Sheer Volume

My review of Sycamore Rouge's “The Odyssey” is in Style this week. Battersea Park is a charming place to hang out for a few hours and the weather was lovely when I went there; it was downright chilly by the time the show wrapped up. I’d definitely recommend bringing a picnic but leave some room for the sweet kettle corn that the concessionaires are selling. Yummy.

I continue to be staggered by the sheer volume of theater happening in the summer time these days. Theatre IV’s “Little Red Hen” opened last weekend (a link to Ms. Lewis’s review is over there on the right) and the next Richmond Shakespeare offering, “Two Gentlemen of Verona” premieres this weekend. And, while I knew Dogwood Dell would have “Hairspray” at the end of the month, I just became aware of perhaps the most exciting development of the summer, a world premiere of “All’s Well that Ends with Monique,” which will hit the RTP stage at the end of the month. More on this soon…

In conjunction with my other piece in Style this week about the dovetailing of Firehouse’s Festival of New Plays and SPARC’s New Voices, I’m also surprised and delighted at the level of talent that is involved in staging these new works. I’m more aware of what’s happening with New Voices than the Firehouse festival and the casts of the shows being produced by SPARC reads like a who’s-who of local theater. The performers will include Andrew Boothby, Jeff Cole, Larry Cook, Lauren Leinhaas-Cook, Thomas Cunningham, Matt Hackman, Chris Hester, Audra Honaker, Dean Knight, Emma Mason, Jen Meharg, Daniel Moore, Jay Welch and that’s just pulling the names of actors I recognize as recently (or currently) starring in local professional productions. And they’ll be led by 8 impressive directors, most of whom also have professional credits under their belts.

Personally, I’m still trying to catch up on the shows that are already open. Where can we petition to make every summer weekend last three days so a poor ragged theater lover can see all of the shows in town?