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Grantors

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Sponsors

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Special Thanks

Donors

Mill Mountain Theatre would like to thank the generous gifts from our Donors. We would not be here without you!

Donors

Standing Ovations 2022
Gifts of $5,000 and more

The Honorable and Mrs. G. Steven Agee *

Avis Construction Company, Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. Jason E. Bingham *

Boxley Materials Company

Carilion Clinic

Ceres Foundation Inc.

Roanoke Arts Commission

Commonwealth of Virginia, Rebuild Virginia CARES grant

Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia

Davis H. Elliot Company, Inc.

Freedom First Federal Credit Union

The Sam & Marion Golden Helping Hand Foundation, Inc.

The Huntly Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Shields Jarrett *

Jewell Machinery

The Louise R. Lester Foundation

W. E. McGuire Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Kathryn B McQuade Foundation *

Pinnacle Financial Partners

Roanoke Women's Foundation

The Honorable and Mrs. Frank W. Rogers, III *

Skyline National Bank

Edgar Thurman Foundation For Children

U.S. Small Business Administration, Pandemic Economic Stimulus grants

Virginia Commission for the Arts

Producers 2022
Gifts of $2,500 to $4,999

Brandon Oaks Retirement Community

Center in the Square

Davenport & Company LLC

Mrs. Anne G. Downing

Ms. Sarah Copenhaver and Mr. G. Franklin Flippin, Esq.

Mr. & Mrs. W. Heywood Fralin Sr.

Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Garbee *

Gentry Locke Attorneys

The Glebe

Dr. Anthony-Samuel LaMantia Ph.D. *

Mr. & Mrs. G. John Levin, Jr.

Member One Federal Credit Union

Mr. & Mrs. G. Marshall Mundy

Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op

The Roanoke Star

Marsh & McLennan Agency

Truist Bank

Mrs. Mary Meade G. Winn

Stars 2022
Gifts of $1,000 to $2,499

American National Bank & Trust Company

Anonymous donors to Mill Mountain Theatre

Anstey Hodge Advertising Group

ARD Properties LLC

Mr. and Mrs. John T. Avis *

Mr. and Mrs. L. Scott Avis

Better Sofas, Inc

Dr. Nathaniel L. Bishop *

Mr. and Mrs. Abney S. Boxley, III *

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Brock, Jr.

Business Solutions

The Candy Store

Mr. and Mrs. George B. Cartledge, Jr.

City of Salem

Claytor-Wirt Associates

Cox Communications Charities

Mr. and Mrs. Warner Dalhouse

Dixon, Hubard, Feinour, & Brown Inc.

Dominion Risk Advisors, LLC

Dunkenberger-Waskey Group at Morgan Stanley

Elk Hill Advisors, Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. William D. Elliot

Entre Computer Center

Mrs. Sibyl N. Fishburn

5 Points Creative

Frith, Anderson & Peake, P.C.

Dr. Gary E. Glontz

Ms. Nancy O. Gray and Mr. David N. Maxson *

Dr. Robyn Hakanson and Mr. Erik Moledor *

Mr. Harry W. Hamilton, III

Mr. and Mrs. John Higginbotham

Howell's Motor Freight, Inc.

Innovative Insurance Group

Mr. and Mrs. Howard Jones, Jr.

Kiwanis Club of Roanoke

Mr. and Mrs. Mark S. Lawrence *

Dr. and Mrs. Lee Learman *

Mr. and Mrs. Sam Lionberger, III

Mr. and Mrs. Charles I. Lunsford, II

Lunsford, A Trustpoint Company

Miller, Long & Associates, Inc.

Mr. and Mrs. Harry G. Norris

Oakey's Funeral Service & Crematory

Ms. Yvonne Olson

Ms. Nancy R. Patterson *

Mr. and Mrs. William N. Powell

Punch Boutique

Mrs. Carolyn W. Rakes

Roanoke Animal Hospital

Roanoke Gas Company - RGC Resources, Inc.

Roanoke Valley Orthodontics

Mr. and Dr. John G. Rocovich, Jr. *

Frank W. (Bo) Rogers, Jr. Fund

Rosie's Gaming Emporium

Ms. Rachel Sailer and Mr. Peter Barber

Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Smith *

Dr. and Mrs. Donald G. Smith, Jr.

Steel Dynamics Roanoke Bar Division

Mr. Maury L. Strauss

Ms. Lesleigh B. Strauss

Sun Tan City

Mr. and Mrs. Joel Tenzer *

Dr. Bruce R. Thomas and Ms. Linda Bowden

Dr. and Mrs. John T. Tielking

Mr. and Mrs. Raphael M. Traen

Will Trinkle and Juan Granados *

Mr. Charles J. Wehrmeister *

Mr. and Mrs. Barton J. Wilner

Woods Rogers PLC

Leading Roles 2022
Gifts of $500 to $999

Ms. Cathy Acri

Reverend and Mrs. George C. Anderson *

Mr. & Mrs. D. James Bailey III

Mr. and Mrs. W. Chan Bolling *

Mr. and Mrs. J. Keith Bown

Ms. Dorothy S. Clifton and Dr. Lou Singer

Connexions Professional Services

Mr. & Mrs. Grimes W. Creasy

Dr. and Mrs. Antonio T. Donato

Dr. and Mrs. F. Joseph Duckwall

First Citizens Bank

The Honorable and Mrs. Robert W. Goodlatte

Mr. and Mrs. Will Griffeth

Mrs. Robert Jaeger

Dr. and Mrs. David A. Kinsler

Laurence Kufel *

Mr. and Mrs. William L. Lee

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel B. Long

Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds G. Lynch lll *

Dr. Elizabeth Rice Martin and Mr. Eddie Martin *

Mast General Store, Inc.

Dr. and Mrs. G. A. McClellan

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip McKeage *

Mr. and Mrs. Robert McMican

Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Meidlinger

Ms. Donna L. Mitchell

The Newbern Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Paul W. Nordt, III *

Mr. & Mrs. J. Lee Osborne *

P1 Technologies, Inc.

Capt. and Mrs. Gary S. Powers *

Mrs. B. J. Preas *

Dr. Randall R. Rhea

Mr. and Mrs. Paul C. Timmermann

Mr. and Mrs. Raphael M. Traen

Ms. Vicki Turner

Ms. Yvette Van Hise

Mr. and Mrs. Joe H. Vaughn

Mr. and Mrs. Rudy Vietmeier

Wabtec Graham-White

Mr. and Mrs. Byron L. Yost

Scene Stealers 2022
Gifts of $1 to $249

Ms. Kailey Absher

Mr. and Mrs. Carl D. Akers

Mr. and Mrs. David K. Allen *

AmazonSmile Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Don H. Andree

Mr. and Mrs. Briggs W. Andrews

Ms. Sharon Angle

Mr. Andrew S. Arbury, III

Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Ashwell

Anne T. Avis

Ms. Brenda Ayers

Ms. Bettie Baber

E R Bane Trust

Mr. & Mrs. D. Stan Barnhill

Dr. and Mrs. Vincent T. Basile

Ms. Ashleigh Bayer

Mrs. Ruth G. Babylon

Ms. Kathy Bibb

Ms. Mary H. Bivens

Mr. Norman Blanchard

Ms. Joellen K. Bland

Ms. Cynthia Blevins

Ms. Leanna Blevins

Dr. and Mrs. John Bouldin

Ms. Nancy A. Bourne

Mr. Alexander Bowman, Jr.

Ms. Amanda Bozack

Mr. and Mrs. John P. Bradshaw Jr.

Ms. Michelle Brandt

Ms. Henriette B. Brooks

Ms. Stephanie Bryant

Ms. HelenRuth Burch

Mr. and Mrs. Chris Bush

Mr. Andrew Callahan

Capt. Anne Cannon

Mr. and Mrs. John P. Carlin

Mr. Zachary Carney

Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Carroll

Mr. and Mrs. Reed Carter

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Cates

Ms. Gloria Cauley

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Celin

Mr. and Mrs. Jerry W. Cheadle

Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Childress

Mr. & Mrs. W. R. Clemmer, Jr.

Mr. William Colbert

Carl E. Coleman Family Trust

Mr. and Mrs. W. Patton Coles, IV *

Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Conner

Mrs. Mary Ann Conrad

Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas C. Conte

Mr. John Cornthwait

Mr. and Mrs. James G. Cosby

Frankie Courtemanche

Mr. & Mrs. Grimes W. Creasy

Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Cribbs

Mr. Mark Culbreth

Mr. and Mrs. Declan F. Daly

Mr. & Mrs. H. Lawrence Davidson

Ms. Michelle Davis

Ms. Elizabeth G. Deisher

Kelly Derrick

Ms. Stacy Deyerle

Mrs. Barbara M. Dickinson

Dr. Elizabeth H. Duckworth & Mr. John M. Duckworth

Ms. Jeanne M. Duddy

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Dunkenberger, Sr.

Ms. Kathy Dupont

Ms. Patricia Ebbett

Mr. Charles L. Echols Jr.

Ms. Melvina Edwards

Ms. Christina Englehart

Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. English

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Ewart, Jr.

Ms. Kelly T. Farber

Ms. Emily Farmer

Ms. Janet Faulkner

Mr. and Mrs. Gregory W. Feldmann *

Ms. Victoria Ferris

Mr. Eric E. Fitzpatrick

Mr. and Mrs. Juergen F. Fleck

Mr. and Mrs. John R. Francis, Jr.

Ms. Gail Godsey

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence A. Goldstein

Mr. Mark Goodes

Dr. James J. Gooding

Mr. Glen Graye

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Greear

Dr. and Mrs. Frank Guilfoyle

Mr. James E. Hall, Jr.

Dr. & Mrs. Geoffrey Harter

Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Harvey

Dr. & Mrs. J. Bruce Hauser

Ms. Katherine Havener

Mr. and Mrs. Walker B. Healy Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Hess

Ms. Jessica Hilbish

Mr. and Mrs. Frank F. Hill, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Hite, III

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph M. Hoff

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel E. Holdgreve

Macel Holloway

Ms. Donna B Horak

Mr. Chris Howard

HHHUNT Homes Richmond

Ms. Carin Hunt

Dr. and Mrs. Alvin J. Hurt

IBM International Foundation

Mr Richard L Ikenberry

Mr. and Mrs. John Jackson

Mr. Edward F. Jennings Jr.

Ms. Sarah Jernigan-Tompkins

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Jewell

Marcia and Lewis Johnson

Mr. and Mrs. Pegram Johnson, III

Drs. James and Janet Johnson

Ms. Erma L. Jones

Mr. Pedro Martin Jose Juan

Mrs. Ann M. Journell

Mrs. J. Robert Justice

Mr. and Mrs. William K. Keesee

Mr. Matthew Kelley

Mr. and Mrs. Herman D. Kemp, Jr.

Ms. Victoria Kessler

Mr. Joshua Kier

Mr. and Mrs. Rich Kirchhoff

Ms. Shoshana Knapp

Mr. and Mrs. Alton L. Knighton, Jr.

Kroger

Dr. and Mrs. Arthur A. Kunkle

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kurshan

Mrs. Susan P. Lancaster

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth C. Laughon

Mr. Terry Lauver

Mr. and Dr. Todd A. Leeson

Mr. and Mrs. Anthony F. Lefkowicz

Ms. Zoe Manoukian

Ms. Tara A. Marciniak

Ms. Jane Markson

Mr. Gene H. Marrano

Mr. Robert Martin

Ms. Lee B. McBride and Ms. Katherine M. Rakes

Mr. Norman Foggin and Mrs. Kathryn McCathern

Debra McClure

Dr. and Mrs. Maston R. McCorkle, Jr.

Mr. W. D. McCoy

Mr. and Mrs. Douglas McLaughlin

Mr. and Mrs. John G. McLeod

Ms. Amber McLoney

Mr. and Mrs. John D. McMillen

Ms. Bette McNamara

Ms. Melissa Merritt

Mr. Thomas Mesner and Ms. Jeanne Larsen

Mr. and Mrs. David Moledor

Ms. Connie Jo Montz

Ms. Pamela Morgan

Leslie J. Morrissett and Rebecca F. Morrissett

Ms Katherine Mortara

Mr. Marcus B. Moses

Mr. and Mrs. Allan Mower

Ms. Suzana Muller

Ms. Bethany Murphy

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Myers

Richard Nance

Ms. Jacquelyn Nasca

Ms. Carmen Neal

Ms. Rhonda Neely

Theresa Ruth Neilsen-Steinhardt

Network For Good

Mr. and Mrs. John Nicklo

Dr. and Mrs. James R. Niederlehner

Mr. and Mrs. Robert O. Nordt, Sr.

Mr. & Mrs. George W. Norton

Ms. Rachel Nunez

Amanda O'dell

Mrs. Phyllis A. Olin

The Rev. and Dr. David Olson

Mr. Patrick J. O'Reilly

Dr. and Mrs. Ronald B. Overstreet

Mr. and Mrs. Steve Padis

Ms Melissa Palmer

Mr. & Mrs. John C. Parrott, II

Mr. Jeffrey Pasciak

Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Pasternak

Dr. and Mrs. John W. Pendleton

Mrs. Ashley Pennington-Tripp

Ms. Joan K. Petrus

Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Pooley

Mr. and Mrs. John Powell

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Pratt

Dianne & Nick Prout

Mr. Mauricio Ramos

Jacqueline Rearick

Dr. and Mrs. Wayne G. Reilly

Mr. Ian Ridgway

Mr. William Riedy

Mr. and Mrs. Chris Rigsby

Mr. and Mrs. James A. Robertson

Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Rottkamp

Mr. Carl Milton Rowan

Mr. James Royalty

Mrs. Charles B. Ryan

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald J. Sailer

Mr. Connor Savage

Ms. Sharon Schwind

Ms. P. Annie Seago

Ms. Sally A. Seagraves

James C. Sears, Ed.D.

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick N. Shaffner *

Ms. Katherine Shaver

Mr. and Mrs. Barry L. Shelor

Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Silverman

Mrs. Gene H. Smallwood

Ms. Diane T. Smith

John H. Smithey, Jr.

Ms. Mary J. Snedegar

Ms. Ann Marie Soltis

Ms. Melanie Starks

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce C. Stockburger, Esq.

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur P. Strickland

Mr. Robert Stutes

Ms. Leila Summo

Ms. Angela Swain

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Swanson

Mr. and Mrs. William B. Symonds

Ms. Anne T. Tiffany

Mr. and Mrs. David Todd

Ms. Ann Penny Tully

Mr. and Mrs. Zachary Vernon

Mrs. and Mr. Jane I. Wallace

Mr. Jason Walsh

Mr. & Mrs. J. Robert Walton

Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy R. Ward

Mr. and Mrs. Lilburn E. Ward, III

Ms. Tiffany Waters

Ms. Maureen Watson

Hugh and Jaye Harvey Wellons

Ms. Virginia West

Ms. Judy West

Mr. Roy Westmoreland

Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Whaley

Mr. and Mrs. Damon W. White

Mr. and Mrs. James Whitney

Mrs. Pamela H. Wiegandt

Ms. Deborah Wilhelm

Ms. Kimberly Williamson

Mr. and Mrs. Jerry W. Willis

Mr. and Mrs. J. David Wine

Ms. Edna Wood

Ms. Savannah Woodruff

Mr. Trenten Woods

Mrs. Lee H. Woody

Ms. Vella Wright

Mr. and Mrs. Keith F. Young

VIPs 2022
Gifts of $250 to $499

Mr. and Mrs. Carlton W. Alcorn

Mrs. Lynn D. Avis

Ms. Hazel Bernard

Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Brailsford

Ms. Helen A. Burnett

Mr. and Mrs. Russel M. Danstrom

The Rev. Dr. and Mrs. David Dixon, III

Mr. Paul A. Economy and Mr. Randy Craver

Mrs. Lauren Ellerman *

Mrs. Marianne E. Gandee *

Dr. and Mrs. Charles D. Gilliland

Dr. & Mrs. J. Bruce Hagadorn

Donna Hancock

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Janoschka *

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Jernigan Jr.

Robyn and David Johnsen

Mr. and Mrs. James F. Johnson

Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Keely

Mr. Talfourd H. Kemper

Anna and Tom Lawson

Mr. and Mrs. Kirk A. Ludwig

Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Machado

Ms. Martha L. Martin

Dr. Suzan R. and Dr. John R. Merten

Paul and Robert Metz

Mr. Bob Mills

Ms. Leisa Mundy

The Muse Family Foundation *

Mr. and Mrs. Steven L. Nash

Dr. and Dr. Michael S. Nussbaum

Mr. and Mrs. Mike O'Brochta

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis J. Pillis

Mr. Dale Rakes

Ms. Mary L. Sailer

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Shaver

Mr. and Mrs. James D. Sheahan

Mr. and Mrs. Barry L. Shelor

Janet M. Siems

Dr. and Mrs. Bertram Spetzler

Dr. and Mrs. Brian A. Torre

Mr. and Mrs. John P. Whittle

Mr. & Mrs. W. Lee Wilhelm, III

Mr. Adam Williams

Mr. and Mrs. Scott W. Winter

Meet Our Donors

Tributes

Mill Mountain Theatre is honored to acknowledge gifts made in tribute or memory of special friends. To make such a gift please contact John Levin at (540) 342-5761 or development@millmountain.org.

Tributes

In honor of Nancy Agee and on her birthday by Dr. Nathaniel L. Bishop

In special commemoration of Ginger Poole Avis and Jack Avis being honored at the 2022 Multiple Sclerosis Society Dinner of Champions by current and former presidents of Mill Mountain Theatre’s Board of Directors including: David Allen, Nancy Gray, Macel Janoschka, John Jessee, Cynthia Lawrence and Will Trinkle, and by Ginny Jarrett

In honor of Ginger Poole Avis by Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas C. Conte, by Ms. Melvina Edwards, by Nancy Gray and by Macel and Stephen Janoschka

In honor of Jack Avis by Ginger Poole Avis

In memory of Jim Ayers by James C. Sears, Ed D

In memory of Willeyne McCune Clemens, Dorothy Meyer Hannaford and Sam Zulis by Nancy Ruth Patterson

In memory of Tracy D’Souza by Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Rottkamp

In memory of Becky Gilbert by Paul and Robert Metz

In honor of Mary Hubbard by Macel and Stephen Janoschka

In honor of Randall Hubbard by Macel and Stephen Janoschka

In memory of Timothy A. Kelly by Talfourd H. Kemper; by Mr. and Mrs. Charles I. Lunsford, II; by Mr. W. D. McCoy; by Mr. and Mrs. John G. McLeod; by Mr. and Mrs. Paul W. Nordt, III; by Mr. and Mrs. William N. Powell, and by Mr. and Mrs. James A. Robertson

In honor of the MMT Team by Ms. Edna Wood

In honor of Tuillo Brenna O’Reilly by Mr. Patrick J. O’Reilly

In honor of Nancy Ruth Patterson by Mr. and Mrs. Walker B. Healy, Jr.

In honor of B.J. Preas by Mr. and Mrs. Jerry W. Cheadle

In memory of Charles Ruff, Jr. by Mr. and Mrs. Gregory W. Feldmann

In honor of Maury Lee Strauss by Ms. Lesleigh B. Strauss

In memory of Crystal Lynn Van Hise by Mrs. Yvette Van Hise

In honor of Susan Williams by Mr. Adam Williams

Our Tributes

Performers

(in alphabetical order)

Ben Armstrong

*

Chad Danforth

Maud Artur

*

Mongo

Leah Bouldin

*

Ms. Darbus

Emma Harvey

*

Kelsi Neilson/Ms. Tenny

Calan Johnson

*

Zeke Baylor

Elise LeGault

*

Gabriella Montez

Sylvia MacNab

*

Jackie Scott

Will McLoney

*

Jock/Kratnoff

Charles Meidlinger

*

Troy Bolton

Caroline Moledor

*

Sharpay Evans

Emily Mower

*

Cyndra

Jadyn Rhodes

*

Taylor McKessie

William Richardson

*

Ryan Evans/Coach Bolton

Ruby Spence

*

Martha Cox/Moderator

Isla Whittle

*

Ripper

Brynne Wiegard

*

Cathy

Elliott Wiegard

*

Susan

Setting

East High School
There will be no intermission.

Songs & Scenes

Act I
“Wildcat Cheer”
Company
“Start of Something New”
Troy, Gabriella, Company
“Get’cha Head in the Game”
Troy, Jocks
“Get’cha (Playoff) into the Lab”
Troy, Jocks
Auditions (Bop to the Top/What I’ve…)”
Thespians, Mrs. Darbus
“What I’ve Been Looking For”
Ryan, Sharpay
“What I’ve Been Looking For (Reprise)”
Troy, Gabriella
“Stick to the Status Quo"
Company
“Counting on You”
Jocks, Brainiacs
“When There Was Me and You”
Gabriella, Troy
“We’re All in This Together”
Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, Jocks, Brains
“Bop to the Top”
Sharpay, Ryan, Brains, Jocks
“Breaking Free”
Troy, Gabriella, Company
“We’re All in This Together (Reprise)”
Company
“High School Musical Megamix”
Company

*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Actors’ Equity Association (“Equity”), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 actors and stage managers, Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors’ Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an International organization of performing arts unions. www.actorsequity.org

Production Staff

Producing Artistic Director
Ginger Poole
Director
Victoria Buck
Choreographer
Josh Polk
Music Director
‍Seth Davis
Director of Production/Props Master
Matt Shields
Assistant Music Director
Caroline Moledor
Scenic Designer
Jimmy Ray Ward
Lighting Designer
Addie Pawlick
Sound Designer
Savannah Woodruff
Costume Designer
Jessica Gaffney
Production Stage Manager‍
Erin Alexis Markham
Assistant Stage Managers
Henry Stevens Spencer Wade
Carpenters
Drew Callahan‍ Trenten Woods‍ Thomas Costello
Spot Operators
Drew Callahan‍ James Moledor
Wardrobe
Abby Cronise‍
Production Photography
Ian Ridgway‍ Skylar Gay‍ Richard Maddox

Venue Staff

School Administration Staff

Producing Artistic Director
Ginger Poole
Director of Development
John Levin
Business Manager
Larry Kufel
Director of Education
Victoria Buck
Production Manager/Props/Scenic Designer
Matt Shields
Creative Director of Public Relations
Ian Ridgway
Resident Musical Director
Seth Davis
ATD/Lighting & Sound Supervisor
Savannah Woodruff
Education Associate & Community Engagement Coordinator
Francesca Reilly
Teaching Artist
Josh Polk
Spot Operators‍
Drew Callahan Trenten Woods

Musicians

No items found.

Board of Directors

President

Macel H. Janoschka

Vice President

J. Lee E. Osborne

Treasurer

Lori D. Cauley

Secretary

Nathaniel L. Bishop

Board Members

David K. Allen, Lauren Ellerman, Linda Garbee, Nancy O. Gray, Dr. Robyn Hakanson, Laurence E. Kufel, Dr. Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, Cynthia Lawrence, William L. Lee, Reynolds Lynch III, Dr. Elizabeth Rice Martin, Laura McKeage, Nancy Ruth Patterson, Gary S. Powers, Doris Rogers, Edward M. Smith, Judy Tenzer, Will Trinkle, Maxwell Huddleston Wiegard

Student Advisory Board

Letter from the Director

High School Musical is one of those shows that has consistently surprised me. When the original movie came out years and years ago and the students in my school were obsessing over it, I could not for the life of me understand why (because, obviously, like any self-respecting teenager, I was way too cool at the time to follow the trends of the other kids). But then, as is only natural, I fell prey to classic teen peer pressure, and I finally watched it with my friends - and immediately became one of those students who knew all the songs and sang them on every field trip and road trip with anyone else who would sing along. Through the years I have now seen that same movie become more movies, a TV series, and even the musical that you all are going to see with this production. After a while, though, as is only natural with "too much of a good thing," (or with aging, whichever comes first), myself and my friends began to lose interest in High School Musical in spite of its continuing popularity, and I actually never saw any of the movie sequels, the TV series, or the musical (until my work at MMT, of course). I did, however, keep wondering how something so simple and potentially silly from my own middle and high school days could keep gaining popularity. I never could have imagined teaching students who would love the show and all of its related content as much as the students in my school did when it first came out (and possibly more), and yet they do. So then, like any good scholar (and more realistically any good director), it became my responsibility to understand why the show was still so popular, and to find some way to revivify my own enjoyment in it before I had to work on it for a month straight. I began thinking initially about the more superficial layers of the show: the catchy songs that get stuck in your head, the kooky characters with their tropes; and then the deeper layers: the incomparable angst and insecurity of the teenage years that still linger with many of us as adults, the sweet lessons about chasing your dreams and being confident in who you are, demonstrating kindness towards others and supporting those you love even if you don't always understand what they're going through - all of the lessons and ideas that the world so desperately needs to learn and consider in today's circumstances - and all seen through the eyes of the students who are likely wrestling with things the most of all of us right now and who most find themselves represented in the lives of these characters. It's beautiful, to say the least, and I don't know how I could have ever ignored or dismissed it as silly or trite. I suppose I just forget how much I needed it. One of my former colleagues pointed out to me that High School Musical is actually just an updated version of Grease, which I had surprisingly never thought about. And in a lot of ways I would agree and say yes, High School Musical is today's Grease - at least the best parts of Grease - but it is also so much more than that. High School Musical is written for the high schooler in all of us - the one who never left, the one who may not yet exist - the one who needs to hear that no matter where or who or what they are today, that they are enough, that they are loved, and that they belong in this world and have their own special place in it no matter what, now and forever. And if that isn't the affirmation that everyone needs to see played out on stage in the summer of 2022, I don't know what is.

Cast
Creatives

Meet the Cast

Ben Armstrong

*

Chad Danforth
(
)
Pronouns:
He/him

Ben Armstrong is a rising junior. His favorite credits include: Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Prince Topher) Addams Family (Lucas Beineke) Junie B. Jones: The Musical (Herb) Mary Poppins Jr. (Bert) At Virginia Children’s Theatre. As well as: You’re a good man, Charlie Brown (Schroder)  And, The little mermaid (Flounder) At P&HCC. Ben is a member of Youth Professional Ensemble at VCT and Dance Conservatory here at MMT. This summer Ben had the opportunity to go to NYC and study with Broadway stars and Veterans at BroadwayEvolded’s summer intensive. Ben would like to thank his mom, the cast, and the entire Mill Mountain Theatre staff for their continued love and support.

Maud Artur

*

Mongo
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

She is French and she is the correspondent of Elise Legault. She comes to spend a month in the United States for her holidays, to learn the language and to enrich herself with American culture.

Leah Bouldin

*

Ms. Darbus
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

Leah Bouldin is a rising junior excited to return for her third MMT production. She most recently appeared in MMT's As You Like It as Jacques.  This performance of High School Musical will be her musical theater debut, and she is so thankful to the Mill Mountain family for allowing her this opportunity. She would also like to thank her parents for their love and support, and her brother for inspiring her love for the arts. She hopes you have as much fun watching this production as she did performing it.

Emma Harvey

*

Kelsi Neilson/Ms. Tenny
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

Emma Harvey (Kelsi Neilson / Ms. Tenny) is thrilled to be returning to the Trinkle Mainstage for High School Musical!  Emma is a rising sophomore at Blacksburg High School, where she is a member of the Madrigal Singers.  Favorite credits include The Sound of Music with Mill Mountain Theatre and Cinderella, The Addams Family, and Annie with Virginia Children’s Theatre.  She is a member of MMT’s Conservatory Company and studies voice with Nancy Jones (Tempo Studio) and ballet with Jodie Wall (New River Academy of Dance).  When not onstage, she enjoys playing any stringed instrument she can get her hands on, reading, writing, and hanging out with friends.  She would like to thank the staff at MMT for this opportunity and her friends, family, and (most especially) her cat Ginny for their unwavering support!

Calan Johnson

*

Zeke Baylor
(
)
Pronouns:
he/him

Calan Johnson is thrilled to be back on the MMT stage and is so thankful for this opportunity.  Calan is a rising 7th grader at James Madison Middle School. He loves Star Wars, Stranger Things, and musical theatre. Recent shows include:  Aladdin Jr. (Aladdin) and Matilda Jr. (Bruce) at RCPS/JMMS. A Christmas Story (Ralphie) at Mill Mountain Theatre and The Addam’s Family (Pugsley) at Virginia Children’s Theatre. Thank you to friends, family and the cast/crew/creative team of MMT - we’re all in this together!

Elise LeGault

*

Gabriella Montez
(
)
Pronouns:
She/her

Elise LeGault is a rising senior at Cave Spring High School. She is thrilled and honored to be able to perform with such a wonderful cast and is excited to see how live theater will continue to grow after the pandemic. Elise has been performing for over 8 years and has participated in the acting, musical theater, and dance conservatories at Mill Mountain Theatre throughout high school. She would like to thank her friends and mentors for their continued support of her passion for the arts. Special thanks to the crew, teachers, and directors at Mill Mountain Theatre for the endless opportunities they have provided. Glory be to God!

Sylvia MacNab

*

Jackie Scott
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

Sylvia MacNab is a junior at Blacksburg High School. She is excited to be returning to Mill Mountain Theatre. Favorite credits include: Fun Home (Small Alison), The Sound of Music (Brigitta), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena), Beauty and the Beast (Chip), The Music Man (Amaryllis), The Christmas Cup (Brenda), and Willy Wonka Jr. (Charlie). She would like to thank her friends and family for all of their support and encouragement. Enjoy the show!

Will McLoney

*

Jock/Kratnoff
(
)
Pronouns:

Will is thrilled to join MMT’s Conservatory Company and is so excited to perform in High School Musical! Will is a rising 8th grader. Recent performances with MMT include As You Like It as Oliver/Martext and A Christmas Story as Scut Farkus/Black Bart. Other roles this year include Cecco the pirate in Peter Pan Jr. (VCT) and Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid Jr (Cave Spring Middle School). Past roles include Munchkin Barrister (OZ), George Banks (Mary Poppins Jr.), Friedrich Von Trapp (The Sound of Music), and Little Boy Blue (Babes in Toyland). Will enjoys singing and plays piano, trumpet, and French horn. He would like to thank his voice and acting teacher, Michelle Cha, as well as Victoria, Tiffany, and Seth at MMT for all their support and encouragement. He hopes you enjoy the show!

Charles Meidlinger

*

Troy Bolton
(
)
Pronouns:
he/him

Charles Meidlinger is beyond stoked to be a part of MMT's High School Musical! He will be attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to study drama in the fall. Favorite credits include: Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet, George in The Drowsy Chaperone, and Joseph Pulitzer in Newsies. Many thanks to the cast and crew for a great final production here as a student. Enjoy the show!

Caroline Moledor

*

Sharpay Evans
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

Caroline Moledor is a high school senior who is so thankful to be performing in her 14th production with MMT! Some of her favorite credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena), The Tempest (Miranda), The Sound of Music (Louisa), The Little Mermaid Jr. (Chef Louis), A Christmas Story (Helen Weathers), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Katie/Mrs. Van Tassle), Shrek the Musical TYA (Pig #2), and Let’s Go to the Movies. She has also been a member of MMT’s Music Theatre Conservatory for 4 over years, and is a 4-time winner of MMT’s Write Stuff! young playwrights’ festival. When not performing onstage, Caroline enjoys writing and producing music. She would like to dedicate this performance to her brother James.

Emily Mower

*

Cyndra
(
)
Pronouns:

Emily is excited to perform on the Trinkle MainStage again after appearing in MMT’s A Christmas Story (Helen Weathers). Recent shows include Peter Pan Jr.  (Tiger Lily) and Annie Jr. (Annie). Emily has been dancing with Valley Dance Productions for many years and takes voice lessons from Susan Lewis Music Studio.  She is a rising 7th grader at Roanoke Catholic School. In her spare time, Emily enjoys Scouting, horseback riding, wakeboarding and reading graphic novels.  A special thank you to the MMT staff for always providing such great opportunities. Go Wildcats!

Jadyn Rhodes

*

Taylor McKessie
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

Jadyn Rhodes will be a junior at William Fleming High School in Fall 2022.  She has been doing theatre for 5 years. She has been seen previously seen in Peter Pan, Willy Wonka, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scrooge, and the One Act Play That Goes Wrong. Her knack for performing arts is not isolated to drama, Jadyn has also been involved in choir and dance for numerous years.  She attributes her love for performing arts to her involvement with her church youth group that led to performances at the Roanoke Civic Center and Jefferson Center with Kimoyo ltd., the UBU awards, and with the Quest Academy. Lastly, Jadyn would like to thank her family for encouraging her to follow her dreams.

William Richardson

*

Ryan Evans/Coach Bolton
(
)
Pronouns:

William is an upcoming sophomore at Cave Spring High School who has been performing since around the age of 8 years old. He spends his time playing video games, Singing, Acting, Dancing, and spending time with his friends. Performing is one of his favorite things to do. Some of his most recent credits include Burton’s Center of Performing Arts Godspell (We Beseech Thee Soloist), CSHS/HVHS’s Into The Woods (Cinderella’s Prince), and CSMS Frozen Jr. (Olaf). He can’t wait to make a bigger and better comeback in the following years!

Ruby Spence

*

Martha Cox/Moderator
(
Gabriella Montez Understudy
)
Pronouns:

Ruby is thrilled to be part of another show with MMT! Other than theater work, Ruby's hobbies include crocheting, writing songs, and going on bike rides. She would like to thank all staff and cast for not only making a great show, but for helping her feel included. She is eternally grateful for the support of her (very enthusiastic) friends and family.

Isla Whittle

*

Ripper
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

Isla is a rising 7th grader who was in her school's production of Matilda Jr. & caught the acting bug!  During the school year she plays travel soccer and school volleyball. She's excited to join MMT this summer.

Brynne Wiegard

*

Cathy
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

Brynne Wiegard, 7th grader at James Madison, is thrilled to be cast in High School Musical for Mill Mountain Theatre! She has previously acted in Willy Wonka Junior for MMT and Annie, Matilda, Jack and the Wonderbeans, Songs of the Past, Oz the musical, and Cinderella for Virginia Children’s Theatre. Brynne recently started as the title character in Matilda for James Madison Middle. Brynne loves musical theatre, lacrosse, basketball, running and creating art from river glass. She is grateful for the love and support from her family and friends.

Elliott Wiegard

*

Susan
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

Elliott is very excited to be performing again for Mill Mountain Theatre this summer. Elliott was previously in Willy Wonka Junior. Elliott has been performing for the Southwest Virginia Ballet company since 2019 and has taken dance since she was three. Most recently Elliott starred as Lavender in James Madison Middle’s Matilda Junior. She would like to thank her family and friends for their support and the wonderful directors and choreographers of High School Musical.

Meet the Team

Victoria Buck

*

Director
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

Victoria is originally from Columbus, Georgia, where she spent her childhood acting, singing, and dancing in local theaters and studios. After graduating from high school, her passion for the performing arts and education led her to Greenville, South Carolina, where she received her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Theatre Arts from Furman University, and then on to Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia, where she received both her Master of Letters (MLitt) and her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Shakespeare & Performance. In her time as an artist, Victoria has worked primarily as an educator and actor, serving several theaters in Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia, including the Springer Opera House, the Warehouse Theatre, and the American Shakespeare Center. Currently, Victoria resides in Roanoke, Virginia, where she works as the full-time Director of Education for Mill Mountain Theatre, a Visiting Lecturer in Theatre at Hollins University, an actor, a guest artist, and a private acting coach. She is so grateful for all of the wonderful students and colleagues she gets to work with!

Josh Polk

*

Choreographer
(
)
Pronouns:
he/him

Josh is a performer, educator, and musician currently based in Virginia. You may remember him from his days as a conservatory student, but he recently completed his B.A. in Musical Theatre at JMU. Some of his favorite onstage credits include Musidorus in Head Over Heels and Antonio in 12th Night the Musical. Offstage, he has had experience directing, music directing, and costume designing. As a teaching artist, Josh values collaboration and is committed to empowering all of his students. He is incredibly excited to be returning to MMT as a member of the education team and cannot wait to get started!

Jessica Gaffney

*

Costume Designer
(
)
Pronouns:
She/her

Jessica Gaffney (Costume Designer) earned her Master of Fine Arts in costume and scenery design at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ms. Gaffney has designed costumes for over seventy-five theatrical productions for a variety of Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and Regional Theatre companies.  Favorite Mill Mountain Theatre credits include Costume Design for Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. and A Christmas Story. In addition to theatre Ms. Gaffney has designed costumes and scenery for several award-winning film projects, having most recently designed the video "Decades of Fashion" for Reeds Jewelers.

Addie Pawlick

*

Lighting Designer
(
)
Pronouns:
she/her

With an MFA in lighting design from the University of Houston, Addie has designed at several theatres in the Houston area including A.D. Players, Rec Room, and The Landing Theatre. While Addie currently calls West Palm Beach Florida home, she is a Virginia native and received her undergraduate degree from Radford University. Some of her favorite credits from various theatres include: The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, Dear Charlotte, Pass Over, and Stuart Little the Musical.

Matt Shields

*

Technical Director & Props Designer
(
)
Pronouns:
he/him

Matt Shields is a native of Virginia. Having grown up in Loudoun County, he first moved to the region in 2013 to attend school at Radford University where he graduated with a BS in theatre. After working for a few other companies, Matt is happy to call MMT his artistic home. In the past few years Matt has served in a variety of jobs around Mill Mountain, including Props Master, Costumes Manager, Teaching Artist, Scenic Designer, and Company Manager. Matt is very happy to now be serving MMT as the Production Manager and is grateful to MMT for all the faith they have put in him over the years.

Henry Stevens

*

Assistant Stage Manager
(
)
Pronouns:
he/him

Henry is super excited to be back at MMT, this time as an ASM. Notable credits include West Side Story and Legally Blonde where he served as a spotlight operator. In his free time, Henry loves to play Magic the Gathering.

Spencer Wade

*

Spot Operator 2
(
)
Pronouns:
he/him

Spencer is a rising 7th grader at James Madison Middle School and is thrilled to join Mill Mountain Theatre’s stage crew. He got his start on tech crew with his school’s recent musical production, Matilda Jr. Outside of theatre, Spencer is a competitive diver with New River Diving and loves assembling Lego Architecture and Lego Idea sets. He enjoys vacations at the beach and his three weeks each summer at Camp Maxwelton nestled at the foot of Jump Mountain in Rockbridge Baths, VA.

Jimmy Ray Ward

*

Scenic Designer
(
)
Pronouns:
he/him

With an MFA in Design from UNC-Greensboro, his credits include work at many theatre companies along the East coast such as Spoleto Festival USA, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Seaside Music Theatre, Flatrock Playhouse, and the Gainesville Theatre Alliance.  Locally, Jimmy designs for Opera Roanoke, Roanoke Children's Theatre, and Mill Mountain Theatre, where he worked as resident designer for its last nine seasons.  Some favorite designs over the years include scenery for Il Trovatore, The Flying Dutchman, The Adventures of Frog and Toad, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Seussical, and Grease, costumes for Hamlet, Beauty and the Beast, Joseph…Technicolor Dreamcoat, and lighting for Driving Miss Daisy, Wit, and Rapunzel, among many others. Despite years of working in a field he loves, Jimmy feels that his best productions to date are his children, Henry and Lily, Gracie and Frank.

Savannah Woodruff

*

Lead Electrician & Sound Engineer
(
)
Pronouns:
she/they

Savannah Woodruff was born and raised in Southern Pines, North Carolina, where she was encouraged to become involved in technical theatre in high school. Savannah is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and received a BFA in Technical Production. Prior to joining the Mill Mountain Theatre staff, she worked as a member of Weston Playhouse Theatre Company’s Intern Company. Savannah is grateful for the support of her family (and especially her cats) in her endeavors, and is thrilled to be able to continue working and growing with Mill Mountain Theatre.

Erin Alexis Markham

*

Production Stage Manager
(
)
Pronouns:
She/her

Erin Markham is a Roanoke native with a lifelong passion for the theatre and music. She graduated
summa cum laude from Radford University with a B.S. in Theatre and an emphasis in stage
management. Along with stage managing several productions and student projects at RU, Erin worked
as a House Manager, Box Office Assistant, and an Assistant to the Chair. In previous summers, Erin has
worked with the Christiansburg Dance Academy, the Virginia Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities,
and Mill Mountain Theatre’s Education tour of Curious George: The Golden Meatball. Her most recent
work includes Assistant Stage Manager for Mill Mountain Theatre’s productions of Bright Star, Jersey
Boys, Holiday Inn, The Diary of Anne Frank and Fun Home. Erin hopes this show gives you all the warm
fuzzies (without the swollen tongue!)

Seth Davis

*

Music Director
(
)
Pronouns:
he/him

Seth Davis is a Georgia native who is very excited to be a part of the Mill Mountain family after first serving as Associate Music Director for Mill Mountain’s 2013 production of The Sound of Music. Seth is a music director and musician in both the musical theater and classical music realms, in addition to being a teacher, clinician, and coach for performers and musicians of all ages. Regional credits include Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Spring Awakening, See What I Wanna See (Actor’s Express), Illyria: A Twelfth Night Musical (Georgia Shakespeare), Time Between Us, A Diva’s Christmas, Hair (Serenbe Playhouse) and The Andrews Brothers (Stage Door Players). Seth has also served as musical director for Georgia Tech and Oglethorpe University in addition to teaching at The Alliance Theatre, Aurora Theatre and judging many regional music and theater festival competitions.

Media

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2021 National Touring Cast

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Fortunato

Italian
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Italian
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104 Kirk Ave SW

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Martin's

Tavern
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413 1st St SW

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From the snack n' share options and hearth flatbreads to the farmland offerings and signature items, The Pine Room features American Rustic cuisine that presents simplistic, sustainable, and high-quality ingredients in an inviting presentation.

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The Regency Room

American
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110 Shenandoah Ave NE

Enjoy dining al fresco! Spring is here and it's patio season! The Regency Room and The Pine Room Pub are the perfect place to enjoy dinner or drinks on the patio with spring in the air!

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American
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110 Shenandoah Ave NE

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Awful Arthur's‍

Seafood
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108 Campbell Ave SE

Modern tavern offering varied seafood, bar bites & a raw bar plus sports on TV & live music.

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The food menu features traditional European foods like handmade sausages in traditional German, Polish, and English styles, as well as Belgian hand-cut fries, mussels, steak frites, and Polish pierogies.

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523 Shenandoah Ave NW

In addition to hand crafted beer, we offer pub fare with yet another twist and a selection of wines, ciders and soft drinks – something for everyone.‍

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523 Shenandoah Ave NW

In addition to hand crafted beer, we offer pub fare with yet another twist and a selection of wines, ciders and soft drinks – something for everyone.‍

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Pizza
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120 Campbell Ave SE

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114 Church Ave SW

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MAYBE HAPPY ENDING: A Visionary Ode to Emotion — Review
Juan A. Ramirez
November 12, 2024

In style, story, and staging, there has never been anything like Maybe Happy Ending on Broadway. An intimate tale of two discarded robots falling in love, musically inspired by the aching blues of Chet Baker, and sharing strains of cyber-ennui DNA with films like Her and the video for Björk’s “All Is Full of Love,” it is staged with awe-inspiring panache by Michael Arden, who balances the production’s cutting-edge technology with perfect emotional attunement.

This perfectly calibrated production, with a book by Will Aronson and Hue Park, who handled the music and lyrics respectively, focuses on a type of hushed emotion that is atypical, almost antithetical, to the Broadway musical. It’s a courageous (and successful) gambit, honing in on the quietness of its characters’ feelings – ones that subtly well up in your eyes rather than gush out in melodramatic spurts.

The story concerns Oliver (Darren Criss) and Claire (Helen J Shen), two “helper-bots” residing in a sort of purgatorial dorm for obsolete technology in near-future Seoul. Oliver is all bright smiles, perfectly gelled hair, and a ‘50s sense of politeness, which gives Criss a chance to play into his own squeaky-clean persona, and wring humanity out of a Kabuki-level performance of surface sheen. (Clint Ramos did costumes; Craig Franklin Miller hair; Suki Tsujimoto makeup.) He’s spent the past decade or so mindlessly amassing stuff he gets delivered, poring over the Jazz Monthly subscription his owner left him, and hoping he’ll one day return for him. 

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Darren Criss and Helen J Shen | Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

His routine is interrupted when Claire crosses their shared hallway to borrow a charger, after hers breaks. She’s a newer model, the Sophia to his C-3PO (and Shen offsets Criss’ motorization with refreshing humanity), but he doesn’t miss an opportunity to say that the older series, despite their wonkier Wi-Fi services, are sturdier. They (un)naturally begin to develop feelings for each other, and Claire’s failing systems – aside from providing poignant commentary on both technology’s wastefulness and our own limited time – prompt her to encourage them to venture out to Jeju Island, where Oliver’s owner James (Marcus Choi) resides.

A road trip rom-com would be enough for most musicals, but Aronson and Park’s book, which premiered in a Korean version in 2016, zags past that and explores what happens to the helper-bots beyond their journey, once their attraction throws a wrench in the proverbial machine. (Their excursion, by the way, is one of the most breathtaking scenes in a production wall-to-wall with astonishing scenography.) This is all the while underscored by nightclub crooning by Gil Brentley (Dez Duron), Oliver’s favorite jazz singer who occasionally pops up with fourth-wall-breaking ditties.

Aronson’s score is made up of lovely, lowkey lullabies appropriate to the robots’ bottled-firefly style of emotion. Despite some fun queer notes – courtesy of ballads sung by Oliver and Claire to their same-gender owners (think “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2) – and the instant standard “Goodbye, My Room,” a too-real prayer that one might be able to return home whenever leaving it, a sameness (and sleepiness) begins to set in. The score, make no mistake, is never less than genuine, tuneful, and admirably committed to its characters’ interiority, but the unstifled bursts of vocalization from Brentley’s Bublé-ish vocal performance become too much of a saving grace.

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Helen J Shen and Darren Criss | Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

While remaining faithful to its essential hush, Arden jolts the score to life with his impeccable direction, which allows both leads to find their way into, if not the hugeness of their emotions, then the earth-shaking capacity for it. In what may become his crowning achievement, he harnesses each production element with a masterful directorial hand, creating elegantly framed tableaux.

Dane Laffrey’s set is a miracle unto itself, anchored by the helper-bots’ small studios but often encased within movable scrims that create panoramas with cinematic smoothness, tracking the characters throughout their building and offering constant surprises, from smaller vistas upstage to a cleverly revealed turntable. Their quarters are appointed in an eye-catching modern style, and a nautical window in Claire’s room is particularly gorgeous. George Reeve’s neat video and projection design introduces the robots’ past through POV-driven memories.

Lit by Ben Stanton, the production’s overall effect is similar to the surreal appeal of the most haunting Vaporwave creations, which create a hypnotic aesthetic siren call that promises eternal, impossible warmth, and instant isolation once the reality of its cold technology is in our grasp.

I wondered if Oliver and Claire’s attraction would climax in a majestic wail of cyborg horniness, as in Björk’s seminal video but, though they both howl for humanity amid a barren emotional landscape, Maybe Happy Ending is a different, quieter beast. One becomes aware, throughout its lush 100 minutes, of what a humbly groundbreaking experience is unfolding onstage. This is a very special show; a tender, visionary ode to the space we’re able to create and hold for feeling, and the hope that it may continue.

Maybe Happy Ending is in performance at the Belasco Theatre on West 44th St in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.

A WONDERFUL WORLD: THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG MUSICAL Blares Its Way To Broadway — Review
Joey Sims
November 12, 2024

The disappointing new biomusical A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical suffers from a frustrating case of split identity. Taking in this muddled if sporadically moving production, which opens tonight at Studio 54, is akin to watching two opposed artistic visions uncomfortably battle it out on a single Broadway stage. 

In one corner, we have the rote biographical jukebox musical—a Wikipedia-flavored jog through the major life events of beloved jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong. In this vision, charming lead performer James Monroe Iglehart (a Tony Award-winner for Aladdin) dazzles with his spot-on imitation of Armstrong's gravelly voice, physical mannerisms and signature grin, while frequently stepping into a spotlight to spoon-feed expository information or (in two especially cringeworthy moments) lead the audience in collective song. 

Fighting valiantly in the opposite corner is a far bolder vision of Armstrong’s story. This version approaches the founding father of jazz as a complex figure defined by deeply American contradictions. A Black man rising through the white-dominated worlds of music and film, Armstrong invents his happy, always-smiling persona for the comfort of white audiences while staying silent on racial politics—a compromise that eats away at this heavy-drinking, pot-smoking womanizer. 

That latter vision would, obviously, make for a far more interesting show. It also so desperately feels like the show Wonderful World actually wants to be. But the tougher material has seemingly been contorted into a by-the-numbers, unchallenging narrative. 

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The Company | Photo: Jeremy Daniel

Under Christopher Renshaw’s stilted and unimaginative direction, the show’s generic first act floats by uninterestingly. (Christina Sajous and Iglehart himself are co-directors.) A tossed-off framing device is mostly confusing. Rickey Tripp’s choreography is sharp, but the movement takes over at random. Iglehart seems lost, rushing between scenes while finding little chance to establish Armstrong as an individual. 

Only in the second act, when that more daring vision peeks its way through, does Wonderful World take on any life at all. By far the show’s high point is Armstrong’s encounter with Lincoln Perry Jr., or “Stepin Fetchit” (a tremendous Dewitt Fleming Jr.), who coaches Armstrong on catering to white audiences and raking in their cash. As Iglehart and Perry Jr. tap away skilfully, the crowd goes wild, bringing an interesting note of tension into the room. 

Iglehart himself comes to life only when Aurin Squire’s book allows him space to explore Armstrong’s more cynical side, or his pent-up anger at the U.S. government for its treatment of Black Americans. Outside of these moments, his work can feel closer to impression than embodiment. 

In the show’s pre-Broadway run in Chicago, Squire utilized Armstrong’s four wives as narrators—likely to both widen the story’s contextual lens and acknowledge Armstrong’s crueler side (he was unfaithful to three out of the four). Whether or not this device worked, its removal is awkward. The story is still divided up by each marriage, yet now provides only sketchy impressions of the first three partnerships. Only Lucille Wilson, powerfully embodied by Darlesia Cearcy, gets enough narrative real estate to transcend caricature. 

The power of Armstrong’s discography is, of course, undeniable. From “Black and Blue” to “When You’re Smiling,” his signature hits all sound incredible played live at Studio 54 (the orchestrations and musical supervision are by Branford Marsalis and Daryl Waters). Happy but sad, joyous yet angry, a mournful kind of celebration—Armstrong’s music speaks to the tangled mess of contradictory truths that this production as a whole fears to embrace. 

A Wonderful World is now in performance at Studio 54. For tickets and more information, visit here.

GIVE ME CARMELITA TROPICANA! A Glorious Living Requiem — Review
Juan A. Ramirez
November 11, 2024

I did not know who Carmelita Tropicana, the persona of the (so I learn) legendary performance artist Alina Troyano, was before the announcement of Give Me Carmelita Tropicana!, the show she co-created with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins which serves as the final production at Soho Rep’s longtime Tribeca home, before they’re priced out of their lease. My real New York theatregoing began sometime in the mid-2010s, and mostly on Broadway. I, of course, had the option of researching her prior to seeing it, but chose to go in blind.

This phenomenal fantasia – equal parts exaltation of the art of performance, requiem for downtown, and cri de cœur for artists to continue it through the clever, often-underground shapeshifting they’ve always managed to do – accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do which, thankfully for me, includes formally introducing Carmelita (who has been around since at least ‘86) into the canon. Because, oh yes, the fourth integral part of this living death rite is to both embalm Troyano’s performance of her, and ensure the persona’s eternity.

Jacobs-Jenkins, we learn early on, was once Tropicana’s star student at NYU (Troyano taught there in character), and the two have maintained a strong bond since. Represented onstage by Ugo Chukwu, the playwright appears as a sellout, toting shopping bags from Bloomingdales and spouting intimate jokes about Oprah like the Tony-winner he’s become. Troyano meets him at a drab law office, where she’s about to sell her “living IP” to him after deciding, in a flash of existential panic, that she wants to retire Carmelita. At the decisive moment of signing her over, Troyano stalls and slips into her subconscious, and the Jacobs-Jenkins stand-in explains how the two reached this impasse.

To detail the resulting plot would be both irrelevant to my critique and a disservice to its madcap, psychedelic enjoyment. Suffice it to say, an Irma Vep-ish crime element leads the two artists down a rabbit hole into Troyano's mind, represented by characters and situations from her oeuvre, and staged to feel (under Eric Ting’s direction, and by Mimi Lien and Tatiana Kahvegian’s joyously shifting, engaging scenic design) like that SpongeBob episode where Squidward falls into hell. The pitch perfect other cast members (Will Dagger, Octavia Chavez-Richmond, and Keren Lugo) switch from Troyano’s inventions (Arriero, an S&M’d horse; Pingalito, a mansplaining Cuban bus driver; and Martina, a bratty cockroach) to past advancers of the performed word (Walt Whitman, the playwright María Irene Fornés, and the 17th-century nun Juana Inés de la Cruz).

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The Company | Photo: Julieta Cervantes

The production serves as a purposely raggedy tribute to the New York downtown which was once the fertile bed for radically queer, post-modern works of left-field art created far from the prying eyes of ‘good taste’; where the tastemakers thrived. One of Troyano’s costumes is emblazoned with the names of formative venues like Dixon Place and WOW Café, both of which still currently operate but are not the hotbeds of must-see avantgardism they once were – or at least not of works which can easily springboard onto larger platforms.

Or is that on me? First meeting Carmelita Tropicana as she takes her final Troyanic bows, I thought of the theatre I don’t experience, and that which, because of the epochal shifts in what downtown, avant-garde, and even performance art* even mean, or how they’re allowed to exist, I might never be able to. I began to think of what kind of theatregoer I might have been in the late 1980s.

Would I have gone? Would I have known about these shows? Would I have enjoyed them,  and would that have been a gut-reaction enjoyment in perfect harmony with its ethos, or the detached academic bemusement through which I enjoy reading about them today? Or would I have been part of the numbing, commercial-seeking blob that ushered them out of favor, and out of their spaces? I'd like to think I would have been there, supporting these outré artists. But then, am I doing that for their current iterations? Are the new ones even comparable, in style and wit and praxis, to the old?

The phantom pain is peculiar to a certain type of hopefully-not-pseudo-intellectuals (ew), similar to when I wonder if I'd have been proudly Out in previous decades: Does who I am – comprising what I love and what I do – belong to that higher, unbreakable chain of truth that passes through those in communion with art; or am I just a tourist enjoying its most readily available and displayed fruits?

The Jacobs-Jenkins avatar asks versions of these questions to himself in a vulnerable monologue toward the end, and this sense of loss undergirds his appearance, both in script and on stage. He speaks of the gross capitalistic mindset which leads him to immediately process ideas as pitches; a relatable byproduct of the gig-economy freelance brain. But isn’t that creative impulse, as refracted through the possibility of the materially available, the same which led someone like Troyano to create counter-cultural works in the bombed-out Lower East Side (Loisaida for Latinos) of the ‘80s – or any artist, ever, for that matter?

Jacobs-Jenkins’ Hamlet-ing is aired out plenty, and most compellingly physicalized by a goldfish he once used as a living prop in one of Tropicana’s classes (embodied, in comically enlarging iterations, courtesy Greg Corbino’s costume and puppet designs, by Dagger). Ever the callow NYU avant-gardist, Jacobs-Jenkins once recited an original monologue while sipping the water out of the fish’s bowl, before vomiting its life force back in as it gasped for life. The fish, throughout the decades, it appears, has held the psychic grudge.

A grudge, however, is not what Troyano seems to carry. Just as Jacobs-Jenkins’ navel-gazing (not derogatory) veers into making this a work of apologia (again, not bad), Troyano retakes the reigns and delivers a direct address to the audience that, as the script notes, involves her saying and doing “whatever she feels like.” At the Friday night performance I attended, some 72 hours after the US Presidential election, this meant a heartfelt speech about community resilience and organizing. When the Commander in Chief wouldn’t even say the word “AIDS” until thousands had already passed, queer artists rallied to make their fiercest art yet, protecting each other through direct action and through the comfort of truthful, essential art. “Your Kunst is your Waffen” (“your art is your weapon”) is Troyano’s motto, emblazoned as proudly on that same costume I mentioned earlier as it emanates from her like a halo.

This show is an ode to artists who perform to crowds that remain silent until that final applause; who know puzzled looks better than knowing nods, yet always go on. It’s delightfully stupid, more than a smidge obtuse (sorry to the non-Spanish speakers in the house), and unmediated in its indulgence – which is to say, art. Long Live Carmelita Tropicana.

* There’s a great line from the Jacobs-Jenkins avatar: “...back when I thought I was going to be a performance artist before I realized performance was going to be hijacked so unsustainably and boringly by the visual arts before descending further into unproductive inscrutability…”

Give Me Carmelita Tropicana! is in performance through December 15, 2024 at Soho Rep on Walker St in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.

Theatrely News
EXCLUSIVE: Watch A Clip From THEATER CAMP Starring Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Molly Gordon
Theatrely News
READ: An Excerpt From Sean Hayes Debut YA Novel TIME OUT
Theatrely News
"Reframing the COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Stage Manager’s Eyes"
EXCLUSIVE: Watch A Clip From THEATER CAMP Starring Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, and Molly Gordon
By: Maia Penzer
14 July 2023

Finally, summer has arrived, which can only mean one thing: it's time for camp! Theater Camp, that is. Theatrely has a sneak peak at the new film which hits select theaters today. 

The new original comedy starring Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Molly Gordon we guarantee will have you laughing non-stop. The AdirondACTS, a run-down theater camp in upstate New York, is attended by theater-loving children who must work hard to keep their beloved theater camp afloat after the founder, Joan, falls into a coma. 

The film stars Ben Platt and Molly Gordon as Amos Klobuchar and Rebecca-Diane, respectively, as well as Noah Galvin as Glenn Wintrop, Jimmy Tatro as Troy Rubinsky, Patti Harrison as Caroline Krauss, Nathan Lee Graham as Clive DeWitt, Ayo Edebiri as Janet Walch, Owen Thiele as Gigi Charbonier, Caroline Aaron as Rita Cohen, Amy Sedaris as Joan Rubinsky, and Alan Kim as Alan Park. 

Theater Camp was directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman and written by Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman & Ben Platt. Music is by James McAlister and Mark Sonnenblick. On January 21, 2023, Theater Camp had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

You can purchase tickets to the new film from our friends at Hollywood.com here.

READ: An Excerpt From Sean Hayes Debut YA Novel TIME OUT
By: Kobi Kassal
29 May 2023

Actor Sean Hayes is what we in the biz call booked and blessed. On top of his Tony-nominated performance as Oscar Levant in Good Night, Oscar, Hayes has partnered with Todd Milliner and Carlyn Greenwald for the release of their new YA novel Time Out

Heralded by many as Heartstopper meets Friday Night Lights, Time Out follows hometown basketball hero Barclay Elliot who decides to use a pep rally to come out to his school. When the response is not what he had hoped and the hostility continually growing, he turns to his best friend Amy who brings him to her voting rights group at school. There he finds Christopher and… you will just have to grab a copy and find out what happens next. Luckily for you, Time Out hits shelves on May 30 and to hold you over until then we have a special except from the book just for Theatrely:

The good thing about not being on the team the past two weeks has been that I’ve had time to start picking up shifts again at Beau’s diner and save up a little for college now that my scholarship dreams are over.

     The bad part is it’s the perfect place to see how my actions at the pep rally have rotted the townspeople’s brains too.

     During Amy’s very intense musical theater phase in middle school, her parents took her to New York City. And of course she came back home buzzing about Broadway and how beautiful the piss smell was and everything artsy people say about New York. But she also vividly described some diner she waited three hours to get into where the waitstaff would all perform songs for the customers as a way to practice for auditions. The regulars would have favorite staff members and stan them the way Amy stans all her emo musicians.

     Working at Beau’s used to feel kind of like that, like I was part of a performance team I didn’t know I signed up for. The job started off pretty basic over the summer—I wanted to save up for basketball supplies, and Amy worked there and said it was boring ever since her e-girl coworker friend graduated. But I couldn’t get through a single lunch rush table without someone calling me over and wanting the inside scoop on the Wildcats and how we were preparing for the home opener, wanting me to sign an article in the paper or take a photo. Every friendly face just made the resolve grow inside me. People love and support the Wildcats; they would do the same for me.

     Yeah, right.

     Now just like school, customers have been glaring at me, making comments about letting everyone down, about being selfish, about my actions being “unfortunate,” and the tips have been essentially nonexistent. The Wildcats have been obliterated in half their games since I quit, carrying a 2–3 record when last year we were 5–0, and the comments make my feet feel like lead weights I have to drag through every shift.

     Today is no different. It’s Thursday, the usual dinner rush at Beau’s, and I try to stay focused on the stress of balancing seven milkshakes on one platter. A group of regulars, some construction workers, keep loudly wondering why I won’t come back to the team while I refuse proper eye contact.

     One of the guys looks up at me as I drop the bill off. “So, what’s the deal? Does being queer keep ya from physically being able to play?”

     They all snicker as they pull out crumpled bills. I stuff my hands into my pockets, holding my tongue.

     When they leave, I hold my breath as I take their bill.

     Sure enough, no tip.

     “What the fuck?” I mutter under my breath.

     “Language,” Amy says as she glides past me, imitating the way Richard says it to her every shift, and adds, “even though they are dicks.” At least Amy’s been ranting about it every free chance she gets. It was one thing when the student body was being shitty about me leaving the team, but the town being like this is even more infuriating. She doesn’t understand how these fully grown adults can really care that much about high school basketball and thinks they need a new fucking hobby. I finally agree with her.

     [She’s wearing red lipstick to go with her raccoon-adjacent eyeliner as she rushes off to prepare milkshakes for a pack of middle schoolers. I catch her mid–death glare as all three of the kids rotate in their chairs, making the old things squeal. My anger fades a bit as I can’t help but chuckle; Amy’s pissed-off reaction to Richard telling her to smile more was said raccoon makeup, and her tolerance for buffoonery has been at a negative five to start and declining fast.

     I rest my arms on the counter and try not to look as exhausted as I feel.

     “Excuse me!” an old lady screeches, making me jump.

     Amy covers up a laugh as I head to the old lady and her husband’s table. They’ve got finished plates, full waters. Not sure what the problem is. Or I do, which is worse.

     “Yes?” I say trying to suppress my annoyance.

     “Could you be bothered to serve us?”

     Only five more hours on shift. I have a break in three minutes. I’ll be with Devin at Georgia Tech tomorrow. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” I say, so careful to keep my words even, but I can feel my hands balling into fists. “What would you—?”

     And suddenly Amy swoops in, dropping two mugs of coffee down. “Sorry about that, you two,” she says, her voice extra high. “The machine was conking out on us, but it’s fine now.”

     Once the coffee is down, she hooks onto a chunk of my shirt, steering us back to the bar.

     “Thanks,” I mutter, embarrassed to have forgotten something so basic. Again.

     “Just keep it together, man,” she says. “Maybe you’d be better off with that creepy night shift where all the truckers and serial killers come in.”

     Honestly, at least the serial killers wouldn’t care about my jump shot.

     It’s a few minutes before my break, but clearly I need it. “I’ll be in the back room.”

     Right before I can head that way though, someone straight-up bursts into the diner and rushes over to me at the bar. It’s a middle-aged dad type, sunburned skin, beer belly, and stained T-shirt.

     “Pickup order?” I ask.

     “You should be ashamed,” he sneers at me. He has a really strong Southern accent, but it’s not Georgian. “Think you’re so high and mighty, that nothing’ll ever affect you? My kid’ll never go to college because of you and your lifestyle. Fuck you, Barclay Ell—”

     And before this man can finish cursing my name, Pat of all people runs in, wide-eyed in humiliation. “Jesus, Dad, please don’t—”

      I pin my gaze on him, remembering how he cowered on the bench as Ostrowski went off, how he didn’t even try to approach me. “Don’t even bother,” I snap.

     I shove a to-go bag into his dad’s arms, relieved it’s prepaid, and storm off to the break room.]

     Amy finds me head in my arms a minute or two later. I look up, rubbing my eyes. “Please spare me the pity.”

     She snorts and hands me a milkshake. Mint chocolate chip. “Wouldn’t dare.” She takes a seat and rolls her shoulders and neck, cracks sounding through the tiny room. “Do you want a distraction or a shoulder to cry on?”

For more information, and to purchase your copy of Time Out, click here.

Reframing the COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Stage Manager’s Eyes
By: Kaitlyn Riggio
5 July 2022

When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency in the United States in March 2020, Broadway veteran stage manager Richard Hester watched the nation’s anxiety unfold on social media.

“No one knew what the virus was going to do,” Hester said. Some people were “losing their minds in abject terror, and then there were some people who were completely denying the whole thing.”

For Hester, the reaction at times felt like something out of a movie. “It was like the Black Plague,” he said. “Some people thought it was going to be like that Monty Python sketch: ‘bring out your dead, bring out your dead.’”

While Hester was also unsure about how the virus would unfold, he felt that his “job as a stage manager is to naturally defuse drama.” Hester brought this approach off the stage and onto social media in the wake of the pandemic.

“I just sort of synthesized everything that was happening into what I thought was a manageable bite, so people could get it,” Hester said. This became a daily exercise for a year. Over two years after the beginning of the pandemic, Hester’s accounts are compiled in the book, Hold Please: Stage Managing A Pandemic. Released earlier this year, the book documents the events of the past two years, filtering national events and day-to-day occurrences through a stage manager’s eyes and storytelling.

When Hester started this project, he had no intention of writing a book. He was originally writing every day because there was nothing else to do. “I am somebody who needs a job or needs a structure,” Hester said.

Surprised to find that people began expecting his daily posts, he began publishing his daily writing to his followers through a Substack newsletter. As his following grew, Hester had to get used to writing for an audience. “I started second guessing myself a lot of the time,” Hester said. “It just sort of put a weird pressure on it.”

Hester said he got especially nervous before publishing posts in which he wrote about more personal topics. For example, some of his posts focused on his experiences growing up in South Africa while others centered on potentially divisive topics, such as the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Despite some of this discomfort, Hester’s more personal posts were often the ones that got the most response. The experience offered him a writing lesson. “I stopped worrying about the audience and just wrote what I wanted to write about,” Hester said. “All of that pressure that I think as artists we put on ourselves, I got used to it.”

One of Hester’s favorite anecdotes featured in the book centers on a woman who dances in Washington Square Park on a canvas, rain or shine. He said he was “mesmerized by her,” which inspired him to write about her. “It was literally snowing and she was barefoot on her canvas dancing, and that seems to me just a spectacularly beautiful metaphor for everything that we all try and do, and she was living that to the fullest.”

During the creation of Hold Please, Hester got the unique opportunity to reflect in-depth on the first year of the pandemic by looking back at his accounts. He realized that post people would not remember the details of the lockdown; people would “remember it as a gap in their lives, but they weren’t going to remember it beat by beat.”

“Reliving each of those moments made me realize just how full a year it was, even though none of us were doing anything outside,” he adds. “We were all on our couches.” Readers will use the book as a way to relive moments of the pandemic’s first year “without having to wallow in the misery of it,” he hopes.

“I talk about the misery of it, but that’s not the focus of what I wrote... it was about hope and moving forward,” Hester said. “In these times when everything is so difficult, we will figure out a way to get through and we will move forward.”

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