The Richmond theater world suffered a seismic shock in 2024 when the largest local stage producer, Virginia Repertory Theatre, announced it might have to close without an emergency influx of cash.
While the company weathered that particular storm, concerns still loom large both for Virginia Rep – where its relatively new multimillion dollar arts center is currently up for sale – and for the local theater scene in general. Other companies have also had to make concessions to a dramatically different post-pandemic arts landscape.
Richmond Triangle Players (RTP) shelved plans for their summer musical, “Xanadu,” replacing it with a retrospective musical revue developed in-house. The company cited several factors for the change including “lower-than-expected ticket revenue, increasing production costs, [and a] commitment to providing equitable compensation for its artists.”
Richmond Shakespeare recently listed identical reasons for canceling its planned 2025 musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” swapping it for “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged),” famously performed by just three actors.
But even while the challenging economic environment has caused rampant heartburn among Richmond’s producers, they still manage to conjure up remarkable moments for theater fans to savor. Most exciting this past year has been the emergence of new talent and the ascendance of mainstay artists often overlooked in the past.
In that latter category is power couple Lucretia Marie Anderson and Shanea N. Taylor. While both women have been active on local stages for years, the duo were seemingly everywhere in 2024. Taylor directed Swift Creek Mill’s “BKLYN: The Musical” that cleaned up at the annual Richmond Theatre Community Circle awards (“Artsies”), with Taylor grabbing the Best Director of a Musical trophy.
She followed it up by helming an unconventional “Much Ado About Nothing” at Richmond Shakespeare and an electrifying “Firebringer” at Dogwood Dell, both over the summer.
Her partner, Anderson, was no slouch either, scoring an Artsie award nomination for her turn as Gertrude in RichShakes’ “Hamlet” and sharing in the production’s Best Ensemble Artsie. Anderson also directs, delivering a powerful “The House That Will Not Stand” at University of Richmond in November.
Both have gigs lined up for May of 2025 already: Anderson will be at the helm of the complex parenthood drama “Cry It Out” for Yes, And! while Taylor is slated to direct the kid’s show “Willy Wonka Jr.” for Broken Leg Theatre. Anything these two get up to is sure to be worth watching.
One of the most watchable productions of 2024 was “Water by the Spoonful” at Firehouse Theatre, and it marked the continued evolution of Erich Appleby as one of most dynamic young performers in town after stunning star turns in Brightpoint’s “Hawks Ridge” and Yes, And! Theatrical Company’s “Pass Over.“
Appleby went toe to toe with another talent-to-watch, Juliana Caycedo, who played his sister in “Spoonful.” Caycedo first emerged as a uniquely magnetic actor in The Conciliation Project’s “An Octoroon” in 2019.
In 2025, Caycedo, who is also a playwright, will ascend to triple-hyphenate status as she is slated to direct “Sanctuary City” for 5th Wall Theatre in March. Under her guidance, the intense story that follows two immigrants brought to America as teenagers is sure to get a nuanced, complex treatment consistent with what Caycedo has shown as an actor.
The first new production of 2025, “Constellations” by Yes, And! opens January 23rd and will feature another actor who took Richmond by storm this past year. Ashley Thompson won the 2024 Artsie for Breakout Performance for bringing much-needed depth to Yes, And’s “Dr. Ride’s American Beach House” and sanity amidst emotional chaos in Firehouse’s “Buried Child.”
Her role in “Constellations,” a trippy metaphysical love story where some scenes play out multiple times with different outcomes, will be Thompson’s fourth in the past year. Her third role was in RTP’s “Five Lesbians Eating A Quiche” in the fall where she shared the stage with another emerging star, Kendall Walker.
Walker has been on an unbelievable tear since directing the hilarious “Scrooge in Rouge” for RTP over the holidays of 2023. In addition to “Quiche,” she delivered a riveting performance in “Airswimming” and co-directed “The Best of Times,” the aforementioned replacement musical revue, both at RTP
Walker’s docket for early 2025 includes playing Margot in “The Diary of Anne Frank” at Swift Creek Mill in January, understudying for “Dial M for Murder” for Virginia Rep in March and directing a staged reading of “For Nick” at Firehouse in April.
Despite the unsteady situations some theater companies are confronting, energetic young talents like these keep the local stage scene vibrant and surprising. May your 2025 include a trip, or 10, to local theaters to see the magic that’s happening there.
