By Maryann Xue and Brielle Entzminger In the wake of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Marcus-David Peters Act. Named in honor of a 24-year-old Black high school biology teacher killed by a Richmond police officer during a severe mental health crisis in 2018, the 2020 law required localities to […]
A farce for the force: Italian playwright Dario Fo’s political satire Accidental Death of an Anarchist pokes fun at the Italian police force by imagining a fictionalized aftermath of 1969’s real-life Piazza Fontana bombing. Giuseppe Pinelli, an anarchist wrongly accused of the bombing, plummets to his death from a fourth-floor window while in a police […]
Preservation haul: New Orleans jazz ensemble Tuba Skinny fulfilled a lifelong dream this year with the release of Magnolia Stroll, its first album of original music. The group formed in 2009 as a loose collection of street musicians that combines cornet, clarinet, trombone, tuba, tenor banjo, guitar, frottoir, and vocals. Influenced by a wide range […]
Sad, mad love: A grumbling Cupid, lovesick Venus, and dishy Adonis star in Venus & Adonis, a modern operatic take on the classical Greek myth, produced by the Early Access Music Project, a rotating group of musicians that brings early music to the community through accessible programming. Originally composed by John Blow in the 1680s, […]
Refuge for refugees Twelve years after moving from Charlottesville to Prague, Kim Bianchini had built a real estate business with her husband when war in Ukraine broke out and refugees began flowing through Poland and into the Czech Republic. “The families that were arriving were having a very hard time signing leases and finding places […]
Questions linger in Montpelier controversy With less than a week before the May 16 meeting of the Montpelier Foundation board, initial interviews with 20 candidates put forth by the Montpelier Descendants Committee are underway. But MDC attorney Greg Werkheiser says there are still concerns that the dispute between the two organizations isn’t fully resolved. “They […]
Got skills?: The How-To Festival is a fun, fast-paced day of learning that helps you master a new skill in just 15-30 minutes. Local professionals and organizations take over the library to give short, interactive demonstrations and presentations on a variety of topics, including technology, food and drink, repairs, health, and more. Sessions include cello […]
True companion: Andrew Dominik’s acclaimed 2016 documentary One More Time with Feeling followed Australian musician Nick Cave on an emotional journey of creation and loss when, during the recording of a new album with his band, Cave’s son tragically passed away. Dominik has reunited with Cave and Warren Ellis, Cave’s collaborator, for the companion film, […]
Enjoy the ride: Clad in a skin-tight jumpsuit and singing through a motorcycle helmet wired to a telephone handset, Bob Log III delivers a one-man show of musical mayhem like no other. The Arizona-based multi-instrumentalist stomps on a homemade cymbal with one leg, a kick drum with the other, and plays finger-picked slide guitar while […]
May Shows Artistic Remedies for Creative Hearts 8767 Seminole Tr., Ste. 101, Ruckersville. “The Birds and the Bees” by Sigrid Eilertson and “The Dream Weave—Everything We Dream About in Life and in Sleep,” an ARCH members exhibit. Opens May 14. Baker Gallery Woodberry Forest School, 898 Woodberry Forest Rd. “INTO THE LIGHT” features works by […]