[July 19]
The Paramount Theater announced today that its new President and CEO will be Edward W. Rucker, a local who beat out 71 candidates from around the country to snag the theater’s top spot. Rucker has lived in Charlottesville for 19 years, though he’s spent the last 14 of those years heading up the Richmond Forum, a lecture club in the state capital. Locally, he’s been involved with the Piedmont Council of the Arts, Second Street Gallery and the original group that began planning the Paramount’s restoration in 1990. Rucker hinted that the Paramount may begin to act as a "producing company" in addition to showcasing national and local performances.
[July 17]
Mixed identities
John Holdren, director for the Four County Players’ summertime production of Twelfth Night, had everything lined up when Curtain Calls checked in with him recently on the progress of the Players’ annual “Shakespeare at the Ruins” performance. Lined up, that is, except for one essential component: The ruins of Governor Barbour’s home were…well…
 Russell Richards is getting busy on a few new, large-scale paintings (like “Borgasm,” pictured) for a September show at McGuffey Art Center. |
“The ruins are under repair—they’re falling—so they’re not usable at the moment,” says Holdren. Starting with a preview performance on July 26, the show will go on at the Barboursville Community Center, a few blocks away.
Ruined ruins aside, Holdren gave us the scoop on the show: The Players drafted for the Bard’s tale of shipwrecked and cross-dressed love—including C-VILLE 20 alumnus Robert Wray and first-time Shaker Chris Estey, whom Holdren met while working on sound for the Live Arts production of The Pillowman—will deliver a performance based on the opening line, “If music be the food of love, play on.”
“Certain songs demand to go with this play,” says Holdren, naming Cole Porter and Rogers and Hart among the many influences. Expect a lot of ’30s and ’40s tunes, with a bit of Fred and Ginger thrown in for flavor.
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Curtain Calls is all for atypical approaches to art. Case in point: We dropped through McGuffey Art Center to catch up with Russell Richards, who has more than enough on his plate to keep busy at present. Next up for Richards is a show of new work in September with fellow McGuffey artist Robert Bricker where each artist will offer a few new pieces in each other’s media of choice.
“My hope is to have a bronze sculpture or two before September,” says Richards, whose ragged-lined, fantastical prints and paintings have adorned everything from C-VILLE’s Fourth of July-themed cover to posters and coasters for Second Street Gallery’s second annual Artini fundraiser. “I’m just emerging from my ‘freaky monsters’ stage,” he says with a chuckle.
Richards points to this year’s Artini contribution, a garish red-and-black poster where a recurring character (“The Bum”) lies slumped on the bar, martini glass spilled, monsters pawing his back.
“Leah [Stoddard, director of Second Street] wanted me to do a piece related to alcohol,” Richards says. “What she didn’t know is, I’ve been sober for 11 years now.”
He laughs and considers the poster. “I kinda forgot the poster was going to ask, ‘Have you had your Artini today?’ But Leah sure seemed to like it.”
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After an Artini of our own (a mix of grapefruit juice, Absolut Level and Pernod served on a coaster designed by local Anne Vanderwarker at C&O), Curtain Calls headed to the sold-out Ryan Adams show at The Paramount Theater on July 10 only to hear Charlottesville Pavilion Manager Kirby Hutto announce that, while Adams’ band and equipment had arrived, Adams never left New York. Hutto shed some light the next day for us.
“He missed his first flight out of LaGuardia, got on a second flight that got delayed and sat on the runway for about two-and-a-half hours,” explains Hutto.
No hard feelings though, folks: The Paramount went to great lengths to stall for the prolific-if-previously-flighty rockstar. “We’d held doors, lined up an opening act,” says Hutto. “We called up Sarah White and, luckily, she was available.”
But, by 7:30pm, the call rang out that the show would be rescheduled; in less than an hour, the Paramount had gained an opening act and lost a headliner. Sorry, Ryan—sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar eats you, right?
Got any arts news to share? E-mail us at curtain@c-ville.com.
