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Richmond Ballet: Moving Art Two

A World Premiere, A Virginia Premiere, and A Revival

A Dance Review

Program By: The Richmond Ballet

At: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Leslie Cheek Theater, on the Armstrong Family Stage in Honor of Richmond, 200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard, RVA 23220

Performances: May 8-18, 2025

Ticket Prices: $25 – $85 ($85 – $125 on opening night)

Info: (804) 344-0906, etix.com, or richmondballet.com

THE PROGRAM

SLUMP

Choreography by Joshua L. Peugh

Music by Klezmer Juice, Yma Sumac, Ella Fitzgerald

Costumes Provided by Richmond Ballet

Lighting Design by Nathan W. Scheuer

World Premiere: June 21, 2012 by Bruce Wood Dance Project at Booker T. Washington’s <Montgomery Arts Theater, Dallas, TX; Richmond Ballet Premiere: May 8, 2025, Leslie Cheek Theater, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA

ECHOING PAST

Choreography by Stoner Winslett

Music by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel

Costume Design by Susan Cologne

Lighting Design by Nathan W. Scheuer

Pianist: Joanne Kong

World Premiere: May 15, 1996 by Richmond Ballet at Leslie Cheek Theater, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA

FADING CREATURES

Choreography by Yury Yanowsky

Music by Senking and Henryk Gorecki

Costumes by Christi Owen after Original Costume Design by Emily Morgan

Lighting Design by Nathan W. Scheuer

Following their March 2025 return to the VMFA’s Leslie Cheek Theater after an absence of 30 years, Richmond Ballet’s Moving Art Two program offered an audience pleasing trio of works. In order, the audience enjoyed a quirky modern Richmond premiere, a revival of a more classically themed ballet by founding artistic director Stoner Winslett, and a world premiere of a work that began as an entry in the Richmond Ballet’s 2023 New Works Festival. Interestingly, and to my surprise, most of the people I chatted with after the show were most drawn to the more contemporary works.

The program opened with a colorful, upbeat work by Joshua L. Peugh, the New Mexico-based founder and artistic director of Dark Circles Contemporary Dance. Slump defies categorization with its musical environment ranging from Klezmer Juice (described online as Jewish Soul musicians) to Peruvian singer Yma Sumac to jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald. The women are dressed in 1950s-style party dresses with crinoline underskirts that give a sassy nod to tulle tutus while emphasizing the pointedly un-classical and often upside-down lifts with one leg hooked around the partner’s neck.

At one point the men perform a rubbery, jelly-legged movement that used to be known as “eccentric” dancing, and later they walk with what my grandmother would have called a “switch,” as if mocking their female partners. The partner dancing includes the kind of weight-bearing that remind me of when little girls dance with their feet planted atop their daddies’ feet like life-sized rag dolls. They slouch, they drop, they roll in joyous freedom. The women’s wide-legged stance, the men’s swirling hips, the flirtatious and irreverent partnering all seemed to be as much fun for the dancers as it was for the audience.

Stoner Winslett’s Echoing Past was in stark contrast to the shenanigans of Slump. Described as a ballet about one woman’s journey, looking back while moving forward, the work is set to music by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel and played live by pianist Joanne Kong. Originally titled “Das Alte Jahr” (“The Old Year”), the ballet was choreographed in honor of Leslie Peck, a former member of the New York City Ballet, a recognized authority on Balanchine ballets, and a former ballet mistress with Richmond Ballet.

Eri Nishihara represents this woman, with Annika Kuo, Kaitlin Roemer, and Kennady Jackson dancing the roles of her past selves. Nishihara wears pink while the past selves are dressed in gray. Nishihara seamlessly trades places with her past selves, sometimes dancing back-to-back or mirroring the other women, as the peace evolves into a rich and satisfying conclusion. The ballet may be a metaphor for the company itself. Echoing Past was first performed at the VMFA in 1996, and Winslett formally stepped down as Artistic Director just under a year ago, in July 2024. So, the ballet somewhat mirrors Winslett’s own journey as artistic director, choreographer, and a woman in a position that is still dominated by men.

Yury Yanowsky, a former principal dancer with the Boston Ballet, first introduced Richmond audiences to his work Fading Creatures as a part of the Richmond Ballet’s New Works Festival in 2023. Inspired by Salvador Dali’s familiar melting clocks, the work begins with the feeling of a sci-fi ritual as the dancers lie on the floor with small lights hoovering over them. Once the lights have ascended and the dancers have risen from the floor, the dancers adopt an athletic style of movement – muscular, posed, poised, measured, abstract.

While inhabiting the lower level, the dancers flip, slide, reach, and lunge, but once the lights rise above them like a constellation, the dancers’ movements become bolder and more sinuous at the same time. Sometimes they appear to float or glide, only to suddenly run and freeze, or rewind and repeat, bending and stretching time, ending with a sudden stop!

What a satisfying conclusion to the company’s 2024-2025 season, the first under the artistic leadership of Ma Cong. Much like the woman in Echoing Past, perhaps intentionally so, this season has been marked by reflection and change and concluded on a rich and satisfying note.

The Richmond Ballet 2025-2026 season begins with Moving Art One, September 11-21 featuring Wild Seet Love by Trey McIntrye and a world premiere by Ma Cong.

Moving Art Two, October 16-26 is scheduled to present Slice to Sharp by Jorma Elo, a world premiere by Andrea Schermoly, and French Twist by Ma Cong. The Nutcracker will be performed at Dominion Energy Center December 6-23 and Giselle will be performed there February 13-15. The season will continue with Moving Art Three, the company’s New Works Festival with works by Natasha Adorlee, David Morse, Price Suddarth, and Serkan Usta from March 19-29, and conclude May 14-24 with Moving Art Four with George Balanchine’s Apollo, John Butler’s After Eden, and a world premiere by Val Caniparoli.

———-

Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater and dance, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers like herself and occasionally gets to perform.

“Slump” Virginia Premiere by Joshua L Peugh

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WHICH WAY TO THE STAGE

The Roles We Play

At: Richmond Triangle Players at the Robert B. Moss Theatre, 1300 Altamont Avenue, RVA 23220

Performances: April 23 – May 17, 2025

Ticket Prices: $50

Info: (804) 346-8113 or rtriangle.org

A Theater Reflection by Julinda D. Lewis

Ana Nogueira’s Which Way to the Stage is one of the funniest plays I’ve ~~seen this season~~ ever seen. It is also one of the most authentic plays I’ve ever seen about ~~the~~ ~~theater, relationships~~ either the theater or relationships. Which Way to the Stage is complex and layered. It’s filled with inside jokes – I’m sure that I probably only caught a quarter of them – that could be used as a test to weed out the true musical theater afficionados from the amateurs. I do know a few people – I won’t call them friends – who don’t like musical theater; this show is not for them.

Judy (Amanda Spellman) and Jeff (Matt Shofner) are best friends and theater buddies. Judy carries around a binder filled with playbills – including one from the original cast production of Rent. She and Jeff enjoy discussing things like who was the best Mama Rose in Gypsy (Bernadette Peters? Patti LuPone?) as if their very lives depend on the correct response.

“Like a caricature of a caricature of a performance by my mother in the Temple Beth Israel talent show.” – Judy

During the course of Which Way to the Stage, the two meet most nights outside the stage door of the Richard Rodgers Theatre, waiting for Idina Menzel* to appear, hoping to get her to sign their programs. She didn’t come out the night they saw the show she’s starring in, If/Then, and they are racing against time as the show is schedule to close soon.

The main part of the set for Which Way to the Stage is outside the stage door of the Richard Rodgers Theatre, located at 226 West 46^th Street in New York City’s theater district. The scene was immediately familiar to my daughter, who was my theater date on opening night. When we lived in NY, she attended New York’s High School of Graphic Communication Arts on West 49^th Street, a short distance from the theater. Kudos to Daniel Allen, the scenic designer, for the authenticity. The theater marquee and the hallway where the actors wait for their auditions are perfection!

On stage at Richmond Triangle Players (RTP) Spellman and Shofner start off with high spirited theater-nerd banter that – incredibly – just keeps getting better and better as the show goes on. Personal chemistry? Great acting? Let’s say it’s a balanced blending of both. The two usually enter the stage from the audience, starting their loud banter as they walk to the theater – and nearly every time they have a near miss with the NYC traffic.

“I want to be Rent poor!” – Judy

Both Judy and Jeff are actors. Judy is returning to theater after taking time to develop a career in real estate – in New Jersey. She’s talented but lacks confidence. Jeff can’t get the roles he really wants because they’re for cis gender white men – or women. He works as a drag queen and specializes in portraying Streisand as Yentl (there’s some more musical theater history for you!).

Things start to get real when Judy crosses a line. You know how it’s taboo for the white friend to use the word “nigger” around their Black friends? Well, Judy, in an act of solidarity with Jeff, whose ex-boyfriend managed to get Menzel’s autograph on the one night Jeff and Judy could not be there, calls the ex a “faggot.” The atmosphere changes, the mood shifts, and Jeff, as gently as possible, explains that, even thought they have been friends since high school and even though Judy is what we might call an “ally” these days, she can’t say that word.

At an audition, in which Judy does quite well, but doesn’t quite get the job, she meets and later starts a tenuous relationship with Mark (Calvin Malone). Mark seems to have a leg up on getting parts. He’s tall, white, handsome, and straight – or is he??? This throws a new cog in the wheel of Jeff and Judy’s relationship. There is now sexual tension, rivalry, jealousy, and an unnamed emotion that wells up in Judy when her femininity is not so much questioned as criticized. She is advised to take lessons in being more womanly – from a drag queen.

Spellman manages this brilliantly, starting subtly with a zipper that keeps sliding down, and building up to – well, If I told you, that would be too much of a spoiler. I’ll just say, it builds up, fueled in part by Judy’s own stagnation, Jeff’s insightful but cutting observations, and the Mark triangle.

Speaking of drag queens, Shofner completely slayed in his second act drag scene. First of all, let’s acknowledge the magic of Tariq Kariem (costume designer and wardrobe supervisor) and Like Newsome (who designed the hair and makeup). Shofner’s make-up and wig were applied in record time. At one point, I believe Shofner exited a door in one outfit and reappeared less than a minute later through another door in a completely different outfit! Onstage, after his over the top drag act, ending with a hearty lip-synced rendition of “Defying Gravity,” complete with a black cape, step-ladder and…mop, yes, a mop, not a broom (sigh)…as I was saying, after this number, Shofner, as Jeff, sits at his dressing room table and completes the process of removing every trace of the makeup – and act that is both professional and symbolically profound. As he strips off his character, he reveals more of himself.

There are a lot of symbolic and metaphoric words and actions in Which Way to the Stage. How do we define femininity? Who determines which roles are suitable for a gay actor? (I mean, after all, it’s…acting.) Is bisexuality a valid choice – or is refusing to accept labels just a lack of commitment? How does friendship survive or thrive when career, life, or perhaps being unevenly yoked all sink their hooks into every breath you take, and make it impossible to breathe?

Like most good humor, in my experience, Which Way to the Stage is based on real life: people, situations, circumstances, including identity and belonging – and in this case, all of the above. Shofner and Spellman really shine as the two besties, and Malone is suitably over-confident in a way that makes it seem natural that both Jeff and Judy would be attracted to his character. There is a fourth character, a nameless and over the top entity played by Sydnee Graves.

Graves fills the shoes of an actress at the casting call, a bachelorette at the drag show, and the casting director. I didn’t much like Actress at first. She was bougie, aloof, confrontational. And then she explained to Judy how she had to learn to navigate the world, and she became less of a stereotype and more of a real person. Actress was not written as a fully rounded character, but the tags on her dress, so she can return it after the audition, and her story of sexual harassment are very much true-to-life and provide a much-needed anchor for Judy on her journey. Casting Director is a very minor character, but Bachelorette, a drunken member of a bridal party whooping it up at the drag club where Jeff performs, seems to be included strictly for laughs and seems to have no redeeming qualities other than to provide a vehicle to divert attention from the stresses of the main characters. The three roles serve hilarity to the audience and establish Graves as a versatile comedic actor.

Actress has come to terms with her life, striking an uneasy truce with theater. Jeff has adopted a realistic look at the world of make-believe, and grasps at any straws of hope and love that come his way. Mark, well, he’s the straw. And since he can pass as a straight white male, he has access to privilege. It’s Judy who is floundering, and her way of coming up for air results in one of the most brilliant scenes of the show. (Shofner’s drag show holds two of the top three places.)

Which Way to the Stage is challenging. It unwraps the carefully concealed, seamy side of theater. It’s sort of like a theatrical version of revealing the magician’s secrets. And it’s all brilliantly adorned in witty conversation, complicated friendships, and the “dainties” of life that we usually try so hard to conceal. All out there in the open. With dazzling lights, caterpillar lashes, and the sort of drama that follows you home when you leave the theater.

Directed by RTP’s Artistic Director, Lucian Restivo, who also designed the sound and projections, Which Way to the Stage isn’t a musical, but rather a play centered around a love of musical theater. There is so much familiar music in the pre-show and sound design, and so much talk of musicals, that you almost forget this isn’t actually a musical. Nogueira aptly captures the struggles that artists face in reconciling their personal aspirations with society’s expectations of and for them. Using sharp wit and unusually accurate emotional depth, Which Way to the Stage invites the audience into the inner sanctum, where we can reflect on our own journeys, and perhaps most importantly, it celebrates resilience and offers guidance on how to find and maintain connection in the midst of the chaos of the world. Yeah, you should go see it.

*Idina Menzel, the Queen of Broadway, known for her breakout performance in Rent, her award-winning performance as Elphaba in Wicked, and several award for If/Then. With a voice that spans three octaves, she has been compared to Barbra Streisand – and like her has developed a large gay following. She sand “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl LXIX and is known for powerful and empowering songs like “Let It Go” (Disney’s Frozen) and “Defying Gravity” (Wicked).

———-

Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, minister of dance, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and currently resides in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers like herself and occasionally performs.

———-

WHICH WAY TO THE STAGE

Written by Ana Nogueira

Directed by Lucian Restivo

Cast

Sydnee Graves —– Actress/Bachelorette/Casting Director

Calvin Malone —– Mark

Matt Shofner —– Jeff

Amanda Spellman —– Judy

Wayne Parker —– u/s for Mar & Jeff

Shannon Schilstra —– u/s for Judy & Actress/Bachelorette/Casting Director

Creative Team

Daniel Allen —– Scenic Design

Paul Vaillancourt —– Lighting Design

Tariq Karriem —– Costume Design & Wardrobe Supervisor

Lucian Restivo —– Sound & Projection Design

Tim Moehring —– Props Design

Luke Newsome —– Hair & Makeup Design

Lauren Langston —– Production Stage Manager

Performance Schedule

Wednesday, April 23 8:00PM, Preview

Thursday, April 24 8:00PM, Preview

Friday, April 25 8:00PM, Opening Night

Saturday, April 26 8:00PM

Sunday, April 27 4:00PM

Thursday, May 1 8:00PM

Friday, May 2 8:00PM

Saturday, May 3 8:00PM

Sunday, May 4 4:00PM

Thursday, May 8 8:00PM

Friday, May 9 8:00PM

Saturday, May 10 8:00PM

Sunday, May 11 4:00PM

Wednesday, May 14 8:00PM

Thursday, May 15 8:00PM

Friday, May 16 8:00PM

Saturday, May 17 8:00PM

Tickets

Ticket Prices: $50

Run Time

About 2 hours; one intermission

Setting

2015. The stage door of If/Then at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, an audition waiting room, and a drag club

Which Way to the Stage had its WorldPremiere at the MCC Theater in 2022.

Photos from the RTP Facebook page

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FAT HAM

A Co-Production of Firehouse Theatre and Richmond Triangle Players

A Reflection on a Unique Theater Experience by Julinda D Lewis

At: Firehouse Theatre, 1609 W Broad St., RVA 23220

Performances: April 16-19, 2025

Ticket Prices: $45 [all shows SOLD OUT]

Info: (804) 355-2001 or firehousetheatre.org

Fat Ham is what happens when Shakespeare gets invited to the BBQ and there’s brown liquor and the Electric Slide – the only thing missing is a game of Spades.

What is Fat Ham? James Ijames’ 2022 Pulitzer prize winning play is a modern-day take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Set in a small town in North Carolina (or Virginia, or Maryland, or Tennessee), Juicy’s father, Pap, has died and his mother, Tedra, immediately married her deceased husband’s brother, Rev. Mere moments into the contemporary tragedy (or tragi-comedy), Pap appears to Juicy and his friend Tio as a ghost. As if to make sure we get the “comedy” part of tragi-comedy, Pap has thrown a large white sheet, complete with pasted on black eyeballs, over his pristine white funeral suit and strolls into the backyard using the gate. I’m not the only one who wondered why he didn’t just walk through the fence, as his son, Juicy also asked why he wasn’t floating! Point made, he subsequently ditches the sheet and appears in his white suite with a wide-brimmed white hat and white shoes.

Named in honor of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the BBQ restaurant owned by the play’s fictional family, Fat Ham is equal parts family tragedy and side-splitting comedy. Pap has roused himself from the grave to ask his son to seek revenge. Apparently, while in prison serving a sentence for stabbing a man, he himself became the target of a hitman when his own brother, Rev, has him killed. The plot thickens when Pap, Rev, and just about every other adult in his life questions Juicy for being “soft,” calling him a sissy and other choice names.

As the drama unfolds, two of Juicy’s friends come – or get forced out – of the closet. Tedra’s conflict is also internal as she faces her own insecurities that make her think she can find her worth only in the arms of man. Criticism is met with a variety of explanations, all ending with, “it’s biblical” or “it’s in the bible.”

There was plenty of drama off the stage as well. After a successful run in Norfolk earlier in the year, Virginia Rep was set to bring Fat Ham to the November Theatre but cancelled at the last minute due to their on-going financial problems that surfaced for the public in the fall of 2024. While it may be true that finances were the source of the cancellation, the optics were not good. Fat Ham is very much a Black and Queer play, and with all the controversy over Black History Month, DEI, and the like, well feelings were ruffled.

In what was a huge surprise to many if not most of us (the RVA theater community), the Firehouse Theatre, under the direction of Producing Artistic Director Nathaniel Shaw and Richmond Triangle Players, where Philip Crosby is Executive Director, joined together to co-produce Fat Ham with the same Norfolk cast that was originally expected to bring this production to the River City. The five performances were fully sold out before most of the general public even heard about the event. So, for many reasons, Fat Ham is not just any play, this was not just any production, and I felt blessed to secure a seat.

Bringing this show to life, complete with physical comedy, amazing soliloquys, some of which reference Shakespeare and some of which are taken verbatim from the bard’s Hamlet – such as “what a piece of work is a man” – is a dynamic cast consisting of Marcus Antonio as Juicy/Hamlet, Kevin Craig West as Pap/the ghost of Hamlet’s father and Rev/Claudius, Cloteal L. Horne as Tedra/Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, and Adam E. Moskowitz as Juicy’s/Hamlet’s sidekick Tio/Horatio. Notice the pattern that is beginning to emerge? Jordan Pearson plays Larry/Laertes, Janae Thompson is his sister Opal/Ophelia, and Candice Heidelberg is their mother Rabby/Polonius.

Antonio is alternately sly, soft, philosophical, and just generally endearing as Juicy (although I had a hard time swallowing that name, LOL). Horne is so over-the-top as his mother, Tedra, that the moments when she is serious are all the more powerful. She stands up for Juicy, refusing to allow Rev to spread his homophobic poison and at the same time, like most of the Black mothers I grew up in community with, was very protective of her son while maintaining a boundary that defined how people defined her and her life choices.

Jordan Pearson was a supporting character who came later on the scene but made a huge impact, transforming from a straight-edged marine to puffed sleeves, feathers, and a metallic gold head piece. Moskowitz – who reminded me more than once of a version of Spike Lee, perhaps from Do the Right Thing – shared a bizarre sexual fantasy involving a gingerbread man, a snowball fight, and fellatio that had his character questioning the origins of his weed. It was the kind of story, a confession, that one has to blame on the weed, or on alcohol, in order to be able to hold one’s head up in public ever again!

Another memorable scene Moskowitz shared with Antonio involved Juicy asking his friend Tio about his shoes. This gives rise to another direct Shakespearean reference, “You remember Yurick?” It seems Yurick (who was not give a contemporary name) was Juicy and Tio dead friend, and Tio bought Yurick’s shoe at a yard sale being held to raise money for Yurick’s funeral.

Thompson’s Opal, unlike Ophelia, does not end in death by drowning – or any other means – but, rather, with affirmation and freedom. While her brother, Larry/Laertes, is not happy with the military life he is living to please his mother, Opal longs for it – it would provide her freedom she does not currently have as a woman, as a Black woman, as a Queer Black woman.

West, who played the unlikeable brothers Pap (God doesn’t want him and the devil won’t have him) and Rev (a blend of charming yet controlling as are most narcissists), redeemed himself – in the eyes of the audience and his fellow cast member – with a shocking and hilarious death scene.

Unlike a Shakespearean tragedy that ends with most of the main characters dead and strewn about the stage, Fat Ham ends with the cast breaking out in dance. (I believe the script may have originally called for a disco ball to descend at this point.) With the suddenness of this production’s manifestation, and the fun-size stage at Firehouse, it was not possible to transport the stage used in Norfolk, so Firehouse staff constructed a new set in 48 hours!

There is tragedy. There is the angst of young people seeking purpose. There’s the dysfunction that results from the machinations of adults trying to make the best of a difficult situation, the burdens society expects them to carry, and the weight of tragedy. There is also humor and an earnest attempt to make the best of whatever life throws at you. As Tio says, “Why be miserable trying to make somebody else happy?”

—–

Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers like herself and occasionally performs.

—–

FAT HAM

Written by James Ijames

Directed by Jerrell L. Henderson

CAST

Marcus Antonio ….. Juicy

Candice Heidelberg ….. Rabby

Cloteal L. Horne ….. Tedra

Adam E. Moskowitz ….. Tio

Jordan Pearson ….. Larry

Janae Thompson ….. Opal

Kevin Craig West ….. Pop/Rev

CREATIVE TEAM

Jerrell L. Henderson ….. Director

James Ijames ….. Playwright

Nia Safarr Banks ….. Costume Designer

Caitlin McLeod ….. Scenic Designer

Jason Lynch ….. Lighting Designer

Sartje Pickett ….. Sound Designer

Kim Fuller ….. Production State Manager

Performance Schedule:

Wednesday, April 16, 2025 7:30PM Opening Night

Thursday, April 17, 2025 7:30PM

Friday, April 18, 2025 7:30PM

Saturday, April 19, 2025 2:00PM

Saturday, April 19, 2025 7:30PM Closing Performance

Run Time: about 1 hour 45 minutes with no intermission

Photo Credit: Photos on Firehouse & Richmond Triangle Players Facebook pages by Erica Johnson @majerlycreative

Heidelberg, Pearson, and Thompson around the table and Horne atop the table

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WAR IN PIECES

a Festival of One Act Plays Written by Veterans

A Reflection on a Theater Experience by Julinda D. Lewis

Presented By: The Firehouse Off-Site

At: Virginia War Memorial’s VMI Alumni Hall, 621 S. Belvidere St. Richmond VA 23220

Performances: April 4-13, 2025

Ticket Prices: $15 – $35

Info: (804) 355-2001 or firehousetheatre.org

This is not the first War in Pieces festival – I believe the first program of four one-act plays written by Virginia veterans who participate in the Virginia War Memorial’s Mighty Pen Project took place in 2021. The Project is a 12-week long writing workshop taught by David L. Robbins, a best-selling author and professor of writing who founded the program in 2015.

The Mighty Pen authors create works that are (a) creative, (b) artistic documents of military service and history, and (c) form a living documentary of the individuals and conflicts of the US military. Now, it is customary for the pre-show curtain talk to end with an invitation to “enjoy the show,” and after the show, people often ask, “did you enjoy the show?” I am firms convinced that people say/ask this because – like those who ask how you’re feeling when you go to the doctor or hospital – they just don’t know what to say! I can appreciate the message of these plays; I can recognize the artistry of the actors; I can be deeply affected by the message and emotion of the production; but no, I would not use the word “enjoy” to describe what I experience when watching these plays.

First up was Kaho’olawe, by Harry Mayer (United States Marine Corp & United States Navy). Kaho’olawe is an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, and at 11 miles long by 6 miles wide it is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands of the Hawaiian Islands. During World War II it was used as a US military training ground and bomb range. In Mayer’s play, Slick, a young bomb technician (played by Colin Barnes), comes upon a bomb on this island and finds that it is armed. He calls for help, but no help is available, and he is forced to use make-shift tools to disarm the bomb. But this is no ordinary bomb! It begins to talk to him, mocking him, doubting his ability, and questioning his skill, indeed his very confidence.

The bomb speaks first in its own voice, and then in the voices of Aunt Pearl and Miss Crabcakes. I had assumed these voices in his head were recorded but no, after the show, director David L. Robbins informed me there were three live actors (Matt Meixler, Donna Marie Miller, and Hayley Cartee) speaking these lines with impeccable timing from their offstage locations. The tension is palpable, but in the end, Slick survives. Whew!

Next up is Shani Miller’s War’s Teeth, a heart-rending story in which Shani, played by Donna Marie Miller, reenacts an encounter with another, older vet, Ed Brown. Miller, the actor, not the author, strategically gives voice to both characters. Miller, the author, served as an Air Force Intelligence Officer, with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Her experience led to her memoir, currently a work in progress, in which she write about finding her lost sense of belonging after being deployed with the help of travel and the birth of her children (three under age six and a fourth on the way).

The second half of the program began with A Couch by Cam Torrens, an Air Force veteran with more than 30 years of service. In A Couch, Cam, an officer, chooses his command over his family, and gets sent to the couch by his wife – who, by the way, outranks him. “Don’t come home,” she says, illustrating the difficult choices that must be made, and how our military families are placed under stress when forced to choose between loyalty to family or loyalty to the mission and their country. Colin Barnes and Hayley Cartee skillfully walked this tightrope as the married couple.

The program closed with The Salute by Larry Meier (United States Army, and recipient of the Bronze Star with Palm for service in Vietnam). The cast of four, consisting of parents Eleanor and Bobby (Lyddall Bugg Brown and Matt Meixler), a support officer (Colin Barnes), and a Pastor (Benedict Burgess) takes the audience on a reluctant tour where we see the effects of war on an ordinary couple as they prepare to bury their son. What makes Meier’s story so powerful, for me, is that the focus is not just on the parents, but also on the young Captain who is sent to provide support for the family. The pastor notices, and offers him comfort, but the burden he carries may already be more than he can bear.

The thing that remains with me, however, is the mother’s reaction. At their son’s funeral, the tension builds until, upon receiving the folded flag from the young Captain, Eleanor springs up from her seat and speaks, in a voice that quickly escalates from a soft plea to a primal scream, “Ya’ll took my little boy, and you give me this – A FLAG!”Tossing the flag on the floor, she storms out of the chapel. There are no words of comfort. Nothing can fix this. It is haunting. This, all of this, is War in Pieces.

—–

WAR IN PIECES

Four One-Act Plays by Virginia Veterans

Kaho’olawe written by Harry Mayer

Directed by David L. Robbins

CAST

Slick ………. Colin Barnes

Bomb ………. Matt Meixler

Aunt Pearl ………. Donna Marie Miller

Miss Crabcakes …… Hayley Cartee

War’s Teeth written by Shani Miller

Directed by David L. Robbins

CAST

Shani ……… Donna Marie Miller

A Couch written by Cam Torrens

Directed by Andrew Gall

CAST

Linda ………. Haylee Cartee

Cam ………. Colin Barnes

Jefe/Planner ………. Lyddall Bugg Brown

Tav/Planner ………. Benedict Burgess

Lips ………. Matt Meixler

The Salute written by Larry Meier

Directed by Daniel Moore

Pastor ………. Benedict Burgess

Eleanor ………. Lyddall Bugg Brown

Captain ………. Colin Barnes

Bobby ………. Matt Meixler

Production Team

Executive Producer ………. David L. Robbins

Stage Management ………. Dennis Bowe, Grace Brown LaBelle

Sound/Projection Design ………. Grace Brown LaBelle

Costume Design/Coordination … Tallie Pugh

Run Time: About 2 hours; there is 1 intermission

Tickets: $15 to $35

Info: (804) 355-2001 or FirehouseTheatre.org

Performance Schedule:

Friday, April 4 7:30PM

Saturday, April 5 7:30PM

Sunday, April 6 2:00PM

Thursday, April 10 7:30PM

Friday, April 11 7:30PM

Saturday, April 12 2:00PM

Saturday, April 12 7:30PM

Sunday, April 13 2:00PM

———-

PHOTOS: from the Firehouse Facebook page

Benedict Burgess, Colin Barnes, Lyddall Bugg Brown

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SUNSET BABY

A Virginia Premiere & A Directorial Debut

by BLK Virginia Theatre Alliance

A Reflection on a Theater Performance by Julinda D. Lewis

At: VirginiaRep Theatre Gym. 114 W. Broad St, RVA 23220

Performances: April 4-13, 2025

Ticket Prices: $30/Adults; $15/Students

Info: (804) 282-2620/Box Office; (804) 309-6522, tariqkblkva@gmail.com or https://www.blkvatheatrealliance.org/

In case you didn’t know, there’s a new Black theater company in RVA. BLK Virginia Theatre Alliance (BVTA) was founded in January 2023, with a mission to present challenging works from underrepresented voices (www.blkvatheatrealliance.org). The company, under the leadership of Tariq Karriem, Artistic Director. A walking definition of Young, Gifted, and Black, Karriem became a professional stage manager at age 17 and now – still in his 20s – has recently worked on the production teams of 5^th Wall Theatre’s productions of H*tler’s Tasters and Sanctuary City and VirginiaRep’s productions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Misery.

Director Dee D Miller had this to say about Karriem, “You know most of the time people say they want to help the youth … this was the way for me to put my action behind my words. That kid is a force. He is a mogul in the making and always trying to better herself over and over again and with little support. I wanted to change that and I hope with this piece I did.”

The BVTA production of Dominique Morisseau’s Sunset Baby marks the Virginia Premiere of the play as well as the directorial debut of Dee D Miller (aka Dorothy “Dee-D” Miller – winner of Richmond Theatre Community Circle award for Best Supporting Actor, “How Black Mothers Say I Love You,” 2023 which also took home the Erie McClintock Ensemble Award for that year).

Sunset Baby is a powerful, confrontational drama that looks beneath the surface of the bold and brash Nina, daughter of two Black activists, and her reluctant reunion with Kenyatta, the father she barely remembers. Nina is played by Chayla Simpson and Kenyatta is played by Larry Akin Smith. Mu Cuzzo rounds out the cast as Nina’s boyfriend, Damon. And let me not forget to mention that Sunset Baby would not be the same without it’s powerful soundtrack of Nina Simone songs. Just as Motown provides the background for Morisseau’s Detroit ’67, Nina Simone provides the background – and is central to the context – for Sunset Baby.

Dominique Morisseau is the author of at least nine plays to date, several of which have been presented here in RVA: Pipeline in 2021 (https://jdldancesrva.com/2021/10/16/pipeline/) and Detroit 67 at the Firehouse Theatre as recently as March of this year (https://jdldancesrva.com/2025/03/16/detroit-67/)

In 2018 Morisseau received a MacArthur Fellowship, aka the “Genius Grant.” Morisseau’s works are known for their bold approach to issues relevant to the Black community and many of them revive or preserve important aspects of Black history.

“Ain’t nothing sentimental about a dead revolution.” – Nina

In Sunset Baby the dialogue is filled with F-bombs and N-words but the characters also debate the relevance of criminologist Steven Spritzer’s writings on social junk and social dynamite and the political activism of Kwame Ture (nee Stokely Carmichael). Protagonist Nina was, in fact, named for singer, pianist, and activist Nina Simone. The daughter of two political activists, Nina’s mother died, penniless and drug addicted, and her father is just now reconnecting after years spent in prison for armed robbery committed to fund “the revolution.” So much of this work is very personal to me.

Sunset Baby is set in a tenement apartment in East New York, Brookly, not far from Bedford-Stuyvesant where I grew up. Kwame Ture, a leader of the Black Power movement and “Honorary Prime Minister” of the Black Panther Party, attended my alma mater, the prestigious Bronx High School of Science. And my late, second husband was a political organizer for The Young Lords – the Puerto Rican version of the Black Panthers. I felt as if I knew these people; they were not just creations of Morriseau’s imagination and research, they were people from the pages of my old photo albums and yearbooks. For younger folk, this may be less personal but should be no less impactful.

“Some dreams get lost, never to be found again.” – Common ft. Nina Simone

Chayla Simpson gives a memorable performance. She is loud and brash and angry. She leaves no doubt that her character, Nina, is smart and independent, but also suffering from childhood trauma. The men are equally complex. Larry Akin Smith, as Kenyatta, alternates between impassioned scenes with Nina and her man, Damon, and carefully controlled monologues in which he records his history – his daughter’s inheritance. As brilliant and committed as he is, there is just one thing he cannot bring himself to say – the one thing Nina truly needs to hear. Mu Cuzzo provides perhaps the most well-rounded characterization of thug life to ever grace a stage. He sells drugs and shoots people, but he is also a well-read Black man with big dreams of traveling the world, a loving partner who steals from his woman one minute and rubs her feet the next. And Mu Cuzzo makes this believable.

“Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.” – Nina Simone

As for Dee D Miller’s directorial debut – the characters sometimes veer on the edge of overacting, but except for one scene, in which Damon trashes Nina’s apartment, they don’t go completely over the edge. They are violent, and loud, and shocking, but we never dismiss them because there are always redeeming qualities or actions that remind us that these are real people – the kind of dysfunctional people many of us have in our own families and on the periphery of our own lives. Miller takes us on a ride in a jitney – an unlicensed taxi once popular in neighborhoods like the one Nina lives in, because legitimate taxi drivers were afraid to go there – and delivers us to our destination shaken but for the most part unharmed. And kudos to the design team for Nina’s hootchie-mama wardrobe, six-inch heeled boots, and wig collection.

Oh, and that title? I looked up the meaning of “sunset baby” and found that it refers to a twin that dies before birth. The surviving baby is a “sunrise baby.” Interesting as that may be, it is not at all relevant to Sunset Baby so maybe just save that in case it comes up in a game of trivia. The complete answer would be a spoiler, so I’ll just leave you with this…when Nina was a toddler, she asked,

“Where does the sun go when it disappears?”

For the answer to her question, and the relevant context, you need to go see the show.

———-

SUNSET BABY

By Dominique Morisseau

Directed by Dee D Miller

CAST

Chayla Simpson ………. Nina

Mu Cuzzo ………. Damon

Larry Akin Smith ………. Kenyatta

CREATIVE TEAM

Direction ………. Dee D Miller

Scenic & Prop Design .….. Tariq Karriem

Lighting Design ………. Griffin Hardy

Sound Design ………. Jonathan Pratt

Asst Lighting Design/

Master Electrician ………. Zeke Brookes

Costume Design ……….. Elijah Brown

Dramaturgy ………. Jasmine Bates

BLK VIRGINIA THEATRE ALLIANCE STAFF

Artistic Director/

Production Manager – Tariq Karriem

Chief of Business Administration-Ayanna Shelton

Producer – Malakai Lee

Creative Producer/

Director of Costume – Elijah Brown

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday, April 4 7:30PM Opening Night

Saturday, April 5 2:30PM

Saturday, April 5 7:30PM Black Theatre Night/Talk Back

Sunday, April 6 2:30PM

Sunday, April 6 7:30PM

Friday, April 11 7:30PM Industry Night/Talk Back

Saturday, April 12 2:30PM

Saturday, April 12 7:30PM Student Night

Sunday, April 13 2:30PM

Sunday, April 13 7:30PM Closing night

Run Time

About 90 minutes with no intermission

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SPITTING IMAGE

A Collaboration of Dance & Photography

by Starr Foster Dance

A Reflection on a Dance Performance by Julinda D. Lewis

At: The Firehouse, 1609 West Broad St., Richmond, RVA 23220

Performances: April 3-6, 2025

Ticket Prices: $25 General Admission; $35 Arts Supporter; Datenight tickets 2 for $40

Info: (804) 304-1523 or starrfosterdance.org or firehousetheatre.org

Program & Casting:

All Choreography by Starrene Foster

Costumes designed and constructed by Starrene Foster, except as noted

Lighting designed by Gretta Daughtrey

Live Oak inspired by a photograph by Mike Harrell

Performed by Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernsted, Angela Palmisano

Music by Tamar Halperin, Etienne Abelin, Tokek Kolczynski, Johann Sebastian Bach; Constellation 999:999 After BWV 99 & BWV 1018

_____

Saving Grace inspired by a photograph by Caroline Frye

Performed by Fran Beaumont and Madison Ernstes

Music by Adam Krieger, Andreas Scholl, Tamar Halperin; Nun sich der Tag Geendet hat and Carl Friedrich Abel, Paolo Pandolfo; Viola da Gamba Suite in D Minor: I. Arpeggiata

_____

Wisp inspired by a photograph by Becky Atkins

Performed by Adria Applebee (Thursday, Saturday), Alex Atkins, Roya Baker-Vahdani, Sarah Carrington, Lena Cohen, Ma-Siya Dycus, Sophie Smith 9friday, Sunday), Ella Holland, Molly Huey, Janelle Ragland

Music by Simon Goff; Elowen

Costumes designed and constructed by Johann Stegmeir

_____

Lies Lies Lies inspired by a photograph by PJ Sykes

Performed by Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernstes, Molly Huey, Angela Palmisano

Original music composition by Daniel Deckelman

_____

Flight inspired by a photograph by Georgianne Stinnett

Performed by Molly Huey

Original music soundscape by Starrene Foster with Hour of the Witch composed by Scott Buckley

Costume constructed by Starrene Foster based off a design by Karl Green

_____

Run to You inspired by a photograph by Shannon Mills Guest

Performed by Shannon Comerford and Angela Palmisano

Music by Luca D’Alberto; Beautiful As a Memory

_____

Garnish inspired by a photograph by Allison Patel

Performed by Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernstes, Molly Huey, Angela Palmisano, and guest artists Adia Applebee (Thursday, Saturday), Alex Atkins, Roya Baker-Vahdani, Sarah Carrington, Lena Cohen, Ma-Siya Dycus, Sophie Smith (Friday, Sunday), Ella Holland, Molly Huey, Janelle Ragland

Music by Adrián Berenguer; Reset

____________________________________

The Starr Foster Dance (SFD) website informs us that the company is “committed to their mission to collaborate with all genres of artists in their quest to make the world richer with art.” For Spitting Image 2025, Foster embarked on a collaborative journey with her core company of 5 dancers, 9 guest dancers, and 7 photographers.

Foster notes in the program (always a stunningly beautiful publication in its own right) that the SFD Art Director, Douglas Hayes, is at least in part responsible for her love of photography. In 2018 (in the “time before”) the company produced the first Spitting Imageprogram at TheatreLab, The Basement, inviting photographers from the Richmond area to contribute images to the project. Spitting Image 2025 is the third iteration of this collaborative creation. (The second was in 2023, also at the Firehouse.)

The phrase “spitting image” usually refers to something that looks remarkably similar to another, such as a mother and daughter or father and son. But in the execution of these collaborative offerings the seven brief works are not intended to bring to life carbon copies of the still images, but rather each captures a moment, an essence, a fleeting fragment from the photograph and then builds on it, takes flight, elevates it, or even takes a quirky turn. The photographs were on view in the theater lobby, and are available to view on the SFD website, https://www.starrfosterdance.org/spittingimage2025, but due to copyright may not be reproduced here.

Mike Harrell’s black and white photograph depicts an aisle of tall trees whose tops meet and intertwine above the road. The Live Oak dancers’ white palazzo pants and lacy white tops mimic the lacy tree branches and at one point the lacy pattern is recreated on the floor in lights. Their movements are mysterious and weighted, a lift and drag suggests the strength, durability flexibility, and stability of trees, and the shapes fit together like puzzle pieces. Very mindful. Very demure.

Caroline Frye submitted a photo of a backyard clothesline with what appears to be a heavy rug hanging out to air or to dry. Fran Beaumont wears neatly tailored pants and a button-down shirt that reminded me of a schoolgirl’s uniform, while Madison Ernstes, lingering in the background, wore a dark shirtwaist dress. For me, Saving Grace created an image of a portal, a doorway, perhaps into the past. The atmosphere made me consider various meanings of the phrase, “saving grace.” It can mean a redeeming quality, but it could also, literally mean saving someone named Grace – or it could be a bit of both…

Becks Atkins photo of clouds inspired Wisp, one of my personal favorites. Dressed in short white or pale gray pants with asymmetrical tops, the dancers began in a single file line, facing the audience and ended in a cluster like delicate flower petals. The music and movement both seemed to have a delicate Asian flavor, simple, and beautiful.

The first half of the program closed with Lies Lies Lies, inspired by PJ Skyes’ angular, industrial offering – three views of a wall that holds the remains of a sign that once said “SUPPLIES.” Hmm, could this be a subtle statement about how things are not always what they seem to be – or an even more rare statement on the current political climate? Without reading more into it than intended, Foster’s choreography for this piece is urgent, driven, and percussive, and set to an original score that is equally urgent, driven, and percussive. Altogether, Lies Lies Lies is quite a departure from other works on the program, aggressive, but not angry.

The second part of the program opened with a solo, Flight, performed by Molly Huey. Inspired by Georgianne Stinnett’s intimate close-up of a bee collecting pollen from the reproductive organs of a flower, Huey’s movement are big and remind me of the inner workings of a traditional timepiece. The original soundscape consists of a series of musical explosions with an underlying base of small ticks, like a fine watch – or a time bomb.

Run to You, another personal favorite is a tender duo, performed by Shannon Comerford and Angela Palmisano. Intriguing lighting creates shadow play that makes the two dancers appear to be four or six. Inspired by Shannon Mills Guest’s photograph of two women sitting side-by-side, one with long blond hair and one with long dark hair. Foster carries out the visual opposition with costuming: one dancer wears white ruffled fabric on top, the other on the bottom, while the shadows double and triple the relationships, building and extending the connection between the sisters, friends, or whatever you need the relationship to be.

The program closed on a humorous and quirky note with Garnish, a work for 13 dancers, each wearing a flower-patterned dress, each in a different pattern. Lined up across the stage, they grimace, give a side eye, and more in a cork that is casual, funny, and energetic. Garnish is inspired by Allison Patel’s photograph of a woman applying makeup. Eyes wide, lips pursed, the image fuels the dancers’ facial gymnastics and extends the movement through their entire bodies. Garnish is definitely the icing on the cake.

———-

Starr Foster Dance presents

CURIOUS INTENTIONS

Artistic Director/Choreography by: Starrene Foster

Art Director: Doug Hayes

Lighting Designer: Greta Daughtrey

Music Director: Daniel Deckelman

Company Artists: Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernstes, Molly Huey, Angela Palmisano

Guest Performers: Adria Applebee, Alex Atkins, Roya Baker-Vahdani, Sarah Carrington, Lena Cohen, Ma-Siya Dycus, Sophie Smith, Ella Holland, Janelle Ragland

Costumes Designed and Constructed by: Starrene Foster, with the exception of the costumes for “Wisp,” designed and constructed by Johann Stegmeir

Starr Foster Dance is a Resident Company of the Firehouse Theatre

Performance Schedule

SPITTING IMAGE PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 3rd 7:30PM Opening Night/Post Show Q&A
Friday, April 4th 7:30PM Champagne Night with Cast & Artistic Team
Saturday, April 5th 2:00PM
Saturday, April 5th 5:00PM Post Show Q&A
Sunday, April 6th 2:00PM Closing night

Run Time

1 hour 20 minutes plus one15-minute intermission

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RICHMOND BALLET: MOVING ART ONE

Ballet Celebrates First Program on the New VMFA Stage

A Dance Review

Performance By: The Richmond Ballet

At: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Leslie Cheek Theater, Richmond Ballet Stage, 200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard, RVA 23220

Performance Dates: March 20-30, 2025

Ticket Prices: $25 – $85 ($85 – $125 on opening night)

Info: (804) 344-0906, etix.com, or richmondballet.com

THE PROGRAM

PENTAPTYCH

Choreography by Ma Cong

Music by Ryan Lott

Costume Design by Emma Kingsbury

Lighting Design by Les Dickert

Visual Artist: Eric Sall

World Premiere: September 14, 2018, Tulsa Ballet, Tulsa Ballet’s Studio K Theatre, Tulsa, OK. Richmond Ballet Premiere: March 20, 2025, Leslie Cheek Theater, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA

AFTER THE RAIN Pas de Deux

Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, OBE

Music by Arvo Pärt

Staged by Jason Fowler and Craig Hall

Costume Design by Holly Hynes

Lighting Design by Les Dickert after Original Design by Mark Stanley

Pianist: Dr. Douglas-Jayd Burn

Violinist: Karen Johnson

World Premiere: January 22, 2005, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater, New York, NY. Richmond Ballet Premiere: March 20, 2025, Leslie Cheek Theater, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA

LAMBARENA

Choreography by Val Caniparoli

Music by Johann Sebastian Bach and traditional African (as arranged by Pierre Akendengué and Hughes de Courson)

African Dance Consultants: Dr. Zakarya Diouf, Naomi Johnson-Diouf, Ibrahima O. Diouf

Scenic and Costume Design by Lisa J. Pinkham, Recreated by Les Dickert

Staged by Maiqui Manosa

World Premiere: March 28, 1995, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, CA. Richmond Ballet Premiere: March 20, 2025, Leslie Cheek Theater, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA

—–

In celebration of the very first performance of the Richmond Ballet’s new Moving Art series – replacing the long-time, popular Studio Series – current Artistic Director Ma Cong, Founding Artistic Director Stoner Winslett, and VMFA Director and CEO Alex Nyerges shared the stage on Thursday evening, March 20, for an enthusiastic pre-show welcome. There was a full house for this gala event, and all performances of the March 20-30 program were already sold out.

Moving Art One marks the return of the Richmond Ballet to the VMFA after last performing there in the 1990s and the first major renovation of the Leslie Cheek Theater stage since it was built some 70 years ago. The renovations include widening the stage to better accommodate ballet, new lighting for the house and the stage, and upgraded A-V equipment. A press release indicates that the performers’ dressing rooms and restrooms and the green room have also been upgraded. The theater seats 472 audience members, and the seating has reportedly been refurbished but in my opinion the seats are still a bit too tight and would probably not be comfortable for all audience members, and the raking does not allow for an unobstructed view if you are vertically challenged, or if a tall person sits in front of you. But that’s just my two cents.

As with the Studio Series performances, the Moving Art series consists of a program of three works and features both classical and contemporary ballets produced in an intimate setting (as compared to, say, the 1,800-seat Carpenter Theatre where large works such as The Nutcracker Ballet or Cinderella are performed).

Moving Art One opened with the world premiere of Ma Cong’s Pentaptych (def., a work of art consisting of five panels or sections). There is a live artist onstage, Eric Sall, who interacts with the dancers and creates a large, colorful abstract painting. The bold brushstrokes are a stark contrast to the black, white, and gray costumes worn by the dancers – except for one dancer whose costume appears to be a part of or an inspiration for the painting. The ballet is of the contemporary genre, and the dancers’ monochrome costumes, paired with the abstract, ethereal, and sometimes athletic stretching motions and the original score by Ryan Lott, for a moment I had a flashback of sitting in Merce Cunningham’s Westbeth studio in Manhattan’s artists’ community, watching his company perform. (For those not familiar with Cunningham’s work – this is a positive comparison, and you should look him up!) The finished painting, by the way, is available for purchase via an online auction. The proceeds are to benefit the Richmond Ballet.

The classical portion of the program was provided by Eri Nishihara and Jack Miller, performing the pas de deux from Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain. Commissioned for a New York City Ballet program in honor of George Balanchine’s birthday, the ballet is in two parts. The first part is a dance for three couples, and the second part, the pas de deux, is often performed separately, as it was here on the new Richmond Ballet Stage. The dance is set to music by Arvo Pärt, played live by Dr. Douglas-Jayd Burn and Karen Johnson, and is notable for placing the ballerina in flat shoes instead of en pointe.

It is a stunningly beautiful and tender ballet in which the male dancer, Miller, sometimes lifts his partner is the most unexpected ways – for example, frozen into a position that I can only describe rather awkwardly as table-like. Another moment, Nishihara gently caresses her partner’s face while he stands strong and unmoving, or she perches delicately on his extended thigh. Burn’s piano and Johnson’s violin emit gentle, almost ambient sounds, like, yes, like raindrops. The piece ends with a silent embrace and the partners gently melt into one another.

Val Caniparoli’s Lambarena is much more difficult to write about, not because it was not beautifully performed, but because I am not sure what to think of it. Colorful, energetic, and fun, the work is performed to a rather unique blend of music by Johann Sebastian Bach and traditional African (what part of Africa?) music arranged by Pierre Akendengué and Hughes de Courson.

Performed by the full company, the work serves as a showcase for dancer Naomi Robinson who leads the women in leaping lightly like gazelles over the savanna. (This brought back another memory, that of seeing a herd of gazelles dashing through the grasslands of Kenya.) In a later section, they held their arms back and arched, reminding me of ostriches – and the beautiful solo Awassa Astrige created by Asadata Dafora (1932). The men, at times, reminded me of giraffes – also common to Kenya and other parts of East Africa. There was lots of light footwork and hip action unlike anything one usually sees in a traditional ballet. Sometimes I heard strains of a stringed instrument that reminded me of a berimbau – a one-stringed instrument I’m familiar with from Brazilian dance and capoeira (a Brazilian martial art/dance). I believe the berimbau originated in Angola, in southwestern Africa. The music also incorporated choral sections and clapping.

Overall, the work is sassy and joyous, and performed with extraordinary energy. My dilemma, perhaps, comes from recent discussions I have been having with my dance history students at VCU, where we have been mulling over the differences between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation. The program lists African Dance Consultants – Dr. Zakarya Diouf, Naomi Johnson-Diouf, and Ibrahima O. Diouf – and the company hosted a Community Dance Class with local dance organization Ezibu Muntu on March 16, shortly before the opening of the Moving Art One program.

Still, I felt a certain uneasiness as I watched – and enjoyed – Lambarena, and watched others enjoying it, too. I appreciated it, but there does seem to be more than a little cultural appropriation – context? accreditation? intent? Acknowledgement – beyond the generic designation of “African” – or at least an appearance thereof. I need to look more deeply into Caniparoli’s inspiration and motivation before making a final decision on this work.

In the meantime, while I’m rummaging around in the stack of dance history, if you can’t get to see Moving Art One, there will be a Moving Art Two, running from May 8 – 18. That program will include Joshua L. Peugh’s Slump, a ballet about modern courtship, Stoner Winslett’s Echoing Past (set to a score by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel), and Yury Yanowsky’s newly completed Fading Creatures, a work-in-progress he introduced at Richmond Ballet’s 2023 New Works Festival. It draws inspiration from the melting clocks of Salvador Dalí’s popular painting The Persistence of Memory.

—–

Richmond Ballet dancers in Pentapych by Ma Cong. Photo by Sarah Ferguson.
Richmond Ballet dancers in Pentaptych by Ma Cong. Photo by Sarah Ferguson.
Eri Nishihara and Jack Miller in the pas de deux from After the Rain by Christopher Wheeldon. Photo by Sarah Ferguson.
Eri Nishihara and Jack Miller in the pas de deux from After the Rain by Christopher Wheeldon. Photo by Sarah Ferguson.
Naomi Robinson in Lambarena by Val Caniparoli. Photo by Sarah Ferguson.
Richmond Ballet dancers in Lambarena by Val Caniparoli. Photo by Sarah Ferguson.

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THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

(abridged)

A Theater Review by Julinda D. Lewis

Presented by: Richmond Shakespeare

At: Libby S. Gottwald Playhouse, 600 E. Grace St., RVA 23219

Performances:

Ticket Prices: $22-$47 [Adults $47; Seniors 65+ with ID $42; Military with ID $27; College Students with ID & Children $22] Seating is General Admission.

Info: (804) 340-0115 or http://www.richmondshakespeare.org

There’s not much that needs to be said about The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). The title tells (most of) it all. William Shakespeare is considered (one of) the most famous writers of all time. And in his time, he wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems, and a number of other works. The task of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) is to perform ALL 37 of Shakespeare’s play in 97 minutes. Of course, this is impossible. What we get is a side-splitting comedic take on Shakespeare that includes scenes, passages, or catch phrases from every play, along with a more extensive treatment of Romeo and Juliet at the top of the show and Hamlet at the end.

Sydnee S. Graves, one of the trio of thespians in this production, sets the pace with her well-timed introduction by unrolling a long scroll that contains the notes for her “brief” introduction. Graves invites us, in elaborate and flowery terms, to share space in the theater – the place where the magic happens.

Rachel Marrs is introduced by Graves as a pre-eminent Shakespearean scholar, and Marrs arrives in a black academic gown that does little to conceal her lack of scholarship – all in good fun, of course!

Joshua Mullins completes the pre-show banter with a ChatGPT – generated biography of Shakespeare that conflates the words and deeds of Shakespeare with America’s 16^th president – Abraham Lincoln. (This is clearly propaganda designed to convince the audience that reading is fundamental.

Highlights of the show include the rendering of Shakespeare’s first tragedy, Titus Andronicus, as a cooking show, and Othello summarized as a performance by a rap trio. All 14 comedies are rolled into a single medley, Macbeth is performed by two of the actors in kilts, their swords replaced by golf clubs, while Two Noble Kinsman, a play authored jointly by Shakespeare and John Fletcher, (and here characterized as neither a comedy or a tragedy, but a “bad” play) offers Mullins an opportunity to shill T-Mobile Kinsman cell phone service.

Shakespeare’s histories are grouped together and played as a football game. All 154 sonnets have supposedly been printed on a single 3×5 index card that proves impossible for even a young audience member with strong eyes to read – even after Marrs offers her a series of magnifying glasses. But there are two scenes that stood out for me. The first is the abridged Othello performed as a lively rap performance and the second occurred when in the midst of an argument about not wanting to perform Hamlet, Mullins, who has been acting the fool all night, surprises audience and fellow cast members alike by delivering Hamlet’s soliloquy with heartfelt sincerity.

Dressed in a foundation of short pants, long-sleeved peasant-style shirts, and colorful high-top chucks, the tripartite ensemble moves at breakneck speed, adding and subtracting garments, wigs, and props for each play or scene. Shakespeare wrote plenty of racy dialogue and the salacious plot elements and double entendre are emphasized. There are many references to buns and sausages, and Horatio is misnomered as Fellatio, to name just two and, lest I forget, there is high level and intricate audience participation – with multiple parts! Mullins takes an unnatural level of juvenile-level glee in a long-running bit about vomiting, and he runs across the width of the audience, even up the stairs, to pretend to spew vomitus on audience members or in their drinks.

Graves, Marrs, and Mullins have quite different assignments, with Graves seeming to take on the bulk of the organizing and public interaction, such as announcements. Marrs is in charge of history and props. Mullins is, well, Mullins – a master of quick change and pratfalls. The three of them together form a solid ensemble knit together under a banner of riotous comedy, and often very physical humor. They must be exhausted at the end – after performing multiple versions of Hamlet. Speaking of the end, in his end notes for this production, Director Joe Pabst writes, “Comedy is one thing I know a lot about,” and “I love figuring out what makes people laugh.” To that end, I say to Pabst, “No lies detected,” and “You understood the assignment.”

—–

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, Jess Winfield

with new revisions by Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield

Directed by Joe Pabst

CAST

Sydnee S. Graves

Rachel Marrs

Joshua Mullins

PRODUCTION TEAM

Costume Design …………… Anna Bialkowski

Lighting Design …………… Trisan Ketcham

Scenic Design …………… James Ricks

Production State Manager …… Jordan Dively

Run Time: 97 minutes; there is one intermission

———-

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

– Comedies –

All’s Well That Ends Well

As You Like It

The Comedy of Errors

Love’s Labour’s Lost

Measure for Measure

The Merchant of Venice

The Merry Wives of Windsor

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Much Ado About Nothing

The Taming of the Shrew

The Tempest

Twelfth Night

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The Winter’s Tale

– Tragedies –

Antony and Cleopatra

Coriolanus

Cymbeline

Hamlet

Julius Caesar

King Lear

Macbeth

Othello

Romeo and Juliet

Timon of Athens

Titus Andronicus

Troilus and Cressida

– Histories –

Henry IV, Part I

Henry IV, Part II

Henry V

Henry VI, Part I

Henry VI, Part II

Henry VI, Part III

Henry VIII

King John

Pericles

Richard II

Richard III

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987.

Photo Credits: Richmond Shakespeare Facebook page

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DETROIT ‘67

Everybody Needs Love

A Reflection on a Theater Experience by Julinda D. Lewis

Presented By: The Firehouse Theatre on the Carol Piersol Stage

At: 1609 W. Broad Street, RVA 23220

Performances: March 12-30, 2025

Ticket Prices: $5.00 – $35

Info: (804) 355-2001 or firehousetheatre.org

The 12^th Street Riot or Detroit Uprising in the summer of 1967 has been characterized as one of the bloodiest urban riots in the US. The police raid of an after-hours joint (i.e., an unlicensed bar) erupted into bloody confrontations between Detroit’s Black population and the Detroit Police Department. The 82^nd Airborne Division, 101^st Airborne Division, Michigan Army National Guard, and Michigan State Police were all called into action by Michigan’s Governor George W. Romney and President Lyndon B. Johnson. By the time it was all over, there were 43 dead, 1,189 injured, 7,200 arrested, 400 buildings burnt or destroyed.

This incident was widely covered in the news, but even though I was alive at the time I don’t remember anything about it. I was 12 years old and living 600 miles away in Brooklyn, NY. But this show’s Director, Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Professor of Acting and Directing Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University, who was also a child at the time, was visiting with her family in Detroit when the rioting began. This gives Dr. T. a unique perspective on the history and background of the actions of this play.

NOTE: See Rich Griset’s preview in Style Weekly for interesting background information: https://www.styleweekly.com/we-almost-lost-detroit/

Many of us who were born in or grew up in urban Black communities in the 1950s and 1960s also felt a sense of familiarity with Detroit ’67 as soon as we walked into the Firehouse Theatre and saw the stage set – a basement recreation room meticulously designed down to the most minute detail by Mecedes Shaum. There was the familiar wood paneling, the tiled floor, the comfy sofa that had been given a second life from the upstairs living room, the bar, the beaded curtains, the family photos lining the stairs, the folding card table and chairs for playing spades or pinocle, the obligatory photos and posters of Malcolm X and other heroes. There was the washing machine – but no dryer because clothes were hung outside on sunny days or dried on a line stretched across the basement on rainy days. And anchoring all of this – the record player, which was replaced by the hi-fi, and then, as it was on this stage, by the latest technology – the 8-track player.

The first two things to catch your attention on entering the space are the set and the music. Which you notice first is probably determined by if you are predominantly an auditory or visual learner. I’m a visual-kinesthetic learner, so the set caught my eye, and the Motown soundscape caressed my ears and moved my body simultaneously. The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Mary Wells, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips and more provided the heartbeat of Detroit ’67 and took centerstage as the main characters, siblings Chelle (short for Michelle) and Lank (short for Langston) – played by Firehouse Associate Artistic Director Katrinah Carol Lewis and actor David Lyve Watkins – prepared to open their basement hideaway as an after-hours joint. I was familiar with rent parties growing up in New York, but apparently these after-hours party venues were how Black entrepreneurs or families in need of a little extra cash made their money.

As Detroit ’67 opens, Chelle and Lank are making plans, having inherited their parents’ house and some money as well. Chelle is looking forward to using her share to pay her son’s tuition. We never see the young man as he’s away at school attending Tuskegee University in Alabama – and yes, it’s summertime, but he’s staying to work, and apparently there is a young lady involved as well. The problem – or one of the problems – arises when Chelle’s plans and her brother’s plans conflict. Reminding me of a similar conflict in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Lank wants to use their inheritance to invest in a business. A local bar is up for sale, as a result of the phenomenon known as “white flight” and Lank’s best friend, Sly (played by Jeremy V. Morris) is a local entrepreneur (okay, he’s the local numbers runner, used car salesman, and general hustler) already has half the money needed to purchase the bar and the required license.

“Niggas deserve nice stuff, too!”

Did I say, “one of the problems?” Well, yes. The first was the riots, remember? The second was how to use the inheritance. And the third involves a mysterious stranger named Caroline. Lank and Sly find Caroline stumbling alongside the road late one night. Stopping to see if she needs help, they offer her a ride in their truck, but she passes out. So, they bring her home to Lank’s house. But, you see, Lank and Sly are two Black men, and Caroline is white. And it’s 1967 and a race riot has just broken out. This is bad, unbelievably bad. And it gets worse.

The mystery of who Caroline is and what happened to her remains unresolved at the end of Act 1. It’s only after Chelle has to bail Lank out of jail that Caroline buys a train ticket and finally reveals what happened the night Lank and Sly found her – and no, I’m not going to tell you here, you will find out when you go see the show.

Detroit ’67 is warm, funny, and terrifying. It has all the “feels” as playwright Dominique Morisseau (Pipeline, November Theatre, Oct-Nov, 2021 https://jdldancesrva.com/2021/10/16/pipeline/ and Sunset Baby by Blk Virginia Theatre Alliance coming to VaRep’s Theatre Gym in April 2025) explores themes of family dynamics, dreams of black folks, racial tension, racial profiling, police brutality, financial and social inequality, and even love and joy.

Chelle is a strong-willed woman who resists change, but she is loving and has a fierce loyalty to her younger brother and her son. Lank is ambitious but impulsive; some would call him a dreamer, others a visionary. Lank’s best friend Sylvester aka Sly has a business mind balanced by a compassionate spirit. Chelle’s friend Bunny is also an entrepreneur, but she hides her brains under an endless wardrobe of close-fitting jumpsuits and a huge flower in her hair. And the mysterious Caroline wears the shortest of mini-dresses accessorized with tall white go-go boots. (If you are not familiar with this style, now is a good time to search for an image.) Kudos to Costume Designer Margarette Joyner for the 1960s wardrobe. Each character’s wardrobe perfectly reflects their personality, from the flashiness of Bunny and Sly to the conservative maxi-dresses and Angela Davis-style afro favored by Chelle to the subdued casual attire that distinguishes Lank.

Dr. T’s direction lends itself to multi-dimensional portrayal of all five characters. I have long been familiar with the work of Lewis and Morris and Dr. T. I have seen all three of them perform in and/or direct powerful works that tell important stories. This is a production that does not disappoint, This is a well-chosen ensemble that, even on the fourth performance (two nights of previews, and one night after opening night) seems to have achieved that place where they are moving as one. We see them laugh and dance and drink, but we also see them cry and fight for their beliefs, for their heritage, their freedom, their dignity, and for love. A favorite scene is when Sly woos Chelle, spilling his heart in song, and after much protest, Chelle finally gives Sly a sliver of hope that she might just care for him, too. They laugh, they argue, and in a little more than two hours we get to know these people, to recognize them as family, as friends, as people we have encountered, as people we care about.

Now if you feel that you can’t go on
Because all of your hope is gone
And your life is filled with much confusion
Until happiness is just an illusion
And your world around is crumblin’ down
Darling, reach out, come on girl, reach on out for me
Reach out, reach out for me
I’ll be there, with a love that will shelter you
I’ll be there, with a love that will see you through

(“Reach Out, I’ll Be There” by the Four Tops, 1966)

During the recent Super Bowl, Pulitzer Prize winning artist Kendrick Lamar borrowed the words of an earlier poet, Gil Scott Heron, to remind us that “the revolution will not be televised.” What Lamar and Morisseau both reveal to us is that the revolution will be accompanied by a sound. In a brief conversation after Saturday night’s program, Dr. T. mentioned the resistance in the music. There is resistance and resiliency in the rhythms of Motown, the rhythms of the African diaspora, in the context of history and the rhythms of the spoken word, and in the cadence of storytelling enveloped in the lyrics and its connection to family and community. Just before leaving the theater, my friend Tony asked me, how many synonyms are there for “excellent?” I don’t have an answer for that, but maybe you do. Let me know, comment here, after you see this show. I’ll be waiting.

—–

DETROIT ‘67

Written by Dominique Morisseau

Directed by Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates

Cast

Chelle ………. Katrinah Carol Lewis

Lank ………. David Lyve Watkins

Bunny ………. Nicole Cowans

Sly ………. Jeremy V. Morris

Caroline ………. Marie Lucas

Chelle/Bunny U/S………. Nia Simone

Lank/Sly U/S ………. Isaac Watson

Caroline U/S ………. Emily Wolfteich

Production Team

Direction ………. Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates

Directing Observation ………. Solomon Marley

Scenic Design ………. Mercedes Schaum

Costume Design ………. Margarette Joyner

Lighting Design ………. Michael Crevoisier

Sound Design ………. Kyle Epps

Stage Management ………. Emily Vial

Run Time: About 2 ½ hours; there is 1 intermission

Tickets: $5 to $35

Info: (804) 355-2001 or FirehouseTheatre.org

Performance Schedule:

Wednesday, March 12 7:30PM Preview

Thursday, March 13 7:30PM Preview

Friday, March 14 7:30PM Opening Night

Saturday, March 15 7:30PM

Sunday, March 16 2:00PM Pay What You Will /Member Post-Show Mixer

Friday, March 21 7:30PM

Saturday, March 22 2:00PM Pay What You Will

Saturday, March 22 7:30PM

Sunday, March 23 2:00PM Pay What You Will

Thursday, March 27 7:30PM

Friday, March 28 7:30PM

Saturday, March 29 2:00PM

Saturday, March 29 7:30PM

Sunday, March 30 2:00PM Closing Performance

World Premiere at the Public Theater, March 12, 2023.

———-

Photo Credits: No photos available at the time of publication

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SNAPSHOTS: A MUSICAL SCRAPBOOK

“Memories, like photographs, can fade, but they never really leave.”

A Theater Reflection by Julinda D. Lewis

Presented by HATTheatre

At: HATTheatre, 1124 Westbriar Dr., Richmond, VA 23238

Performances: March 14-23, 2025

Ticket Prices: $30 General Admission. $25 Seniors/Students/Military. $20 Youth up to 17.

Info: 804-343-6364 or https://hattheatre.org

Empty nesters Sue (Debra Wagoner) and Dan (Mark Persinger) have come to a crossroads in their relationship. They have known each other since childhood, but Sue is fed up and has stolen away to the attic to reminisce, leave a note, and pack her bag. Dan uncharacteristically arrives home early from work and interrupts Sue’s plans. They end up spending the night looking through boxes of old photos, leading to a journey of discovery. This is a great relationship story for all of us. It is more than just a love story, but a story of how love starts, how it changes, how it endures, and how it affects people.

What makes this story special is that it is fueled by a playlist of songs from Stephen Schwartz’s vast repertoire of shows and steered by the dynamic artistry of Wagoner and Persinger and the four other actors who portray Sue and Dan – as well as other characters in their lives – at various stages of their lives, from elementary school to the present.

The supporting cast consists of Alanna Wilson and Joshua Smith as 11-17 year old Susan and Daniel and Shannon Schilstra and Gravins as the middle childhood Susie and Danny. They also portray a slew of other characters, including a hilarious scene where Wilson, Schilstra, and Gavins depict three of Dan’s wildly different yet uniformly vindictive ex-girlfriends.

Described as “part revue and part book musical” Snapshots is surprisingly personal and intimate. Other moments that stood out for me include Schilstra’s welcoming of the young Danny (Gravins) when he and his father move into the neighborhood; when the young Danny presents Susie with a book (A Time to Keep, Tasha Tudor’s book of holidays for ages 5-8), which she keeps throughout their years together; Sue’s dreams, expressed as a metaphor of becoming a lion tamer; Wagnor and Persinger’s “Code of Silence” duet; and the interactions the middle-aged Sue and Dan have with their younger selves, often accompanied by beautiful harmonizing.

Frank Foster’s direction infuses the production with levity and seamless pacing. The entire play takes place in the couple’s attic, suitably cluttered with an eclectic collection of memorabilia but not overdone, also designed by Foster. The Sue/Susan/Susie characters are usually identifiable by a red top in an age-appropriate style, worn over jeans. The younger versions of Dan usually wear variations of plaid shirts, also with jeans, while the mature Dan inexplicably prefers khakis.

I left this thoroughly enjoyable event with just two questions – not burning questions, but more of the “things that make you go “hmmmm” variety: a tender scene depicting the birth of Sue and Dan’s son, Matthew left me wondering why the blanket used to portray the infant was so impossibly tiny, and what we had the pleasure of seeing and hearing the music for this lovely and beautifully performed show played from up front. Musical Director Joe Revell did a magnificent job on keyboards hidden on the back where we couldn’t see him.

I’m not a singer, but I’ll close with this line from a duet by Sue and Dan, taken from Schwartz’s Reluctant Pilgrim CD: “You cannot close the acorn once the oak begins to grow.”

———-

SNAPSHOTS: A Musical Scrapbook

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Book by David Stern

Directed by Frank Foster

Musical Direction by Joe Revell

Cast

Sue ………………..Debra Wagoner

Dan ………………..Mark Persinger

Susan ………………..Alanna Wilson

Daniel ………………..Joshua Louis Smith

Susie ………………..Shannon Schilstra

Danny ………………..Joey Gravins

Creative Design Team

Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Book by David Stern

Conceived by Michael Scheman & David Stern

Additional Music & Lyrics by David Crane, Seth Friedman, Marta Kauffman, Alan Menken, and Charles Strouse

Arrangements & Orchestration by Steve Orch

Direction & Scenic Design by Frank Foster

Musical Direction by Joe Revell

Lighting Design by Bill Jenkins

Stage Management by Ashton Lee

Costumes by Suzanne Riker

Light Board Operation: Matthew Geniesse

Sound Board Operation: Ashton Lee

Box Office/House Manager: Vickie L. Scallion

Dates

March 14-23, 2025

Ticket Information

Ticket Prices: $30 General Admission. $25 Seniors/Students/Military. $20 Youth up to 17

Info: 804-343-6364 or https://hattheatre.org

Run Time

Approximately 2 hours, 10 minutes, including one 10-minute intermission

Photo Credits: N/A

Musical Numbers

“Snapshots,” “Code of Silence,” “So Far”: from the CD Reluctant Pilgrim (1997)

“New Kid in the Neighborhood”: from Captain Louie, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (1986, 2009)

“No Time At All,” “Extraordinary,” “Corner of the Sky,” “With You,” “Morning Glow”: from Pippin, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (1972, 2002)

“Popular,” “I’m Not That Girl,” “Making Good”: from Wicked, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (2003)

“All For the Best,” “All Good Gifts”: from Godspell, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (1971, 1889, 2012)

“If We Never Meet Again”: from Rags, Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

“Nothing to Do With Love,” “Moving in With Susan (aka Moving in with Linda)”: from Personals, Music by Stephen Schwartz, Lyrics by Marta Kauffman, Seth Friedman & David Crane (1985, 1986)

“Endless Delights,” “Meadowlark,” “Chanson,” from The Baker’s Wife, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (1977, 1990)

“How Does She Know? (aka “That’s How You Know”) from Enchanted, Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (2007)

“The Spark of Creation,” “Parents’ Day” (aka “Father’s Day”), “The Hardest Part of Love,” “In Whatever Time We Have”: from Children of Eden, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (1989, 1998, 2000)

“Fathers and Sons”: from Working, Music & Lyrics by Stephe Schwartz (1978)

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