In Memoriam: Carlton Candler

Posted by Janine Serresseque
Our tight-knit theatre community bids a sad goodbye to our beloved friend, Carlton Candler, who passed away unexpectedly in his Manhattan home on January 6.

Carlton was one of the first friends I made when I moved to Richmond in 1993. I didn't know a soul, sought out the first community theatre group I could find in order to meet people, and had the good fortune to land at Henrico Theatre Company. Carlton and I were both in a production of Rumours and we became fast friends. I'm sure anybody who knew Carlton was fast friends with him. You just got drawn in by his bright, generous and exuberant spirit, not to mention the fact that he was absolutely hilarious! The man could have a whole room of people in stitches with his antics.

He was a very enthusiastic volunteer in community theatre, having performed in and directed dozens of shows for Henrico Theatre Company, Chamberlayne Actors Theatre, Fort Lee Playhouse, and Richmond Neighborhood Players.

Kids were just as captivated by Carlton as we (so-called) grownups were. Carlton was a well-loved and devoted teacher. He didn't consider teaching to be just a way to pay the bills; he was passionate about it. It was his true calling. I'm sure there are many young people in our community who had the good fortune to be his students, as he taught at HATTheatre, Center Stage for Henrico County, and at Ridge and Shady Grove Elementary Schools. After he moved to New York in 2001, he continued his teaching career at several schools in New York, New Jersey, and most recently in Harlem.

A memorial service was held for Carlton last Saturday, January 12th at Shady Grove United Methodist Church. Memorials may be made to Fresh Youth Initiatives, Inc., 505 W. 171st St., New York, NY 10032.

Carlton, we will miss you. Thank you for all the love, compassion and humor you brought to this world.

--Janine Serresseque

In Memoriam: Patty Noonan

Posted by Bruce Miller
I was heartsick to read this weekend in the Times-Dispatch of the death of Patty Noonan, pictured to the right and below in recent photos from her work in NYC. Twenty-six years ago, Patty played Isabel, one of the Major General’s daughters, in Barksdale’s 1982 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. She also returned to Hanover Tavern the following year to appear as a Rapturous Maiden in Patience, the next production in our ‘80s string of Gilbert and Sullivan hits.
The photo shown above is from that 1982 production of Pirates. The actresses, from left to right, are Bridget Gethins, Patty Noonan, Lauren Leinhaas-Cook, Dianne Graham, Betsy Paugh, Nancy McMahon and Ruth Travis.

Patty was a student at Marymount High School during those two Barksdale productions, which made her the youngest member of our cast. She was wildly enthusiastic about theatre—particularly musical theatre. When she died of non-smoking related lung cancer last month in New York City, Patty was only 41. She is survived by her husband and 15-month old daughter, Chris and Lily Malone, both of Verona NJ; her mother, Beth Noonan of Bloomfield NJ; her father, Jack Noonan of NYC; and her sister, Kathleen Farrow of Highland Mills NY.

Prior to her death, Patty worked as the Senior Vice President of Policy and Economic Development at Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit membership organization comprised of CEOs from NYC’s top corporate, investment and entrepreneurial firms. This was a very important and prestigious position. The Partnership works closely with government, labor and the nonprofit sector to enhance the economy and maintain New York City’s position as the global center of commerce, culture and innovation.

A loving tribute to Patty has been written by her friends and colleagues in NYC, and can be found at http://www.nylcv.org/newsletter/2007/dec/articles/remembering_patty_noonan.

In 1981, Patty was in the first class at SPARC, back in the days when SPARC worked mostly with high school students. In numerous ways and without charge, Theatre IV assisted SPARC administratively for its first three years. In 1984, Jeri Cutler, SPARC’s founder, felt she had enough students to make it worth her while to incorporate SPARC independently as its own nonprofit company.

The “stars” of those first few years were Ruth Heltzer, Patty Noonan and Emily Skinner (although I’m sure there were also others). Because of the close association at that time between SPARC and Theatre IV, we got to know all three of those vibrant and talented young women pretty well. Of the three, Emily was the showbiz wonder, as one might imagine, and Ruth and Patty made up the bright and energetic supporting cast. Always smiling, always thinking, always ready to go to work, Patty seemed almost omnipresent in those days. Her well trained, surprisingly mature singing voice won her the roles at Barksdale, and she embraced the experience.

I confess I’d not kept up with Patty over the years, but I wasn’t surprised to read in the paper of her tremendous professional success. Even as a teenager, her intelligence and drive—her clear determination to make a difference—always made her stand out as someone to watch. It’s heartbreaking that someone so genuine and accomplished left us so soon.

SPARC is accepting contributions to a scholarship fund they have established in Patty’s name. To help Patty's daughter understand the important contributions she made to NYC, her family is helping to establish a fellowship in Patty's name for young women pursuing a degree in public policy at her alma mater, the Wagner School at NYU. Contributions may be sent to NYU Wagner Noonan Fund, attn Lisa Taylor, Puck Building, 295 Lafayette St., New York 10012.

In keeping with our longstanding custom, we at Barksdale will be dedicating our upcoming production of The Little Dog Laughed to Patty’s memory.

With her many friends and family, we cherish that memory and mourn her passing.

--Bruce Miller

Language - Part I: From Potter to Shakespeare to Jesus and Beyond

Posted by Bruce Miller
Writing about “offensive language” has the potential to be both dangerous and constructive. I vote for the latter. Some of you are more liberal than I, and may find this post to be prissy and/or quaint. Some of you are more conservative, and may be upset by what you’re likely to view as rationalization or misrepresentation. To one and all, I say this: I’ve written this carefully, intending all due respect to others who hold opinions different from mine. Every word was selected thoughtfully and is meant to be sincere. I’m not trying to rationalize, criticize, or look down upon anyone else’s beliefs. I hope not to have the last word, and welcome your comments.

Following that preamble, I will now begin to ramble.

To many if not most theatre artists, the subject of “offensive language” is simple. We don’t believe there is such a thing. No word, we believe, can be inherently offensive. Language is our medium. Find me the painter who is offended by a particular color. We celebrate and revere language, in all its variety, beauty, coarseness and power.

We are like Harry Potter. Let the rest of the wizarding community cower in the Dark Lord’s shadow, referring to him euphemistically as “you know who” or “he who must not be named.” We refuse to give darkness that power. We shout the name “Voldemort” out loud. And just like Harry, we sometimes get in trouble for it.

We may not believe that language is inherently offensive, but, unless we are fools, we are well aware that there are audience members who are offended by certain language. If we are pure artists—I am not one but I ask God to bless those who are—we relish this knowledge. Offend is a very useful instrument in our tool box, laying right there alongside amuse, titillate, anger, sadden, inspire, thrill, scare, energize and delight. Our job is to connect with audience members using every tool at our disposal. Why on earth would we be afraid to pick up offend? When an awl is called for, a carpenter reaches for his awl.

In Act III, Scene 2, Shakespeare famously has Hamlet deliver this advice to the players: “Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing so o'erdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure.”

In other words, the life we create on stage should accurately reflect the life we find in our world. The language featured in an on-stage scene reflecting the life of a ladies luncheon should sound one way; the language found in a theatrical portrayal of a fight in a soldier’s barracks should sound another. Were we to apply a filter that made the language in the barracks sound just the same as the language in the church parlor, we would be holding the mirror up not to nature, but to priggishness.

But let’s step back into that church parlor for a while. I love the peace, comfort and fellowship I find in my church’s parlor. I am a Christian—a quiet, introspective, “religious left” Presbyterian—a Christian nonetheless. I’m slightly ashamed to say that I’m not confident enough in my faith—my pride would prefer me to say not arrogant enough regarding my confidence—to proselytize. So I’m speaking personally, for whatever that’s worth.

Here’s what my Bible tells me about language:

from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, chapters 4 and 5 – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. … Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving;”

from Paul and Timothy’s letter to the Colossians, chapter 3 – “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips;”

from James’ letter to the twelve tribes, chapter 3 – “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be;” and

from the second letter of Simon Peter, chapter 2 – “For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.”

Also, of course, there’s the Ten Commandments, but most Biblical scholars agree that “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God” refers more to false oaths than to profanity.

I accept all of these Biblical lessons and value their guidance as it relates to the way in which I personally speak to those around me. When I speak to others, I try mightily (not always successfully) to speak graciously and not to offend. But I do not believe these lessons relate directly to my calling as a theatre artist or as artistic director of Barksdale Theatre. My responsibilities in that realm, I believe, are to create theatrical productions that impact our community positively. And often the best way to have a positive impact is to honestly examine human behavior.

Consider the great variety of human behavior, and language, detailed in the Bible itself. As only one of scores of examples, no lesser light than the Apostle Paul uses scatalogical profanity when he’s trying to make a point. In Philippians 3: 7 through 9, Paul recounts and disavows his former prosperous life as a Pharisee (more about them momentarily).

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

Please note in the above quote that itilicized word, rubbish. The word Paul actually wrote is skubala, which in Greek was the lowest, most coarse word for animal excrement, a word that appears frequently in the ancient graffiti found in archeological digs, a word more accurately translated as shit. All the profit and respect I gained as a righteous Pharisee, Paul states, doesn’t mean shit compared to the peace and strength I find in my Christian faith.

One of my favorite readings in the New Testament is found in Mark 7: 1-20. I recommend it to you. It is a complex passage which is near and dear to my heart. I will now, humbly, summarize it, inadequately I’m sure.

Jesus and his disciples (pictured in the Ottonian vellum panel to the right) were carrying out their mission of healing the sick and ministering to the poor. The Pharisees (one of the most influential, zealous and traditional religious parties operating during and after Jesus’s lifetime—see the reference to Paul above) saw the disciples eating with unwashed hands, in noncompliance with Jewish tradition. “So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, ‘Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with unclean hands?’”

Jesus replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

Jesus then gives specific examples of how religious fundamentalists can, by demanding strict compliance with established religious laws and traditions, inadvertently “nullify the word of God.” He adds, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’ … For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”

A contemporary corollary comes from a Baptist preacher whom I admire, although I don’t always agree with him. Tony Campolo (pictured to the left) began his famous sermon entitled The Positive Prophet with this: “I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a shit. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night."

Whatever language is said from our stage, I'm confident that the purpose that comes from our hearts is free of “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and ...” All right, I confess to “folly.” The language on stage will not always be in compliance with religious law and tradition, because I believe that such compliance would cause us to “let go of the commands of God.” Here’s what I believe: whatever “uncleanliness” is perceived comes from the heart of the hearer, not from the heartfelt intentions of our humble, respectful company of fools.

Coming soon, Language – Part II (maybe even III), in which we shall discuss copyright law, the history of censorship, specific complaints we’ve received at Barksdale and Theatre IV, and other funny theatre stories.

--Bruce Miller

Thoughts on Offending the Audience - Intro

Posted by Bruce Miller

I don’t enjoy offending people. Honestly I don’t. The graphic to the right, I've been told, is borrowed from boy's lacrosse. It's a signal that relates to "offensive screening." It was mailed to me by an audience member who wanted to remind me that what I do is potentially offensive.

I value this signal. I also increasingly buy into that old saw that says if you’re not making somebody mad, you must not be doing it right.

Offending someone is, of course, not the same thing as boring someone. Two of my favorite productions at Barksdale (The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Lark by Jean Anouilh, adapted by Lillian Hellman) bored some members of our audience. I directed both productions.

Both plays relate to history (the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy era in the case of The Crucible, the Joan of Arc story and the McCarthy era in the case of The Lark). Both plays are politicized (we’re talking Arthur Miller and Lillian Hellman after all). Both plays are narrative and language-heavy, written by playwrights who thrive on polemics, unapologetically requiring audience members to care about the issues the playwrights care about. Both plays are long by 21st century standards—The Coast of Utopia notwithstanding.

I love(d) both plays and both productions. And I know lots of other people who do (did) too. But on different nights during the runs of both shows I found myself sitting next to John Q Public audience members who fell asleep about ten minutes into Act I, clearly bored out of their minds.

Offending someone is, of course, not the same thing as confusing someone. The Lark confused some people in addition to boring them—two, two, two mints in one. Two other personal favorites at Barksdale (James Joyce’s The Dead, written by Richard Nelson with music by Shaun Davey, and The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers) confused some members of our audience as well. The remarkably talented Steve Perigard and Scott Wichmann (does Richmond know how lucky it is to have these guys?), respectively, directed those two productions. They directed them beautifully.

The Lark is character and theme-driven; The Dead and The Member are both character and language-driven. Unlike most dramatic literature, these three plays are not particularly plot-driven. Take away a strong linear plot, and some people feel lost. “What the hell was that all about?” was a question I heard more than once after each of these three shows.

To me, these plays were “about” a hundred things, and I felt emotionally richer for having seen them. Again, I know lots of other people who also loved these productions.

Offending someone can be the same thing as challenging someone. Personally, I like my beliefs, feelings and thoughts to be challenged. More to the point, I need my deeply held convictions to be challenged. Unless and until they are tested, how do I know what I really value and hold dear?

But many people have different brain chemistry, I know. The minute you challenge one of their beliefs, they perceive you are heaping contempt on their innermost selves. This is never our intention. Nonetheless, they are offended.

There are scores of ways to offend audience members, but over the years it seems to me that we’ve offended people in three main arenas: language, race and sex. What different people find to be offensive interests me. And since this season seems to be offending its fair share, and, come Little Dog Laughed, promises to offend lots more, I figure now’s a good time to discuss these issues.

Part of the value of this discussion will be to organize and clarify my own thoughts. An equally important part will be to ask for and welcome your opinions.

So plug in your offendometers (I pronounce it with the emphasis on the third syllable) and get ready to rumble. Coming soon – language!

--Bruce Miller

Celebrating Twelfth Night

Posted by Bruce Miller

Today is Jan 5, the day to wish each of you a very joyous Twelfth Night, that most theatrical of holidays.

Or is today the day?

That irresistible—or irresponsible, depending on your point of view—carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” first reared its lyrical head in the early 1780s in England, and most of us today associate Twelfth Night with the Twelve Days of Christmas. The Twelve Days of Christmas is that period on the Christian calendar that separates Christmas from Epiphany. The Twelve Days are also known as Christmastide and Twelve-tide.

Christmas, or Christ’s Mass, marks the birth of Jesus Christ on the Christian calendar, and has been established since the Middle Ages as occurring on the Julian date of Winter Solstice, Dec 25. (See Theatre and the Winter Solstice, posted on this blog on Sat, Dec 22, 2007.) Epiphany, also known as Twelfth Day, Three Kings Day and Theophany, is a Christian feast intended to celebrate the revelation of God to mankind in human form in the person of Jesus Christ.

Some Christians believe that Epiphany marks the day when the Magi visited the child Jesus—hence the alternate Three Kings Day. (According to Biblical historians, Jesus was a toddler of two by that time, so next year you might want to consider removing those wise men from your nativity scene.) Other Christians believe that Epiphany marks the day when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan—hence the alternate Theophany. As early as the Third Century, Epiphany (or Twelfth Day) was established as Jan 6.

Twelfth Night concludes the Twelve Days of Christmas and falls on the evening before Twelfth Day. A word of caution for those of you who are keeping count—you may be pondering, if Dec 25 is the first day of Christmas, then Jan 5 is Twelfth Day and Jan 4 is Twelfth Night, not Jan 5. Ah, but you’re forgetting that in days gone by a calendar day actually began at sundown on the evening before, somewhat like the Jewish Sabbath today.

In other words, Christmas Day began at dusk on Dec 25 and continued until dusk on Dec 26. So even though Christmas Day began on Dec 25, the daylight part of Christmas Day (the First Day of Christmas) actually took place on Dec 26. This would place Twelfth Day on Jan 6 and Twelfth Night on Jan 5.

Have I confused you enough? Let me see if I can confuse you some more.

Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, or What You Will was written as a holiday entertainment in 1601. Its first performance was most likely on Feb 2, 1602, the day of Candlemas, the holiday that marked the end of Twelfth Night celebrations in 17th Century England. But then again, the premiere may have taken place one to five days earlier or later, since Candlemas, in those days and today, could be celebrated either on Feb 2 or on the Sunday that fell between Jan 28 and Feb 3.

In 1602, Twelfth Night was not so much a specific night as it was a four week festival that began on the specific night of Jan 5 and ended on Candlemas. The important point to note is that in Shakespeare’s time, as today, Candlemas was a Principal Feast of the Anglican Communion—make note all ye Episcopalians—and the observance of Principal Feasts was and is obligatory.

What we know for sure is that the world premiere of Shakespeare’s play marked the royal observance of Candlemas in 1602, concluding the festival known as Twelfth Night. The play, one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, was staged in the magnificent Middle Temple Hall which still stands today (see photo below). And it was staged sometime between Jan 28 and Feb 3.
So, whether you celebrate Twelfth Night today, Jan 5, or, as Shakespeare likely did, four weeks later, all of us at Barksdale hope you have a joyous one.

Once we get to Feb 2, I’ll revisit this subject with another story about the theatrical connections of Candlemas, which was not only the end of the festival of Twelfth Night, but also the beginning of Carnival, the international festival that lasts until the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday.

Let’s face it, for those who celebrate every religious festival out there, it’s just one party after another.

Joyous Twelfth Night!

--Bruce Miller

The Turkey Who Came Out from the Cold

Posted by Bruce Miller

Under the headline Refridgerator Refresher Course, there was a helpful household article a couple weeks back on the opening page of MSN.com. Who knew you were required to dust your condenser coils every two months—more if you have pets? I thought you dusted the coils every time your wife painted the kitchen and you had to pull the fridge away from the wall.

This, my friends, is why I’m not known as a handyman.

There were also helpful tips as to the best places in the fridge to store certain food items so as to avoid spoilage. For example, did you know to close the humidity vent on your fruit drawer and open the vent on your vegetable crisper because trapped moisture causes fruit to spoil more quickly but keeps vegetables fresher longer? Finally, a reason to know that tomatoes are a fruit and not a vegetable.

The article also said to “never keep eggs in the door of your fridge”—something I’ve been doing since I was old enough to know what an egg was. Which came first, the chicken or the egg or the salmonella?

All this sage advice prompted me to recall how invaluable are the theatrical services of Jason Weinbarger, one of Richmond’s most loyal theatre artists. Several years ago, Theatre IV was producing Having Our Say by Emily Mann in the historic Empire Theatre. Having Our Say is a lovely family drama about the first hundred years of the real life Delany sisters. Jason was brought in for a very special assignment.

In this wonderful play, the sisters have each passed their 100th birthdays. They had lived prominent and remarkable lives that spanned the entire 20th Century, and in the play they recall over two hours of memories with only minimal time offstage.

The two amazing actors we hired for the show, Marie Goodman Hunter and Kweli Leapart, were certainly nowhere near their centenaries. Nonetheless, they were, as required, actresses of a certain age. For one hundred and twenty-some minutes, the two of them filled the stage with wonder, recounting story after story while simultaneously setting a formal dining table and preparing a sumptuous dinner. Since they were the only two actors in the play, memorizing all those lines while mastering all that activity was in no way an easy assignment.

So we hired Jason to be a prompter, to sit off-stage in a soundproof booth, watch the show on a closed circuit monitor, follow the script, and prompt the ladies, if needed, through a wireless earphone that each of them was wearing. Jason is a remarkably kind and supportive man, and he was the perfect person for the job.

There was one scene in which Marie had to retrieve from the refridgerator all the food that she and Kweli would prepare during the upcoming scene, all the while recounting to the audience priceless memories from the Civil Rights Movement. To make life easier, we loaded the refridgerator before every performance so that the food items could be accessed in the proper order. I won’t pretend to remember the exact sequence, but for the sake of the story, let’s say that the potatoes came first, then the celery, then the carrots, then the cabbage, and finally the turkey. We loaded the refridgerator so that everything came out in that order.

For some reason we’ll never know, from the first day of rehearsal, Marie always wanted to go for the turkey first, which was not an easy thing to do. She had to reshuffle all those vegetables before she could get to the turkey, but on some days, in front of a live audience, that’s what she felt compelled to do. And when she did, it presented a few challenges.

There were specific lines having to do with that turkey, and other earlier lines having to do with the potatoes, celery, carrots and cabbage. If you pulled the food out of the fridge in the wrong order, then the lines also tended to arrive out of order. When that happened, God help us all.

One day I was walking backstage during the show, just checking to see if everything was running smoothly. I walked by Jason’s offstage booth, and through the door I heard a muted but firm voice talking into Marie’s earphone. “Marie,” Jason implored, “don’t go for the turkey. Pick up the potatoes, Marie. Marie, the potatoes! Not the celery, no ... Don't touch the cabbage, Marie! Go back to the potatoes!! (beat) MARIE, STEP AWAY FROM THE TURKEY!!!”

I had visions of poor Marie standing on stage jerking involuntarily in response to the demon voices we were piping into her head. But when I listened to the stage action with my other ear, no, she was just chatting pleasantly with the audience, determined to truss that turkey first and then deal with the potatoes later. I don’t think the audience had a clue that anything was amiss.

Today, as Terrie and I prepare holiday meals, it’s not uncommon for one of us to blurt out to the other, “STEP AWAY FROM THE TURKEY!!!” I’ve also heard it once or twice after I whined too much about an Opening Night that hadn’t gone as well as I’d hoped.

It’s an ongoing tribute to Jason and Marie—a Refridgerator Refresher Course that I’ll always remember.

--Bruce Miller

Date Changes for "State of the Theatre"

Posted by Phil Whiteway
Due to a family commitment, we are changing the date of our annual State of the Theatre presentation. Please help us spread the word.

The State of the Theatre is a public discussion that Bruce and I lead every year during one of our Coffee & Conversations events. This year’s program had been previously announced for Tuesday morning, Jan 8. That date and time has been cancelled.

The State of the Theatre discussion will now take place one week later, on Tuesday morning, Jan 15, at 9:30 a.m. in the lobby of Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn. As with all Coffee & Conversations programs, there is no admission charge and everyone is welcome. Free coffee, tea and pastries are available beginning at around 9:15 a.m. A free will offering is accepted from those who would like to help cover the cost of the refreshments.

We line these programs up a year in advance, and inevitably certain family obligations come up unexpectedly and cause a change of date. The difficulty lies in letting people know. We will be sending out emails and making phone calls, but if you can help us by spreading the word to anyone you know who may be planning to attend, we’d greatly appreciate it.

During the State of the Theatre discussion, we will discuss four aspects of our operation:
1 artistic mission and programming
2 historic foundation
3 snapshot of current business operations
4 areas of strategic planning for the future.

A lot of information will be provided, and a lot of your input will be sought. We invite you to attend if you would like to participate in this conversation about the future of past, present and future of Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV.

Thanks

--Phil Whiteway

Plays Rule on B'way - the Second Seven

Posted by Bruce Miller
It’s been more than 48 hours since I discovered that Broadway is enjoying an historic fall, having mounted more straight plays (The Ritz notwithstanding) in 2007 than during any other Fall Season in the last 27 years. And, yes, I know that everyone else probably noticed this months ago, but I didn’t notice it until now, and I’m excited.

It’s not that I don’t love musicals—I do. It’s just that I love plays even more. I’m so used to Broadway trending away from plays that this reversal gives me cause for rejoicing.

One of the questions I receive most often—it comes with the job title—is, “I’m going to New York next Tuesday and can go to only one show. What should I see?” Hopefully these last three posts will help to give at least a little guidance in that department.

Rock ’n’ Roll by Sir Tom Stoppard began previews on Oct 19 and opened on Nov 4 to nearly unanimous, heart-stopping raves. It’s a transfer of the London production that won just about every major award that London has on offer, and it jumped across the pond complete with its three amazing stars: Rufus Sewell, Sinead Cusack and Brian Cox. It’s directed by the deservedly acclaimed Trevor Nunn. It uses rock ’n’ roll as a roadmap to chart its way through the political and personal turmoil of the last several decades, finding connections between love, revolution and music that illuminate our current century. I’m passionate about seeing it and seeing it soon.

August: Osage County by Tracy Letts began previews on Oct 30 and opened on Dec 4, and it also received nearly unanimous, heart-stopping raves. As American as Rock ’n’ Roll is British, August is a transfer of the award-winning premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre, based in Chicago. In the NY Times, Christopher Isherwood says, “Tracy Lett’s fiercely funny, turbo-charged tragicomedy is, flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years.” When Tracy Letts wrote Killer Joe, Gary Hopper started talking to me about him. When he wrote Bug, Irene Ziegler started singing his praises. Now all of the American theatre community is paying attention. This is another play I’m desperate to see.

The Seafarer, written and directed by Irish playwright Conor McPherson, began previews on Oct 30 and opened on Dec 6, and again received great reviews—although not quite as great as its two predecessors. The Seafarer is a supernatural tale set on Christmas Eve in an Irish bar, where five Irishmen, one of whom may not be who or what he appears, descend into drunkenness and share spine-tingling yarns. I know I’m sounding like a broken record, but this play is surely as Irish as August is American and Rock is British. At the end, it’s also, from most accounts, unexpectedly uplifting.

Shakespeare’s Cymbeline is being revived on Broadway for the first time since 1923 in an all-star production that is lighting up the Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center. The play began previews on Nov 1 and opened on Dec 2, starring Michael Cerveris, John Cullum, Phylicia Rashad, John Pankow and Martha Plimpton, under the direction of Mark Lamos. Again, the critics have been mostly enthusiastic, especially toward Michael Cerveris’s performance and Mark Lamos’s direction. Cymbeline was the first show to open after the strike, and it appears that it will have the successful limited engagement that had been planned.

Is He Dead? is that rarest of rarities—a new, previously unproduced farce by Mark Twain. Not known as a dramatist, old Sam Clemens nonetheless penned a couple of hoary chestnuts, and after this one was discovered in the University of California, Berkeley archives, it was “polished”—there’s that running theme again—by David Ives, and from all accounts turned into an effective comic vehicle for the Scott Wichmann of Broadway known as Norbert Leo Butts. The play’s a hit! A HUGE hit!! And, again, that rarest of rarities on 21st Century Broadway—a laugh-a-minute comedy hit!!! Exactly what Broadway used to have in abundance, seldom has anymore, and desperately needs. Our friend Lizzy Holland saw it a few days ago, and claims to have laughed herself silly.

The Homecoming by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter began previews on Dec 4 and opened on Dec 16 to, again, some truly amazing reviews. The NY Times starts out with, “First of all, it really is that good!” And Linda Winer of Newsday named it her Best Production of 2007. The Homecoming is, of course, a masterwork of 20th Century English language theatre, and apparently, after 40 years, it still sizzles with the right cast and director, both of which this current revival appears to have.

November, the new David Mamet play starring Nathan Lane, began previews on Dec 20 with a planned opening on Jan 17. There’s lots of promise. I’ll let you know more after the play opens.

Until then, have a Happy New Year. I hope to see you at the theatre!

--Bruce Miller

With 13 Plays Opening, Several are Hits!

Posted by Bruce Miller
The prevailing image of Broadway will always be the big musical. But within the last four months, 80% of the openings were straight plays instead of tuners. Yesterday we considered the thirteen non-musicals that opened or began previews on Broadway between Labor Day and Christmas 2007. By my accounting, that’s the largest number of non-musicals to open during Broadway’s Fall Season since 1980-81, when 18 plays debuted during the same time period.

But quantity, as we know, is not everything. If the fourteen plays are mostly turkeys, then who cares how many of them opened. From my survey of the reviews, several of the plays appear to be critical successes, and are still running to large and appreciative houses. I'm sorry to say that I've yet to see any of them personally.

The season started off a little iffy, but has been gaining considerable steam.

Mauritius, pictured to the left, was the first play to begin previews last September. It's also the only one of the thirteen to be penned by a woman playwright. After some significant Off Broadway and regional theatre success, Theresa Rebeck, whose day jobs have included staff writer for NYPD Blue, made her Broadway debut with this comic thriller about a pair of very rare stamps, the two estranged sisters who inherit them, and the three tough men who want them. Among the mostly favorable reviews, the NY Times loved the production and paid respect to Rebeck’s “homage” to David Mamet’s American Buffalo, only with “added estrogen.” Longtime Barksdale family members Tom and Carlene Bass saw the show early in its run and loved it. Mauritius closed on Nov 25, a victim, at least in part, of the strike.

George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, pictured to the right, began previews one day after Mauritius. It's certainly not a new play—it’s among world theatre’s most beloved classics. Therefore much of the attention received by the production focused on the Broadway debut of Hollywood actress Claire Danes as Eliza Doolittle. Several reviewers were charmed by her, but more—including the NY Times—were less impressed. Moreover, the Henry Higgins of Jefferson Mays earned a lot of ink that was, for the most part, unfavorable. Nonetheless, the show completed its announced limited engagement and closed on Dec 16.

As if to disprove that cliché that says “the third time’s the charm,” the third show to open this fall was a third less-than-successful effort. The Ritz by Terrance McNally, pictured to the left, was a revival of an early gay-themed farce from the mid-70s. It ran for an unfortunate 69 performances, directed by Joe Mantello no less. The reviews were mostly negative, and the word of mouth was terrible for everyone except leading lady Rosie Perez, who emerged unscathed.

And here’s where things started to pick up. The fourth show to open was A Bronx Tale, written by and starring Chazz Palminteri, pictured to the right. The show originated Off Broadway in the late 80s and catapulted Mr. Palminteri into a film career, most notably appearing, unforgettably, in Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway. At age 55, Mr. Palminteri has now revived his 90-minute one man show about growing up in the thrall of crime bosses and a hard working father. From all accounts, he continues to knock ‘em all dead, critics and audiences alike, in this highly acclaimed crowd pleaser.

Next up – Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Kevin Kline (pictured to the left) and TV star Jennifer Garner. The great news is that all participants seem to be winning hearts in an attractive production that is packing ‘em in. Kevin Kline, not for the first time, is being called “world class,” and Jennifer Garner is almost universally coming out on top of the list of Hollywood starlets who have recently tried their hand at Broadway (Julia Roberts, Amanda Peet, Claire Danes). Even the NY Times gave the leads and the show a rave.

The Farnsworth Invention, pictured to the right, began previews on Oct 15 and its opening was delayed by the strike until Dec 3. But it’s still running and drawing crowds, even after mixed reviews. I’ll admit, I'm a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin, the writer of not only Farnsworth but also Sports Night, The West Wing and the recently cancelled Studio 60. I’ll probably love this show about the invention of television, and I’m rooting for it. The NY Times gave the show a less than enthusiastic review, comparing it to a wonderfully produced school science project. Everyone seems to admire the acting and directing, it’s Sorkin’s writing that’s earning mixed notices.

Well, I’ve made it through six of the record-breaking fourteen shows. We’ll discuss the remaining seven—including at least one super-hit—tomorrow.

--Bruce Miller

Did Broadway Just Make History...or What?

Posted by Bruce Miller

Is it just me, or is Autumn 2007 going to go down in the record books as one of the most promising four-month periods for non-musicals on Broadway in the last several decades?

First of all, there was the issue of quantity—the subject of today’s blog post. We exited Labor Day with the promise of thirteen (count ‘em) plays slotted for a fall opening, and four musicals. When was the last time since the 70s that you saw a ratio like that?

The worthy entries in order of originally scheduled (pre-strike) first performance were:

Sept 13 - Mauritius, a new play by Theresa Rebeck, produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club;

Sept 14 - Pygmalion, pictured above and to the right, a revival of the classic by George Bernard Shaw, produced by Roundabout Theatre Company and starring no lesser lights than Claire Danes, Jefferson Mays and Boyd Gaines;

Also on Sept 14 – a revival of The Ritz by Terrance McNally, also produced by the Roundabout;

Oct 4 – A Bronx Tale, pictured above and to the left, a somewhat revived, somewhat new play written by and starring Chazz Palminteri, directed by Jerry Zaks;

Oct 12 – Cyrano de Bergerac, pictured to the right, a revival of the classic by Edmond Rostand (didn’t you love the Barksdale production?) starring Kevin Kline, Jennifer Garner and Daniel Sunjata;

Oct 15 – The Farnsworth Invention, pictured below, another brand new play by my favorite TV writer, Aaron Sorkin, about—what else—the beginning of television, starring Hank Azaria and Jimmi Simpson, directed by Des McAnuff;
Oct 19 – Rock ’n’ Roll, pictured to the left, a brainy transfer of a brand new play from London, by perhaps the world’s greatest living English-speaking writer, Tom Stoppard, directed by Trevor Nunn;

Oct 30 – August: Osage County, pictured to the right, the first of the two brand new plays named after months of the year, this one spawned at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, by Tracy Letts;

Also on Oct 30 – The Seafarer, another brand new play by the prolific Irish playwright Conor McPherson;

Nov 1 – Cymbeline by William Shakespeare, starring Michael Cerveris and Phylicia Rashad;

Nov 8 – Is He Dead?, pictured below, the world premiere of a newly discovered play by Mark Twain, adapted by David Ives, starring Norbert Leo Butz (when you’ve got a name like that you’d better be funny), and directed by Michael Blakemore;
Nov 23 – a revival of The Homecoming by Nobel Prize winning playwright Harold Pinter (all right, some will argue that he’s the greatest living English-speaking playwright, and David Mamet fans, wait your turn), starring Eve Best, Raul Esparza, Michael McKean and Ian McShane;

and last but not least, Dec 20 – November, by David Mamet (yes, some will argue that he's… and Edward Albee fans, you’ll have to wait until his 80th birthday in March to make your case), starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf, directed by Joe Mantello.

Now that’s a Fall Season that any true-blue theatre aficionado would salivate over. Then of course came the strike, which shuffled some of the dates. And as the plays opened, the assessments of quality were varied, to say the least.

But any way you measure it, it was a Fall Season to make you stand up and cheer. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about quality, which will give us even more to cheer about—and look forward to as we plan our winter/spring NYC theatre weekends.

--Bruce Miller