Truth focused: In promoting the premiere of her documentary A Legacy Unbroken: The Story of Black Charlottesville, filmmaker Tanesha Hudson includes a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “I’m gonna tell the truth,” before she makes her own statement: “Hard work pays off eventually, even if it takes a lifetime.” Hudson has been active […]
Merry and bright: Post-World War II show business takes center stage in Four County Players’ production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. In sync with the popular holiday film, the story follows sister act Betty and Judy as they meet up with singing Army buddies Bob and Phil, who, through a series of mishaps, end up […]
Got wit? What happens when Camelot’s King Arthur and his knights get goofy, ridiculous, and even a bit nutty? You get Spamalot, the musical-comedy that swept the Tonys in 2005. The play is an adaptation of the comedy classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail, in which King Arthur recruits a band of disorganized misfit […]
Ancient outlier: Phillip Glass’ mystical, trance-like opera Akhnaten transcends time to explore the life and psyche of the 13th-century B.C. pharaoh of ancient Egypt. The Met Live in HD’s premiere illuminates the fundamental ways that Akhnaten tried to change the way his people thought about their gods and spirituality by using creative lighting, soaring orchestral […]
Rain check Planning Commission delays form-based code proposal After much debate, the City Planning Commission has decided to table its plans to introduce an alternative kind of zoning, called form-based code, to the city’s Strategic Investment Area south of downtown. Unlike conventional zoning, form-based code focuses on the physical form and scale of buildings in […]
By Spencer Philps Spend enough time on the Downtown Mall late at night and you’re bound to see it happen: someone hunched over against a wall “relieving” himself. Downtown business operators are acutely aware of this issue: One says he’s seen people urinating late at night, by the bus station and beside the unfinished Landmark […]
By Cortney Phillips Meriwether When Gregory Orr first published The Blessing in 2002, he did so after years of reluctance. The memoir, which begins with a 12-year-old Orr accidentally shooting and killing his younger brother on a hunting trip, was understandably difficult to write. Yet, through the encouragement of his wife, he did write it—and […]
Rescue zoo: Sherry Wickman is on the way to achieving her professional dreams when she moves back home and faces a fruitless job search and the family dynamics that set her on the path to becoming a therapist. Relatives retreat into their anxiety and, as they struggle, a tiger escapes from the zoo, prowling freely […]
Laughing all the way: As a shy kid growing up in Washington, D.C., United Nations of Comedy headliner Jay Phillips would watch “Saturday Night Live” and “An Evening at the Improv,” and play his mom’s comedy records on repeat, learning from the greats before he put his own routine on stage. He drew laughs at […]
Fantasy rolls: Written by Qui Nquyen, the play She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes, a teen who embarks on a fantastic journey after her younger sister, Tilly, dies unexpectedly. Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook and dives into her sister’s world of fairies, ogres, and dwarves, and begins to understand that she […]