Moonlight Makes Movie Memory Magic

Posted by Bruce Miller

I just returned from the Opening Night of Moonlight and Magnolias, and I’m psyched at the prospect of having a second holiday hit on our hands. While Swingtime Canteen continues to leave ‘em cheering in its second week at Hanover Tavern, Moonlight and Magnolias is rocking the house with laughter at Willow Lawn.

In the photos that follow, Jennings Whiteway and Michael Hawke prepare a sumptuous Magnolia-themed buffet for the Opening festivities.





Brian Barker, our extremely talented set designer, celebrates the evening’s success with his lovely wife.






Joy Williams, who is a laugh riot as the all-sacrificing Hollywood secretary Miss Poppenguhl, lets her hair down (or at least takes off her wig) to join in the party. And Wendy Vandergrift, our intrepid stage manager, puts her feet up on the on-stage desk for a much needed post performance break.












Former Theatre IV board member Charlotte McCutcheon enjoys the cranberry brie with managing director Phil Whiteway.






Bruce Rennie, the best theatre tech director in Virginia history, finally gets a moment to relax before launching into tech for A Christmas Story, which opens next week at the Empire.





Neil and Sara Belle November can’t stop smiling at the raucous comedy. Co-star Joe Pabst accepts the compliments of our volunteer coordinator Jean Hartley.












Our ever faithful light console operator, Linwood Guyton, shares credit for a job well done with our exceptional light designer, Lynne Hartman.







Co-star Dave Bridgewater enjoys discussing the play with Daren Kelly, who just returned to town after an acting gig with Yale Rep. Our fascinating Gone with the Wind lobby display can be seen in the background.

Keri Wormald (director of our upcoming Doubt) and Steve Perigard (director of Moonlight), discuss the evening’s success with acclaimed actor and director Robert Throckmorton.




And last but not least, longtime supporter Beth Sinnenburg enjoys raising a glass with our third hilarious co-star, Scott Wichmann.

For a great evening’s entertainment, come to Moonlight and Magnolias to see a hilarious new comedy about the making of the classic movie, Gone with the Wind. It’s a wonderful way to add a full share of laughter to your holiday activities.

See you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

Barksdale's Women's Theatre Project

Posted by Bruce Miller

As I begin my seventh season as Barksdale’s Artistic Director, the question I’m asked most frequently is, “How do you decide which plays to produce?” The process has so many layers (and so many players) it requires its own publication.

Part of the answer, however, involves a key commitment we made when we began selecting our first Barksdale Season in 2001-02. We pledged to ourselves, our artists and our audiences that we would, each season, produce at least:
· one work by a woman author,
· one work staged by a woman director, and
· one work that focuses on a strong, central woman.

We call this commitment our Women’s Theatre Project. The Member of the Wedding by the brilliant and legendary Southern author, Carson McCullers (pictured below and to the right), will open our Signature Season at Willow Lawn on September 21. It is a part of this Project.

At first glance, the commitment seems hardly necessary. What theatre wouldn’t, without even trying, produce such a season? And yet, if you review Barksdale’s history prior to 2001 and Richmond theatre history in general up to today, you’ll find that the majority of seasons fail to meet these minimal standards.

In the last seven seasons, we’re proud to have selected 15 plays and musicals by women authors. Several of these productions have been among our biggest hits, including The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, Annie Get Your Gun co-written by Dorothy Fields, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Crowns by Regina Taylor, and Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage—to mention only a few.

We’re proud that sixteen of our plays and musicals have been directed by leading women artists, including Robin Arthur, Nancy Cates, Jan Guarino, Leslie Owens Harrington, Susan Sanford, K Strong, Dawn Westbrook and Keri Wormald.

We’re proud of the powerful starring roles performed on our stage by Kathy Halenda, Dorothy Holland, Kelly Kennedy, Liz Mamana, Adanma Onyedike, Robyn O’Neill, Jill Bari Steinberg, Erin Thomas, Harriet Traylor and Irene Ziegler (to name a few), setting a standard for strong, active images of women.

In The Member of the Wedding, actress Katherine Louis (pictured to the left) and playwright Carson McCullers will join this roll of honor. We hope you’ll recognize, appreciate and support the commitments of our Women’s Theatre Project.

Throughout the run of Wedding, we will be exploring the issue of Women and the Arts in our Coffee & Conversations series, our new Cocktail Hour Conversations program, and here on the blog. Please join us in the discussion.

--Bruce Miller

Wepplo, Carter Todd and Wagoner Succeed as Fools

Posted by Bruce Miller

Great news from our friends in Idaho! Richmond actress Aly Wepplo (the shy daughter in Smoke on the Mountain at Hanover Tavern and Older Patrick's wife at the end of Mame) was such a hit in this summer's Spitfire Grill in Hailey that she's been invited back for Company of Fools' Fall Season opener, Doubt by John Patrick Shanley. She'll be playing Sister James. The show runs in Idaho Oct 17 through Nov 3.

Barksdale will be staging Doubt (winner of the 2005 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize) this season as well on our Signature Season at Willow Lawn, February 15 - March 16, starring Irene Ziegler under Keri Wormald's direction.

Adding icing to the Idaho cake, the four person cast of Doubt at Company of Fools will also feature another of Richmond's talented alumnae, Michelle Carter Todd (Fairy Godmother in Theatre IV's Cinderella) as Mrs. Muller. Michelle and her husband Cliff have been living in L A for the past several years, and doing quite well. It's been a pleasure to keep up with them as their careers have continued to flourish.

The only actor already cast in the Barksdale production of Doubt is Irene Ziegler.

A final congratulation goes out to Debra Wagoner (Glenda in Theatre IV's most recent Wizard of Oz). After her many roles at Company of Fools, she was named a Company Artist this summer in Idaho, an honor she shares with world-famous Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, and Richmond-famous Dennis Rexroad, Laine Satterfield, Robert Throckmorton, and Joel Vilinsky.

You can learn more about the wonderful work at Company of Fools by visiting http://www.companyoffools.org/ . As always, we're so happy for their continuing success.

--Bruce Miller