Barter Theatre
Encyclopedia
Abingdon, Virginia
Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, USA, 133 miles southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark...
, opened on June 10, 1933. It is one of the longest running professional theatres in the nation. In 1933, when the country was in the middle of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, most patrons were not able to pay the full ticket price. Robert Porterfield
Robert Porterfield
Robert Huffard Porterfield, born on December 21, 1905, on the outskirts of Austinville, in Wythe County, VA. He died October 28, 1971, in Abingdon, VA, and was best known for being the founder of "Virginia's World-Famous" Barter Theatre, the state theatre of Virginia.-Family history:Robert...
, founder of the theatre, offered admittance by letting the local people pay with food goods, hence the name "Barter". The original ticket price for a play was 40 cents, or the equivalent in goods. In 1946, Barter Theatre was designated the State Theatre of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Today, Barter is one of the last year-round professional resident repertory theatres remaining in the United States.
After Porterfield's death in 1971, Rex Partington
Rex Partington
Rex Partington was an actor, director and producer. Partington worked in the professional theater in the United States for over fifty years as an actor, production stage manager, director, producer, artistic director and producing director and was active on Broadway as well as professional...
was named the artistic director, serving from 1972-1992. Since 1992, Richard Rose has served as the Barter Theatre's third artistic director.
Many well-known stars of stage, screen and television have launched their careers at Barter, including Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
, Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
, Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
, Hume Cronyn
Hume Cronyn
Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
, Gary Collins
Gary Collins (actor)
Gary Ennis Collins is an American film and television performer.-Early life and career:Collins was born in Venice, California, to a waitress/factory worker mother. After attending Santa Monica City College, he enlisted in the U.S...
, Frances Fisher
Frances Fisher
Frances Fisher is a British actress. She is known for her work on television, in theater and in films, including roles as Strawberry Alice, the madame prostitute in Unforgiven , and Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Kate Winslet's character in Titanic .- Early life and education :Fisher was born...
, Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, Larry Linville
Larry Linville
Lawrence Lavon "Larry" Linville was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of obnoxious, pious, self-important and inept surgeon Major Frank Burns in the television series M*A*S*H.-M*A*S*H:...
and Wayne Knight
Wayne Knight
Wayne Eliot Knight is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor perhaps best known for his role as Newman in the TV sitcom Seinfeld...
. On The Lot
On the Lot
On the Lot is a short-lived reality show competition produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett. The show, which aired on Fox, featured filmmakers competing in weekly elimination competitions, with the ultimate prize of a million dollar development deal at DreamWorks...
winner Will Bigham acted at Barter Theatre for many years before pursuing a film career alongside his wife Catherine Gray.
2010 season
17 Productions Bringing You Adventure, Love, Magic, and Laughter!BARTER THEATRE
Alice in Wonderland (adapted by Rick Rose) Begins February 4
The Diary of Anne Frank (adapted by Francis Goodrich and Albert Hackett) Begins February 19
Always...Patsy Cline (Ted Swindley) Begins April 23
Annie (Thomas Meehan/Charles Strouse/Martin Charnin) Begins May 28
The Blue Sky Boys (Deborah Brevoort) Begins June 10
Shake, Rattle and Roll: A Rockin' Tribute to the King (featuring Scot Bruce) Begins August 20
The Full Monty (Terrence McNally/David Yazbek) Begins September 17
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily (Katie Forgette) Begins October 1
It's a Wonderful Life (based on the Frank Capra film) Begins November 19
BARTER STAGE II
Dead Man's Cell Phone (Sarah Ruhl) Begins February 12
Chaps! (Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner) Begins February 26
Tuesdays with Morrie (Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom) Begins April 30
Revolutions (Richard Alfieri) Begins May 13
Violet (Brian Crawley/Jeanine Tesori) Begins June 18
The Woman in Black (Stephen Malatratt)Begins September 3
Where Trouble Sleeps (adapted by Catherine Bush from Clyde Edgerton) Begins October 9
A Tuna Christmas (Ed Howard, Joe Sears, and Jaston Williams) Begins November 23