Christopher Owens: 1989

“The selections for the 1989 season look inviting” begins an article announcing Wayside’s up-coming season, and concludes, “the on-going renovations in the theater should improve the comfort and enjoyment of the audience this year” (McCarty. “Finding the Boards.” TWS. 22 Mar. 1989).  Owens is quoted as saying “the size of the women’s rest room has tripled by changing an unused kitchen into a modern ladies’ bathroom.  The men’s facilities (sic) has doubled because the old women’s rest room will become an additional men’s room” (McCarty. 22 Mar. 1989).  Patrons will also notice that the balcony seating has been rearranged to provide a better view of the stage, giving an extra 16 inches of legroom in each row.  Changes were made to the stage as well.  It was totally rebuilt and raised an additional nine inches and included a turntable that was used in the 1989 production of A Christmas Carol, as well as in several productions in the following years.        

An April 14, 1989 news release giving the titles for the upcoming season tells of the guest appearance to Wayside of TV actor, Mark Lewis, best known for his role as Kurt Corday on The Guiding Light.  Owens states:

Thanks to a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, Wayside will expand
its resident acting company to seven members - - a combination of Wayside veterans and several new faces.  Returning from the resident company in 1988 are Kenneth Umland, Tamara Johnson and Joe McCullough.  New members of the company are
New York veterans Christopher Clavelli, Steve Satta, and Virginia Hoffman, as well
as local actress Ellen Nichols … We have a greater number of guest artists for individual shows, allowing members of the resident company to have a show or two off, as well
as to tour.  Each of them will do three to four of the mainstage productions, plus touring or educational programs (Wayside Theatre News release. 14 Apr. 1989).

Owens also mentions the change in the length of the performance schedule that patrons will appreciate in that the “extra week buys us so much more creative time.  It gives us an additional week to rehearse for the next production” (McCarty. “Treading the Boards.”  TWS. 22 Mar. 1989).

One of the most interesting announcements for 1989 dealt with the restoration of 185 theatre seats dating from the 1927 era that were to be used in the theatre.  These seats were recently discovered in a storage area in the theatre’s basement. “The original cast iron on the seating … is very ornate. It has been covered with several layers of paint, which will be removed” (Davis. “At Wayside, ….” TWS. 23 Mar. 1989).  Tamara Johnson did the restoration on the chair, stripping the old paint away and restoring the gold, burgundy and green detailing.  The seats also came equipped with aisle lighting, along with walnut arm rests, walnut across the back of the seat with upholstery covering the seat and back.  The theatre is hoping to restore these 185 seats one row at a time.  (SEE: Appendix: Theatre Interior). People are encouraged “to endow a single chair with a donation of $250 in return for which a brass plaque that will permanently commemorate the name of that donor on the new seating” (Wayside Theatre, May 1989).  Owens states the chairs will add to the historic accuracy and visual appeal of the house.  He added, “I think they’re exceedingly better looking than the chairs we have in the theatre now” (Davis.  23 Mar. 1989).

The season opened with a very strong production of Sherlock’s Last Case featuring actors familiar to the Wayside audience from their appearance in previous seasons, in particular Joseph Parra and Traber Burns.  One reviewer wrote that Artistic Director, Christopher Owens, “gives due weight to all the snap and snarl buried in the text, and this handsome production, lavishly filled with all the hallmarks of the Holmesian legend, is fast-paced and witty.”  Add to this “Bill Marshall’s revolving set efficiently gets us from 221-B Baker Street to that murky basement” (Quillen.  “Sherlock’s Back ….”  DNR.  27 May 1989).  While the performance is quite strong, one reviewer felt the script was a bit quirky, despite that it “crackled with very funny one-liners … when all is said and done it is really more of a tragedy than a comedy, and leaves one feeling strangely depressed when the final curtain falls” (Knepper. “Sherlock Holmes cracks ….” TFRN.  31 May 1989).

Two actors with excellent professional experience appear as eighty-year-old men, the main characters in I’m Not Rappaport.  Daniel Pollock had been on Broadway in The Price with George C. Scott; and Ronal Stepney, who is on the staff of the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia.  Both had performed I’m Not Rappaport at the Heritage Repertory Theatre in Charlottesville.  One reviewer writes that the two male leads “are seamless in their dialogues and actions, creating a sense of familiarity that makes their characters seem effortlessly real” (Hough. “ ‘I’m Not Rappaport’ ….” TWS.  16 June 1989).  The production was directed by Wayside’s former Artistic Director, Gerry Slavet, who is credited with guiding “his cast efficiently around … the lovely set with its park benches, plants and bridges” (Quillen.  “Gardner’s Comedy At Wayside ….” DNR.  17 June 1989).  All the reviews of the play give credit to the remainder of the cast for their work, but they agree that the show really centers around the two eighty-year old men who are excellently portrayed.

Joining the cast for Wayside’s next production, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, was the former star of TV’s “The Guiding Light,” Mark Lewis.  He was joined by two other New York actors:  Kathleen Huber from Tamara and Amanda Plummer who recently performed Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in New York’s Riverside Shakespeare Company.  Huber and Lewis had been students together at Southern Methodist University.  The production of Les Laisons Dangereuses could be considered a daring step for Wayside, as it is a “more adult, more challenging work than many of the lighter pieces” scheduled during the summer. “The play follows the romantic and sexual conquests of several members of the French aristocracy.” But, Owens adds, “I believe the theater is ready for this production ….  We’re very excited to be presenting the Washington area premier” (“Show portrays French ….”  CSE.  30 June 1989).  Some critics felt the play was a bit labored, too long and lack-luster, but all praise the beautiful costumes.  The revolving set “is a wonder:  From different angles it manages to suggest the various rooms, and it also includes the essential bed, which trundles out when the action turns horizontal” (Horan.  “Wayside’s ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ ”…..” NVD.  8 July 1989).  Another writer commended the beauty of the set, but felt that “changing the sets is painfully slow and leaves the audience waiting for the action to begin again.  But the evening belongs to the villains, and slow set changes or not, the audience can’t wait to see more of them” (Quillen.  “Wayside’s ‘Liaisons’: …”  DNR.  8 July 1989).

The French comedy was followed by the hilarious British farce, Relatively Speaking.  Calling for a cast of four, Ayckbourn’s work seems to have been perfectly cast using one-liners, but “there is no way to quote them out of context and still understand.  This is something to be experienced, not talked about” concluded one reviewer (Quillen. “Wayside Farce Hits ….”  DNR.  31 July 1989).  After praising everything about the production, one writer states, “You’re not going to get through the show without having a good laugh, so if you need one – or just want to enjoy yourself—see “Relatively Speaking” (Hough. “ ‘Relatively Speaking’ ….”  TWS.  28 July 1989).

The hilarity continues in the two-actor comedy, The Mystery of Irma Vep, another British comedy, with “enough hilarity to keep the show skirting an abyss of absurdity.”  The two actor’s versatility and teamwork are praised in a true comedy “spiced with bawdy one-liners and some original antics” (Hough.  “It’s Way Off the Wall ….”  TWS. 18 Aug. 1989).  Another writes, “The actors are masters at quick costume changes.  Their stamina and virtuosity are admirable although the acting is consistently histrionic, which is fitting but ultimately wearing” (Horan.  “Wayside’s ‘Irma Vep’: ….”  NVD, 19 Aug. 1989).

Broadway Bound, the third play in Neil Simon’s Eugene Trilogy, was next in the season’s line-up.  One reviewer proposed this title could be Simon’s best.  The two-story set was most effective, especially when action was taking place on both floors at the same time.  The strong cast played off each other quite well portraying clearly defined characters. “Wayside audiences should find this production very entertaining as a healthy dose of Simon’s wit and human insight is brought to life by a consistent cast …”  (Maloney.  “Plenty of Wit ….”  TWS.  22 Sept. 1989).

But, the prevailing opinion regarding Wayside’s next offering was that it fell short of “the high standards set by Wayside in the five preceding plays of the season” (Hough.  “Wayside’s ‘Filthy Rich’ ….” TWS.  13 Oct. 1989).  The play originally scheduled for this slot was Driving Miss Daisy, but was replaced when that title unexpectedly became unavailable by Filthy Rich.  Reviewers agreed that, based on performances by the cast in previous performances during the season, these were actors of great talent.  However, in this play, these highly experienced actors seemed at a loss.  Horan states, “The cast is competent:  The actors not only pretend to be the characters, they also pretend that they are in a play of some merit.” He condemns the play as a “graceless, addled work [that] has reached the point where a respected professional theater has mounted a production that it expects audiences to willingly sit through” (Horan.  “ ‘Filthy Rich’: It’s the pits.” NVD.  16 Oct. 1989).  Of all the reviews of Wayside productions read over the course of creating this historical document, the reviews for Filthy Rich were the most severe.  But, there does not seem to be any evidence that the reviewer’s comments had any effect on attendance.   

Despite ending the season on a some-what low note, things brightened up with the announcement that the December show would be A Christmas Carol, which had been produced during the previous season.  Owens stated that he had expanded the script, “added a couple of scenes and a few songs.”  He indicated that the set would be different “because of the new turn-table stage.  We’ve made the special effects much more interesting … We’re using more fog and more slide-projection scenery.  There will be a little more magic to it” (McCarty.  “ ‘A Christmas Carol’ ….”  TWS.  29 Nov. 1989).  Many actors who had performed during Wayside’s 1989 summer season were also employed to perform in this December show, including a local seven-year-old boy to play Tiny Tim.