Tuesday evening, our Board Chairman, Jeff Gallagher and his wife Cathy Howard, hosted a dinner party on the set of West Side Story at the November Theatre.  Jeff and Cathy out bid all other guests at our January 2018 Anything Goes Gala for this auction prize package.  The package included a catered dinner for 8 on the set West Side Story.  Mosaic provided the catering. Jeff and Cathy chose the following menu for their guests:

Caprese Salad

Herb Roasted Salmon Filet with Wild Rice Pilaf & Sautéed Broccolini Vanilla Panna Cotta with Fresh Raspberries

Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio

Sparkling Water

Before dinner, Tony (Justin Luciano) and Maria (Brittany Santos) sang a couple of West Side Story songs for the group.  Then, Justin, Brittany and music director, Anthony Smith, joined the dinner party.

Great food, lively conversation and high spirits made for an exceptional evening on stage.

Don’t miss your opportunity to “win” this prize package at our 2019 Anything Goes Gala. Next year’s “Tonight, Tonight” dinner party will take place on stage, on the set of The Wiz.

Set in “Old Granddaddy’s home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi,” Crimes of the Heart is a Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-nominated Southern Gothic comedy that will be wrastlin’ up the laughs at Hanover Tavern from Jul 20 through Aug 26.  All this week, resident designer Terrie Powers has been working with master carpenter Tommy Hawfield at the Tavern to create the perfect scenery that will transport audiences to Hazlehurst, a sleepy backwater best known as the hometown of Crimes playwright Beth Henley and TV’s Divorce Court judge Mablean Ephriam.  

“The playwright, actors, and director take the audience on one journey with their words, characters, action, and plot,” stated Powers.  “My job, and the job of the other designers, is to host a complementary journey of our own, using color, line, style, and light. I grew up, in part, in my grandfather’s Southern home at about the same time the Magrath sisters in the play are inhabiting their family manse.  I love my memories of that environment. It’s been fun and rewarding to recreate the earthiness and warmth of that very special time and place.”

To bring her memories to life, Terrie’s been hunting for the perfect 1930’s Frigidaire, designing Victorian carved-pine gingerbread fretwork, selecting vintage cabbage rose wallpaper, stitching lacy antique curtains, rummaging through her attic for grandma’s lavender and white hobnail glass lamp, mixing faded-magenta paints, and screening-in the back porch that’s seen through all the open windows and doors.  Everything must be finished by tomorrow’s tech rehearsal.

To travel with Terrie back in time, call our box office today!

On Tuesday, I participated in the annual Board of Directors’ retreat for the Virginia Association of Fundraising Executives (VAFRE) at the Roslyn Retreat Center on River Road. I have been an member of this association for several years and began to play a more active role by serving on the membership committee. This is my second year as a board director and my first year as chair of the programs committee.  My committee and I are responsible for the monthly luncheon programs which are held at Jefferson Lakeside Country Club. We intend to schedule speakers who are experts on topics requested by members on the most recent survey. In addition to offering programs that the members value, our committee is charged with supporting three main focuses of the current strategic plan: 1. collaborating 2. building the development function 3. increasing membership.

I am passionate about serving and advancing VAFRE because I highly value the professional development, camaraderie, and mentorship we provide for fundraising professionals in Richmond. - Jennifer

Monday kicked off our Young Performer’s Institute (YPI) summer camp. Education Manager Irene Kuykendall, along with performance and teaching artists Chelsea Burke (acting), Emily Turner (improv), Jason Marks (vocal), and Austin Lewis (film), have assembled a fun and busy two-week program for the campers. Beginning their day with “Ensemble Time” to get a good warm-up, the students then separate into two groups and alternate between various sessions, including our first-ever YPI film workshop.

Wednesday, the students added dance to their camp schedule with a workshop taught by RVA performer and choreographer, and West Side Story cast member, Emily Dandridge. Campers  also received a backstage tour courtesy of Assistant  Stage Manager of West Side Story, Luke Robinson.  Next Wednesday our “Young Performers” will be in the audience for the matinee showing of West Side Story.

Finally, the students will end their camp experience with an audition prep, a costume workshop, and a special showcase next Friday at 3:30 PM on the November stage.

- Dani Brown