Richmond Theatre Scene: Cadence Arrives in Town
January 10, 2010 by Richmond
Filed under Totally Richmond
Cadence Theatre Company makes its Richmond debut with Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love at The Firehouse Theatre from January 15th running until the 24th. Artistic Director, Anna Senechal Johnson worked with the Company of Fools outfit in Idaho and as I recall, the very last person to return to Richmond from Idaho is Rusty Wilson. Wilson has done very well for himself and as FfL has managed to attract a quality cast, the expectations are high for Johnson and the Company.
The venue is no surprise for a Richmond –debut either; Johnson is one of the five original founders of The Firehouse Theatre Project but has returned after 12 years working away in potato-land. Potato’s aside, Idaho has been enjoying the fruits of Ms Johnson’s artistic endeavors with her stint as artistic director for several projects including serving as Artistic Director of a Sun Valley arts program.
Returning to Fool for Love, the production is facing the serious challenge of generating the atmospheric ambience demanded of the script. The play takes place in a seedy motel in the Mojave Desert with the two main characters, Eddie and May, fighting to release themselves from the shackles of dark secrets and hidden pasts. This is a deeply haunting story which relies on great lighting and sensitive direction as much as the soul-searching, emotional performances from the actors themselves.
Clearly, Johnson is not fazed by the challenge FfL represents.
Cadence and Johnson are also using The Firehouse Theatre for two further productions scheduled for 2010.
From August 19th to 29th, The Fantasticks by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones will be playing. The Fantasticks is a musical which starts out as a farm boy meets farm girl Romeo & Juliet, with feuding farmer neighbors. Not a bit of it – the “feuding” fathers are actually in cahoots to get the two lovers down the aisle in a tongue-in-cheek, musical which has become the longest running musical in the world. A treat not to be missed!
Oleanna by David Mamet will be playing from November 4th to 14th and starkly contrasts with any light hearted musical. This is a story of the sexual harassment of a female student by a university professor, but in reality is about the power struggle between the two once the allegations have been made. He is pompous and overbearing, she is devious and manipulative – who is right and who is wrong is unanswered, but the play has generated consternation, heavy debate and outright argument on the subject. This is a gripping and tumultuous piece which will literally keep you on the edge of your seat.
The big question will be whether Cadence is here to stay or whether 2010 will be a one-off season for this embryonic theatre company. Johnson clearly has a wide ranging agenda from her choice of the three productions, which seem to be a showcase of her scope and broad depth of artistic talent. We’ll find out soon enough with the reaction from the first performance of Fool for Love shortly – I wish the Cadence Theatre Company, the cast and crew break a leg.
You can keep up to date with the Cadence Theatre Company Facebook page and on their website.
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