, but that's the last time I remember.)

So this was really supposed to be about Vicki and Richard and now I've gotten off-track and...well...anyway...so when I asked Vicki about Richard and herself, I got a very fun response, which I had thought I would use as information for writing about them, but it seems more fun to leave in her voice and just post her own words (I'm awaiting permission from her to do this):

"Let's see...Richard and I met in 1987, working on a locally written, produced and performed comedy pilot for WCVE, Channel 23. The show aired on all the PBS stations in Virginia, with the hope that it would be picked up and become a regular show. Alas, it did not and so we have remained cloaked in obscurity, rather than rising to become Famous PBS Stars.

Okay, how about...Richard loves sleeping very late (whenever possible), eating pizza (he could eat it every night and never grow tired of it, or so he claims) and listening to the music of Mozart and the Beatles, among many other types of music. We both love all kinds of music, listen to it every day and have a huge collection of CDs.

I love working out (I am a personal trainer, certified through the American Council on Exercise), helping others work out and eating really healthy stuff (like a bowl of oatmeal and egg whites, cooked together, or a huge salad with chicken or tuna on it). I also like to eat junk on occasion: really unhealthy buttered popcorn, nachos and beer or big, mean pancake breakfasts with lots of strong, black coffee. I love getting up at or before dawn and going to bed early. I love reading historical diaries and being in the country. I am an introvert, though many people don't believe me when I tell them that."

I would like to add that the first time I saw Richard or Vicki onstage was in Run for Your Wife at Swift Creek Mill Playhouse. Also in that cast were Joy Williams (who appeared recently in Barefoot in the Park at the Tavern, The Magic Flute with Theatre IV and who I just taught with in the Stage Explorers session at Hanover Tavern), Paul Deiss (who is Music Director for the soon-to-open production of Urinetown at Swift Creek Mill), Jason Marks (last seen in Little Shop of Horrors with SPARC), and...Joe Pabst! It was a riot! So when I make it out to see The Odd Couple this weekend (if I can find a seat in a sold out house) I will try very hard to shake the image of Vicki McLeod looking stunning in her lingerie.

--Billy Christopher Maupin

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.”

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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