While other facilities on Grounds sit half-empty during the summer, the busy bees at Heritage Repertory Theatre (HRT) keep UVA’s Culbreth building buzzing for six weeks of rotating shows.
“This building is here to do theater,” says UVA drama Professor and HRT Producer Martin Beekman. “The drama department and the University have a commitment to doing that during the summer.”
Founded in 1974, HRT is one of only two local outlets (Ash Lawn Opera Festival being the other) where actors, musicians and crew can earn a steady summer paycheck, Beekman says. Utilizing equity actors from all over the country (including a sizable contingent from New York City) while also employing what Artistic Director Robert Chapel calls the “crème de la crème” of student actors, HRT can be relied on for a season that has a soft spot for classic musicals, peppered with new work that’s making a splash.
This season, HRT drops anchor with a pair of much-beloved musicals: South Pacific (June 22-30) and the Stephen Sondheim masterpiece Sunday in the Park with George (July 21-29). Less familiar are Enchanted April (July 7-15), a Tony Award-winning play about three women who escape to Italy sans husbands, and Don’t Hug Me (July 18-29), a reportedly hilarious musical about a chilly backwoods Minnesota restaurant and the karaoke salesman who warms it up. And, to round it all out, there’s the unapologetically silly Nunsense (July 1-8), which Chapel says is “just good ol’ wonderful fluff.”
Known for the high quality of its productions, HRT also scores well in the butts-in-seats category. Between 13,000 and 17,000 audience members buy tickets each summer, says Beekman. Sixty percent of revenues come from said ticket buyers, with the rest from private donations. The net budget this year is over $600,000.
But, although HRT functions as “its own thing” (indeed, some in the audience may never set foot on campus for any other reason), UVA is still the real doll when it comes to funding, Beekman says. “All you’d have to say is, who pays the electric bill?” And, with all those names up in lights, that’s an important question indeed.—Meg McEvoy