Ed Steele: 1986
Like the previous few years, Information for the 1986 season found in the Theatre’s files is practically non-existent. There are no playbills, no photos, only a few newspaper clippings, and not much else. One clipping gives the titles and dates for the 25th season and quotes Steele as saying, “It’s the best season we have ever chosen.” The listing of the titles for the approaching season is combined with the announcement of Steele’s resignation. He states, “Even though I have loved every minute of it, the pressure has been there. I just want to get away and reflect for a while” (Crabill. “Ed Steel is ready ….” NVD. 23 June 1986). In assessing Steel’s seven years at the Theatre, perhaps his greatest achievement is best summed up when he states, “We’re still open. And, in the process, we have gained an identity, one which has seen the quality steadily improve” (Crabill. 23 June 1986). In the interview, it is revealed that Steele had hoped that Wayside would expand into a year-round operation. Not doing this was probably for the best, considering that it was just before Steele’s leadership that the theatre had almost closed and was only able to survive only because of the three-play season. And, if one were to look into the future, it could be surmised that, perhaps, moving into a full year schedule may have been the fatal step for Wayside a few years later.
Before the ‘official’ season began, a production of Agnes of God took place during the weekend of May 15 - 17. It was performed in front of a black curtain with a set consisting of a table and three chairs by three women who sent the audience on a “rollercoaster of emotions and revelations, and leaves you a little stunned at the end …” (Price. “ ‘Agnes’: Emotion Reigns.” TWS. 16 May 1986). Only the stage crew names indicate a connection with Wayside, making one wonder if this had been a production by the drama Department of the University of Virginia, which is credited for the costumes and properties. It is also possible that Agnes of God, along with the production of Cold Storage, that had appeared in the Spring of 1986, were performed by interns or were performances that were brought to Middletown for a two or three night run from nearby educational institutions. One person who was on staff at Wayside at that time, stated, “I think the production was done at Ed Steele’s university theatre and brought the cast to Wayside for a run” (Milton. Email: 30 May 2018). To date, no additional information has surfaced.
The season opened with Steele giving a solo performance of Bully, written by Jerome Alden and based on the life of Theodore Roosevelt. During Steele’s seven year term at Wayside, he also performed a one-man show based on the life of Mark Twain. One reporter writes that Steele “had been looking for another character from American history to develop for his repertoire. A resemblance between Roosevelt and Steele, and Steele’s affection for Roosevelt and respect for his accomplishments, led him to develop this character” (“ ‘Bully’ Opens Tonight ….” TWS. 25 June 1986). The energy and stamina needed for this 90 minute presentation is given high praise by a reviewer that credits Steele for bringing “a larger than life character into a real human being, an entire character not a collection of random characteristics.” The writer continues, “Wayside’s small stage is perfect for an intimate work like this. The effect of intimacy is increased by adding seating to the back of the stage itself so that all the action takes place between two audiences” (Quillen. “Wayside Theatre Puts on ‘Bully’ ….” DNR. 26 June 1986). This intimacy is created with “alley-like” staging with half of the audience sitting on the stage behind the actor, so that sometimes “he was speaking to them with his back turned to the main audience and vice-versa” (Price. “Although Rocky at ….” TWS. 26 June 1986)
Beginning the season with a show that used only one actor, Wayside’s next offering required only two actors. Educating Rita received a two-page spread along with photographs in the Star’s weekend supplement. There is something “refreshing about a play with intelligent, adult dialogue” wrote Price in the opening sentence of her review. She praises the actors and finds the play to be “an updated ‘Pygmalion,’ but one that, for our times, seems more believable.” She also compliments the set, a professor’s study, “with rich, mahogany-looking wall panels, book-lined shelves and fine furniture” (Price, “ ‘Educating Rita’ ….” TWS. 10 July 1986).
The Neil Simon comedy, Brighton Beach Memoirs, filled the stage with a “look at the troubles and hopes of a struggling Jewish family living in Brooklyn on the eve of World War II” (Fordney, C. “Actors Keep Acting ….” TWS. 27 July 1986). This was in direct contrast to the season’s next offering, The School for Wives of Moliere, which is the timeless and “funny tale of love, unrequited love, manipulation, and jealousy.” Price describes the elegant 17th century costumes and calls the play, “still popular because the struggle between men and women in relationships has not ended” (Price, L. “Timeless Play at Wayside.” TWS. 7 Aug. 1986).
The very funny play, The Foreigner, was next and received stellar praise from one reviewer who stated, “If you don’t see any other play this year, go see ‘The Foreigner’… I have never enjoyed theater so much” (Price. “ ‘The Foreigner’ Plays ….” TWS. 14 Aug. 1986). She singles out each actor giving them a paragraph of their own. Another writer also takes the time to comment on each cast member’s performance, concluding, “Wayside Theatre’s production takes the zany plot and hilarious characters, tosses them together with a sparkling cast, and produces comic magic” (Quillen. “Wayside’s ‘Foreigner’ Makes ….” DNR. 12 Aug. 1986).
The 1986 summer season closed with the award winning Anthony Shaffer play, Sleuth. There was a shifting in the cast and director at the last minute when an actor had to bow out. Crittle Lacy-Steele, also known as Ed Steele, stepped in as Andrew Wyke to make his final appearance as part of Wayside’s summer season, and Jeremy Caplin assumed the director’s duties. In summary, Sleuth “is a quick moving play with enough twists and turns in the plot to give you a little motion sickness” (Price. “ Wayside’s ‘Sleuth.’ “ TWS. 28 Aug. 1986).
Earlier, when Steele announced his resignation from Wayside, he expounded on his production philosophy, stating, “If there are 87 people in the cast and 11 people in the audience, something’s missing,” he explains. “It’s the box office bottom line and the desire to do ‘good, well-written plays’ ” that guided Steele when selecting a season. He feels that the people who attend Wayside productions like mysteries and comedies and that the 1986 season had been a good mix. One of the titles for the season, Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, permitted Wayside to be “the first theatre in Virginia to put on this critically acclaimed comedy” (Price, L. “Summer Stock.” TWS-Weekend).
Not long after Steele announced his resignation in October of 1986, Christopher Owens was named as his successor. Owens came to Middletown from Dallas, where he was the director of the New Arts Theatre, a professional theatre company. He had also been with the Plaza Theatre in Dallas, and as a guest director at many theatres on the west coast. Owens planned to begin his work at Wayside late in the fall. Theatre files list him as the director of the December production, Season’s Greetings, described as “a farce about everything bad that happens to a family at Christmas. It’s more of a Christmas show for adults than children” (“Wayside Announces ….” The Washington Star. 29 Oct. 1986). The all-Equity cast, consisting of actors from Washington, DC as well as Dallas, delivered a non-traditional Christmas play, described as “a breath of crisp, fresh winter air.” Price praises the strong cast who make this production a success. “There are a lot of new faces on Wayside’s stage, but their stage credits … shows this is a cast that’s been around” (Price. “ ‘Season’s Greetings’ Breaks ….” TWS. 22 Dec. 1986).
In an interview some years later, Owens recalls his first production at Wayside. He had arrived in November of 1986, in time to direct Season’s Greetings, and recalls, “It was ‘Hell.’ The boiler had broken down and wasn’t repaired until opening night. We were rehearsing with kerosene heaters” (McCarty. “Three decades of Theatre.” TWS. 20 Feb. 1991). In addition to directing the production, Owens built the set and hung the lights for this show, while his wife served as stage manager and made the costumes! (McCarty. 20 Feb. 1991). It should be mentioned that Ed Steele remained in Middletown and played the role of Harvey in this December production.
Two items of interest appeared in the press regarding the 1986 summer’s season: the Theatre received a grant from the Shenandoah Arts Council “to partially offset adverse box office effects brought about by the recent fire at the nearby Wayside Inn” (“Wayside grant.” TSVH. 7 Aug. 1986). It isn’t clear how a fire at the Inn could affect ticket sales. Nevertheless, the grant surely helped ease the Theatre’s financial issues. The other news item is a reference to Wayside returning to being an Equity theatre after a five year hiatus. Although no mention of the theatre going non-Equity has surfaced, this action most likely took place in 1981, the summer of great financial strife and the three two-actor play season. “Without an [Equity] contract, Wayside was prohibited from using many actors with stage and film experience [and used] ‘jobbers,’ professional actors who weren’t in the union …” (Price, L. “Summer Stock.” TWS-Weekend. 11 July 1986).
With the restoration to being an Equity house, professional actors could once again be employed. Wayside remained an Equity house until 2011, when it relinquished this affiliation as a means of lowering the financial obligations. During these non-Equity affiliation years, it did hire Union actors as guest artists, but usually no more than one or two per show.
Thus ends the Ed Steele years and opens the doors to the leadership of Christopher Owens.