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Chef, Thespian, and
Winnie the Pooh:
The Legacy of Jim Myers
Winnie the Pooh: the classic storybook character that has captured the hearts of children and adults for generations. What is it about this teddy bear that makes him so lovable? Perhaps it is his charming naivete, endless optimism, or kind-hearted demeanor. Nearly one hundred years after his first published appearance, he and his friends at Hundred Acre Wood have shown no signs of slowing down. There have been numerous tales written about Pooh, most famously in his Disney incarnation. Even in recent years, new stories have been written starring Pooh including a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II on her 90th birthday. But twenty-four years ago, a local director and actor decided to write his own theatrical Winnie the Pooh stories. The playwright was Jim Myers.
For nearly forty years, it was rare for a theater season to do a complete run without the involvement of Jim Myers. He became involved in theater at an early age and was even part of the Little Theater in downtown Lynchburg before it moved to the then-new Lynchburg Fine Arts Center building. Everyone knew that if Jim was involved in a show, it was sure to be top quality and enjoyable for audiences. Over the years, Jim performed or directed in over 400 shows at the Fine Arts Center, Sweet Briar College, Lynchburg College, Renaissance Theatre, Cherry Tree Players, E.C. Glass High School, the Virginia School of the Arts, and the Academy of Fine Arts. He also was a lighting designer for a professional theater in Boca Raton where he was nominated for a Carbonell Award in South Florida, but lost to Elizabeth Taylor's Little Foxes. His talent was seemingly endless. After his passing in 2015, he is still considered one of the most loved members of this community.
Some of Jim's favorite roles included Scrooge, King Lear, Fagin from Oliver!, Caliban from The Tempest, and when he would portray Santa Clause for charities and the patrons of his beloved Daddy Bims restaurant. Speaking of Daddy Bims, Jim was also an accomplished chef, having been certified at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. In the 80's, he was chef at the Mountain Lake Resort Hotel in Pembroke, Virginia. If that sounds familiar, it's the famed location where the film Dirty Dancing was shot - and Jim was the film's on-site chef! After that, he became the personal chef for Don Johnson of Miami Vice fame. Many years later, Jim realized his dream of opening his own restaurant on Old Forest Road, which he called Daddy Bims Barbecue. This became a popular hang-out for the theater community and Jim could always be counted on the whip up a fantastic menu for his patrons and friends (including his signature crab cakes, a favorite of many).
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Cherry Tree Players
L-R: Mike Winfree, Jim Myers, Lori Staley, Matt Fletcher
The Fantasticks
Renaissance Theatre
L-R: Tanya Anderson, Jim Myers, Barbara Daniszewski
There are countless stories of experiences with Jim throughout his theater career. Karen Myers recalls that when Jim portrayed the Old Actor in 2004's The Fantasticks, directed by Mark Foreman, he got so into character that he struggled and groaned to get up off the floor during a scene. Mark turned to Karen with genuine concern and asked "... Is he alright?" Karen responded, "He's fine, he's just acting." Another story Mark would often share is when Jim was directing The Crucible at the Fine Arts Center. The second act involved a sound cue of the gallows releasing in the background for the hanging victims. During a performance, instead of the gallows sound effect, the sound of a cow mooing started. Realizing the mistake, the sound engineer quickly silenced the sound mid-moo. Jim was standing backstage next to Mark, who turned to him and said "They're hanging the cows!" Jim busted out laughing and said "You just have to relax and laugh when that happens." That's just the kind of man he was: a true professional who never lost his sense of humor.
Former Lynchburg actor Matt Fletcher was directed by Jim in six shows. His Jim Myers story actually goes back to his grandfather, who had prepared to audition for the role of Fagin in the Fine Arts Center's Oliver! "He was beyond ready and excited, he went in, and came home, and was dejected. He told my grandma: 'I had a great audition, but then Fagin showed up.' He was talking about Jim Myers. Jim, of course, won the role." Matt looked to Jim as a mentor and one of his favorite directors. During one show, Matt was supposed to (badly) play a song on guitar. In an otherwise dreary and dark play, this moment provided much-needed levity and resulted in a big belly laugh from Jim every night. "As an actor, there's no better feeling than making your director laugh, especially after they've seen you do it a thousand times. And Jim had the best laugh of all time."
Throughout the 80's and 90's, the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center used to bring in outside groups to perform children's theater. In 2000, Jim was given the opportunity to produce and direct a children's show instead of outsource it. Jim took it a step further and decided to write the show himself, given prior experience with writing plays and poetry for literary magazines. He decided to write stories based on the Winnie the Pooh characters. According to his wife, Karen, "He amazed me because he would sit at his computer and just go." The first show went over so well that he created a series of Winnie the Pooh shows that were performed over the next five summers. Shelbie Filson, who played Piglet in those productions, remembers, "One of the magical things about working with Jim on Winnie the Pooh was his childlike sense of discovery and joy. He wrote these wonderful, creative scripts that appealed both to children and adults, but he trusted his cast enough to let us play and improvise during the rehearsal process, which often led to delightful additions to the script - we just had so much fun!"
Jim Myers and the original cast of Winnie the Pooh
Lynchburg Fine Arts Center
"You always knew when you had done something that Jim liked, because he would start hopping around and giggling with his eyes in a happy squint... There really wasn’t a better feeling than making Jim do that: as a performer, you knew you had earned his seal of approval, and that meant everything because he was such a genius and a talent."
- Shelbie Filson
These Winnie the Pooh shows enlisted some of the best talent in the area at that time. Casey Carden, who played Pooh, recalls "Meeting with the children after the show was the most fun that have ever had... In all of my years in theater, I’ve never has a more satisfying experience." Lydia (Phillips) Wisniewski played Roo in each production. "Jim always made me feel so special and it was so neat to be the only kid in the production," she remembers. "Jim hand picked each actor to fit the characters and because we had all worked with each other before, we all just clicked." Matt Fletcher, who played Tigger in one of the Pooh shows, remembers how "Jim was playful and theatrical - he knew what the audience wanted to see, and understood the sense of innocence, silliness, and adventure that the Pooh stories convey."
After the demolition of the original Lynchburg Fine Arts Center on Thompson Drive in 2005, Myers' Winnie the Pooh series went into storage where they have remained... until now. Commerce Street Theatre is dusting off these productions and bringing back these beloved shows. The first, Kanga Rules, opened April 27 and will run the first two Saturdays in May. At the director's helm is Libby Gatzke, the original Kanga and recipient of the third Director's Grant award from the Mark W. Foreman Foundation. "The absolute thrill and excitement we felt that very first time we stepped out onto the stage with an auditorium full of children was a feeling that will never be forgotten!" Gatzke recalls. "It was, hands down, some of fondest theater memories. And now, I get to direct the first script, Winnie the Pooh: Kanga Rules, for Commerce Street Theatre’s inaugural children’s theater production. How lucky am I!"
Karen Myers is thrilled to see the Winnie the Pooh shows come back to life not only for the Lynchburg community, but also for her husband's legacy. "[Jim] loved collaborations. He loved how community theater was so inclusive, how you would meet, work with and get to know people you might never have had the chance to really get to know otherwise. He developed many many friendships over the years that were so very dear to him. I think it really pleased him to see and help bring out levels of depth in the acting skills in many of the characters in the shows."
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Nearly ten years after Jim's passing, he is still affectionately remember as one of our beloved community theater members whose impact is far greater than he ever knew. Matt Fletcher sums it up best: "Jim was kind, patient, and brave. He took risks creatively and with the material he engaged with. He challenged the Lynchburg audiences at a time when they were eager to be challenged. He made theater, not only because he enjoyed it, but because he had to. It was in his DNA. He was a rascal and a poet, a pirate and a teddy bear. He was also a hell of a cook."
Here's to you, Jim.
