I am going to attempt to be a regular contributor to the VTA Blog site and I thought that a short post about my first opening night might be a good place to start.

I joined the VTA/ACF as President and CEO on June 1^st, so yesterday was week three, day two – not that I’m counting! And Tuesday was the opening of the final show in our 2008-2009 Chase Broadway series – LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL. For me it was an evening of meeting lots of new people, seeing a show that I had never seen before, and generally watching the “process” of how a new theatre – new for me, at least - does things.

One of the great things about theatre, whether as a producer or a presenter, is that the process is essentially the same no matter the size of the venue, the type of theatre, or the show being presented. But the thing that is a bit different about the VTA is that there are so many elements involved in the overall evening that there is the potential for calamity at every corner. Let me explain.

We run a restaurant (Citilites) that was busy prior to the show and we were doing a large catered event in our “black box” theatre that involved production elements and event food services. And there was a fashion show as part of that event. We also run a parking garage - so that was busy. It was threatening rain which is always a problem, increasing the number of latecomers and chaos for the box office and house management. And on top of all that, the volunteers were presented with four different stuffers for the programs at the last minute. Oh, and did I mention that the Humane Society had rescue dogs in the lobby? I’m sure you get the picture:  the evening could have been a disaster if any one of these aspects of the operation had significant problems. And then on top of all of this you’ve got this slightly nervous new President wandering around, asking questions, and probably getting in the way.

I am happy to report that everything went off swimmingly.

Sometimes, the best thing a Prez can do – especially a new one – is to stay out of the way, trust that everyone knows what they are doing, and then thank everyone for making you look good! And that is exactly what I did!

Saw SHREK yesterday afternoon and NINE TO FIVE last night. Both great.

SHREK is very creative, charming and entertaining … some really fabulous songs in there - not what you would expect. Brian D’Arcy James and Sutton Foster are both utterly wonderful and charming. The costumes and sets are incredible making us wonder how it will tour. Hopefully it won’t be scaled back too much! Tina is very positive about getting the show for Dayton in the next few years.

NINE TO FIVE, on which we are a producer as part of the Independent Presenters Network, was great. I was really impressed with the trio of actresses in the leads - Allison Janney doesn’t have the strongest voice, but she has a fabulous number in the second act that was written just for her! Of course her acting is superb. The staging and choreography are the next stand out to me. Very inventive choreography, very contemporary really - the whole thing is set in the late 70s/early 80s, same time as the movie was. Mark Kudisch plays Hart and he is a good foil for the ladies, as he told us was his role in the Creative Connection panel they did for us. He spends most of the show in a Foy fly harness which he says is suprisingly comfortable. Ha! Again, Tina is eager to get this show for Dayton as soon as possible and since we are part of the investment team via IPN, that will help our ability to get it on our season sooner rather than later.

Today is all conference sessions and one more show tonight - WEST SIDE STORY. WSS is one of the titles I grew up with - listened to the movie sound track and still know all the words. Can’t wait.

- Sue Stevens

First day of the Broadway League Annual Road Conference in New York City was a busy one. Great panels and speakers on topics such as the synergy between education and marketing; current social media trends and how to apply them; diversity in the workplace; top concerns of touring Broadway presenters today; etc. Tuesday evening, Michael Roediger and I saw the Broadway revival of HAIR at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Hirschfeld Theatre). Incredible performances and all the in-your-face rebellion and passion of the 60s of the original and then some - or so my older colleagues in the League were saying at intermission. One gentleman recalled the original production and said this one was like a really great flashback. Not for the faint of heart with lots of simulated sex and drug use (of course), profanity, and even full front nudity, HAIR is packed with infectious enthusiasm. More later on what the rest of our party saw last night.

Tomorrow I’ve been asked to chime in on the subject of customer service, how you track it, how you focus on it, how you reward staff who “get it.” A subject that Victoria Theatre Association is pretty well versed in. I’ll be talking about our customer service survey on our website - check it out at the survey link in the upper right corner of the home page. I’ll also be talking about our Spotlight Awards and how we encourage and reward our staff to take the utmost care of our patrons.

Dayton native and Tony-nominated Allison Janney was one of a panel of speakers from NINE TO FIVE at a conference session Tuesday. She and her fellow cast members were joined by Dolly Parton to be interviewed with wit and style by the inimitable Liz Smith. A real treat!

- Sue Stevens

Wait Until Dark opens tonight at the Victoria Theatre, as part of the Chase Broadway Series. We’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the show’s cast:

DANIEL C. BRITT (Policeman 1) When Daniel decided to take up acting relatively late in life, his friends simply said, “What took you so long?”  He has studied at various theatre companies including Cincinnati PIP, Human Race Theatre, and Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan.  Along the way, he has performed in over 40 plays from Death of a Salesman to As You Like It at Cincinnati Shakespeare Co., New Stage Collective, Know Theatre, Mad Anthony Theatre, and many others.  Dan lives with his wife Ruth in Hamilton where they develop museum exhibits in their company, Brain Sells.

JAMIE CORDES (Sam Hendrix) Jamie is excited about this newest adventure with The Human Race Theatre.  Other HRT performances include:  Anthony in Sweeney Todd, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm in A Little Night Music, Mr. Phillips in Green Gables, multiple roles in Big River and Shenandoah, and several Musical Theatre Workshop productions.  Other regional theatre performances have included:  Maximilian in Candide with Dayton Opera, Gaston Lachaille in Gigi with Rockwell Productions, Man 1 in Oh, Coward! with Ohio Shakespeare Festival, James Livingston in a revival production of The New Yorkers with Seaside Music Theatre and Frederick Fellowes in Noises Off with Theatre on the Hill.  Jamie is a Voice Instructor in the Department of Theatre Arts at Wright State University.

BUZ DAVIS (Mike Talman) Mr. Davis just closed Mauritius at The Ensemble Theatre in Cincinnati and returns to The Human Race following last seasons turn as Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet.  Other stage credits include:  New York:  The Duke, Measure For Measure; The Thane of Ross, Makbeth (sic); Roy, Lonestar; Eddie, Fool For Love; Billy, Streamers. Regional: Hector, The History Boys; Mickey, After The Fall; Tom, Package Deal (world premiere); Lyle, The Rights (world premiere); “B”, A Slice of Buffalo, A Peace of Paris (world premiere); Tranio, The Taming of the Shrew; Charles, The School For Scandal; Bucky 2, Buckminster Fuller: In & Out of Universe (world premiere); Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein; George, Of Mice and Men; C.K. Dexter Haven, The Philadelphia Story; Weasel, T-Bone and Weasel. He was a Carnivore In Action. He has Ten Fine Toes.

GREGORY HALL (Policeman 2) Greg is a Dayton native and has been active in theatre for the past nine years. Past productions with The Human Race Theatre include understudy for Curley in Of Mice And Men, Martinez in Take Me Out, as well as two in school tours: John Steinbeck: America’s Noble Knight and Myth-Connected. He has most recently appeared with the Zoot Theatre in A Canterbury Journey at the Mathile. Other favorite roles include Giuseppe Zangara in Assassins, Billy in Silent Laughter, and Edgar Alan Poe in Nevermore.

ROBERT K. JOHANSEN (Harry Roat, Jr.) This is Rob’s first production with The Human Race, but he is no stranger here:  Rob has enjoyed watching his best friend and wife, Jen perform twice as Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet and two wonderful ghosts in last season’s, A Christmas Carol.  Rob has been a mainstay at the Indiana Repertory Theatre for thirteen seasons, appearing as Cyrano, Jim Casy in The Grapes of Wrath, Cassius in Julius Caesar, Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Banquo in MacBeth, Touchstone in As You Like It, The Librarian in the one-man show Underneath the Lintel and many others. Originally from New York, Rob received an MFA in Acting from I.U. in 1995 and has been a midwesterner ever since.

ANNIE PAUL (Susy Hendrix) Annie is excited to be back in Ohio after finishing her masters degree at The Cleveland Play House/Case Western Reserve University just a year ago.  She currently resides in New York City.  NYC credits:  Grace in Bus Stop and Olivia in Twelfth Night.  Regional theatre credits include:  Rosalind in As You Like It, Lydia in Big Love, Ellie Dunn in Heartbreak House, Kitty/Anne de Bourgh in Pride & Prejudice, Nina in The Seagull, Alexandra in The Little Foxes, Mary in The Bald Soprano.  TV credits include: Florence in The Unusuals.  Annie is a proud member of AEA.

SYDNEY ELENA SCHULTZ (Gloria) Sydney is a 7th grader at Bellbrook Middle School.  She was last seen in Epiphany Lutheran Church’s productions of Christmas in Reverse and The Wizard of Oz.  Sydney performed in Dayton Opera’s production of Turandot last fall.  She starred in Town Hall Theatre’s production of Seussical playing JoJo.  Her previous credits include The Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and The Jungle Book.  Sydney has won 1st place for best vocal performance at several local talent shows.  When she is not acting upon the stage, Sydney enjoys singing, playing the piano and French horn, and hanging out with her friends.

SCOTT STONEY (Sgt. Carlino) Count Dracula, Viva Victoria, The Boys Next Door, A Christmas Carol ’91, ‘93, The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, Sweeney Todd, Noises Off, The Odd Couple, Green Gables, Alone Together, Shenandoah and now Wait Until Dark – these shows were produced by The Human Race Theatre Company for the Victoria stage and I was fortunate enough to be involved as an actor in all of them. Thank you, Human Race, for my rich artistic life.

This week is the annual Broadway League conference in New York City - THE big industry trade show and conference for the Broadway and touring Broadway industries. Victoria Theatre Association’s Tina McPhearson and Sue Stevens are in New York (lucky them!), and they’ll be sending back reports from the conference throughout the week. And here is Sue’s first installment:

In just a few minutes, the Tony Award nominees will be announced [see the entry below for details] … I should be on Times Square to hear them live, but I got in a tad late last night.

Tina, Michael and I were at ROCK OF AGES at the Brooks Atkinson last night (which was great ’80s hair band rock fun - a bit raunchy but then so were the ’80s). The audience sure rocked out - the mainfloor was packed with Broadway League members starting off right the Annual League Road Conference. The balcony was packed with screaming Constantine Maroulis fans. He was truly great - very charming, in great voice, respectable moves.

The story centers on his character a wannabe rocker working a famous bar on the Sunset Strip in LA when German developers propose to the mayor that they tear out all the bars and strip joints to create a wholesome strip mall environment. Naturally rebellion begins … check out the website at www.rockofagesmusical.com for more.

This year’s Tony Award nominations were announced this morning. Billy Elliot, The Musical earned 15 nominations, the most of any show of the season. Billy Elliot and Mel Brooks’ The Producers are now tied for the most Tony nominations ever received by one show. Other shows that fared well include Next to Normal (11), Hair (8), Shrek the Musical (8), Mary Stuart (7), The Norman Conquests (7), God of Carnage (6) and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (6).

Read all the details at Playbill.com

The full scoop on the 2009 Michelob Ultra Cool Films Series is now online - Click Here for all the details!