History

Theater at Lime Kiln (TALK) has served Lexington Rockbridge County and the immediate areas of Virginia for the past 27 years and has been the stage from which a number of now, nationally known performers launched their careers. Theater at Lime Kiln provides a venue for classic theater, exciting concerts, varied live entertainment, civic celebrations and is an exceptional outdoor venue that is rich in history, music, natural beauty, Appalachian culture, and tradition. With theater roots that go back to 1967, it has been tried and proven true by generations of theater goers.

Through its years, Theater at Lime Kiln has featured original musicals and plays based on Southern Appalachian heritage: adaptations of Appalachian folktales that went on school tours in communities both in and out of Virginia and a renowned concert series that features legendary musicians and an eclectic mix of musical styles. Hundreds of actors, technicians, and volunteers have contributed countless hours creating the magical place Theater at Lime Kiln is today, while preserving the natural beauty of stone ruins of nearly a century ago.

Theater on the Lime Kiln stage

The TALK facility consists of three unique performance spaces:

• The Kiln – restored hearth kilns and a towering stone chimney create a magical setting.
• The Bowl – a naturally occurring amphitheater primarily used for concerts.
• The Tent – our rain space, providing a venue for shows during inclement weather.
  

  Concert on the Bowl stage

Mission:

To enrich the culture and honor the heritage of the Valley of Virginia through theatre, concerts, and Educational programs in our unique and historical spaces.

Status: 501 (c) 3

Notable Press Comments:

Imagine a place where entertainment comes naturally, where talented actors, musicians, and artists gather to create magical evenings of theater and music. Imagine a place where families relax and friends gather to attend performances under the stars. This place is Theater at Lime Kiln – a unique outdoor theater in historic Lexington, Virginia acclaimed “one of the most agreeable spots in the western world.” The Roanoke Times.

“Founded in 1983, Lime Kiln Arts presents theater, Shakespeare and eclectic concerts in an unusual setting – the ruins of a 19th century lime quarry and kiln. Since its beginnings, the theater has had an enduring commitment to presenting works of theater and music that celebrate the history and culture of Virginia, making Theater at Lime Kiln a choice destination for great entertainment in the Shenandoah Valley.” The News Gazette.

History:

Today’s theatergoers may have difficulty imagining that until the early 1980’s, Theater at Lime Kiln was little more than a large hole in the ground with tumbled down stone walls. Our arena for Appalachian culture and relationship to Stonewall Jackson’s Civil War had not yet become a theater. Lime Kiln’s picturesque ruins came about because of the business enterprise of a gentleman named A. T. Barclay, and later, a theatrical dream of an English professor, Brewster Ford.

When Barclay died in 1915, the newspaper headline of his obituary read, “Another Civil War Veteran Gone.” Without the Civil War, Barclay might have been just another lawyer, and the perfect setting for an outdoor theater might never have been built. By his own account, when Barclay returned from the war after fighting alongside Stonewall Jackson and spending more than a year in a Yankee prison camp, his huge family farm just west of Lexington “had been run over, the fences destroyed and the stock run off.” Because Barclay’s only brother was a successful doctor, his mother prevailed upon A.T. to run the farm rather than go to the University of Virginia Law School.

A.T. wasn’t much of a farmer, but he was a smooth talker, with a bottomless barrel of get-rich quick schemes. His most obvious legacy is the City of Buena Vista. One of the factories built in Buena Vista was the Columbia Paper Mill, now G. B. Bontex. To lure the business to town, Barclay promised that he could supply lime, which was used in the paper manufacturing process.

Barclay’s farm was rich in limestone, which had been quarried in small quantities for years. In 1896, four years after the paper mill opened in Buena Vista, Barclay and two partners started the Rockbridge Stone and Lime Company on Barclay’s farm. About a dozen buildings, including a barrel shop and three large kilns, were erected. However, Barclay neglected to pay royalties to his sisters who owned one-third interest in the land. In short order they sued, and won. He lost direct control of the company and it was sold soon after. After Barclay died, the lease was not renewed and the buildings were taken down or rotted away. The kilns fell into ruin.

The arch at the Kiln stage, stage right.

The land changed hands several times over the next few generations. When a Virginia Military Institute English professor named Brewster Ford bought the land, he realized that the old kiln ruin would make a wonderful setting for an outdoor theater. In 1967, he allowed it to be used for an experiment. Students at Washington & Lee University, with the assistance of local Thespians, staged three performances of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The kiln lay fallow for the better part of another decade until Dr. Ford donated the use of the property as a unique theater and home for Lime Kiln Arts. The first production of the new professional company was a two-week run of Rock Kiln Ruin’s Tale of Cymbeline, in 1984. It had all the hallmarks of future Lime Kiln productions – storytelling, history, spectacle, original music, humor, drama, and a strong sense of place. “Shakespeare with a twang”, characterized one newspaper.

Building the stadium at the Kiln stage

The first season was a roaring success. Washington & Lee University graduates and Lime Kiln founders Don Baker and Tommy Spencer approached the accomplished song-writing duo of Robin and Linda Williams, now famous for many appearances on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, with an idea for a new show. They collaborated on a new work that would become Lime Kiln’s most popular and enduring – Stonewall Country, the musical based on the life and times of Lexington’s own Civil War hero, General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The show was the centerpiece of Lime Kiln’s first full season, and it generated enough interest to bring the Governor of Virginia to opening night.

Theater at Lime Kiln’s signature piece, Stonewall Country, a Stonewall Jackson Civil War musical, ran for 20 years from 1984 to 2004. After a 5-year break, Stonewall Country is back at the Kiln by popular demand. The 25th anniversary production in 2009 was so popular that an additional night was added to accommodate the demand for tickets, but it still wasn’t enough!

In 2011 returned under the direction of Tom Conway, himself a member of the original cast of 1985, and a veteran of over 15 seasons of Stonewall. After 26 years Stonewall Country has spanned a generation, and in doing so has become a Lime Kiln tradition. Tom saw the 2011 production as pivotal, since traditions will die out, if people do not take pride in them and carry them forward hence, his cast for the 2011 season, a blend of original members and newcomers. He also stripped “Stonewall” down to its original form of pure storytelling, staged it in the Kiln, so the torch can be passed to the next generation and the tradition of Stonewall and Lime Kiln can, and will be preserved.

Original Stonewall cast

A.T. Barclay would find it ironic that his get rich quick schemes finally paid off a hundred years later in the form of a unique outdoor theater rich in history, music, natural beauty, Appalachian culture, and tradition.