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Living It Up at Lime Kiln!
You just can’t beat outdoor theatre and music, and as such forums go I’m not sure there is a more enjoyable venue anywhere than the Lime Kiln Theater in Lexington VA.
My first voyage to Lime Kiln was several years ago while courting my wife. I figured a little romantic outdoor drama beneath the stars would cement in her mind that I truly was the earthy, yet sophisticated, debonair, yet down home, great guy that she surely thought I was . . . The reality of what she REALLY thought of me at the time notwithstanding, we did have a fabulous evening. I think the play was a hilarious interpretation of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Introducing people to Lime Kiln and its unique setting is its own particular joy.
Such was the case when my wife (see, the trip worked!) and I took our “newly acquired” Senior Minister and his wife to Lime Kiln to take in the theatre’s signature play “Stonewall Country.” I didn’t know much about the play, but I did know that our new spiritual leader had been an aspiring actor in college and that with his love of theater and the mysterious nocturnal beauty of the old stone kiln grounds that a magical night might be ahead of us. And indeed it was. We laughed and cheered and were swept away in the moment that only such a venue can provide. As it turned out, our new friends had been to a great many outdoor theatres in their travels and they proclaimed Lime Kiln to be at the top of their list.
But as good as the live theater can be in the old kiln part of the property, perhaps the most enchanting evenings at Lime Kiln take place in a section known as “The Bowl” where live music is performed on selected summer nights. The Bowl is a natural grass hill in the woods that descends to a flat stage with large grey limestone outcrops on either side. It seats perhaps 250 to 300 people and provides the intimate kind of forum where musicians can really engage and capture their audience.
This past Sunday we ventured back to Lime Kiln with a large group of church members to see America’s foremost bluegrass band, “The Seldom Scene.” The “Scene,” as they are known, have been together in various forms for over 35 years and have been playing Lime Kiln for the better part of it. Their abilities as musicians and vocalists are legendary and their combination of both originals and “covers” gives them wide appeal. As in past years the bowl was packed with folks who consider themselves unlucky to “seldom see them.”
And once again, we were all treated to a singularly glorious musical experience.
Maybe it’s the number of times this band has performed there that makes it feel like home to them, or maybe it’s the incredible beauty of the natural setting itself . . . But whatever the case, when the lights go down and the stars come out above the overarching trees that hang lazily over the stage - and the soaring three part harmonies rise and join the chorus of cicadas that flows in from the Virginia countryside, there is a magic going on in that place that is something more than “magical” in the usual sense. It is deep and mysterious and transforming, and so genuinely simple and good that it points to something far greater than a few souls gathered in the woods to hear some really talented musicians.
I believe that if you’re listening closely that it is easy to discern that it is God at work - celebrating within the very creation he has brought into being . . . Laughing and dancing with both the worst and the best of us – reminding us all that we are loved beyond measure and that we have not been forgotten.
Such music and natural beauty going hand in hand perhaps speaks it best in the end.
If you ever get the chance, go listen for yourself.
The Theatre at Lime Kiln Website: www.theateratlimekiln.com/
- Stuart