My Regards to Broadway - Part I

Posted by Bruce Miller
No NYC trip is complete, or even conceivable for me, without spending time at the theatre. Two weeks ago, I arrived in the Big Apple on Wednesday morning and headed back to Richmond the following Monday. In between, I conducted two full days of auditions, participated in a couple meetings, took in some sights with my family, and saw seven shows.

I know. I’m a theatre fool.

Wednesday afternoon Phil and I got TKTS tickets to see Mary Stuart, a wonderful Broadway transfer from London’s Donmar Warehouse. Mary Stuart is a masterwork by 18th century German playwright Friedrich Schiller, sometimes referred to as “the German Shakespeare.” This production features a newly adapted script by Peter Oswald, and two magnificent performances by Janet McTeer (Mary Stuart) and Harriet Walter (Queen Elizabeth I). Mary Stuart is directed by Phyllida Lloyd, who also directed the polar opposite Broadway smash, Mamma Mia.

Phil and I both were tired when we saw Mary Stuart, having left our homes at 4 a.m.. Perhaps that is why we thought Act I was a little too “scholarly,” “talky,” “dry” … I don’t know the right word. We both thought Act II was riveting.

Wednesday night we went to bed early in anticipation of our Thursday auditions.

Thursday night the two of us got TKTS tickets to Ruined, the new Pulitzer Prize-winner from Lynn Nottage, author of Intimate Apparel. It was a beautiful production at Manhattan Theatre Club’s City Center Stage 1 space. If you sit in certain seats in this venue, the leg room is excruciatingly cramped. I’m not exaggerating. I’m 6’ 1”, and when I sit bolt upright, my 16” femur, measuring from hip socket to patella, is about two inches longer than the space provided. I was in some pretty extensive pain in Act I, so I moved into some unsold seats in Act II, where I could put one knee to the right of the seat in front of me and one to the left. Then, literally 10 seconds before the lights went out, a tall woman who was apparently having similar difficulties scurried into the empty seat right next to me. So I watched all of Act II with my body facing front and both my legs pointed 45 degrees to the right. More excruciation.

Which is a shame. Nottage’s breathtaking play is about the life and death struggle encountered by women in the Congo. My cousin died in the Congo as a college-age missionary, so I was very interested in Nottage’s moving and compassionate account. It was hard to enjoy the play with shooting pains traveling up my legs and spine. If I ever go to this theatre again, I’m going to have to ask to sit in an adult row.

Friday my family arrived on the train. Phil, Hannah and I went to 9 to 5 while Curt and Terrie headed off to Mary Poppins. Again, we got all the tickets at a discount at the TKTS window.

The three of us who 9 to 5ed it LOVED the show. The stars and ensemble were wonderful—Hannah and I are particularly partial to Allison Janney. West Wing and all that. Joe Mantello directs the piece within an inch of its life. And you’d have to be a stuffed shirt not to love Dolly Parton’s music.

And yet 9 to 5 is closing this week or next, after significantly less than a year's run. It’s a shame that Broadway no longer has room for musicals like this. It was fast, fun, filled with character, nicely written and beautifully crafted by men and women who really know what they're doing. In reminded me of shows like Seesaw, How to Succeed…, Promises Promises—big brassy musicals that were professionally assembled and determined to entertain. Not great classics, to be sure, but real crowd-pleasers constructed by people at the top of their game. The audience that was there with us at 9 to 5 that night LOVED the show. It’s too bad it’s not going to be around after Labor Day for more folks to enjoy. It deserves a much longer run.

Tomorrow—Part II

Delightful, Delectable, D'Beck

Posted by Bruce Miller
I’m going to be writing a lot about Guys and Dolls this summer, so where to begin? Last night’s Opening was fantastic. The critics will weigh in with their opinions on Monday and thereafter, and if we don’t win some significant raves, I’ll be really surprised. Suffice it say Phil and I are very pleased.

No one deserves credit for the wonderful production more than our brilliant leader Patti D’Beck. A veteran of numerous Broadway musicals, Patti knows what makes a show tick. Her staging and choreography are fun, inventive and rousing. She knows how to make her performers look good, choreographing to their strengths. She knows the traditions and styles that make an American classic like Guys blow the roof off the house. And she delivers the goods with her personal flair, leaving the audience begging for more.

So just how major of a Broadway bigwig is Patti? Consider this. Her credits as associate choreographer, supervisor, dance captain and actor include the original Broadway productions of Applause with Lauren Bacall, A Chorus Line, Seesaw, Pippin with Ben Vereen, Evita, The Will Rogers Follies, My One and Only with Twiggy and Tommy Tune, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, as well as acclaimed recent revivals of Annie Get Your Gun with Bernadette Peters, Bells Are Ringing with Faith Prince, and Grease. I missed the last two; otherwise I saw and loved them all.

Best of all—and I do mean “best of all” even though this admirable trait will never be seen by the audience, at least not directly—Patti is nice. Make that NICE!! Patti has a resume that would give most people a head the size of a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon. And yet she has no ego—at least none that she puts on display.

She is friendly, always smiling and well spoken, consistently positive, and an incredible team player who seeks and welcomes input from her colleagues. She’s a tireless model of professionalism. She aims to please, but she’s not needy. She’s respectful—respectful of each of her performers (knowing and appreciating where they are in their careers), respectful of our staff (understanding and even welcoming the reality that a company like Barksdale has limitations), and respectful of her producers.

On a show like Guys and Dolls, Phil and I work our hindquarters off, but it’s almost all behind the scenes. Patti gets it. I can’t remember the last time a Broadway veteran made a point to tell me, as Patti graciously did last night, how much she respected what it takes to run a major professional theatre in Richmond.

Guys is a HUGE show for us. Shoot, Guys is a huge show for any theatre. I think you’ll agree when you see it. Patti is able to make all the puzzle pieces fit. Because of her exemplary skill set and her winning personality, we made it to Opening Night with everyone feeling like part of a loving, supportive family. That’s a talent you won’t read about in reviews, but take my word for it, it’s exceptional.

I can’t wait to work with Patti again, should I be so lucky.

And if YOU have any sense, call and make your reservations for Guys and Dolls today. We think it’s going to be a blockbuster. It’s like Broadway on Broad Street—a wonderful evening in the theatre! I hope to see you there.

--Bruce Miller