"Bus Stop" is Barksdale's Next Classic

Posted by Bruce Miller
Let’s revisit the tantalizing subject of the Greatest American Playwrights as a lead-in to my next post on William Inge, the author of Barksdale’s upcoming Hanover Tavern production of Bus Stop. Anyone’s personal list of great playwrights will be highly subjective, of course. So I’ve compiled a consensus list drawn from about 20 or so other lists I’ve found hither, thither and yon.

There seems to be rough agreement about which names to include in the top five American dramatists. In alpha order, they are Edward Albee, Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams and August Wilson. The middle three are carved in stone. The two more contemporary bookends are the only playwrights who appear on virtually everyone’s list of the top ten.

In trying to identify the next five, I find myself on much shakier ground. Relying on the tried-and-true, as most such lists tend to do, you wind up with five giants of the 20th century, whose works continue to be revived on and off Broadway, in major regional theatres, and internationally. Each was a household name in his or her time. Each had an extended career, and their great plays still appear in text books and anthologies around the world as representative American dramas.

What follows is my best stab at the consensus B Team. I make note below of their most acclaimed work for the stage (plus a handful of notable screenplays*). Again, they are in alpha order.

Lillian Hellman
The Children’s Hour [1934], The Little Foxes [1939], Watch on the Rhine [1941], Another Part of the Forest [1946], The Autumn Garden [1951], The Lark—adaptation of the French play by Jean Anouilh [1955], Candide—original libretto of the Bernstein operetta [1957], Toys in the Attic [1960]

William Inge
Come Back, Little Sheba [1950], Picnic [1953], Glory in the Flower [1953], Bus Stop [1955], Dark at the Top of the Stairs [1957]) A Loss of Roses [1959], Splendor in the Grass* [1961], Natural Affection [1962], The Last Pad [1972]

George S. Kaufman (pictured on the 1st Time cover) and his collaborators
Merton of the Movies—with Marc Connelly [1922], Beggar on Horseback—with Marc Connelly [1925], The Butter and Egg Man [1925], The Cocoanuts—libretto with Morrie Ryskind of the Irving Berlin musical [1925], The Royal Family—with Edna Ferber [1927], Animal Crackers—libretto with Morrie Ryskind [1928], June Moon—with Ring Lardner [1929], Once in a Lifetime—with Moss Hart [1930], Of Thee I Sing—libretto with Morrie Ryskind of the Gershwin musical [1931], Dinner at Eight—with Edna Ferber [1932], Merrily We Roll Along—with Moss Hart [1934], You Can’t Take It with You—with Moss Hart [1936], The Man Who Came to Dinner—with Moss Hart [1939], George Washington Slept Here—with Moss Hart [1940]

Clifford Odets (pictured on the 2nd Time cover)
Waiting for Lefty [1935], Awake and Sing! [1935], Paradise Lost [1935], Golden Boy [1937], Rocket to the Moon [1938], Clash by Night [1941], Humoresque* [1946], The Big Knife [1949], The Country Girl [1950], The Sweet Smell of Success* [1957], Wild in the Country* [1961]

Thornton Wilder (pictured on the 3rd Time cover)
The Long Christmas Dinner [1931], The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden [1931], Pullman Car Hiawatha [1931], A Doll’s House—translation and adaptation of the Ibsen masterwork [1935], Our Town [1938], The Merchant of Yonkers [1938], The Beaux’ Stratagem—adaptation of the Farquhar masterwork [1939], The Skin of Our Teeth [1942], Shadow of a Doubt* [1943], Our Century [1947], The Matchmaker [1954], Alcestiad [1955]

I’m proud to note that, in keeping with our mission to produce the great plays—past, present and future, Barksdale has staged 30 productions of major works by eight of the top ten American dramatists. The only two we’ve yet to explore are August Wilson and Clifford Odets. I’ve made a note.

Barksdale productions of the top ten playwrights include (in chronological order):
1956 Our Town – Wilder
1958 The Matchmaker – Wilder
1958 Bus Stop – Inge
1959 The Crucible (revived in ’60) – Miller
1960 Picnic – Inge
1960 A Streetcar Named Desire – Williams
1961 The Rose Tatoo – Williams
1962 The Solid Gold Cadillac – Kaufman and Teichman
1965 Come Back, Little Sheba – Inge
1966 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (revived in ’67) – Albee
1967 The Night of the Iguana – Williams
1972 George Washington Slept Here – Kaufman and Hart
1974 Long Day’s Journey Into Night – O’Neill
1974 You Can’t Take It with You (revived in ’76) – Kaufman and Hart
1975 Ah! Wilderness – O’Neill
1977 The Royal Family – Kaufman and Ferber
1979 The Man Who Came to Dinner – Kaufman and Hart
1983 George Washington Slept Here – Kaufman and Hart
1993 Death of a Salesman – Miller
1994 Our Town – Wilder
1995 The Glass Menagerie – Williams
1999 Three Tall Women – Albee
2001 The Little Foxes – Hellman
2002 The Crucible – Miller
2004 The Man Who Came to Dinner – Kaufman and Hart
2006 The Lark – Hellman
2009 Bus Stop – Inge

Hope to see you at each of our upcoming shows: Bus Stop at Hanover Tavern, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Willow Lawn, A Christmas Carol at the historic Empire, and Black Nativity (co-produced with African American Repertory Theatre) at the Gottwald Playhouse.

--Bruce Miller

A Journeyman Arrives

The day has finally come. After talking about this production for over a year, I am finally producing Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter in the Little Theatre in the Historic Empire Theatre complex. Many people have been asking "Why is he doing a show in the Little Theatre if it has been closed?" The answer to this is that I have just completed a "Journeyman's Year" where I was half-intern and half-employee. Part of my compensation for doing this year was the use of the Little Theatre. (You may remember Chase Kniffen's production of Godspell in the space. That production was done under the same agreement.) Our production was originally scheduled for February, but both David Janeski (who plays the role of Gus) and I were given the opportunity to work on Smoke on the Mountain at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern (I as assistant director and David as Dennis, one of the twins- "he's the boy") and couldn't pass up that opportunity. It turns out for the best because now that the show is going up in August, Carl Calabrese is able to join the cast as Ben.

Carl, David, and I attended Longwood University together, Carl graduating one year after I. Though he is new to the Richmond scene, Carl is sure to be loved by all. The Dumb Waiter is the third show in which I have directed Carl; the other two being The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder and The Brute by Anton Chekhov, Carl having played the lead in both. Another interesting fact: Carl and I played opposite each other as the Antipholus twins in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors at Longwood.

David and I have worked on several shows together over the last year including two shows at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern: Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap and the aforementioned Smoke on the Mountain, as well as Bill C. Davis' new work, Austin's Bridge, at the Firehouse Theatre Project.

To give a brief overview: The Dumb Waiter is a time-honored classic of the absurdist theatre, written in 1960 by Harold Pinter, who would later go on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. This dark comedy is the story of two contract killers waiting in a basement for their next job. Tension runs high due to decidedly contrasting personalities and it only escalates as they are sent encoded commands through an old dumb waiter. The twisting tale is sure to leave you guessing until the very last moments, and it's shocking conclusion! (Dun-Dun-Dun).

This process has been incredibly enjoyable and enlightening. Outside of the obvious duties of a director, so many other things fall onto one's plate when one decides to independently produce a show. From sending out press releases, to painting the set and rigging lights, everything comes at a rapid pace. I have been very fortunate to have many wonderful people give me and advice and help me immensely.

Thank you to Sara, Judi, Wendy, Jessica, both Bruce's, Phil, Catherine, Billy Christopher, and everyone else at Barksdale/Theatre IV who have donated their time to help with things that I could never have done on my own.


Also see the article that appeared in the August 1 STYLE Weekly.


Brad Tuggle
Assistant to the Managing Director