Owen Phillips: 1967

Before the official 1967 summer season got underway, there was a remounting of Blithe Spirit.  A Harrisonburg newspaper advertised this as an “impossible farce,” that would be performed in Middletown on April 8 and 15, 1967 by the Wayside Players.  The cast for these performances was the same that had performed the play in November of 1966, as part of the extended Fall Season.  These Middletown performances were sponsored by the Women’s Civic League of Winchester, and tickets could be purchased in the box office in the lobby of Winchester’s George Washington Hotel.  Two other performances of Blithe Spirit were scheduled:  one for the Alumni Association of the Medical College of Virginia, and one at the Fauquier County High School in Warrenton on April 21. This seems to be the only mention of the Wayside Players, a troupe described as consisting of some actors who “are professional and others [who] are Little Theatre enthusiasts from the Valley” (“ ‘Blithe Spirits’ Production …. ” HDNR. 1 Apr. 1967). 

For Wayside’s 1967 season, the ticket prices and schedule were listed as:  Wednesday matinee - $2.25; Saturday matinee - $2.50; all evening performances, $2.75.  The summer’s offerings contained a varied selection of titles, including two works by Neil Simon, Barefoot in the Park, that opened the season, and The Odd Couple, that proved so popular it was held over for a second week.  A highlight for the season was the production of The Physicists, directed by Winchester native, Lewis Allen, who had a very successful career in New York as a director and producer.  Allen served on the Board of Directors for the Wayside Foundation for the Arts and was “extremely helpful to Mr. Phillips in securing plays and players for performance at the Wayside Theatre” (“ ‘The Physicists’ Opens …. ” WES.  14 Aug. 1967).  David Ford, who had appeared in the New York production, was also cast in the Wayside performance.  Ford’s wife, Nancy Barrett, was named the Grand Marshall for Middletown’s annual Fireman’s Parade held August 17, 1967.  Both Barrett and Ford were connected with the popular TV series, Dark Shadows. It was while Barrett and Ford were performing at Wayside that they worked with Jerry Lacy, an actor who had been hired for Wayside’s 1967 season.  This meeting led to Lacy’s appearance in Dark Shadows for a number of years. 

One reviewer called The Physicists a play that permits the actors to “express many different kinds of emotion from bizarre comedy and satire to the most dramatic ravings of madmen.”  After crediting all the performers, including those playing smaller parts, Moore refers to the set, designed by Jane Caspar and Lynn Sams, as being “really another actor - - a fine one!” (Moore, W.  “ ‘The Physicists’ Blends ….” NVD. 16 Aug. 1967).  David Ford, was also in this production, and commuted between Middletown and New York during Wayside’s rehearsals and performances in order to appear in the TV series, Dark Shadows.  (“David Ford is Guest ….” WES. 12 Aug. 1967).

The season’s third offering, The Rainmaker, was heralded at its New York opening as “a cloudburst of a hit.”  This same description was used to describe the very strong Wayside production, with one reviewer calling the acting by this company, “the best we have witnessed in the Middletown playhouse” and singles out Patricia Fay’s work as being “equally at home in the humorous moments of the play as well as the more dramatic and tender ones” (Moore. W.  “Wayside’s Latest  ….”  WES. 8 July 1967)

A review of The Odd Couple calls Phillips’ direction “masterful for … his stage grouping, byplay, and stage business” and announces that it is performance not to be missed. (Moore. “Wayside’s ‘The Odd Couple’ …. ” WES. 19 July 1967).  This comedy contrasted dramatically with the season’s next play,  Night Must Fall.  One of the highlights in this performance was “when Danny, carried away by his imagination, re-enacts the pantomime [of] a murder which we know he has committed …. [W]hile last week’s show, “The Odd Couple,” had us shaking with laughter, this week’s play has the audience shaking with fear.”  The set was called “the best sets we have seen anywhere and is not what one usually finds out of New York” (Allen, L.  “ ‘Night Must Fall’ ….” WES. 8 Aug. 1967).

The 1967 summer season concluded with the production of Dames at Sea, a play that appeared on the Wayside stage in try-outs before the entire production was moved to Broadway for a very successful run during New York’s 1968 and 1969 seasons.  The cast that appeared in Middletown’s production were all from New York, with the exception of Harold Herman, who was the only “local” actor in the cast.  When the show moved from Wayside to Broadway, Herman remained in Middletown.  The cast included David Christmas, who performed in the New York run, and Cathryn Damon, originally a dancer on the Ed Sullivan show and later played Mary Campbell on the TV program, Soap. She later appeared in other TV sit-coms. 

In the Archives, there is a 1967 brochure that announces a “Premier Weekend at Wayside” that was to be held June 3 and 4, 1967.  This inaugural weekend began with a black-tie event of cocktails and dinner at the Wayside Inn, followed by the opening-night performance of Barefoot in the Park.  In Eller’s review, she describes the event as “Sparkling with all the gaiety, brilliance and opening night excitement that brings a bit of Broadway to the Valley … [the play runs] two weeks which should set the Valley theater season into highest gear” (Eller. “ ‘Barefoot in the Park’ ….”  NVD. 7 June 1967).  Following the show, a champagne supper honoring cast and the director was held at the Wayside Inn.  The weekend continued with an 8:30 breakfast the following morning after which the guests were scheduled to tour Belle Grove and end their day with a cocktail - buffet at Gafia, the ‘resort’ home of Leo Bernstein outside of Middletown.  Gafia, which stands for “Get-away-from-it-all,” was Bernstein’s 1500-acre farm that offered guests at the Inn an opportunity for boating, fishing, swimming and other outdoor activities. (“Premier Weekend ….” Brochure. June 1967).  The brochure tells of the comforts of Gafia, calling it the ideal place for a “keep fit” vacation. 

There are horses, sailboats, ice skating on the bass stocked lake, trap shooting and fishing.  The birch, redwood and glass lodge boasts a huge fireplace, easy chairs and tables, a piano, games ranging from table tennis to bridge, a kitchen and bar, and a magnificent view of the rolling hills and deep blue water (“A Fascinating Weekend!” Pleasure Guide. Oct. 1963).

There are no records to show if there had been any communications for the 1967 season between Owen Phillips and the artistic director of nearby Totem Pole Theatre.  But, it is interesting that these two theatres both scheduled the same play for the same time slot!  One reviewer, who was able to attend both performances, wrote, 

This year I was privileged to observe something that was extremely interesting to
me, the performance of “Barefoot in the Park” as presented by two different theatres.  The lights and shadings of each were fascinating, and, interestingly enough, each
came out as a very good offering, but there was a difference. 

At the Wayside Theatre, producer-director Owen Phillips had selected a most
attractive young two-some, Tippy Walker and David Christmas, good-looking, smart
and sophisticated with the aura of a wellbred young college couple who were believeable …. For the mother, a veteran actress, Lindé Hayen handled the role.  In contrast, at The Totem Pole, Jean Stapleton created the same.  Here are two seasoned performers saying the same lines, reacting to them but in a subtly different way.  Each was polished.  Each was different.  You remembered both.  This is the fascination of theatre.  The same held true of the flamboyant Victor Velasco with Jerry Lacy of Wayside holding the edge.  But the same play, in two different settings, was a worthwhile experience, though I wouldn’t like to do it every week  (Powell, L. TDM. 23 July 1967).

As a footnote to Powell’s observation, at some point in the 1980s, actress Jean Stapleton made a national tour in a play in which Lindé Hayen served as her understudy!

As had become the custom, a short winter season of plays was added at the end of the summer schedule.  There were only eight performances of each of the two titles that were scheduled and were sponsored by the Exchange Club of Winchester. The first title, The Armored Dove, used a cast of both Wayside company members and local actors.  The second title, A Girl Can Get Lucky, required only two actors, Lindé Hayen and Harold Herman, along with a cat named Lucky (“Exchange Club ….” WES. 13 Sept. 1967).

The 1967 season actually ended in February of 1968, with a version of Macbeth that used only two actors. This production was directed by Michael Procaccine, and featured Harold Herman and Lindé Hayen. The edited version of the play ran about an hour and half and was geared to a school-aged audience with

… an aim to provide new insights into the nature of two of Shakespeare’s most
famous characters – Macbeth and Lady Macbeth …. The daytime performances
for the benefit of school students who were bussed in to the theatre will be given
on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m.  This will enable the students to attend the play and get back to school in time for the lunch period.  A question and answer period will be held following the performance.  The actors will
be available for any questions from the audience (“Macbeth to be given ….”  WES. 
6 Feb. 1968). 

Two of the scheduled performances of Macbeth were given as a benefit for the restoration of the St. Thomas Chapel in Middletown. “The price of admission for these performances … will include pre-theatre dinner in ‘the Curtain Call,’ the new restaurant recently constructed in the Art Gallery of the theatre” (“Macbeth to be given ….”  6 Feb. 1968).

These Macbeth performances were also used as a ‘lure’ for the subscription drive that the WFFTA (Wayside Foundation for the Arts) was holding.  Each guest was presented with a Fact Sheet that gave a brief history of the Theatre and stated that, “this evening we are attending a production of Macbeth which has been seen by approximately fifteen hundred senior high school students bussed in from fifteen schools in Virginia and nearby states” with the purpose to “inaugurate a campaign to raise audiences - - not funds” (Fact Sheet, c. 1968). 

The two principal goals for the Wayside Foundation For The Arts were:

To increase the overall number of 1968 series subscriptions of the Wayside Theatre Summer Season;  2. To overcome the inertia that keeps so many of us away from the exciting theatrical events of our area.  By committing ourselves in advance through series subscriptions we can do this, and strengthen the performing arts in the area (Fact Sheet.  c. 1968). 

The above goals were appropriate for any time period, not just 1968.  The pamphlet also listed several reasons for supporting WFFTA and the advantages for holding a season subscription to the theatre.  Ways of supporting this endeavor included writing handwritten notes, making telephone calls, and hosting “coffee hours” (Fact Sheet, c. 1968). 

The list of the many contributions that Owen Phillips made during his time as Artistic Director is long.  Much of the success of the theatre’s early years is due to his energy, imagination, and his commitment to spreading the Wayside message, not only within the community, but in the larger geographical area as well.  But, after a successful four-season tenure, Phillips stepped down, returned to Barter Theatre, and a new face appeared in Wayside’s leadership position.