The Empty Spaces

The article Rick posted last week (look about 4-5 comments down on this post) could be the grist for several posts. I have to admit I’m not qualified to speak to several of the points made – I don’t know enough about the ins and outs of theater management and the financial fine points. But the article did spur a few thoughts – and to the extent possible, I’d like to spill those out and see what other people think.

“She's a fantastic actress, one of the best in the city.”

There is a bitterness in Daisey’s article that seems to spring at least in part from feeling like great work is not getting fairly rewarded. I understand this bitterness. There have been dozens of times when I’ve seen an actor deliver a particularly awe-inspiring performance and thought, man, I wish everyone in the city could see this. Or thought, what justice is there in the world when Martin Lawrence is getting millions of dollars for getting hit in the crotch when XYZ is making $300 a week for redefining acting as we know it?

But I think on another level, you have to realize that in the weird intersection of art and commerce there is no justice. Sometimes talent and perseverance are rewarded, sometimes they are not. This is not specific to theater. I have a friend who has two great novels gathering dust in boxes that can’t find a publisher. It carries over into the business world as well: I worked with a freakishly smart programmer who had a killer website idea (and the smarts to make it work) who couldn’t get the site off the ground. This is not to deny that great work should be rewarded but, in our lovely capitalistic society, there are no guarantees.

“There are clear steps theaters could take.”

Daisey specifically mentions reducing ticket prices and I tend to agree with this one, at least on an intuitive level. I recently checked out the Virginia Stage website and noticed that tickets to their preview performances are $9. $9! It gave me a brief flash of excitement, wondering what would happen if all theater admission prices were on par with movies. I can’t help but think that attendance would grow across the board.

Now, I’ve read over at the Barksdale Blog that they depend on ticket sales for a larger proportion of their total income than the less than 50% Daisey mentions. So there are clearly limitations to this. But I’d be really interested in seeing a pricing / opportunity cost breakdown on this. Not to be crass about it but, after you get a production up and running, you have a fixed-cost commodity. If you have audiences at 70% capacity at $35 a ticket, might you get 85% at $25? Or 95% at $15? And what’s the profitability breakdown on that? I’m sure someone out there is running the numbers; I just have no idea what the results would show.

I think as or more important than ticket prices, however, is the “cool” factor. As was mentioned somewhere in the comments on this blog, kids will pay $70 to see a concert but not $25 to see a play. What’s up with that? More thoughts on this subject somewhere down the line.

“Corporations make shitty theater…Corporations don’t understand theater.”

I get what Daisey is saying here but I think he is also being disingenuous to say theater needs to innovate and broaden its appeal and then say corporations suck. This is actually exactly what corporations (good entrepreneurial corporations) tend to be good at. And where has the locus of some of the most explosive growth in theater been in the past decade or so? At Disney. I’ve done my share of belly-aching about the Disney-fication of theater but Disney has certainly brought new things to the stage and took what “Cats” started and ran with it in terms of appealing to a broad audience. And they’ve employed hundreds of singers, dancers, and actors in the process.

What I’m getting at is that I think theater needs to reconcile its commercial nature with its artistic foundation in a way it hasn’t done so far. I think the commercial has to be embraced – not simply endured – and then balanced with more challenging, interesting fair. I think people need to look at the success of a phenomenon like “High School Musical” and not dismiss it as dumbed-down teenie-bopper lameness but ask the question, if millions of kids will watch movies, buy CDs, and go to concerts – all of which celebrate the creation of a ‘high school musical,’ what can we do to get even a small slice of those kids in to see a REAL musical? For theater to remain vital and possibly even grow to reach its potential, I think it’s got to do whatever it can to bring in audiences. And if that means appealing to teenie-boppers who want to sing along with a Zac Efron look-alike, that’s better than hearing crickets in those empty spaces.

Critics and Coffee

If you want the chance to grill most all of Richmond's theater critics at one time, come to the Barksdale's "Coffee and Conversations" soiree tomorrow morning at 9:30. Mary B, Joan Tupponce, Susan Haubenstock, and I will all be on the panel. I volunteered to be the one critic secured in an undisclosed bunker to guarantee the sustainability of Richmond theater criticism should some terrorist attack or other tragedy take place, but was told that this would not be necessary.

I'm looking forward to a) seeing if anyone actually shows up (besides my mom), b) seeing if anyone has questions for anyone else but Susan, and c) hearing what people are most curious about. Come armed with questions so Jill Bari doesn't have to do all the work!

Midsummer Night's Dream

Went to see Richmond Ballet's collaboration with the Richmond Symphony and apparently Richmong Shakespeare at the Landmark tonight. Great entertainment! I was pleasantly surprised to see Cynde Liffick and Grant Mudge seated onstage reading parts of Shakespeare's text to enhance the action on the stage. Would have popped backstage to say "hey, nice work!" but forgot to warn Stoner Winslet of my coming and did not have a backstage pass.

Theatre fans, if you get the chance to see this fab production DO. It was quite lively and fun which I am not at this hour.

Good night.

Couldn't stay away

To paraphrase “Godfather III,” every time I try to leave the blog alone, I get sucked back in. Unfortunately, I only have time for bullet points worth of thought right now. To wit:

I have many things to say about the provocative article posted by Rick. In particular, I’d like to focus on the line “There are clear steps theaters could take.” More later.

Over at the Barksdale Blog, Bruce has recently put up a couple of posts that refer to this here blog and even to this here writer (and his beautiful talented wife). In my last real post, I mentioned people who were lovely to me back when I was just another guy wandering around backstage. Bruce was #1 among those people (in a near-tie with Phil). What is particularly heartwarming to me these days is that Bruce is also wonderful in his interactions with my son, who I’m thinking is still not completely sure who the heck Bruce is. Bruce, we T-lines would be happy to hang out with you and Terrie anytime; can your daughter babysit?

Bruce responded to my Actors report card piece and I have to say I appreciate his “glass half-full” perspective. I don’t disagree with anything he said. In fact, I think he essentially reinforces a point that I made in my piece that Richmond is one of the best places for actors to start out. I still remain concerned, however, that Richmond is – and may become more of – a flow-through location. That may just be the reality based on the size and shape of the Richmond audience. I still don’t really like it.

Many things shaped my perspective in that piece. Mostly, it was what I heard from the people I talked to. It may seem like I’m being pessimistic but notice that most of what I say is prompted by or backed up by a quote by a current or former Richmond theater professional (not being defensive here, BC, just doing some ‘splainin.)

As an aside, I must say that one of the things that has hit me hardest re: this whole actors market topic is the eminent departure of Stephanie Kelley and Justin Dray. Not only are they both extremely talented actors, but their work with Yellow House was unfailingly intriguing, particularly some of the stuff they did with Clay McLeod Chapman. I feel Richmond will be taking both a talent and an organizational hit when they go. But I’ll try to take Bruce’s perspective and look forward to the possibility that they’ll come back. Them, and Robin Harris-Jones who I didn’t even get to know until she left town. Sniff. (I guess I’ll always have Stephanie licking garbage can lids in the tobacco ads but it’s just not the same…)

On the more distinctly positive side: saw Richmond Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” last night. Just a couple of quick thoughts: Liz Blake is absolutely gorgeous and she is enchanting in this play. And Andrew Hamm has definitely grown as an actor…and he was pretty darn good before!

Also, the stars aligned so that I will be able to see “Rumplestiltskin’s Daughter” this weekend. I’m way looking forward to it.

OK, those were big bullet points. Imagine how big they’ll be when I actually have time to write! Yeesh.

And one stinkin last thing

I've got a hectic few days coming up so may be a little silent on the blog front. Y'all talk amongst yourselves, K?

Audacity

So a couple of posts ago, an anonymous commenter who alleges years of work in town said “[D]on't you think it's a little audacious for you…[to be] informing the community about socializing with its "stars" and "movers/shakers?" …[S]uch statements will easily provoke such responses from others as, "Well, I've worked MY butt off in this town. What do *I* have to do to hang out with Mr. Timberline and Co.??"

For one thing, I was not being audacious – I was being honest.

For another thing, I have gone over similar territory before in this post and don’t really feel the need to repeat myself. If you question my socializing with theater people, read what I wrote back in October and come back to me with a more specific question or concern. I acknowledge there are all sorts of possibilities for conflict of interest when you are a critic but I’m pretty comfortable navigating mine. Style’s fantastic dance critic, Lea Marshall, runs a dance company. Former theater critics for the publication have been playwrights. I believe they have had harder rows to hoe than I.

And yet another thing: Anon is probably vastly over-estimating the extent of my socializing with anyone, let alone the movers and shakers of local theater. I have four children, I go to grad school and I have a 9-5 job. I can count the nights I’ve spent “socializing” in the last 6 months on one hand. When I do manage to sneak out to see a show to review, I usually go alone. (I'm a critic, for god's sake; how many real friends do you think I could possibly have anyway?)

Finally, I’m going to risk extreme pedantry (it’s a word, honest) and use this question to tell an instructive little anecdote about me (because, you know, it IS all about me…) When I started in the theater scene here, I ran props backstage for Theatre IV. After that, I was lucky enough to convince a beautiful and talented actress to marry me, after which I was often relegated to the role of ‘semi-silent not-a-theater-person spouse sitting in the corner’ during those post-opening nights on the town. There were people who were friendly and personable and absolutely lovely to me back in those days when I was just an anonymous hanger-on. Those are the people I tend to still be friendly with now. There were people back then who I introduced myself to 3 or 4 times and they still couldn’t be bothered to remember me. I don’t really reach out to those people anymore. I think there’s a Buddhist principle wrapped up in this story somewhere. If you want to hang with people of ‘status,’ stop worrying who has status and be nice to everybody. And someone you are nice to might end up being a mover and shaker some day. Just a thought.

Mensch

First off, I appreciate that the anonymous poster who was hatin on Rick was enough of a mensch to cop to liking “Laramie.” Thanks for setting a good example of how to be opinionated but also willing to make a concession (not a trait overly common in the blogosphere).

Second, I’d like to address some of what the other anonymous poster who talked about “stars” and “status” was saying. He/she said so much it’s hard to know where to start. While I don’t necessarily agree or don’t fully understand everything he/she said, I believe there are definitely some salient points in his/her post.

Since there’s no way I can address it all, I’ll try a couple of general statements that I hope at least show that I appreciate the comments. One is that any scene I’ve been involved in personally or professionally has certain elements of ‘high school’ in it. There are people who for some reason are perceived as popular and others who aren’t. But perception and reality are often (usually) different. Here’s one example from the theater world: I knew nothing about Chamberlayne Actors Theatre until they turned pro and I went to a couple of their shows. What I was surprised to find is that this sleepy little company had a large and fervent following. And from what I could tell, the people in the audiences of the shows I went to could care less what the critics said, they loved the work that CAT did. CAT was getting more and better support than the Barksdale was, for instance, which was in the process of going through financial and organizational turmoil at the time. The point I’m trying to make – and really trying (probably unsuccessfully) not to step on any toes – is that particularly in a town like Richmond, ‘star’ and ‘status’ are totally relative terms and, as Frank said, the most important critic is the theater-goer. I personally think Scott Wichmann is a star – thousands of people in Richmond have no idea who he is. But there are people who think Amy Berlin is a star (and rightly so!) and have never heard of Randy Strawderman.

Now some folks might complain that I’m being disingenuous because, if being a ‘star’ or having ‘status’ is relative and subjective, how come Barksdale / Firehouse / etc. always get the press coverage. I have two possibly contradictory things to say about that:

1) size does matter – some companies will always be looked to first for stories because of their budgets, the size of their audiences, the caliber of the people they hire (based on Equity membership for instance), their longevity in the community, etc. That’s life.

BUT

2) if you want to be treated like a professional, act like one. Just because a show or a program exists, does not mean that I (or Mary or Style) know about it. Anon said that some great work is going on at inconspicuous companies. That’s great but if those companies want to stop being inconspicuous, they are going to have to market themselves. Even if you are the biggest company in town, marketing is key. If you want more coverage, pitch a story – and not just “this production is going to be really great” – but something new or different or interesting – something that you’d want to read about even if you WEREN’T involved in the production. And if a pitch is not picked up the first or second or even third time, keep trying! It’s a lot like auditioning – there are a lot more actors than roles, and a lot more stories than there is space to print them.

OK, I’m sure I’m rambling now. I know I still haven’t addressed my audacity at saying I hang out with some people in the theater scene. More on that later. Must sleep now…

Social Climbing

Dear Dave,

What does it take to get to hang out with the Timberlines? I undersstand that according to a responder a few blogs ago (was it Frank Creasy?)I am just someone who writes an occaisional theatre review but I feel that I am vital to the "scene" anyway. Plus we have kids the same age who could be entertained by each other. We might even have some mutually interesting topics for conversation like uhhh, I don't
know..local theatre?

Just asking.
MB

PS: Will do blog on "Little Women" soon. My opinion should count on this one because I am getting paid to see the show and review it rather than just going to see it for pleasure as in the case of "Rumplestiltskin's Daughter". Apparently someone thinks my thoughts on a show are invalid unless I am on official critic duty. Does that mean if an actor is not getting paid to do a role their performance doesn't count?

Transformation

It’s Saturday night and I should be sleeping. Or working on the prospectus for my term paper. Or doing my taxes. Or watching college basketball.

But you lovely people have given me SO much to write about, I feel I must at least knock one thing off my list of things to respond to before turning in tonight.

My wife has encouraged me to find that kindler, gentler DaveT wrapped up under those February doldrums so, instead of dashing off a vociferous response to the mr. or ms. Anonymous who is hatin on Rick St. Peter (I would have said dissin’ but that’s so 1990s, right?), I’ll use this as an opportunity to talk about the transformative power of theater.

It is because of Rick St. Peter that I tear up every time I hear the song “What if God was one of us” by Joan Osborne. His placement of that song at the end of his phenomenal production of “The Laramie Project” forever linked that melody with the confused feelings of sorrow and pain and torment and uplift and hope that I felt watching that show. It’s easily one of the top 5 great moments in theater that I’ve ever been lucky enough to experience. His direction of Rick Brandt in that production -- much like his direction of Scott Wichmann in "Hip-Hop" -- resulted in an exceptional actor delivering an incredible, exhilarating performance.

That play was the capstone to an amazing career for Rick here in Richmond, a tenure that redefined for me what theater could be. “suburbia,” “Stop Kiss” and “Jails, Hospitals and Hip-Hop” were among the most challenging, vital, fervent, engaging productions I have ever seen. Beyond what he has done on stage, I have been lucky enough to interact with Rick outside of the theater and have found him to be one of the most thoughtful, intelligent, insightful, and unpretentious theater people I have ever met.

I included comments from Rick in my piece because he has a perspective on theater that I don’t think I could get from anyone in Richmond. While here, he worked at many different levels of the theater scene, from TheatreVCU to independent productions at Theatre Gym to big budget Equity productions at TheatreVirginia. Since leaving Richmond, he’s run his own theater program as well as guest-directed for various others. He remains connected to the local scene via the many friends he has here and the Richmond actors he casts in his shows in Lexington (not to mention, those he outright steals from town altogether – lookin at you Parrish). He is beholden to no one here and can provide an informed, unbiased and coherent opinion on theater here and elsewhere, more so than few other people I can think of.

Rick is a source that any theater writer would be lucky to have. Even more so, I am lucky to have been able to sustain regular – if sporadic – contact with him over the years and feel great personal affection toward him, his lovely wife and his two children. That doesn’t mean I take his every word as the bonafide, unqualified gospel (check out the comments here for an example) but I feel honored that he still feels willing to share his thoughts in this space and am always delighted when he does.

Are we veering back into annoying love fest territory? Yeah, well, for Rick, it’s worth it. I'm glad to finally have an excuse to do a full-scale gush about Mr. St. Peter.

After a good night’s sleep and maybe a day or so of further rumination, I’ll try to lay out some thoughts about “status,” “stars” and what one has to do to hang out with Mr. Timberline and Company. In the meantime, I’ll be having sweet dreams about “Little Women” and other upcoming productions I’m very much looking forward to seeing.

Chris Brown

In my ongoing – and unsuccessful – bid to stay even marginally hip, I took my teenage daughter and a pal to the Chris Brown concert this past Tuesday. For those who may not know him, this 18 year old Virginia native is a quadruple threat, it turns out. He’s an incredibly athletic and entertaining dancer – capping off the concert with a series of handsprings across the stage – in addition to a great singer, a pretty good actor, and – as my daughter would say – a smokin’ hot hunk of eye-candy.

The concert was a good indication of what youngsters, at least – and I think audiences in general – have come to expect in terms of production values. Sure, the tickets were not cheap. But for twice what it would cost to see a show at the Barksdale, for instance, here’s what you got with CB:

• a surprisingly exciting 5-minute animated movie featuring Mr. Brown as a Batman-like superhero,


• two extended “dance offs” featuring a crew of hot and talented performers (plus two pint-size boys who were crowd faves),


• significant amounts of fireworks and flashpots, lasers and other wild lighting,


• projected “co-stars” including T-Pain and Rihanna,


• two little theatrical vignettes performed in the context of songs that were pretty well done,


• a two-song interlude performed on a rotating hydraulic stage near the back of the Coliseum (which thanks to our seats, put us in the very first row for those two songs and nearly sent all of the women around me into cardiac arrest),


• performance of some top pop hits, including CB’s “Kiss Kiss,” “Run It,” and “With You,” and Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”

And all of that doesn’t even include the two opening acts, Soulja Boy (of ‘Crank Dat’ fame) and Bow Wow, who each had their own interesting (if less appealing to me) sets.

All in all, it was 3 ½ hours of pretty exceptional entertainment and I came away feeling like I totally got my money’s worth. Maybe it’s not fair to compare a huge concert to a stage show. But I know there are plenty of entertainment consumers out there who do some cost / entertainment value analysis when they are considering what to do with their time and money. And based on what I saw Tuesday, theater is going to have be pretty innovative to compete for that younger audience.

Baltimore

I realized I never provided a direct link to MaryB’s “report card” on theater in town. I will be honest in saying that the demographic comparison to Baltimore – which I questioned deep in the comments of this post -- still sticks in my craw a bit. Starting with it being much closer to DC than Richmond (check Google maps – Baltimore is 40 miles from DC, Richmond 100, or 2 ½ times further), Baltimore just doesn’t compare to Richmond in many ways. I spent some of my childhood years in suburban Baltimore and I used to have a job that put me in Baltimore 1 week a month for a year and it is simply a way different place than Richmond. The metro area population really doesn’t compare, particularly when you consider population density. There’s a reason Baltimore can support major league baseball and football franchises while Richmond can’t even support a triple-A baseball club. I expect there are about a dozen metrics you could look at where Baltimore is 3 or 4 times larger than Richmond, beyond number of professional and community theater companies.

However, having had my little demographic rant, I will say that I agree wholeheartedly with Mary’s basic premise – there’s not a whole lot of growth or dynamism in the local theater scene. The fact that Theatre IV’s Little Theater has been dark for something like 6 months is only one of the many bell-weathers I would point to as proof.

I am not – and I don’t think Mary was – pointing fingers at the local theater community. God knows that the folks Barksdale and RTP and CAT and Firehouse and RichShakes and everywhere are doing everything they can think to do to grow their programs. I think the problem is larger and more systematic. One of many key issues is the antagonism between the city and the counties in central Virginia – most of the money is in the counties and they won’t invest in growing the downtown scene.

I agree with Andrew in thinking it doesn’t do much good to bemoan Richmond’s scene in comparison to other city’s. We have what we have. But I totally disagree that the way things are is somehow acceptable. As I said in my piece, my fear is that good people will leave (have already started to leave) and not as many good people will come here if things don’t change. Richmond has so many of the components that could make it a really dynamic top-notch theater town. I think it’s a shame that the powers that be – money people, government people, arts people – can’t seem to get it together to make it happen.

I think about Baltimore with its thriving Harbor, Cincinnati with the popular river-side development, even Cleveland – my true hometown – has done wonders with an area that used to be a dirty mess (the Flats) and made it into a bustling scene. Maybe we’re heading that way with Toad’s Place and the National and more riverside happenings downtown. But at least where theater is concerned, it’s like Richmond is rewriting Beckett’s play as “Waiting for CenterStage.” Will it get here? What do we do in the meantime? When it gets here, will it be enough? I guess we’ll see.

Theatre VCU

So in my report card story for this week’s Style, I tried to cram a lot of ideas and information into a very short space with a predefined format. I spoke to many people who all gave me great quotes and opinions, which I mostly had to boil down to about a sentence per person. So, while I think the piece accurately reflects the big picture of what’s going on in town, obviously there is all sorts of stuff left out. This is unfortunate but is also just the way it goes.

Of all the comments I had to truncate to the bare minimum, I’m most sorry about David Leong’s. I’ve known David a long time and appreciate what he has done at VCU. It’s unfortunate that 30 minutes of his insight and explanations had to be summed up in one rather negative comment about the market for actors in Richmond.

I had contacted David to ask him what Theatre VCU was doing to support the local theater scene, what he was doing to bolster opportunities in town for graduates of his program. What he clearly and concisely explained to me was that his program is populated with people with great ambitions and one of the jobs of the program is to foster those ambitions. While he had many nice things to say about the local scene, he was unapologetic about the fact that the University tries its best to get its graduates in front of producers and directors in bigger markets. His focus is clearly on serving his students, not on serving the local theater-going public. Which I think is appropriate.

David expressed some regret that TheatreVirginia wasn’t still around, saying that partnership with a LORT theater used to be a great aspect of the program. He also said that, while placing people locally wasn’t a specific focus of the current program, he was very proud of the VCU graduates who have stayed in Richmond and done well here.

So that’s the full story behind David’s brief comment in the published piece. FYI.

Mistake on dates

My appologies to Theatre IV and to all of you bloggers out there. There will not be a story in STYLE about "Rumplestiltskin's Daughter" as the show's run ends on Feb 10 and there is no room on the magazine before the 20th. The mistake was a combination of wreckless enthusiasm on my part and lack of good theatre calendar research on the part of my wonderful yet sometimes (but rarely)imperfect editor. Please forgive the mistake and know that I will try to do better in the future.

All the best,
Mary

Theatre IV - supporting the community

Just a note to express my appreciation to the folks at Theatre IV who are ordering their copies of Diane Stanley's book, "Rumplestiltskin's Daughter" from Bookpeople small independantly owned local bookstore. The books are for sale at the Empire after the show- which is fabulous as I have previously mentioned. Look for a story about the play in STYLE around the 20th of February.

An aside: the ART CHEERLEADERs will make a special appearance at Richmond Montessori School on Friday February First in support of artist Mo Bennett's first rertospective art exhibit at the school's media center at 499 N. Parham Road. 3:30 to 5:30pm. They will also be wandering around at First Friday Art Walk and celebrating my birthday later that evening. All are welcome to come to the opening and/or come stand me a drink at 27.

It’s Everywhere

I’m curious what the folks who are so enamored of “Rumplestiltskin’s Daughter” think about Ms. Haubenstock’s criticism about its coherence. Any contradictory opinions? I think it is a shame “RD” is running such a short time because I’d really like to see it and it may be a squeeze for team T-line to get there in the next couple of weeks.

Though it’s still hard to find the theater reviews in the T-D, theater-related news still sneaks in through other outlets. Almost every lead sentence about the recent Miss American pageant started out similarly to this: “Miss Michigan Kirsten Haglund, a 19-year-old aspiring Broadway star, was crowned Miss America 2008…” Haters out there may say theater is dead, but there’s obviously cheerful kids all over the country that are motivated by the Great White Way.

And speaking of cheerful kids, I was lucky enough to catch the exceedingly cute vocal stylings of Deb Clinton’s daughter singing “Popular” from “Wicked” at the Or-Ami talent show last night. She’s clearly following in her talented mom’s footsteps. For those of you who like the old crowd-pleasing musicals, Deb is staging “Guys and Dolls, Jr.” at the JCC at the beginning of April. And in case you’re expecting awkwards teens stumbling through their lines – well, I can’t guarantee there won’t be some of that. But one of the show’s stars, Jessica Story, also sang at the talent show last night and she has as big a voice as you’re likely to hear anywhere on stage here in town. Like in many of the community centers and the many faith communities in Richmond, the JCC has a burgeoning theater program. Big budget theater in Richmond may still be sparse but theater still thrives in nooks and crannies all over town.

Hopefully this Risk will Turn to Gold for Theatre IV

An obviously brilliant person from the Marketing Department at Theatre IV invited me to see the opening night of "Rumplestiltskin's Daughter" (no names here but even thought I love Judy it was not she who gave the personal invite). So last night, I took the best kid show critic I know, my seven year old daughter, Elinor, down to the fabulous Empire Theatre to see the American Premier of the show. Elinor (or Ellie as we sometimes call her) yawned through the company's "same-old,same old" production of "The Wizard of Oz". She enjoyed "A Christmas Story" but was squirming in her seat to distraction due to its length. But last night we both walked out with big smiles on our faces.

"Rumplestiltskin's Daughter" is everything Children's Theatre should be. Engaging for kids of a variety of ages and the adults who escort them, funny, enlightening with it's message, politically correct for our time, colorful and just the right length - a little over an hour with no intermission. It is also everything that the largest theatre company in the area should produce: new, well directed, well acted, well designed and crafted set, sound, and lighting, appropriate, fun, well thought out costumes, excellent make-up, choreography that is appropriate for the show and its actors, and wonderfully talented cast who's abilities are utilized properly to make a show that flows seemingly flawlessly across the stage. Thank you Bruce and Phil for taking a risk on something new! You obviously commited yourselves and your resources fully to this show. It is by far the best production I have seen TIV (perhaps due to my short time back in Richmond and actively seeing TIV shows, but then again maybe not).

But who cares about my opinion? The real critic in this case, (target audience aged that is) Elinor thought it was wonderful too. She especially enjoyed David Janeski's interpretation of Rumplestiltskin. She knows David from other shows and did not recognized him but not just because of the fake nose. She commented several times on the hilariously wicked duo of Jackie Jones and Matt James as the Queen Mother and the Duke of Bonfire. Jackie your costume has started a fashion war in our house. I know it is not your fault but honey, you do wear that -is it Versache inspired?- neo disco outfit so well! I know you are having fun in that, girl. I could tell by your wicked evil laugh.

I personally fell in love with Richard Koch as the King. He can take his make-up off in front of me anytime.

Biggest disappointment though- Billy Christopher shaved off his alluring whiskers. That might be the only directoral decision I had a problem with. Thank you Dawn Westbrook for killing my fantasy life.

Elinor and I both agreed that the songs were a little repetitive but big caveat here: I generally do not like the music in musicals and I did enjoy the entire show- I was not cringing during the songs which is often the case. (I do not miss the irony here that my favorite show of the season so far, "Urinetown" is a musical but hey, when it is good it is really really good). Elinor's favorite musical music currently is "Spamalot" which is played at least once everyday in her room at very loud volume. A tough bar is set there. IN summary: overall good rating but maybe a little repetitive.

I strongly encourage all theatre lovers in Richmond and surrounding areas to go see "Rumplestiltskin's Daughter". We may have good theatre around here but we rarely have really great theatre and so we must indulge ourselves in it while it is available.

Baby J

As many of you may have heard already, Sara Heifetz had a baby boy in the wee hours yesterday morning, the day after her mom's funeral. I was alerted to this by my friend (Sara with an H) who summed up the situation better than I ever could:

"In the end, Sara was able to devote herself fully to both the funeral and the birth and give herself over to each. She is a strong, amazing woman, and I wish her and her new family the greatest healing and the most rewarding joy."

When God is going to do something wonderful, He or She starts with a
hardship. When God is going to do something amazing, He or She starts with an impossibility."
--Anne Lamott

Cheerleader and Umpire

Seems like I've missed a lot while traveling and orienting to life as a Prof. at UR. Much thanks to Dave T. for defending the preview to whoever that was who commented as though it was a review.

Greatly enjoyed the Festival of New American Plays at Firehouse last week. "Tiny Bubbles" was hilarious! Kudos to director and cast for a job well done- would mention all names here but of course have recycled program already and have such a poor memory I wish not to offend anyone by butchering the spelling of their name or leaving someone out.

"Pet Shop Days" not such a good play after all but congrats to cast and BC for an entertaining evening. BC looks so hot with those whiskers he has grown for "Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter" I almost forgot myself and the several roadblocks that would keep us from having a torrid love affair. Oh well- that's what fantasies are for anyway, right?

Just to respond to the suggestion that I might be biased in regards to the Firehouse in terms of reviewing shows: I have worked with many theatre people in this town. That allows for insight as I believe another blogger mentioned referring to their time in Austin as a critic (thank you). Anyone who knows me will tell you that there has been no friendship, job opportunity, love, money or other bribe that has kept me from giving my true opinion about a show- performance or otherwise. I am in all senses of the word a cheerleader for local theatre, all local theatre. But I also want us all to go "a little bit up" so I call 'em like I see 'em.

Looking forward to lots of upcoming openings and reviews.MB

Big Oops

I had the date of the Style report cards wrong. They aren't going to show up until next week. Can you see the big 'L' on my forehead from there?

Mincks

I hope everyone saw the article on the wonderful Mincks family in the T-D today. My only complaint is that this family warrants a book, not just a short little article. It’s been astonishing to watch them all grow up and flourish. I couldn’t believe it when I read that Amanda is 30, particularly since Kim doesn’t look a day older than the first day I ever met her. I’m looking forward to seeing Minckses on stage for years to come.

It was interesting to read about the genesis of “Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter” this past Sunday. The picture of young Gianna Galiffa peaked my interest as well. My sources say she is a nice local girl, not a hired talent from out of town, which is a little surprising given that she’s playing the title role in such a big production. Could yet another extremely talented local actress be entering the Richmond scene? One need look no further than the cast of “Little Women” at the Mill to see how many of them there are here already. We need more female-centric plays (anything but “Quilters” please…) in production around here to showcase all this talent!

Thoughts and Prayers

Please send your thoughts and prayers to Sara Heifetz whose mother succumbed on Sunday after a valiant battle with cancer. Good luck and best wishes, Sara, as you navigate this difficult time. We'll be thinking about you.

All ‘A’s in terms of response

This week, the Style Winter Arts issue will feature report cards on the various arts scenes in Richmond. It seems to me to be a fairly intentionally provocative strategy that I applaud Arts Editor Mr. Reynolds for taking. I would hope it generates some conversation, not just at this space but in the Richmond arts world in general. If it doesn’t, I’ll be disappointed for several reasons, including the possibility that people aren’t engaged enough in the arts to care and/or that not enough people read Style!

Before the grades are published however, I just want to thank everyone I spoke to or tried to speak to for being gracious and available for chatting about this. In particular, I want to thank Robin Harris-Jones and Sara Heifetz, both of whom I spoke with at some length but whose comments did not make it into the final article. I ended up speaking to about 8 or 9 people and had another 3-4 lined up to speak to, which ended up being a lot to squeeze into 500 words. For those who will be mentioned in the article, I hope my transcription of your comments accurately reflected your intended meaning.

One Night in Bangkok

It's a little sad to hear about the death of Bobby Fischer. It's even more sad what happened to him before he died, his protracted decline. He was the inspiration for many great things. Like about a million other people, I learned chess using "Bobby Fischer teaches chess." He made chess cool for a little while. And of course his World Champion match with Boris Spassky was the inspiration for "Chess" the musical, which has at least two great songs. I've never seen a really excellent production of "Chess" ever (sorry Andrew, but I didn't find the Elden Street show that inspiring) but still, "I Know Him So Well" and "One Night..." are highly listenable.

Go Henley Street!

Best regards to the folks at Henley Street who have been extremely gracious in the face of a review that was not exactly positive. The comments from Frank and Alex and other communication I have received from folks with the company show a refreshing level of commitment, maturity and (dare I say) honor. My hat's off to all of you. And the last line in the review is sincere -- you all are clearly ambitious and I'll be looking forward to watching your continued progression.

On newstands now

So this week's Style features both my review of "Spanish Tragedy" and MaryB's preview of the One-Act Showcase at the Firehouse. We're still weeks away from the Virginia primary so voting for the winning play will be good practice at the polls.

Not in the review

So I wrote many things about Henley Street Theatre Company’s “The Spanish Tragedy” in my review. Among them are some comments that echo Mary’s: I had a great deal of trouble with the costumes – I may have been more distracted by them than any other production I can remember. I also thought the use of fake blood at the end was a problematic choice. It was certainly a dramatic moment but I ended up feeling manipulated. My full review should appear in Style soon – maybe as early as this week – and you’ll get the full story then.

But until then, here are some things that didn’t end up in the review:

The set. I ended up feeling a bit mixed about the set. Like many aspects of the production, I think the ambition exceeded the execution. The second level with the tower room where Bel-Imperia is locked was pretty impressive. But the little chambers under the second level were odd and the façade of the whole thing, while it didn’t look as bad as cardboard building blocks, also didn’t quite convey “brick” convincingly.

I liked Anthony Santiago as Balthazar, though not quite as much as I liked him in “Spinning into Butter.” I didn’t really get a strong impression of Brad Tuggle as Horatio. I like the chemistry between him and Frank Creasy’s Hieronimo in their brief moments together, but I would echo Mary again and say I wasn’t quite feeling the fire between him and Kerry McGee’s Bel-Imperia.

I enjoyed Dean Knight as Lorenzo’s page a lot. I wish he was given more to do and more stage time in which to do it.

Sorry to say but the entire Portuguese court kind of left me flat. The whole subplot involving political infighting at the Portuguese court was a time-waster in my opinion, adding far too little to the show for the time and focus it demanded. Not to be mean about it but that was how I felt.

I touch on this in the review, but I think the text of the play is problematic. Until the trial of Pedringano, there is a deathly lack of humor or distraction from the grim main events. There were some moments of lightness after that, but the whole piece is a pretty grim affair. Hamlet’s no party either but I think I laughed at least four times as often the last time I saw that. Also, whereas Shakespeare has such moving and soaring poetry, I didn’t think there was much inspiration to be found in Kyd’s rhymes. There was a fairly large proportion of “moon/June” kind of poetry (or at least “tale / nightingale” which is really just about as bad).

The one soliloquy that approached poignancy was Hieronimo’s “What good is a son?” speech. It was a good speech but almost a little too bittersweet. I also didn’t get at all why Hieronimo first discovers his son, is distraught, then apparently refuses to accept that it’s his son, and then “re-discovers” him and falls again into pain and rage. Why go through that circle? It was confusing to me.

Though I’ve written a fair amount of negative stuff above, I did like many things about the production. But you’ll read about those in my review, when it comes out and if you are inclined to pick up a copy. In the meantime, I'm open to opinions both contradictory and complementary...

Comment Moderation

Recent activity in the comments of this blog have led me to turn on comment moderation. Those preferring to remain anonymous will still be able to post. I hope this doesn't supress the conversation, and yet minimizes the abuse.

Comments almost as long as the play

Great article in STYLE about "Acts of Faith"!, Dave. I am sure that if Pat Robertson buys the Virginia Pilot papers he will like articles about stuff like that. Noticed that the article was listed under "Music" on the Contents page and that you are also credited with writing a story about Doug Richards which apparently you did not. The place really falls apart when Brandon is on vacation, eh?

Well this culture vulture is having a fab weekend so far. Henley Street's "Spanish Tragedy" Friday night, the Latin Ballet's, "Legend of the Pointsetta" yesterday and this evening will find me and my family at Barksdale for BJ Kocen's "Stretchin' at the Barksdale" concert series. How will the laundry ever get done?

I enjoyed my evening with Henley Street from start to finish and since I am not reviewing the play, I am free to express my opinions on the blog. I want to congratulate Henley's Artistic Director, Alex Prevetera, on understanding the principle of "A little bit up with each production". Stoner Winslett, of the Richmond Ballet told me that this was the success of her "Nutcracker" production; twenty six years ago, when she took over the show, she contacted a mentor from New York who said that the secret to show biz success is to take the production "a little bit up" every year. In the case of Henley Street I saw a wonderful growth between their first production to their second.
From theup-grade of food at the opening reception to the quality of the performances, set, and tech I think they have "gone a little bit up". I was most impressed with the much improved line delivery and stage presence of Michael Slater who is clearly working very hard and getting some excellent training.
The general level of performances was at Richmond Shakespeare level- good solid performances but in my book could still work on character depth and taking the song out of the text - and sometimes there is that playing the mood of the scene thing that makes me nuts. That is not a slam (I see the avalanche of outraged responses in my mind). Everyone can always improve. That is part of what keeps us going to theater- watching companies and performers grow and get better. This is acompliment to HS. It is their second production and they are doing great! "The Spanish Tragedy" is no cakewalk either. It has a lot of elements that are problematic onstage regardless of who is producing it ie: lots of murders, blood, death scenes and what can be difficult text. Choices have to be made about how to show blood or not show blood, if yes, how to show the blood- metaphorically by means of silk scarves or ribbons etc or with reality in mind using sticky slimy glycerin and food color which is messy and can be dangerous on a stage with lots of scene changes. But a clear choice must be made and I feel it was not. The audience is taught to suspend it's disbelief for all the bloody parts until Hieronimo bites out his tongue at the end. Great effect- blood pouring out of his mouth- but a little confusing after no other blood in the show. And it is always trouble for actors to die onstage. All that being still and breathing can get in the way of a convincing death.
Costumes are an issue with this show as well. Someone please tell me what era was being portrayed here or was the idea not to have a specific era? I saw a variety of last century decades of clothing parading across the stage and what looked like aluminium foil crowns on actor's heads. At one point an actress came out with half her hem fallen out and Pedringono's skirt was work sideways so she could have use of what should be the zippered back as a pocket. Attention to detail is one of those things that separates the good from the great. A cohesive design thread can be really helpful if you are mixing eras otherwise it just looks like someone ran around to thrift stores in order to have something on the actor's bodies.
I would like to see a little more scene work on the love scene between Horatio and Bel-Imperia- I just was not getting that they are really hot for each other at all. I mean he has got to be "something" enough to make her forget her beloved late husband so quickly. And she has to be "something" enough to be tempted. The audience needs to feel that.
Ok- enough whining. Back to the good stuff...I already said how great it is to see Michael Slater grow as an actor...what a joy to have Stephan Ryan in this show. I am pleased to see top shelf actors like him supporting this company. Stephan is great. So understated and with that wonderful gift for bringing reality into this difficult verse.
David Bromley has also taken his performance "a little bit up".
Dean Knight seems to be the only person who truly understands the benefits of comic relief in a tragedy. He is charmingly sadistic in his bit about the non-existence of a pardon for Pedringano.
It was nice to finally meet Frank Creasy, a frequent blog respondent, after the show. He plays the lead, Hieronimo. A complex and wordy part. This part is intense. Frank, get Alex to pay for a full body massage before next weekend- you deserve it. A tad more relaxation and depth of character would serve this performance- I bet much of this tenseness was due to opening. I personally would have been a basket case.
Kerry McGee and Leslie Cline both put in good performances as Bel-Imperia and The Viceroy of Portugal despite completely strange and seasonally conflicting costumes.
So now I have commented on this show almost as long as the show itself. I am sure I could go on but it is time to make breakfast.

Keep up the good work Henley Street. You are on your way to being a real contender and I for one am proud of you. You are brave, smart, and moving forward. Just the kind of new blood we need around here to keep everyone working and on their toes.

Looking forward to Dave's review coming out soon.

Jeopardy

I caught Final Jeopardy at the gym today, which grabbed my attention because the category was “American Theatre History.” This was the answer: “This 1943 musical was based on a 1931 play that starred Tex Ritter as a cowboy and Lee Strasberg as a peddler.” Do you know the question?

I admit that I guessed but still I got it right. The correct question begs two more questions: “What was the name of the play?” and “What was Tex’s real first name?”

And if you really like trivia, here’s a doozy of a question: “You might think Tex’s son’s second wife is related to a relatively well-known theater composer whose most famous show played in Richmond during the summer of 2006. But she isn’t! Why might you think the two are related but how can you tell they aren’t?”

The first correct answer to all four of the queries posed above (or correct question, as the case may be) gets a prize. Honest! Start Googling…

An opening tonight!

Like alot of people, I rolled my eyes when I heard that Disney was adapting "The Little Mermaid" for the stage. "Do they really need to milk their classics for every dime," I thought. "Has anyone really been clamoring for a mermaid musical?" I snarked. And if so, why not adapt "Splash" -- a more compelling story -- instead?

Well, the show opens tonight. And in contridiction to my expectations, this article in USA Today actually makes me curious about the show. There are 10 new songs in it!? Doug Wright worked on the libretto!? Hmmm...

Also, I found out the other day that Richmond native Emily Skinner played Ursula when the show was workshopped. There's a YouTube video somewhere that dubs Emily's voice in over a scene in the original animated version (I'll link to it when I get a chance...). It's interesting. Maybe still not compelling enough to get me up to see it but interesting just the same...

Faith-based initiative

Ed Slipek's cover article in this week's Style about the National Theatre is an interesting slice of Richmond history. Oh, and there's my preview of the Acts of Faith festival in there, too. There's so many cool shows coming up -- I only hope I can get to half of them!

Dramatic Tragedies

You probably saw the piece in the T-D about Henley Street’s upcoming production of “The Spanish Tragedy.” I’ll be checking it out this Friday; it’ll be my first HSTC show and I’m giddy with anticipation.

I’ve heard some good and some bad about “Sweeney Todd” on the big screen. I’m having trouble getting motivated to see it because, after seeing Patti Lupone as Mrs. Lovett on Broadway, I can’t imagine Helena Bonham Carter doing the part justice. Based on the John Doyle production I saw, the prerequisite for any future Mrs. Lovett should be that she can convincingly play (or at least carry) a tuba.

I did see an equally devastating and uplifting tragedy over Christmas however, also based on theater. If you have the patience for subtitles and the occasional stilted performance, you should check out “Ran” by the Japanese director Kurosawa on DVD sometime. It’s an epic tragedy based loosely on “King Lear” and it is full of pageantry and awesome visuals. It was filmed before CGI so the scenes of legions of soldiers riding into battle actually involved thousands of extras and hundreds of horses. It’s pretty amazing.

I’ve also been canvassing the acting community out there in reference to an upcoming Style piece (not unlike Mary’s) so don’t be surprised if you hear me calling in the next couple of days. Beware!

.Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind at Woolly

Just a quick blurb this morning to get this information out: "Too Much Light Makes the Baby go Blind" is at Woolly Mammoth this week in DC. If anyone is interested in a road trip let me know.

Was watching TV the other night- rare at my house- and saw a commercial for Barksdale. A very nicely produced, beautiful commercial for Barksdale. Is this a new thing or have I just missed it because I do not watch much television? Way to go Bruce and Phil! I adore anything that promotes theater around here, especially when it is so pretty. A very smart idea, marketing wise, to go after the folks who are not already in the theater loop aka a typical television audience- and prime time too!

Hope to see lots of you at State of the Theatre Coffee and Conversation.

And for you geography geeks: I could be wrong but according to my sources Baltimore has a population of 1.4 million and Greater Richmond of 1.2 million (Hanover and Petersburg must be included because of Hanover Tavern and Sycamore Rouge). And anyway Baltimore has 76 area theaters and theater companies compared to Richmond's
22. So even if my population stats are wrong, and Baltimore is twice as big as I think, Baltimore still has more than twice the number of active theaters and companies. Funding is part of it - read upcoming article in STYLE for more information.

Peace. Mary

Ch-ch-ch-changes

As you may have seen at the Barksdale Blog, their “State of the Theatre” talk has been moved later a week. Mark your calendars!

Also, in the news this morning was the announcement that the Batten family may be putting Landmark Communications up for sale. Landmark owns Style Weekly. I expect there’s no reason to quiver in my boots yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some changes coming down the road.

As I tuned into Lettermen and Leno last night to get a glimpse of the world of TV in strike-torn times, I saw a couple of familiar faces. Halfway through Gov. Huckabee’s stint on Leno (gotta say – it’s hard not to like a guy who wants to dismantle the IRS…) there was a Bon Secours hospitals spot that definitely had Jen Meharg and might it have been Joe Pabst as well? This may be an old commercial for all I know but it’s nice to see Jen joining her hubby Scotty Wichmann in getting some commercial work.

Alt Media

This week’s Style names Rodney Monroe Richmonder of the Year. I’m sure many of you were pulling for Grant Mudge or Mary Burruss. Grant may still get his turn and I think there would be some kind of nepotism problem with Style naming Mary given she’s a staff writer and all. Personally, my Richmonder of the Year would be a toss-up between Chase Kniffen – who did a phenomenal job directing a predominantly under-15 cast in “A Christmas Story” – and the kindly plumber who fixed our two sinks in about 20 minutes the day after Christmas.

This issue also has a review of “Moonlight and Magnolias,” the first real pan I can remember reading from MaryB. I’m sure there will be those who disagree with Mary (I haven’t seen the show so will not weigh in) but what I greatly respect about her review is her clear placement of everything as her opinion and her acknowledgement that others were enjoying themselves. There are too many critics who state simply that something is intrinsically bad without giving much context, or even worse, freely use the pronoun “we” in their reviews, trying to insinuate us into their negative opinions (yes, I’m talking about Mr. Neman). Nice work, Mary.

Note also the piece on the ArtsFund that includes some insightful words from Mr. Mudge. Arts funding is something that needs to be addressed and I hope to write more about it here. I was talking to Bruce Miller the other day and he was giving me comparative figures on the amount of support arts organizations get in Virginia versus other states. It’s pretty staggering. People who blithely talk about how Richmond theater is lame compared to other cities are usually blaming the victims. It’s amazing how well the theaters here are doing given their comparative disadvantage. When I get more specific numbers from Bruce, I’ll be sure and post them.

Finally, I picked up last week’s Brick and noticed a picture on the back page of the kids from “A Christmas Story” signing autographs. Since I only pick up a Brick occasionally, I don’t know if they’re stepping up their theater coverage – I tend to doubt it – but that picture was at least an acknowledgement that theater exists here. You gotta accept the small victories.

The Christmas when everything broke

It started with an ominous splashy-splashy sound under the sink after I brushed my teeth in the morning. It wasn’t a drip-drop sound, but something that cried out, “call a plumber.” But the thing was – it was the Wednesday before Christmas and no one could make it out until the day after Christmas. That wouldn’t have been so bad if one of the other three upstairs sinks was also out of commission pending a bathroom renovation. One functioning sink for a family of six – including 2 teens – was not good. It was going to be an interesting week.

And that wouldn’t have been so bad if I didn’t come home Thursday to my wife holding a small mangled plastic doo-dad that indicated that the dishwasher was also broken. Friday night my monthly poker game – in which I had never lost more than $30 before – delivered me a $70 spanking. Should I have been surprised?

Saturday morning, as my lovely wife and I prepared to have 15 members of my extended family over for brunch, I turned the key in my car ignition and was treated to silence. No clicks, no revving hum, no nothing. Hello dead battery. After all the relations had arrived, my wife tried to extract an ornery piece of ice from our freezer and pulled out a not-so-small plastic doo-dad attached to the icemaker instead. Well, at least it isn’t summer time…

On Christmas Eve we hadn’t been in my mother’s house more than an hour before we heard screams from the stairs. My sister’s dog had tried to bite my son’s ear off. The EMTs were surprisingly good-natured for the night before Christmas. We finally left the emergency room just before midnight, my son sporting a nasty 16-stitches worth of a wound in his left ear.

As if my body had announced surrender, I woke up Christmas morning with an epic sinus headache and persistent juicy cough. As soon as all the gifts had been opened and Christmas breakfast consumed, I hit the bed for nearly a full 24-hour nap. It wouldn’t be until Friday that I could take an unfettered breath.

So it’s been a rough 10 days or so. And it’s not over yet. But through it all, I have to say I’m very grateful. My son’s injury could have been much worse and, at 4 years old, he is incredibly resilient and has quickly resumed pestering his older brother. I’ve thrown off my illness pretty well and I have a wonderfully supportive wife who allowed me to check out for a full day. Things can be repaired or replaced. I’m lucky I have $70 to blow in a stupid game.

The New Year presents many exciting potentialities. My surprising eldest son has been cast in “Peter Pan” so the exciting, occasionally overwhelming logistical challenge of his new career will continue for at least several more months (see, this IS a theater blog…) An awesome family trip for spring break is already deep in the planning stages. I have a decent shot at having my first scholarly article published.

I hope you too, dear reader, are poised on the edge of an exciting New Year full of promise. Thank you for checking in on my sometimes semi-coherent ramblings, for your comments, and for your support of – or participation in – the Richmond theater scene. Take care.

Theater Report Card

Great article summing up the year in theater, Dave. You are my hero. But enough love fest stuff. I am feeling better. Thank you all of you who sent "get well" wishes. I am now- at 7:17pm on Friday night working on a story for STYLE that is due on Tuesday that is to summarize the overall status of the Richmond Theater Scene in the last five years. I am looking for some quotes and would love to include some of yours as representatives, professionals, fans or Richmond Theater.

So here are the questions:
Do you think that the Richmond Theater Scene has grown, shrunk, or stagnated in the last five years and why do you think that?

How do you think Richmond Theater compares to other cities that are similar in size?
Like Baltimore for example.

What do you think is the potential for development?

Can anyone tell me when Theater Virginia closed?

It is best to include your name and theater related title in order for me to quote you. I do not promise to quote anyone but I reserve the right to quote you if you respond and it adds to the validity of the story.

Even if I don't use any of this material it should turn out to be an interesting discussion.

An aside: The Art Cheerleaders will be performing at Sycamore Rouge on New Years Eve in Slash Coleman's Burlesque Show. Hope to see some of you there.

That's a wrap

I'm glad MaryB's been keeping the conversation going over the holiday as my life has been enveloped in chaos (more on that later). Here's a link to my year-end wrap-up in Style. Check out the hardcopy version of the mag for a smashing picture of MaryB in her Arts Cheerleader garb. I look forward to any thoughts in response. Did I give an apt summary...or not? What do YOU think was most significant about this past year in Richmond theater (besides, of course, the addition of MaryB to this blog...)?

The Incorrectness of Santa Claus

Yes, you are reading the time correctly. It is 2:00am Christmas Day and I am awake writing on this blog. It seems my sister Art Cheerleader, Rebecca Oliver gave me a little Christmas gift of her sinus infection and I am miserably trying to sleep with my head feeling like a giant vice grip is trying to squeeze what is left of my brain out. So I am awake and what better way to spend my time than to rant on the blog...

I did check the location of Santa Claus at www.noradsanta.org before I logged on. Just making sure I don't screw things up by being awake ya know. It might interest you to know that at this hour Santa is somewhere in Montana. According to NORAD he is three quarters of the way through the US and headed for Central and South America to finish up his annual work of delivering toys to good girls and boys all over the world. Perhaps already thinking about that hot toddy in the hot tub after a long nights work. Of course the entire Santa thing disturbs me. I mean what is OK about a strange man essentially breaking into our homes to leave stuff? Shouldn't we be a little wary about this?

Folks in Australia are getting to be more wary of Santa. I heard on the radio earlier this season that Santas in Australian malls were being asked to say "HaHaHa" rather than "HoHoHo" because "Ho" was considered to be degrading to women. In some places, probably California, there is a movement to return Santa to his original skinny self (aka pre Samual Clement poem) citing obesity to be unhealthy and a poor example to children. Why all of a sudden all these problems? Is it our culture of fear as theorized by Michael More in his film 911?

Who knows? But really when you think about it Santa Claus is seriously politically incorrect: A Strange looking old fat guy with a red nose who smokes a pipe and wears winter clothes even in hot climates. This is a profile for a pedophile if there ever was one. Then to go even further he hangs out with kids- encourages them to sit on his lap! and we promote this as a culture?

How scary is Santa these days? Let's break it down:
He is old: Ok- those of us who are over 40 may be encouraged by Santa's longevity but the truth is that someone that old can't really have great judgement. In our youth oriented culture Santa is pretty scary.

Fat: It is a bad example for kids especially in countries in which childhood and adult obesity are the number one health problems.

White Male: could this be more politically incorrect? Look to the current presidential hopeful race to see how five minutes ago it is to be a white guy in the thinking people's camp.

Smokes: This is the epitome of poor health choices. Why would I invite someone into my home who is going to pollute it with pipe smoke? Do I really want my children to admire someone with this habit?

Red nose: Santa usually sits in a warm mall all day. His nose is not red from the cold so it must be a sign of advance alcoholism. That would also explain the protruding gut and the psycho happy attitude.

Kids on lap: If you saw or are familiar with The 8: Reindeer Monologues you already know about this one. As a parent, this is especially disturbing. I can't believe that mothers coax, bribe and threaten their children to get on Santa's lap. In this age of rampant pedophilia, what are they thinking? When my mother-in-law took my daughter (expressly against my instruction) to visit Santa at the age of two and got upset because she refused to get on Santa's lap I pulled my daughter aside and congratulated her. I felt that I could not send the message of not talking to strangers or being seduced by candy 364 days a year and then make her forget it for one day in front of a camera no less. I was proud that she followed my instructions despite the pressure from another adult. It is sad though, that this is the way the world has become.

Winter clothes even in warm weather: If you have ever worked in retail you know that people wearing big winter coats in warm weather are profiled as shop-lifters.
All those clothes give them a place to hide stuff.

Giving stuff away for free: We have all been told that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Is Santa just dumping the stolen goods at out houses? Let's face it, is there truly a factory on earth that could make enough toys and goodies to fill stockings of every child on the planet?

So all in all Santa is a pretty suspicious character and after this blog I am sure to get ashes a switches or lumps of air polluting coal in my stocking next year. But at Santa's age and the way the media moves he will probably forget all about it by next Christmas. And anyway this blog has worked its magic on me this morning - I am going back to sleep because you know that there are at least two people in my house who will be up in a couple of hours to see what is in their stockings.

Take care everybody. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Reflections of 2007

While the year is winding down and we are all faced with the question of New Years Resolutions, I have spent a little time reflecting on 2007. For me personally it has been a wild year. It started it with me being mostly identified as an adjunct Marketing Professor at VCU, still a little irritated at having been relocated to my less than loved hometown after an 18 year vacation, and dealing with a major education issue for my 16year old son who was then trying home schooling. My family was falling apart and I was feeling unappreciated and very unloved. Little did I know that twelve months later I would find myself in a totally different place, if not geographically at least in my career and mentality. I have jumped back into theater life, found the career of my dreams, discovered some chutzpah, met some fantastic people, found the right school for my son, been invited to teach at a prestigious business school, am making peace with my past life in Richmond and have started performing again. My self esteem has come 180 degrees from where it was in January of 2007. Despite the challenges of the year (which were rather huge) I feel great!

There are some people who need to be recognized for the major contributions they have made to my new life. The first is Carol Piersol of the Firehouse Theatre Project. Carol was kind enough to ask me to produce "Austin's Bridge" which got me back into the game that gets my blood flowing- theater. Although I had little (if nothing) to do with the artistic side of the show, being involved in AB connected me with the art form and the people who led me to the next step. It was the promotion of that show that introduced me to Brandon Reynolds at STYLE who graciously gave me a chance to write theater reviews. Through the support of Jason Roop, Laurie Rogers, Scott Bass and very much Brandon Reynolds I have begun carving out a career as a freelance writer with a focus on the arts. Affiliation with STYLE instigated a friendship with Dave T. who honored me with an invitation to write on this wonderful blog where I have met and learned from so many fantastic theater people. I have literally become an Art Cheerleader and thanks to the local media am receiving recognition of the mission to encourage folks to support the arts. Special thanks to Justin Lowenhagen for putting me on the literary map and sending a letter to the editor at STYLE about my review of "The 8". I respect your opinion and enjoyed learning your perspective of the performance. I am still amazed that people actually read what I write let alone have a strong enough reaction to want to respond in writing. I am deeply grateful to you all.

So far it has been a great ride. I have grown so much. The blog is helping me to understand how to experience other viewpoints and hopefully to better express myself.

Thank you all for reading and especially for commenting. There have been some lively discussions in 2007. I believe this blog and the action on it is truly helping to increase the awareness of the theater scene in Richmond. Now all we need is a theater "Mash up" of our own. Dave?

Keep up the good work.

Peace.

Slow going

It's awful quiet in the blogosphere these days. What, is everyone preoccupied with something else besides theater? Hmmmm....

Well, in the meantime, I've added a few new links. Finally got a link to the TD's "Swingtime Canteen" review, only a month or so after it first appeared. Also stumbled across Janine Serresseque's blog and greatly enjoyed her recounting of the grumpy Cabaret patron. I'll also be keeping tabs on the interesting activities in the burgeoning career of Jase Smith via his web site.

Finally, I hope you'll check out next week's Style for my year-end theater wrap-up. It may lead to some spirited discussion...

A long-awaited review

Today's Style has the long-awaited review of "A Christmas Story," which may finally allow for the lifting of the scapegoat label from my poor head down at Theatre IV…

Mash Ups

As much as it pains me to do so, I'm going to have to say something positive about the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Today I stumbled upon their "MashUp" video segments that they do as part of "inRich.TV" and I found them downright endearing and even a little bit clever. And perhaps most shocking of all, they have done some bits about theater! Back in November, they did a spot on "The Eight: Reindeer Monologues" at Fielden's and in their latest spot, they give a little mention to the upcoming Dick Buttkiss and the Tight Ends Christmas musical, "The Christmas Story (According to Uncle Daddy)." For some reason, they only seem to cover theater in conjunction with stories about tattoos...not sure what's up with that.

Still, the MashUps are a little irreverent and moderately hip -- who knows, maybe they could help make theater a draw for those wacky kids out there...

Media Culpability

There's been a subject I've been wanting to broach for a while, but haven't really known how best to get into it. For one, it's a potentially slippery thing that could go in all sorts of directions and for another, I'm in an odd situation since I'm "part of the problem" but also have very little true power in terms of changing the situation.

But Andrew Hamm's recent posting on the new RichShakes blog brought it to the fore for me again. That, plus the fact that my lovely son informed me that I am now the company scapegoat at "A Christmas Story" because Style hasn't published a review of the show yet, even though Mary B was at opening night. So somehow, since I hold so much sway at Style (HA!), I'm now being held responsible.

I have many reactions here. One is that I'm happy that among the things my son is getting from his theater experience is an expanded vocabulary; 'scapegoat' isn't a word that comes up in casual conversation around our house. (Also, for any "Xmas Story" people out there reading, I know that this is all in good fun -- RCoop told me that Eric Evans used to be the scapegoat so I am proud to wear the mantle shed from such a noble head...)

The other is to feel defensive on behalf of Style and (in reference to Mr. Hamm's post) any other media outlet that has chosen not to review a show. There are dozens of factors that an editor and publisher have to balance and that determine what shows up in print and what doesn't: number of ad pages, timing of publication, perception of urgency, availability of art, etc. My lovely wife used to be an editor and it could be pretty tortuous at times for her to make cuts one way or another -- not unlike a director having to cast a show and turn down many worthy auditioners.

But on the other hand, I have been oftentimes befuddled and not infrequently angered at the coverage theater receives here, from all the possible outlets. It's ridiculous to have to wade through the obituaries to get to the RTD's theater reviews that seem to never appear in the Flair section anymore where things like movie and music reviews appear. And it's annoying that Style's theater reviews often don't get published until the week the show is closing. And as far as the other alt-media in town, well, theater might as well not exist.

But on the third hand, I have my own little part in this drama and haven't always done all I could do. When I first started reviewing, I wrote more than 50 reviews a year -- I saw a show a week on average! With previews and occasional features, there was usually something theater-related in every single Style issue. Now I see maybe a show a month and it's not even the Arts editor's fault; I just don't have the space in my life to do it. And there have been times that I've rolled my eyes (at least) and downright balked (at most) when I've been asked to, for instance, review "A Christmas Carol" for the 5th time. There are shows I like that I haven't seen twice -- I'm not going to get too excited at my 7th "Anything Goes." As much as I feel sorry some times that Daniel Neman has to review stuff like "Gigli" and "Blade: Trinity," a movie reviewer generally doesn't have to watch anything he doesn't like twice.

I think there is a chicken-egg deal with theater and the media: theater doesn't get much coverage because there's a perception that it's not that popular and it doesn't get any more popular because the media doesn't let people know what's out there (or they put out the wrong stuff -- y'all see the TD's listing of plays from about a month ago in Friday's paper?) From what I hear anecdotally, the media had a great deal to do with the growth of the theater scenes in Chicago and Seattle. Some reviewers yelled loud enough until the audience started noticing -- and then they actually showed up at the shows. So what's the story in Richmond where there is a pretty darn lively professional theater scene, at least two very well respected college theater programs, and you can't even get the papers to review all of the professional mainstage shows?

Like I said, I could talk this issue around in circles and I'm not sure where to go from here. Andrew has expressed his frustration and I think it is a fair point. Anyone else want to chime in?

OOPS.

Dear Theatre Fans,
In a previous post Dave T. mentioned the February Coffee and Conversation for February at the Barksdale and I responded that I had not been invited to participate on the panel. Please know that I have been invited and so has Dave (check your email from Chase, Dave- I thought it was a promo). So please come on February 12th at 9:30am to the Barksdale at Willow Lawn for Coffee and Conversation where I will look forward to your intelligent questions regarding the role of the critic. Hope you can be there too, Dave - your charm will certainly be needed to balance out my snarkiness.

Peace,
Mary B.

Odds and Ends

Some sharp-eyed reader might have noticed that I finally updated my links on the left here at richmondvatheater. This includes adding a link to Donna Coghill's site and moving Robin Harris-Jones to the expatriates section :-( If any of y'all have a site / blog that you'd want me to link to, feel free to let me know. It might take me a coupla weeks, but I'll add it to the site when I can.

And speaking of expats, here's a link to a clip from Eliza Skinner's show "Eliza Skinner is: Shameless" that I saw during my trip to NYC. It's high-calibre humor people; don't watch while drinking anything...

Also, I'm sure you've seen articles from Celia Wren in the Times-Dispatch; most recently, her reviews of "Plaid Tidings" at the Mill and "Moonlight and Magnolias" at the Barksdale (I'd link to them but the RTD archives want to charge me money to do that...). I've been trying to pick up American Theatre magazine more often (yeah, I know, they have subscriptions but I don't read the magazines I already subscribe to...) and have noticed articles from her in there as well, like this recent "Theatre Facts" piece. So this makes me curious and I do some Googling and now I wonder -- am I the last person in town to know that we've got a Harvard educated, former ATM managing editor working right here in sleepy little Richmond? I just find that fascinating.

And to bring that little tidbit together with the recent discussion about DC-area theaters, did anyone see this article over the summer about the nude Macbeth? I hadn't. Celia has an interesting and very erudite quote in the midst of it. Thoughts?

This week

Don’t mean to distract from the intriguing venue / tech / “Phantom” discussion going on, but just wanted to point out a couple of Barksdale things going on this week (and no, I don’t get a kick-back from them):

-- The Holiday Cabaret is going on tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30.

-- Tomorrow’s “Coffee and Conversation” is "Behind the Scenes of Moonlight and Magnolias." Now, since M&M is a behind the scenes look at “Gone with the Wind” is the C&C event like Behind the Scenes Squared? Or maybe Behind the Scenes Once-Removed?

-- I’ll also note in passing that February’s C&C session is a panel dubbed “Critically Speaking” where you will be able to “Go inside the minds of some of Richmond’s most intriguing theatre critics.” I have apparently not been deemed intriguing enough to participate – how about you Mary? – but I was thinking that I should plan to go and write a critique of it. And then I was wondering, would that make me a critic once-removed? Or would I be some kind of meta-critic? And then I thought I should stop thinking arcane thoughts about the future and get back to work…

I wish to digress to the discussion about theater spaces for a moment.
Two comments will not leave my head and they must be addressed:

The first is from Andrew Hamm who wrote:
"The idea that theatre is only legitimate or significant if thousands of dollars are spent on tech drives me nuts".

Good for you Andrew, it should drive us all nuts. That idea certainly drives me nuts. Nowhere in my statements did I say that one needs to spend lots of money on anything to produce good, interesting, and/or thought provoking theatre. But I cannot stand by and have it implied that actors are the center of the theatrical universe. Theatre is a collaborative effort. Everyone does their part regardless of how many or few elements are part of the show. When each person does their job well then a good production comes forth. I have seen bad actors rise up to good under wonderful direction. I have seen great actors put in awful performances due to bad direction or a script that just won't work no matter what you do with it. I have witnessed poor tech quality that gummed up otherwise great shows to the point of no redemption.
Certainly you are correct that there is lots of big budget schlock out there - anything by Andrew Loyd Webber for example from "Cats" on. One of the WORST shows I ever had to sit through was the touring show of "Phantom" at the Kennedy Center Opera House. If I had had to pay for the tickets I would have demanded my money back. It, like most of Webber's stuff, is all about the wonderful effects. I can appreciate a good set as much as anyone since good set building put food on our table and paid our bills for five years but I would have preferred to have a twenty minute demonstration of the set and lights and a costume parade rather than have to endure that repetitive music and totally lame script. Sorry for the tangent there...
The point is that good or bad theater can happen on any stage or venue but it is about the harmony of the collaboration.

The second comment I can't get out of my head:

Rick said "I saw more bad theatre at the Shakespeare Theatre than just about any other theatre in the country."

Really? I am curious as to your definition of "bad theatre".
I have seen some of the best productions ever at the Shakespeare Theatre. "Cyrano" was amazing with the entire audience in tears. It made the wonderful Barksdale production look like a comedy in comparison - even though Bridgewater and everyone else put in fine performances it just couldn't touch the superior quality of the Shakespeare Theatre version. "Julius Ceaser" was phenomenal with its modern social commentary thrown in with the Rodney King staged references and mix of modern and traditional costumes. In your favor, Rick, I did see a horrible "Othello" in which I left at intermission but for the most part everything I have seen there was top notch. I will admit that I have not been in the last three years but it is difficult to imagine that Michael Kahn has allowed any major dip in quality. I will make a point to see some shows there this season to compare.
Rick also said "Studio is highly overrated". Hmmm. I had a season subscription at Studio last year and thought everything I saw to be at least as good as the best shows I see here in Richmond. Not the top shows I've seen in Richmond (Syringa Tree, I Am My Own Wife, Urinetown, The Full Monty) but definitely the upper level. Perhaps part of my love of DC theatre is the lack of anger I feel when I see a pretty full house with a seemingly socially and racially mixed audience in attendance. Who knows but I am interested in more details in regards to these comments.

More Christmas Story Praise

Hey Ya'll. Happy Chanukah! I have been very busy writing a bunch of stuff for STYLE, pole dancing, and taking care of my poor injured husband. Please forgive me for my neglect. Anyway, it looks like some fun stuff has been happening on the blog since I last visited. I really enjoyed reading the "Theatre space" responses and Grant's update on all that Performing Arts Center construction going on downtown. Dave you are so right in praising Tony Foley's performance. I have no children in "A Christmas Story" so I can be objective and the pittance you offered for a bribe to give it a good review will definately not affect me in the least- I have debts, baby, you'll have to cough up more than a smile and a handshake.

I adored "A Christmas Story" and it wasn't just that it was in a theatre with flyspace. Sadly, my formal review was so limited in space that when it comes out it will not even slightly do justice to the show. Tony, as Dave T. has already said was fabulous. He did have a lot of lines, true but he really did create a wonderful character as well. In fact everyone in the show was wonderful. The sets and lighting were lovely with the exception of Ralphie's face looking very yellow at times when he was not in a fantasy sequense (a minor infraction. The costumes were OK too but I was unsure about some of the 1938 authenticity. The movie has always looked too '50s too me so I am wondering if the cosutmer chose to just copy the film's flavor or actually researched the era. Also a knit pic in the face of the great script which is beautifully adapted in a way that pays homage to the film without spitting it right back at you. There are some additions to the story like the expanded relationship between Ralphie and his classmate Esther Jane. I could go on and on about this show and all the fun and great performances but I need to get off my duff and start the morning routine. But do go see the show and take all your friends. And Dave, Cooper is really cute, but you knew that already.

Spicing things up

OK, this may not be what Jacquie was thinking about when she asked about spicing this blog up but here's a link to MaryB's article about pole dancing, which Mary has probably been too shy to post about. Pole dancing! C'mon people, it doesn't get much spicier than that!

Mary also has a preview of the upcoming XF Dance company show. Also a bit spicy based on some of the pictures. Check it out!

Thinking of Spring

Just a month after my last trip to NYC, is it too early to be thinking about my next one? I don't think so!

Particularly when Laura Linney is going to be on Broadway again. You have to hand it to the Roundabout -- they are certainly scoring the "event" shows. Claire Danes is closing soon in "Pygmalion" and Kathleen Turner is directing their "Crimes of the Heart" next year. My reaction to Linney in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" is somewhat similar to Danes in "Pyg:" I absolutely LOVE Linney. For my film class last semester, I did a short paper on "Primal Fear" which was Ed Norton's first big splash in film. But I came away from it with a new appreciation for Linney who does amazing things with a relatively throw-away role.

Anyway, "Liaisons" is a meaty story but it's also not one that compels me to seek it out again and again. Malkovich and Close (and of course Uma!) were great in the movie version but for some reason I tend to remember the role Michelle Pfeiffer played. Anyway, it's mostly a story of mean people doing mean things. It's delicious fun once, but has a tendency to grow stale quickly.

So I MAY have to run up to see Ms. Linney come April. Or maybe something even more interesting will come along...

Update on Richmond Center Stage (Guest Column, Part 2)

The ongoing discussion regarding performance spaces and attendance inspired me to give a little update on Richmond Center Stage (RCS). The new Center is predicated on the idea that Richmond’s world class performing arts organizations deserve world class performance spaces which reflect the artists’ remarkable skill and quality.

Performance spaces are a special interest of mine; at a recent conference of the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America, an annual gathering of companies that perform primarily Shakespeare, three artistic directors were charged with talking about the spaces in which they create live theatre: Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co. (Lenox, MA), Christopher Gaze of Bard on the Beach (Vancouver, BC) and yours truly tried to qualify what is magical about our theatres and what lures audiences to attend. I spoke about Richmond Shakespeare’s summer Festival venue, Agecroft Hall and indoor space at 2nd Presbyterian, but also about Richmond’s new performing arts center. (Incidentally, Bard on the Beach sold out its entire summer run of four Shakespeare plays: 205 performances and more than 87,000 people.)

My interest goes beyond my profession and Richmond Shakespeare. The spaces in which artists create live performance to me are sacred spaces; they are the crucibles in which we fire the human imagination. We shine light on the very core of our humanity---when we cannot help but laugh, weep, or be lifted out of our seats. In those spaces, elegant or unsophisticated, we ponder the very truths of man’s ultimate dilemma, expanding on an ancient question as old as civilization itself: “Quem Quaertis?” What is it we’re seeking? A literal translation of this liturgical phrase is “whom do you seek?” It was tremendously influential on European medieval dramas, and thereby on the fabric of the Renaissance and on our own theatres today.

Today, theatre still speaks volumes about our very human quest to seek. Theatres reflect what’s happening among the audience and the performers. In short---our theatres represent the very core of ourselves.


And what’s happening in Richmond? Plenty. As you can see from the pictures, there’s plenty happening at the RCS on site right now. Current construction focuses on a new stagehouse for the Carpenter Theatre, including selective demolition within the theatre and adjoining storefronts. It’s work of which the public seems largely unaware; many even seem unaware that the RCS effort has emerged from its toughest challenges and is making enormous leaps forward. Someone recently asked me, “isn’t that whole thing dead in the water?”

Far from it.

The effort to build Richmond Center Stage involves an impressive array of performing arts organizations bonded together in an Alliance for the Arts. It’s an Alliance that still regularly advises the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation. It’s an Alliance remarkable in its unity, and one which shows just how influential artists can be when they work together. It’s an Alliance like Richmond has never seen before. Richmond Shakespeare has played a small role on the board of the Alliance since its inception and in the planning effort of RCS. (We’ve actually been involved as far back as the first MAPS meetings in the late 90’s.) As such we’ve had a front row perspective on the evolution of the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation, which is charged with building Richmond Center Stage.

Today, Richmond Shakespeare is preparing to be a resident of the new Center, and we’re far from alone! At the last meeting of major users of the new arts center two weeks ago, the African American Repertory Company, Richmond Ballet, Richmond Symphony, Richmond Shakespeare and Virginia Opera organizations together continued active planning for the opening of RCS, slated for September of 2009. Also participating in this users’ group (though they couldn’t attend that meeting) is Theatre IV, and by extension Barksdale Theatre. It’s a region-wide effort of large and small performing arts organizations. How realistic is a 2009 opening?

Richmonders wary of pushed-back deadlines should know that the construction companies lose money if they miss the September goal. The photos included here are quite current; they were taken within the last two and a half weeks. If you haven’t driven by in a while—you’ll be surprised. Take a look; the new federal courthouse looks pretty great across the street, too.

So, what spaces will Richmond Center Stage provide to theatre artists?

One age-old space will be restored, returning a beloved space to use, newly renamed the Carpenter Theatre. Next, thanks to a generous gift a great new space will open, the Libby Gottwald Playhouse, a flexible 200-seat intimate theatre which we are working hard to ensure is available to a wide variety of producers, small and smaller organizations alike.

That space was thoroughly and painstakingly designed, with input from theatre practitioners and prospective users incorporated all along the way: it will have performance-hall acoustics, flexible seating, state of the art lighting equipment, and is already the most exciting new space in Richmond theatre since Barksdale’s move to Willow Lawn. Lastly among the performance spaces, RCS will include Rhythm Hall, which will primarily be a space for music but someone will find their creativity ignited by its many configurations and performance possibilities. Can we say Elegba Folklore Society or Richmond Jazz Society, anyone?

Also of significant note are new Educational Outreach spaces. The Genworth BrightLights Education Centertm, a new avenue for existing arts organizations to reach young people to foster learning tied to the arts; the BrightLights programming will exist on-site and reach out to surrounding school districts.

So what’s next? Right now all the design work has been finished and we’re following the process of construction and planning for the opening of Richmond Center Stage. Are you planning for 2009? We are.

-Grant Mudge
Artistic Director, Richmond Shakespeare

An Ode to Tony

There’s an old, fairly catty T-line inside joke that centers around the line, “How did you remember all of those lines?” As with most of these things, the charm is in the delivery but, regardless, the joke stems originally from an actor being asked that question by a rather unsophisticated fan. In my experience, people are pretty regularly amazed by the memorization skills of good actors, particularly Shakespeareans who have all those lines and hardly half of them even seem to make sense.

Because I know only sophisticates read this blog, I know that you all know that remembering the lines is really just the beginning for an actor, the barest of foundations upon which they build a performance. But after seeing “A Christmas Story” last night, I couldn’t refrain from a bit of that unsophisticated amazement in regards to Tony Foley’s performance. Stage time for “ACS” is more than 110 minutes and I think Tony probably narrates nearly 100 of them. The sheer volume of verbiage he needs to keep straight in his head is impressive.

But that really is just the beginning for his performance, which is wonderful. Narration is tough. It is all too easy to fall into monotone. There’s little or no interplay between you and another character to help you stay focused or give you cues as to what happens next. You are the engine that drives the production and if you sputter, the whole train falters.

Tony does more than just keep the show chugging along. He infuses his narration with life and wit and animation. He makes his character (Ralph) a real character, not just a removed voice. And it is his performance that makes the show, if you ask me. Everyone else in the cast is excellent but if Tony weren’t extra excellent, the show would not be nearly as good. And just as an additional aside, if the narrator was just some disembodied voice like it is in the movie, the show would have to struggle mightily to be good. The amount of narration in this play is hard to pull off; Tony makes it work.

I have to say that it’s impossible for me to be truly objective about this show since my son is in it. Somewhere in my objective critic brain there's an impression that the show is too long. But every moment that my boy is on stage is pretty transcendent for me so am I going to complain about length? I don’t think so. It’s a good thing others will be reviewing this show. I can imagine some of the criticisms they might have but you won't hear any of them from me. In my analysis, it was pretty darn good. Which is lucky for me since I will have to see it at least 3 more times. Which is also why I’ll probably have more to say about this show before it’s over

It was great to see a whole bunch of theater pals at opening night. I usually bolt shortly after the curtain goes down after most shows. But we T-lines made up for that habit last night by being pretty much the last folks out the door after the cast party. Mr. Miller caught some pictures of both me and my blogmate Mary and posted them on the Barksdale Blog. Check ‘em out if you want to get a look at the faces behind these words.