On Saturday, Sept. 6, alumni, students, community members, and staff will gather in the Heritage High School auditorium for a special evening of songs, stories, and performances. “The Story of Biff” will celebrate the school’s beloved theatre director, Larry “Biff” Hart, in his last year before retirement. It will also raise funds for a scholarship they’re launching in his honor, which will support outstanding theatre students continuing their education after graduation through the Lynchburg City Schools (LCS) Education Foundation.
Hart’s retirement will mark the end of a 33-year career at Heritage High. Since he started as an acting and English teacher in 1993, Hart has built Pioneer Theatre into the dynamic program it is today.
“My relationship with Pioneer Theatre is the longest one I’ve ever had. For three decades, it’s been my greatest passion and my life’s work,” Hart said. “I’ve taught countless kids, and I’ve been around long enough to have taught some of their parents, too. I’m grateful to have found a job I’ve looked forward to every day.”
Larry Hart (front and center) with students in 1997.
Building Pioneer Theatre
During his first few years at Heritage High, Hart devoted every evening and weekend to rehearsing shows and building sets, sometimes directing more than seven school productions a year. As Pioneer Theatre grew in prominence, he became a full-time theatre teacher and program director.
Today, Heritage High students can participate in several productions each year and take Intro to Drama, Acting 1 and 2, and Technical Theatre 1 and 2. Each year, they participate in the Virginia Theatre Association (VTA) competition, where they receive professional critiques on their performances and meet theatre students from all over the state. Twice, in 2018 and 2024, they’ve competed in the prestigious Southeastern Theatre Conference, one of the greatest honors a student theatre program can receive.
Despite these accomplishments, Hart considers his greatest success the relationships he’s cultivated with students and alumni. Countless students consider him a role model and mentor, and many keep in touch or stay engaged with the program long after graduation.
“I had great connections with the kids. I feel like they were picking up what I was putting down, and we had a lot of fun doing it,” Hart said. “It’s rewarding to see how students grow over the years. Some are so shy as freshmen; they don’t want to put themselves out there. By the time they’re seniors, they’ve found themselves.”
Pioneer Theatre students at the 2024 Southeastern Theatre Conference in Mobile, Alabama.
From Broadway to the ‘Burg
Saturday’s event will bring alumni from far and wide together to celebrate Biff’s legacy. Some, like class of 1998 graduate Carole Lucas, have forged successful performing arts careers for themselves. She will return to Lynchburg from New York City to speak and perform in “The Story of Biff.”
“We were a community. There was no ego, and we cheered each other on. Biff found a way to include everybody so no one felt left out,” Lucas said, reflecting on her high school years. “We still have that bond today.”
Lucas currently serves as a swing in “MJ the Musical” on Broadway. No stranger to the big stage, she has a four-year Broadway run with “The Book of Mormon;” years of national tours and regional theatre; and film and television roles on projects like “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” “Succession,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” “The Blacklist,” and “The Equalizer” under her belt. She credits Pioneer Theatre for giving her a solid foundation of experience that helped her launch her career after graduation.
“I didn’t realize just how much we did during our Pioneer Theatre days. We helped put the set together and tear it down…we even designed our own costumes,” Lucas said. “I got a chance to see how theatre works from all sides as opposed to just coming in as an actor, and that was really valuable to my future career.”
Carole Lucas (left) performs in a Pioneer Theatre production of “Little Shop of Horrors” in 1996.
Alumni Give Back
Many alumni, like class of 2000 graduate Brandon Cyrus, have taken the skills they developed through theatre and applied them to careers in other industries. Now an operations director at a medical software company, Cyrus attributes his public speaking and communication skills to his years as a theatre student.
“I owe so much to Biff, from the career I have today to the confidence with which I move through the world. My life completely changed as a result of high school theatre,” Cyrus said. “The way he encourages kids to be themselves, come out of their shells, and enjoy themselves in the process is remarkable.”
Cyrus has stayed engaged with the Pioneer Theatre program for the past 25 years, buying season tickets and cheering students on at their shows. He still maintains connections with friends from his four years at Heritage, and he’s even volunteered his time to help Hart with student auditions.
“I always go out of my way to let the kids know they’re doing a great job after shows. It meant a lot when strangers would say encouraging things to me back then,” Cyrus said. “I try to give back as much as I can. Twenty years from now, I hope these students will turn around and do the same.”
On Saturday, he will perform “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” a throwback to when he played Nicely-Nicely Johnson in “Guys and Dolls” at Heritage High. Cyrus has played a major role in organizing Saturday’s “The Story of Biff” event alongside Heritage High scholarship coordinator Nannette Boswell, Pioneer Theatre parent Katie Snyder, and Renaissance Theatre Company president Jeff Krantz, a good friend of Hart’s.
Hart with students in 2015.
Theatre Family is Forever
For Boswell, Hart’s retirement is particularly poignant. She was a student at Heritage High when he was first hired as a teacher. Though she didn’t participate as a high schooler, she remembers watching his shows from the audience. Years after graduation, her children’s involvement sucked her deep into the world of Pioneer Theatre. All three of her children are products of the program: Joshua, who graduated in 2019, Sarah Lynn, who graduated in 2022, and Sam, who’s graduating this year.
Boswell has volunteered behind the scenes for every show since 2016. This is also her final season with the program; when Hart retires and Sam graduates, she’ll hang up her hat as the program’s resident “theatre mom.”
From left to right: Hart, Pioneer Theatre Technical Director Taylor Wisskirchen, and longtime Pioneer Theatre volunteer Nannette Boswell.
“My son took a chance to audition for a play ten years ago, and our whole family’s life was changed,” Boswell said. “He has made such an impact on every student who comes through his classes and on Heritage as a whole.”
Boswell and her kids see Hart as a part of their family. He even joined Sarah Lynn’s father in walking her down the aisle when she became Sarah Lynn Johnson in May.
“I wanted my dad and Biff to walk me down the aisle together; it was a no-brainer. Biff is family,” Johnson said. “When I first started theatre, I was very timid. Biff always pushed me to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. He knew I could do hard things when I didn’t know I could. I’ve grown so much because of him.”
Hart (right) walks Pioneer Theatre graduate Sarah Lynn Johnson (center) down the aisle alongside her father (left).
One for the Books
Before she finishes up her ten-year stint as a Pioneer Theatre volunteer, though, Boswell is guest-directing her first production, “Dracula,” which runs from Oct. 2-5. It was the first show Hart ever directed at Heritage High, and Boswell remembers watching it as a high schooler.
“Dracula” isn’t the only sentimental favorite that will return for Hart’s final year. The 2025-26 Pioneer Theatre season, dubbed “The Final Chapter: One for the Books,” will feature some of his favorite shows from his three-decade career: “The Wiz,” “Charlotte’s Web,” and “Judge Tenderly of Me,” a one-act written by Hart that will serve as the program’s VTA competition piece.
Staff, students, and volunteers are making this season extra special for Hart’s last hurrah. Accompanying “Dracula” and “Charlotte’s Web,” respectively, they’ll host interactive haunted mansion and county fair experiences on the school’s campus, inviting community members to immerse themselves in the whimsical worlds of these beloved stories beyond the auditorium.
The poster for the 1993 production of “Dracula,” Hart’s first show at Heritage High.
Beyond the Final Bow
The Pioneer Theatre program and the individuals whose lives Hart has shaped are proof of the commitment, talent, and care he poured into his work at Heritage High. One such individual is Tim Beatty, the school’s principal of 13 years.
When Hart first found out Beatty had dabbled in theatre in high school, he seized the opportunity, convincing him to guest star in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2012. Since then, Beatty has performed and made cameos in six shows with Pioneer Theatre, to the delight of Heritage High students. This year, he’ll take the stage for the seventh time as the wizard in “The Wiz.”
Beatty’s embrace of Pioneer Theatre is a testament to its status as a beloved fixture in the community. Students and staff alike take pride in the high-quality productions the school produces–even the school principal is in on the action.
“Biff’s impact will be felt for many years after his retirement. I’m thankful for all he’s done for this program and for Heritage more broadly. He will be missed,” Beatty said.
Indeed, Hart has built the program into a staple of the school’s culture and a respected player in the local arts scene; community members, even those unaffiliated with Heritage High, pack the auditoriums for the spring musical every year, brought in by the school’s reputation for high-quality productions.
Heritage High principal Tim Beatty stars in Pioneer Theatre’s 2021 production of “Cinderella.”
The Next Chapter
As the program looks ahead to its next chapter, students, staff, and alumni will continue to build on the foundation he’s laid. Pioneer Theatre’s current technical director and theatre teacher, Taylor Wisskirchen, is a graduate who returned as a staff member in 2023 to invest her time and talents into the program that shaped her.
“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Biff. Returning to this theatre program felt like coming home,” Wisskirchen said. “I want to create the same supportive environment for these kids that I had in high school. And I want to push the boundaries, challenge them to go even further, and expand opportunities for quality arts education.”
Hart’s legacy will also live on through the L. Biff Hart Theatre Arts Scholarship, which will be awarded to an outstanding Pioneer Theatre senior each year. The scholarship will help fund the student’s college education, whether they pursue theatre or another career field. The amount will be announced when it is awarded to its first recipient in the spring.
“We’re proud to partner with Heritage High School to launch the L. Biff Hart Theatre Arts Scholarship, which will help students who have been shaped by the Pioneer Theatre program to pursue their goals after graduation,” said LCS Education Foundation Executive Director Dawn Wise. “Just as Mr. Hart inspired students to dream big and step out of their comfort zones, this scholarship will help empower the next generation of leaders to unlock their potential, whether on the stage or elsewhere.”
Taylor Wisskirchen graduated in 2020, then went on to become Pioneer Theatre’s Technical Director.
Experience the Story of Biff
Join Pioneer Theatre for “The Story of Biff” on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. to see alumni performances, support the L. Biff Hart Scholarship fund, and experience Hart’s legacy for yourself. Get tickets here. You can also donate here.
You can also support Pioneer Theatre by buying 2025-26 season passes. Hart’s final season as the program’s director will feature some of his favorite shows from his three-decade career at Heritage. Get tickets here.
