When Muriel McAuley, Pete Kilgore and four actor friends from NYC purchased and moved into Hanover Tavern on August 1, 1953, they quickly learned that, in accordance with Virginia's Jim Crow Laws, white and black theatre lovers could not attend their planned productions together under the same roof. They knew that they could not, in clear conscience, live within such a clearly prejudicial environment, sothey decided to change it.

Bruce Miller will recount the stories of courage and chutzpah he learned at Muriel and Pete's feet, about how the Barksdale Founders changed Virginia, and how Hanoverians quickly earned a place of honor within their hearts.

Bruce Miller was Founding Artistic Director of Theatre IV/Virginia Repertory Theatre for 41 years. He has received the Governor's Award for the Arts, the Theresa Pollak Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts, the Commissioner's Award from the U S Dept of Health and Human Services,and was recognized by STYLE Weekly as One of the 100 Most Influential Richmonders of the Twentieth Century.

This a free event, but a $5 donation is suggested.