On June 8, Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and CEO of Dominion Resources Inc., and Richmond native Emily Skinner, a Tony Award nominee, will receive the first Renaissance Awards from the CenterStage Foundation Board at its third anniversary party, the Broadway Under the Stars Gala.
Farrell chairs the Richmond Performing Arts Corp., which has overseen the construction and renovations at the Landmark Theater and the CenterStage complex. We spoke with him about his involvement in the arts as well as the Landmark renovation project, to be completed in the fall of 2014.
Q: What was your involvement in the arts as you were growing up?
A: I've always been a spectator in the arts, other than being a prop man in a high school play.
Q: What has been your personal favorite performance in the past three years?
A: I don't have a single favorite, [however] I'm particularly fond of the music in The Nutcracker, and it's always fun to watch all the different ages of children. One of my nieces was once Clara. More than 20 years later, I brought [that] niece and her daughter to the show this past season.
Q: How will the patron experience change at the Landmark?
A: The theater will be so much better. … The most noticeable thing will be a dramatic difference in the acoustics. It's quite spotty right now.
