Hats Off to Barksdale's Mighty Volunteers

Posted by Bruce Miller
Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes, ages, races and creeds. God bless them every one.

About 120 of Barksdale and Theatre IV’s finest volunteers gathered last evening for our annual Volunteer Rally in our Willow Lawn lobby. Jean Hartley (our Volunteer Coordinator), her husband Dorman, Jennings Whiteway (our Events, Access and Food Service Manager), Jeanette Blaylock (volunteer chef extraordinaire), and Bob Albertia (our Group Sales Manager) provided the management, food and decoration for the event.

Steve Moore tickled the ivories beautifully throughout the evening. Speakers included Jean Hartley, Joy Ross (our Community Relations Manager), Bob Albertia, Phil Whiteway and me. Jeanette Blaylock’s famous artichoke dip, crab dip, fresh salsa and brownie bites complemented the crudités and ham biscuits provided by our friendly and generous downstairs neighbors, Padow’s Deli. From all appearances, a fun time was had by all.

Present in everyone’s hearts was Elizabeth Prevatt, one or our foremost and longest-serving volunteers, who died last month at age 82. Elizabeth was the elegant, prim, white-haired lady who for many years greeted audience members and took their tickets as they entered the lobby at the top of our stairs. With love and respect, our current production of The Clean House is dedicated to Elizabeth's memory.

Volunteers at Barksdale and Theatre IV work as ushers at our Willow Lawn, Hanover Tavern, and historic Empire theatres. They also assist with concessions, man the Will Call Window in our box office during some performances, assist with lunch service responsibilities during Bifocal’s matinees, and provide administrative support as needed.

Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV would not survive without our able, talented and generous volunteers. If you would like to join our growing volunteer family, please call Jean Hartley at 355-3434.

See you at the theatre!

(Photo note: The youthful volunteers pictured above and to the left served on the all-volunteer crew for Barksdale and Steward School's co-production of Disney's High School Musical during the summer of 08.)

--Bruce Miller

Taking Stock, Giving Thanks

Posted by Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays. All of us at Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV have many reasons to be thankful.

We are thankful for:

the legacy of hard work, unflappable commitment and uncompromising artistic passion that is our birthright, a gift beyond measure that has been passed on to us by Pete and Nancy Kilgore and Muriel McAuley

a family of theatre artists whose number and talents belie the size of our community, who constantly challenge us to lead and to serve

an intelligent, energized audience that bucks all national trends and continues to grow year after year—an audience that celebrates our successes and pardons our turkeys—an audience that encourages us to risk failure and expects us to do our best

a large and vigilant staff that works selflessly and creatively behind the scenes to generate the energy needed to sustain a major institution (unless you’ve seen them work their magic first hand, you probably have no idea)

financial contributors who believe in the necessity of what we do and are willing to put their money where their hearts are—corporate and foundation donors who understand that it is only through their support that nonprofit arts organizations can work to ensure that everyone has a seat at the table (or at least in the theatre)

trustees who provide the expertise we need to provide ongoing and effective management, who serve as our eyes and ears in the community, who take personal responsibility for the care and feeding of our mission, and who form a bulwark that protects us when times get tough

volunteers who contribute that most precious commodity—time, and who lend encouragement with an unwavering smile

the Virginia Commission for the Arts, under the exemplary leadership of Peggy Baggett (pictured to the right), always caring, always communicating, always holding us to the highest standards

institutional partners like Greater Richmond’s many senior centers and retirement living facilities (Barksdale’s Bifocals Theatre Project); the Hanover Tavern Foundation (our Country Playhouse Season at Hanover Tavern); James River Writers and the READ Center (Virginia Arts & Letters Live); the Latin Ballet of Virginia (Latino Theatre Project); Prevent Child Abuse Virginia and the Virginia Dept of Social Services (Hugs and Kisses); Second Presbyterian Church (the Acts of Faith Festival); Bon Air Presbyterian, Forest Hill Presbyterian and Tabernacle Baptist (rehearsal space); and the Steward School (our summer High School All Star Musical)—all of which help us build capacity to better meet the needs of our community

esteemed colleagues at the African American Repertory Theatre, the Carpenter Science Theatre, the Chamberlayne Actors Theatre, the Firehouse Theatre Project, the Henley Street Theatre, the Richmond Ballet, the Richmond Shakespeare Theatre, the Richmond Symphony, the Richmond Triangle Players, Swift Creek Mill Theatre, Sycamore Rouge, the Virginia Opera Association and many other nonprofit performing arts organizations who help to create the critical mass that keeps all of us afloat

thriving university theatre programs at Randolph Macon, the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University—their faculty expertise and student talent adds to the lifeblood of our theatre

remarkable youth training programs including the Christian Youth Theatre, HATTheatre, SPARC and many others—enabling children to engage in the arts both as participants and appreciators

and most importantly, the hundreds of thousands of individuals who go nameless here, who buy the tickets, book the tours, assemble the groups, make the contributions, and simply do their part each year to ensure the success of Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV.

Thank you. We couldn’t do it without you.

Have a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving.

--Bruce Miller and Phil Whiteway

Bidding Bye Bye to "Birdie"

Posted by Bruce Miller

I was sad to be out of town (or otherwise engaged) during the recent run of Bye Bye Birdie at Dogwood Dell. The original "rock ‘n’ roll musical" was performed six times from August 3 until 11 as the grand finale in the Dell’s 51st annual Festival of the Arts, produced by Richmond’s Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. From all reports, it was a huge success, attracting, I’ve been told, the largest Dell crowds in a decade.

Bye Bye Birdie won the Best Musical Tony in 1961, and put Charles Strouse on the road to earn the Broadway legend status he enjoys today. Charles has quite a few Richmond connections, and that’s one reason I really wanted to see Birdie. But more about that in a future blog entry.

The main reason I wanted to see Birdie was to enjoy the work of all of my friends who were involved in the production.

The show was directed by Tony Sharpenstein, a fine fellow who co-starred in a production of The Prince and the Pauper that I directed years ago at Theatre IV—a production I remember fondly. It would have been my first time seeing Tony’s work as a director, so I’m really sorry that my schedule didn't allow me to attend.

I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know who choreographed, music directed and/or designed Bye Bye Birdie. The press releases that I can find on line simply don't list that information. If someone wants to leave me that info in a comment, I’d appreciate it.

Among Birdie's adult cast, Robert Fuhrman is an alum of Barksdale’s Where’s Charley?, David Janosik appeared as a child in Theatre IV’s Charley and the Chocolate Factory, Dee Lynch co-starred in Theatre IV’s production of Cowgirls and music directed Barksdale’s productions of The Full Monty and Anything Goes, and Terri Moore was wonderful in that same production of The Prince and the Pauper that I mentioned earlier.

Among the young people in the Birdie cast, Charlie Dacus recently dazzled me with his backbends in Theatre IV’s The Wizard of Oz; Ryan Lynch, Hannah Martin and Liz Van’t Reit were a joy to direct in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (also at Theatre IV); and Sarah Pruden, Robert Watkins and Chris Withers simply knocked my socks off in last summer’s Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical, Grease, co-produced by Barksdale Theatre and The Steward School.

I'm told that Robbie Fuhrman and Sarah Pruden were terrific as the leads in Birdie, playing Albert Peterson and Kim McAfee, respectively, so I’m especially sorry to have missed their performances.

Anyway, I’m proud of all our Theatre IV and Barksdale veterans, and look forward to the next time when I’ll be able to catch them on stage. If Birdie was half as good as friends told me it was, you all did a GREAT job.

--Bruce Miller

The Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical Gets Greater Every Year!

Posted by Bruce Miller

The company of Disney’s High School Musical celebrated after a joyous closing last night, having sold out every performance of its three-week, 15-show run! The Cramer Center seats 500 and additional portable seats were sold or comped at every show. All told, over 7,700 people enjoyed the show.

This tremendous success is due to the hard work and talent of every member of the company, from our able crew to our rockin’ pit band to our console operators to our fantastic box office staff and house volunteers to our top-of-their-game designers, director and choreographer. We’re All in This Together is not just the name of a song.

The success is due also, I know, to the fact that Disney’s High School Musical is a national, almost cultish phenomenon right now, and we’re riding that wave. High School Musical II opens on the Disney Channel on August 17, and if you don't already have that date marked on your calendar, then you must not be in upper elementary. If you were to ask the first 8-year-old girl you meet on the street to name an American musical, there’s a 95% chance that Disney’s High School Musical would be the show she’d name (she'd leave out the Disney, but by contract I'm not allowed to)—with Hairspray and Wicked probably being a close second and third. In my childhood, it would have been The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. These are the shows that have taken their place. It will be hard, if not impossible, to replicate this box office success next summer.

But it's more than just that. I have to say that I saw the last 15 to 20 minutes of the show probably ten times, and it never failed to bring a tear to my eye. It’s very moving—there’s no other way for me to describe it—to see so many kids from so many different parts of our metro area all singing and dancing their hearts out together in perfect harmony. They come from 20 different high schools and home schools and 18 different zip codes. And from all I could tell, they couldn’t have become better friends or formed a more cohesive team.

Our annual Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical is a GREAT program. Thanks to our partner, The Steward School, our sponsor, McGeorge Mercedes, and everyone involved. I hope you all have a wonderful rest-of-the-summer!

--Bruce Miller

The Greater Richmond H S All Star Robe

Posted by Bruce Miller
What do the first two Greater Richmond High School All Star Musicals (Grease and Disney’s High School Musical) have in common? Well, lots of things. But even after noting the similarities in plot, characters and tone, one is struck by the central theme running through the final number of both shows.

“We go together,” the entire cast of Grease sings at show’s end, “Like rama lama lama ke ding a de ding a dong. Remembered forever, like shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom. Chang chang chang-it-ty chang shoo bop, That’s the way it should be!”

And from Disney’s High School Musical …

“Together, together, together everyone

Together, together, come on let’s have some fun

Together, we’re there for each other every time

Together, together, come on let’s do this right

Here and now its time for celebration

I finally figured it out

That all our dreams have no limitations

That's what it’s all about

Everyone is special in their own way

We make each other strong

We’re not the same

We’re different in a good way

Together's where we belong

We're all in this together

Once we know that we are
We're all stars and we see that

We're all in this together

And it shows when we stand hand in hand

Make our dreams come true”

Last summer, the company of Grease began a tradition at their closing night party to recognize the togetherness that existed among them, and to pass that spirit of unity on to the cast of the Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical 2007. They each wrote a signed message of best wishes onto a cardboard tag, and pinned them all onto the turquoise silk robe worn by Sarah Pruden in the show.

Each member of the company who had graduated and was leaving high school behind (Tyler Adams, Deejay Gray, Claire Harvey, Andy Nestor, Emily Perkins, Sarah Pruden, Steven Ralph, Robert Watkins and Chris Withers) put on the robe and circled the cast. Finally, a pink poodle representing Grease was sewn onto the robe before it was returned to costume storage for the long cold winter.

This year, on Opening Night of Disney’s High School Musical, the Robe, now aged in a year’s worth of love and good will (thereby earning the right to spell its name with a capital R), was presented to Suzanne Spicer, the actor in the ensemble who had reached the highest grade level and enjoyed the most experience in previous editions of the Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical. Suzanne put on the Robe, and, before the show, visited each company member throughout the theatre, inviting them to connect with the Robe (and the spirit it represents) for good luck. They all did. Dave Amadee buried his face in the darn thing.

OPENING NIGHT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS! Following the final performance of Disney’s High School Musical next Sunday, the entire company will be invited again to create personal expressions of best wishes and pin them onto the Robe as a gesture of support for next summer’s cast. A three-dimensional symbol of High School Musical will be sewn onto the Robe also, so that the Grease poodle won’t have to spend another winter alone.

Then, next July, another cast of talented High School All Stars will take their turn on the stage and in the Robe.

As Stephanie Carr, last summer’s Rizzo, wrote on her tag: “Appreciate this opportunity with all of your heart. You make one-of-a-kind friends and walk away with unforgettable memories. HAVE FUN. Break a leg.”

“We’re all in this together.” “That’s the way it should be.”

--Bruce Miller

Wallabies, Sing Along! Yeah, You Really Got It Goin' On!

Posted by Hannah Miller
Do a Google Image search for Wallabies, and most of what you’ll see are shoes. Oh yes, there also are the occasional musical group and rugby team. For whatever reason, the web celebrates Wallaby (or Wallabee) footwear, rockers and footballers (the Australian word for rugby players) a good deal more than it recognizes wallabies—the marsupial.

Don’t tell this to Ruby, the pet wallaby (miniature kangaroo) owned by Paul Newell and his family. Paul plays the basketball referee and other characters in Disney’s High School Musical, playing for one more week in the Cramer Center Theatre, co-produced by Barksdale Theatre and The Steward School. Ruby is a sensitive sole—ah, excuse me—soul, and we wouldn't want to hurt her feelings.

“When I was ten,” relates Paul, “my favorite animal was a kangaroo. And then one day I was playing around on line and discovered a farm in Missouri that bred wallabies, which are just like kangaroos only smaller. I started pleading with my parents to get one, and eventually they did.”

Didn’t buying a wallaby for a pet seem, well, odd to the Newells? “Not at all,” says Paul. “My mother always had a lot of exotic pets, so owning a wallaby seemed relatively normal.” Paul also is the proud owner of a cat and two flying squirrels. "Actually, the flying squirrels aren't squirrels," adds Paul. "They're sugar gliders, which are small gliding possums native to Australia. They're marsupials too."

Among this menagerie, Paul swears that Ruby is the shining light. “She’s smarter than the cat, because she knows her name and comes when she’s called. But she’s dumber than a dog, because you can’t teach her tricks.”

The Newells have been able to teach her some manageable personal hygiene habits however. “She’s paper trained,” continues Paul. “We haven’t had an accident yet. Which is more than I can say for the sugar gliders.”

Ruby is now in her teens in kangaroo years. If they choose to, the Newells could begin breeding Ruby in October. But for the time being, they seem content to allow Ruby to roam freely through their beautiful West End home.

One day during a break in rehearsals for Disney’s High School Musical, several of us stopped by Paul’s house to visit Ruby. She was shy, and hid under the dining room table. Since she stands less than 3 feet tall, that wasn’t too hard to do. But then we all noticed the telltale tail extending out between the legs of the dining room chairs.

“Better be careful,” warned Paul, as one courageous actor began to approach Ruby. “Like any kangaroo, she likes to kick and punch—but only in fun.”

We know that the basketball uniforms in our play say Wildcats, but after meeting Paul’s fascinating and unusual pet, we like to think of his Wallaby as being our alternative mascot.

Just so long as none of the Wallabies on the basketball team start to hide under the cafeteria tables, or forget to use their papers.

--Hannah Miller

In Memoriam: Paul R. Cramer Sr.

We are saddened to note the passing this week of Paul R. Cramer, namesake of the Paul R. Cramer Center for the Arts at Steward School, home of our current production of Disney’s High School Musical. The crew dimmed the lights on Friday evening in Mr. Cramer’s honor, and we will be dedicating The Member of the Wedding, our fall production at Barksdale Willow Lawn, to his memory.

We didn’t know Mr. Cramer well; we met him only once. When Barksdale Theatre and Steward School first revived the Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical last summer, Mr. Cramer attended our co-production of Grease. He told us how proud he was to see talented students from all over metro Richmond coming together to create a citywide musical in the theatre that bore his name.

Mr. Cramer came to Richmond and Steward School in 1975, leaving his Massachusetts home to dedicate the rest of his life to building and enriching the Steward School family and campus. When he arrived, Steward had one building and 203 students K – 10. After 19 years of Mr. Cramer’s exemplary leadership, Steward School is today a cornerstone of metro Richmond’s educational community, boasting an enrollment of 615 in grades K – 12, five academic buildings, a thriving athletic campus, and one of Virginia’s most impressive theatre facilities.

The first thing Mr. Cramer did when he came to Steward was to invigorate the curriculum by placing a new emphasis on the arts, music and theatre. It was in recognition of this visionary commitment that the magnificent theatre at the Cramer Center was built and named in Mr. Cramer’s honor.

Mr. Cramer’s legacy will live on at Steward for decades to come. Each summer, 30 to 50 high school theatre students from throughout Central Virginia will come together and benefit greatly from the arts programs that he fostered and sustained.

The student participants in the 2007 production of the Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical come from 20 different high schools and home school programs, and live in 18 different zip codes. Virtually all of them come from schools without theatre facilities that approach the Cramer Center’s level of professionalism. Mr. Cramer’s legacy will continue to benefit not only students like these, but also tens of thousands of cheering theatre fans, young and old, who come to see them perform.

With his family and friends, we at Barksdale Theatre mourn Mr. Cramer’s passing. We also celebrate with them the many great things that have been brought into being by Mr. Cramer’s dedication and hard work. His life has made, and will continue making, an undying contribution to the entire student body of all of Greater Richmond.

--Bruce Miller

Barksdale and Friends

Barksdale recently joined Facebook to promote free programs on offer for students and to get their feedback. Maintaining the page is giving me an education in the ease of the latest social networking applications.

I’m a Generation Xer, born in 1970. I remember downloading short movie clips at 24kb and getting excited the next morning when one was finally on my Apple2e, and I could watch a minute of grainy mush. But these days, if there’s something the younger Gen Y can’t Google in a sec, Wikipedia will at least tell them what it is. Social networking sites like Facebook allow them (and anyone else who’s game) to create a page where friends can write and add photos, video, music and more, and where their content updates so fast that a blog with one post a day looks achingly slow by comparison.

150,000 members a day are joining Facebook, and hours after Barksdale joined, we were loaded with friends who've been associated with us through the Greater Richmond High School All-Star Musicals. I added a large album of Disney’s High School Musical photos for the cast, crew, parents and fans. I started to add an event listing for HSM at The Steward School, but the cast had already done it, and they had hundreds of confirmed RSVPs responding to an exponentially increasing number of invites; word of mouth spreads quickly.

But it’s not just High School Musical information on offer at our new Facebook home. Our blog posts are imported automatically, and more importantly I get a chance to promote Barksdale Theatre Workshop events. BTW is a community-wide initiative designed to establish new connections between Barksdale and high school theatre lovers. It began in 2005 when Bruce Miller and Chase Kniffen met with a group of area high school drama teachers to find out what they thought would be of use to them and to their students.

Current high school students can join BTW for free (by emailing Chase at c.kniffen@barksdalerichmond.org) and as members, they can purchase $10 tickets to special Saturday matinee performances. Members are also invited to attend Play On!, a discussion series featuring our leading professional theatre artists - and pizza - free of charge. Both the discounted matinees and Play On! Discussions were recommendations from area educators.

Facebook gives us an extra chance to introduce this program to students, and it’s also a great place to promote local high school productions (another teacher suggestion) like Chicago, opening at Godwin tonight! The students already created the event; all I had to do was click, and it posted itself on the Barksdale Facebook page… Things are so easy these days.

Barksdale’s Facebook page (a shortened page will be visible to those who are not yet friends)

Jessica Daugherty
Internet Services

Chicago Goes to Edinburgh via Short Pump

Posted by Bruce Miller

The Mills E. Godwin High School Drama Department, under the direction of Mac Damron, is taking their new production of the Broadway musical Chicago to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh Scotland this August. But before they go—and to raise funds that will help them to get there—the school is presenting two performances here in Richmond for the general public.

Now here’s the sad part. I knew the shows were this week, but I thought they were Thursday and Friday or Friday and Saturday. In preparation for writing this blog post, I actually read the fine print on their flyer. The two Richmond performances are Tuesday (tonight) and Friday.

So, it’s too late to catch tonight’s show, unless you want to hot foot it over to Godwin and enjoy the curtain call. But there’s still time to get your tickets for Friday evening’s performance!

Of special note, this Godwin production stars Caron Sinnenberg as Roxie. Caron played Fern with Theatre IV in Charlotte’s Web, and last summer appeared in the ensemble of Grease, co-produced by Barksdale Theatre and Steward School. Also featured in the Godwin production are three other Barksdale and Theatre IV alum: Grace Adams and P J Llewellyn from Grease, and Marissa Vermillera from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

The Friday performance costs $16 at the door, or tickets can be purchased in advance in the Godwin H S Commons, noon to 2 pm, everyday now through Friday. The show takes place at Godwin H S, 2101 Pump Road. Curtain time is 7:30.

It should be a great show, and a great chance to support more of Metro Richmond’s student actors. All of us at Disney’s High School Musical send a big "Break a Leg" to our friends in Chicago!

--Bruce Miller

We're All in This Together

Posted by Bruce Miller
I just returned from Opening Night of Disney’s High School Musical and I'm proud as a peacock. I’m proud of Chase Kniffen (Director), K Strong (Choreographer) and Sherri Matthews (Music Director) who’ve done such a fantastic job assembling a talented cast of 38 actors from 20 different schools (and home schools) and turning them into such a cohesive ensemble.

I’m proud of my talented wife, Terrie Powers (set design), and my equally talented colleagues and friends Sarah Grady (costume design) and Lynne Hartman (light design). The show looks terrific, and moves without a hitch. OK, maybe there were two tiny hitches tonight, but who noticed? These three artists make the show look like a million bucks, on a budget less than 2% that size.

I’m proud of our unsung heroes, and let me first mention our amazing Tech Director, Bruce Rennie. And as I mention his name, I want to say the word “hero” three more times. In show after show, Bruce makes miracles happen behind the scenes. The company doesn’t provide him with nearly enough support staff or expertise. Still, somehow, he always gets the job done. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think there was magic involved. Theatre IV and Barksdale simply could not exist without Bruce Rennie.

The company may not provide Bruce with enough support staff, but the ones we have provided are exceptional in their commitment, talent and hard work. Derek Dumais (Sound Engineer), Adam Tiller (Electrician and Light Board Op), and Wendy Vandergrift (Assistant Tech Director) are invaluable members of the staff. Amy Gethins Sullivan, Kim Parkin, Tia James and Terrie Powers (Painters); Nathan Meadows, John Valerie, and T J Spensieri (Carpenters); and Joe Bock and Virginia Varland (Electricians) have worked tirelessly to create the eight to ten different locales that the show requires.

Most important, I’m proud of our talented kids. But more about them later. In this post, I offer my most heartfelt thanks to the amazing adult leaders noted above. Every cast and audience member owes you a standing ovation.

They’re flying; they’re soaring—and to quote a cliché, you are the wind beneath their wings.

I thank you all for a job well done.

--Bruce Miller

"High School Musical" Megamix

I know I’m beginning to wear out my welcome, if there ever was a welcome, with these endless blog entries about Disney’s High School Musical. It’s a big show, and it’s important to me to give every kid his or her due. So, with respect and appreciation, I’m going to zip through the final ten actors who make our “megamix” of a cast so mix-worthy.

T J Otey is a rising junior at New Kent H S—quite a few of these kids have been dealing with a loooooong commute to be a part of this show. T J is the one who gives a quiet and slightly tone deaf audition in the audition scene, prompting Ms. Darvus to admire his tennis shoes and suggest that he help out with costumes.

Amanda O’Toole is a rising junior at Atlee H S, and she studies dance at Shuffles Dance Studio. She appeared in Pippin with SPARC, and is rallying pep as one of our cheerleaders.

Johanna Reckenbeil is in the a cappella and show choir at Godwin, and she studies dance at Richmond Dance Center, but this is her first theatrical production. She plays one of our “brainiacs,” and adds persuasive hand motions to that section of Counting on You when they sing about Rosa Parks.

Kristin Ricca is back for a second summer, having played Cha Cha last summer in Grease. There’s a really great photo of Kristin dancing with Robert Watkins, last summer’s charming Danny Zuko, about six blog posts back. Kristin is a rising junior at Deep Run H S, and a proud alum of Christian Youth Theatre and the Latin Ballet of Virginia.

Zack Rogers is also a returnee from Grease, and a rising junior at Thomas Dale H S. He has two stand-out moments in the show. He gives an ear wrenching vocal performance in the audition scene, and he finds surprising depth in the movements of a worm.

Andrea Ross is our third Grease alum in a row. She is a rising sophomore at Henrico H S’s Center for the Arts. In the audition scene, she belts out the song like a soulful American Idol contestant.
Hali E. Russell just graduated from Varina H S, and is pleased to be in her first musical. She appears as the “brainiac” who loves hip-hop.

Ariel Spagnolo is a rising junior at Deep Run H S, where she recently played Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. She’s one of our beautiful cheerleaders, and lends her acrobatic skills to several musical numbers.

Suzanne Spicer was the one that we wanted last summer, playing Sandy in Grease. She just graduated from Godwin H S, and credits much of her theatrical success to her twelve years as a student at HATTheatre.

Molly Underwood will soon be a senior in the Math and Science High School at Clover Hill. So of course she’s playing a skater babe in DHSM.

As Porky Pig would say at the end of a Looney Toons cartoon, “Th – th – th - that’s all folks!” Since I’m feeling pretty loony myself right about now, I’ll leave it at that. All of us at Barksdale and Steward are proud of everyone associated with Disney’s High School Musical. I hope you’ll make it a point to stop by in the next two weeks and take in their show.

--Bruce Miller

Another Ten Bop to the Top in "DHSM"

My daughter and I just returned from seeing SPARC’s summer production of Little Shop of Horrors at the Firehouse Theatre. A large group from Disney’s High School Musical went to today’s matinee and had a terrific time. SPARC has pulled together a GREAT cast—9 impressive actors with exceptional talent! Five are VCU students, two are current or recent students at Meadowbrook H S, and two are adults. These great actors deserve their own blog post, and I’ll try to write one in the next few days.

In this entry, let me continue recognizing the exceptional high school students who sing and dance their hearts out in Disney’s High School Musical.

Alex Godschalk just graduated from Steward, so in DHSM he has the home court advantage. He makes the most of it. Alex plays one of the "brainiacs," and he has a great moment when the character of Chad congratulates him with a high five, compelling Alex's character to transform from an up-tight academician to a hip-hop savvy homeboy. It’s one of the biggest laughs of the evening. Next fall Alex will be beginning his tenure as a theatre major at Elon.

Julia Greer is one of our wonderful cheerleaders. Chase, K and Sherri have done a great job creating a cheerleading unit that functions as a team, not as a group of individuals. So it’s hard for me to help you pick out Julia from the rest of her clique, all of whom pretty much dress, move and smile alike, just like they're supposed to. Julia is a rising freshman at Collegiate, and appeared with SPARC last summer in Dear Edwina.

B J Gruber is our heartthrob skater dude who secretly longs to play the cello. He participates in the drama program at Godwin H S, and is the only cast member to start the show off on wheels.

Christie Jackson just graduated from high school and is looking forward to beginning her theatre studies next fall at Madison. If you take note of the skilled acrobat with red hair, you’re noting Christie.

Charles Johnson is a rising senior at Highland Springs H S and received his vocal training with The Greater Richmond Children’s Choir. He’s on our basketball team in DHSM, and enjoying all that dribbling in Getcha Head in the Game.

Kouryn Lupino is a rising senior at Godwin H S, and attended the Center for the Arts at Henrico H S for two years in the musical theatre program. She’s pretty irresistible on stage, and you’ll recognize her as the one who wears a knit cap over her long dark hair.

Hannah Miller is a rising junior at Trinity H S and a returnee from our cast of Grease last summer. She recently appeared in The Wizard of Oz at Theatre IV, and takes dance at the Richmond Dance Center. You’ll spot her in DHSM as the one who is directed to “be the bear” in drama class, and has a beaming smile throughout the ensemble numbers.

Dylan Moon is a proud member of our second pair of siblings, a distinction he shares with his big brother Zac. Last summer, Dylan played the son, Nathan, in The Full Monty at Barksdale Willow Lawn. Last winter he was a floating head in Flowers for Algernon at Swift Creek Mill.

Na’imah Nelson spent her freshman year at the Center for the Arts at Henrico H S, and will soon be a sophomore at Hermitage H S. She received additional training from the Richmond City Dance Theatre, and is pleased to have joined the cheer squad in DHSM.

Paul Newell is a rising junior at Deep Run H S and is a proud alum of Christian Youth Theatre. You can identify Paul as the referee in the climactic basketball game at the end of our show.

And that brings me to the end of this entry. There’s more to come soon regarding the final ten talented teens in our High School Musical entourage. Each one is worth applauding, and we're blessed that all of them have agreed to be in the show.

--Bruce Miller

Meet More "High School Musical" All Stars

One of the interesting things about blogs is that when you write them, the most recent posting appears on top. So if you’re writing a series of six, and you post each part as soon as it’s finished, Part II will appear above Part I, and Part III will appear above Part II, etc. Readers who come along two days later will, most likely, start reading from the top and scroll their way down. So the reading experience can often feel like you’re starting at the back of the book and working your way forward.

Anyway, this is my fourth entry about last night’s triumphant opening of Disney’s High School Musical, and it makes a crazy sort of sense to read my ruminations in reverse order. After all, this is the post where I start boasting about the uber talented ensemble—the 29 gifted kids who aren’t playing the leads. In many ways, the ensemble is the star of the show.

One of our goals with the Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical is to give kids from throughout the Metro Richmond area a chance to work with and get to know each other. The 39 kids who started out in Disney’s High School Musical (we’re now down to 38 due to the departure of one actor who couldn’t make it to rehearsals on time) live in 19 different zip codes!

Our diverse talent pool includes (in alpha order):

Kristen Barney, a rising junior at Deep Run H S, is an accomplished veteran of Christian Youth Theatre and appeared with us last summer as Patty Simcox in Grease. When you see Disney’s High School Musical, Kristen is the beautiful blond who shows off her legit soprano, with exaggeration, in the audition number.

Emlyn Crenshaw, a rising freshman at Maggie Walker Governor’s School (keep your eyes open for this one, Grant), brilliantly played the role of Scout in Barksdale’s To Kill a Mockingbird. At Theatre IV, Emlyn appeared in A Christmas Carol, Honk!, Snow White and the …, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Emlyn is the tiny one who’s accomplished dancing will catch your eye front-and-center with the cheerleaders.

Gray Crenshaw—the other half of one of our two sibling pairs—is a rising senior at Freeman H S, where she played Zaneeta in The Music Man and Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods. Last summer, Gray brought down the house with us as Frenchie in Grease. In DHSM, she’s the one girl who appears incognito as a boy in Getcha Head in the Game.

D J Cummings, a rising senior at Deep Run H S, is a vet of CYT and his high school drama department. Last summer he worked as a production assistant with a professional children’s theatre company in NYC. In the audition scene, he’s the third of the three bohemians, clad all in black. He gets his big laugh by spouting a garble of dolphin noises (or is it a nervous giggle?) for his vocal audition.

Dwayne A. Daniels II, a rising senior at Varina H S, is an active member of his school’s show choir. Dwayne has a stand-out moment during Getcha Head in the Game, sharing a duet with Andrew Schappacher, rapping “And Troy boy Troy be cuttin’ de net.” And on the title page of the script, Disney credits 13 people as lyricists.

Peter Davis is a rising sophomore at Godwin H S, where he knocked us dead as Wally in The 1940s Radio Hour and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. If you want to identify Peter, he’s the skater dude who asks if you have to wear a costume to play the cello, and when he hears about the coat and tie, replies, “That’s uncalled for!” From off-stage, he also shouts “Come on, Wildcats,” the first line in the show.

Kelsey Donner is a rising sophomore at Westminster Academy. She just appeared at the Firehouse in RED, and is an alum of the training programs at Richmond Ballet and Bon Air Dance, and the summer theatre program at Luther Memorial. A petite blond dancer, Kelsey is one of our outstanding cheerleaders and a particularly limber gymnast in Stick to the Status Quo.

Rachel Dozier is about to begin her senior year at Godwin. She’s the second black-clad bohemian in the audition scene. Dylan Moon speak-sings “It’s hard to believe…” and Rachel continues that thought, speak-singing “…that I couldn’t see,” immediately followed by D J Cummings and his dolphin noises (or are they the blips that R2D2 would make when his hard drive is getting fried?)

Patrick Dunnevant just graduated from Godwin, and will be majoring in music composition next year at Belmont University in Nashville. In the show, he’s one of our basketball playing jocks, and during the Counting on You locker room scene, he shouts out the name of basketball legend “Thunderclap Hap Haddon.”

It’s a good thing that the magnificent Cramer Center at Steward School has such a large stage. We need it to accommodate our overwhelming overflow of talent. To learn more about the remaining twenty All Stars, scroll up!

--Bruce Miller

They're Not Called All Stars for Nothing

Needless to say, the most impressive people associated with Disney’s High School Musical, which opened this evening to a well-deserved standing ovation, are the 38 students and two adults who comprise the magnificent cast. We use the moniker Greater Richmond’s High School All Star Musical to describe this annual summertime initiative. These great kids have earned the right to be called “All Stars.” I thank them for their talent and commitment.

Dave Amadee and Nadia Harika head the terrific cast as Troy and Gabriella. Dave is a rising home-schooled senior who comes to us from extensive experience with Christian Youth Theatre—an exceptional training program. At CYT, Dave played The Beast in another Disney musical that I bet you can guess, and more recently Joseph in Joseph … Dreamcoat. Nadia is a rising junior at Deep Run H S, where she most recently performed as Ronnette in Little Shop of Horrors. She has also received training and experience at CYT, as well as SPARC and the Richmond Dance Center.

Ali Thibodeau and Chris Collins play the “second leads”—the Evans twins, Sharpay and Ryan. Ali is a rising junior at Lee-Davis H S, and a dance teacher and performer at Shuffles Dance Center. Ali’s last two shows have been Joseph … Dreamcoat at Swift Creek Mill Theatre and The True Story of Pocahontas at Theatre IV. Chris is a rising senior at Godwin H S, and he’s thrilled to be returning to the beautiful Steward stage this summer after playing Eugene with us last summer in Grease.

Filling our two major supporting roles are Eric D. Brown, Jr. as Troy’s best bud Chad, and Brittney Germaine Slater as Gabriela’s new pal Taylor. Eric comes from a very musical family, his mother being a singer and his father a drummer. He has played saxophone and percussion with the Varina H S Marching Blue Devils, sung with the Varina show choir, and performed with the Ebony Esquire Drum Corps. Brittney is a rising senior at Henrico H S, where she participates in the Honors Chorus and the Center for the Arts.

Rounding out our young featured players are Jessica Harika as Kelsi Nelson (the composer of the musical within the musical), Zac Moon as Jack Scott (the velvet-voiced master of morning announcements), and Andrew Schappacher as Zeke Baylor (the dude who loves to bake and would love even more to be Sharpay’s boyfriend). Jessica, Zac and Andrew all three appeared with us in Grease last summer.

Jessica just graduated from Deep Run H S and will be studying voice at VCU’s School of Music next fall. Zac just graduated from Collegiate and will be studying theatre next year at UNC-Chapel Hill. Andrew, one of our youngest cast members, is a rising freshman at Clover Hill’s Math and Science Center. Andrew has received excellent training at the Jessica Morgan School of Dance. When you see the show, look up on stage for the guy who’s dancing his socks off. That will be our Andrew.

Well, it’s getting to be 2 a.m., and I’m bushed. I hope the rest of the cast will forgive me if I now hit the sack and talk with you more tomorrow about the remaining All Stars who will be gracing our stage for the next three weeks in Disney’s High School Musical.

--Bruce Miller

Greater Richmond H S Musical Returns

During the first year of Theatre IV, 1975-76, our nonprofit company took in either $14,000 or $17,000 during the entire 12-month fiscal year. For some reason I can’t remember which of those two figures is correct. What I do remember is that every penny of that gross revenue went to pay bills, including very meager salaries for everyone except Phil and me. Phil and I didn’t earn any salary from Theatre IV for the first three years.

We earned our living during those salad days waiting tables and acting (I mention waiting tables first cause that’s where the money was) at the Haymarket Dinner Theatre and Swift Creek Mill Playhouse. We talked about waiting some at Barksdale, but, if memory serves, we never actually did. We acted there, but I don’t think we waited there.

We also worked the midnight cash control shift at King’s Dominion during the summers, collecting and counting money, mostly late at night. And I worked as the Drama Director at Collegiate Schools. I didn’t teach any classes, but I directed Barefoot in the Park, Carousel, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, As You Like It, No No Nanette, and Seven Keys to Baldpate. Phil and Lynn Keeton helped with choreography on the two musicals.

There were several wonderfully talented students who played major roles in more than one of those plays, including Page Bauder, Beth Freeman, Meg Hardt, Bill Hickock, Tommy Kastenbaum, Steve Kelly and Mary Lloyd Sinnott.

I remember all of them loving theatre and wishing there were some summer opportunities. In 1977, the Richmond Department of Recreation and Parks provided just such an opportunity. They produced the Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical at Dogwood Dell. In ’77, it was Kismet. It starred Steve Kelly. I remember that Phil and I went to see it, and we were so proud of Steve we could hardly stand it.

Immediately after that summer, I stopped working at Collegiate (my Theatre IV responsibilities were getting to be too much), and the Dell stopped producing the Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical. The two stoppages were not related.

Throughout the nearly 30 years that followed, Phil and I wanted to start once again a summer program that allowed high school drama kids from throughout the entire community to have the chance to audition for and work together on a summer musical that would showcase all their talents. We wanted to revive the Greater Richmond High School All Star Musical, that terrific community-wide program from the past.

Until last summer, the only similar opportunities that existed were available only to those kids who could afford to pass on a summer day job to attend daytime rehearsals, and, in most cases, pay several hundred dollars in tuition to be in the show. And many of the leads in the shows that existed were actually played not by high school kids, but by adult professionals and/or college theatre majors.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the programs that existed, and everything right with them. They were terrific programs. But they weren’t free, community-wide programs like that fondly remembered production of Kismet at Dogwood Dell.

In the fall of '05, Chase Kniffen and I met with a group of high school drama teachers from throughout Greater Richmond and asked what Barksdale Theatre could do to support their students. No surprise, the number one unfilled need mentioned by these teachers was this: as Metro Richmond’s major professional theatre, wouldn’t it be great if Barksdale could produce a musical every summer in which high school kids could all act together free-of-charge, with evening rehearsals so that kids who needed to could hold down day jobs.

Two days after this meeting, Craig Smith and Andy Mudd, who head the great theatre program at Steward School, called Chase to ask if Barksdale would be interested in filling this unmet need by starting exactly such a program in partnership with Steward School. Barksdale would fill the production responsibilities, and Steward would provide the facility.

That’s how Greater Richmond’s High School All Star Musical came back into being. Last summer we produced Grease at Steward’s fantastic Cramer Center--show photos are included above. This year we will be producing Disney’s High School Musical, opening day after tomorrow, with a cast of 38 wonderfully talented high school students from 20 different schools. Two supporting roles will be played by adults—Kathy Halenda and Michael Hawke.

We hope you’ll support this vital, community-wide program. In many ways, it’s a dream come true. We’re proud to be partnering with Steward School, and we hope you’ll join us at the theatre to see many of Richmond’s finest kids in action.

--Bruce Miller