Richmond Theatre Scene: Cadence Arrives in Town

Cadence Theatre Company makes its Richmond debut with Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love at The Firehouse Theatre from January 15^th running until the 24^th.  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 29^th, 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 4^th to 14^th 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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Going Hollywood (Cemetery) in Richmond Virginia

Rolling hills and winding paths take you through a huge slice of Virginia’s history with many notable and famous people laid to rest in this beautiful sprawling cemetery on the banks of the James River.  Two U.S. Presidents are buried here, President’s James Tyler (10^th President) and John Monroe (5^th President); Hollywood Cemetery is also the final resting place of Jefferson Davis, the only President of the Confederate States.

Hollywood Cemetery also has 25 Confederate Generals buried here, more than any other cemetery in the country, and includes J.E.B. Stuart, the famed cavalry commander and George Pickett, who’s ill-fated charge at Gettysburg proved a turning point in the battle and the Civil War.

The cemetery was established in 1869 on land known as Harvie’s Woods, once owned by William Byrd II, the founder of Richmond and who established the Byrd dynasty which is integrally entwined with the history of Virginia through to today.

Hollywood Cemetery was named for the holly trees which covering the hilly land and which have been used to create the rural garden style for which the cemetery is known.

When the cemetery was laid out in 1869, a granite pyramid was built to commemorate the 18,000 enlisted soldiers of the Confederate Army which are interred in the grounds.

The gothic architecture adds to the atmospheric ambience of this stunning necropolis, which is also one of Richmond’s top tourist attractions.  It is not simply dead presidents and generals who inhabit the cemetery; Hollywood Cemetery is also home to the Richmond Vampire, the most famous of the urban legends which have been spawned by this famous graveyard.

The Richmond Vampire is a blood-covered creature with jagged fangs and skin hanging from its mouth, so the oral history would have us believe, but there is a more horrific grain of truth in this tale.  In 1925, a railroad tunnel collapsed at Church Hill just outside Richmond and several workmen were buried alive in the disaster.  One managed to escape, Benjamin Mosby who had been working as a railroad fireman and was loading coal in an engine when the collapse occurred.  The falling earthworks ruptured the steam engine leaving Mosby with horrible scalding burns such that his skin was literally falling off his body.  He died later at Grace Hospital, but the shock of the image has led to it being retold over the years, evolving into the myth of the Richmond Vampire.

To underline the historical significance of Hollywood Cemetery, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places which contains those places which are worthy of preservation.  Strolling through the gardens, replete with statues and monuments, is to take a step back through time to the foundation of the country and the greatest event to shake the country to its foundations.  Hollywood Cemetery is open to the public between 8.00am and 5.00pm (until 6.00pm during Daylight Saving Time) and there are a series of historical walking tours focusing on the history of Hollywood Cemetery and some of the famous personalities buried there (only available between April to October).

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Coin and Jewel Theives in Richmond, VA – An Editorial

photo by by Joe Shlabotnik

Richmond Times-Dispatch posted an article today about a jewel robbery at Stony Point Shopping Center in Richmond, Virginia.  Apparently there was a jewel dealer/distributor who was visiting Lastovica Jewelers and as he walked out to his car he was approached by two masked men.  The men made him lie down on the ground and they took his case, which held about $350,000 worth of jewelry.  Now that there many companies advertising that you can use online services to sell jewelry, I guess it seemed like a good idea to the thieves.

RTD also tells us that there has not been a similar jewel heist (I love the word heist) since 2005.

Funny, though, because just two days ago (on October 14th, 2009) they posted a short blurb about the fact that Modern Coin (212 E. Grace Street) was robbed at gunpoint.  They were both masked too.  Are they the same guys?  Maybe.  Either way, these guys must have heard that not only can you sell old jewelry online, you can also sell old coins.  Just another example of the fact that TV influences you to do bad things.  Just kidding.  Stealing is wrong, OK?

Now that I’ve done my public service along with my linking to all places linkable, I thought I’d take this opportunity (read:  abuse my authority) to make a little comment about the comments on said blurb’s page on the Times-Dispatch site…

PEOPLE.  Come on!  What would the neighbors (like DC and Hampton?) think?  Well, I guess we really don’t care what they think.  But why use a public forum to snipe at each other and bring each other down?  Do that here instead!  I need the traffic…

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