Love and deception: Romance, comedy, and deceit come to the stage in the form of one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, Twelfth Night. Directed by Jamie Virostko and featuring a talented ensemble, this intimate spin on the Bard’s twisted love triangle combines gender-fluidity with romantic chaos in a traditional yet pared-down production. Through Saturday, […]
Love and deception: Romance, comedy, and deceit come to the stage in the form of one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, Twelfth Night. Directed by Jamie Virostko and featuring a talented ensemble, this intimate spin on the Bard’s twisted love triangle combines gender-fluidity with romantic chaos in a traditional yet pared-down production. Through Saturday, […]
Despite its name, Ladj Ly’s Les Misérables is not a retelling of Victor Hugo’s famous novel. But there are many ways it closely resembles its namesake. Within the confines of a tight thriller and a runtime of less than two hours, Ly explores questions of justice, crime, redemption, rebellion, collective and individual responsibility, and the […]
They appeared over the summer, three identical wheatpaste posters of anthropomorphic hot dogs in buns, wearing sneakers and pedaling unicycles as they exclaimed in speech bubbles, “Hot dog!” One, pasted to the side of the raised parking lot between Market and South Streets, was gone after about a week, but the others—on Cherry Avenue and […]
This week, something extraordinary will happen in Charlottesville: Four exhibitions of contemporary Aboriginal Australian art will open in four different venues across town, bringing the total number of such exhibitions currently on view to six. And a seventh will open in mid-February. Having this many concurrent shows of contemporary Indigenous Australian art in one locale […]
Who knew the only thing a Michael Bay sequel needed was a new director to rein it in? Say what you want about Michael Bay’s movies (Lord knows I have), but his work is inimitable. You can tell right away if you’re watching authentic Bay or a knockoff. He is a master of his own […]
Son salutation: R&B soul musician Son Little has an eclectic body of work that includes contributions to recordings by The Roots, RJD2, and Portugal. The Man. He cites Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar, American indie act Grizzly Bear, and Swedish electronic band Little Dragon as early influences, and earned his biggest props to date for his […]
Rox our world: Roxane Gay can write with both authenticity and wit about Italian restaurants, feminism, body image, racism, rape culture, gun control, and other cultural hot buttons. She’s become internationally recognized for her to-the-point social criticism, and in 2019 Playboy called her one of the most important and accessible cultural commentators of our time. […]
Screen team: Based on its latest material, you could call the Joe Policastro Trio dramatic. The alt-jazz outfit’s recent recordings include the West Side Story suite, as well as Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” “Nadia’s Theme (From ‘The Young and the Restless’),” “Twin Peaks’” theme, Blade Runner’s love theme, and many other well-known TV and screen epics. […]
Back on the beats: When Blackalicious’ first album, Nia, was released in 1999, critics praised the duo for their rap skills, production style, and ability to push hip-hop in a new direction. Following up with the equally compelling Blazing Arrow (2002) and The Craft (2005), Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab took 10 years to […]
Here’s another set of worthwhile reissues I missed along the way in 2019. (Not included: The Beatles’ brilliant valedictory Abbey Road and Aretha Franklin’s sublimely beautiful and awesomely powerful Amazing Grace.) Akofa Akoussah Akofa Akoussah (Mr. Bongo) Togolese singer Akofa Akoussah is known to aficionados of vintage African pop, but her lone album has been […]