ARTS Pick: Snow White

Taking a lighter approach to the Brothers Grimm’s telling of Snow White, Charlottesville Ballet tiptoes around the tale of a girl stalked by a murderous psychopath to present a forest fantasy made up of friendly animals and merrymaking dwarfs. The massive cast includes 60 local dance students in addition to 20 professional company members, and […]

Film review: The Jungle Book gets a magical restyling

No matter how cynical you may be about the Disney brand, no matter how aware you are of the manipulation of your sentimentality, five minutes in, The Jungle Book will make you forget or not care as you find yourself becoming a believer. The recent spate—and forthcoming slate—of Disney live-action remakes of its own catalogue […]

ARTS Pick: Hunter Gatherers

Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s biting, sexy, satirical Hunter Gatherers offers up a dark look at contradiction and pretense in contemporary culture. Masquerading as a glimpse into a typical social evening, the drama ultimately reflects fragility in the manufactured sophistication of modern society, peeking behind the facade of civility and revealing animalistic impulses that have withstood the […]

Illiterate Light searches for moral middle ground

On a freezing-cold night in February, Harrisonburg band Illiterate Light played a set under a red light bulb in the kitchen of a house on First Street South, close to the graveyard. It was 1am and a dozen or so 20somethings leaned against walls and countertops, holding cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and passing around […]

ARTS Pick: White Denim

Four-piece band White Denim has changed its tune quite a few times since its inception nearly a decade ago. The group, based in Austin, makes a return to its rock roots with its latest record, Stiff, and the feverish ’70s undertow and looping on the new release are reminiscent of White Denim’s debut album. “We […]

Rockbridge Guitars carves its own place in popular music

Just off the Downtown Mall on West High Street lies one of the city’s most unknown but profound musical treasures: Rockbridge Guitars. Here, a quartet of master luthiers hand-fabricate around 60 custom-designed, top-shelf acoustic guitars a year for some of the world’s most talented players. Since opening its doors, Rockbridge has accumulated a star-studded clientele […]

ARTS Pick: Lauren Hoffman and the Secret Storm

After taking a hiatus to raise her daughter, Charlottesville’s Lauren Hoffman returned to the stage last year with a new band, The Secret Storm. The current musical incarnation defines Hoffman as a compelling frontwoman backed by myriad instruments such as the cello, electric violin, piano, synthesizer and guitar. When signed by Virgin Records America, Hoffman […]

Film review: Hardcore Henry engages the viewer as a co-star

You may have noticed that when many reviews compare a given movie to a video game, it’s rarely in a positive light. You may have also noticed that when this comparison is made, the reviewer has little, if any, experience with games, instead using the reference as a shorthand way of saying it’s all flash […]

ARTS Pick: Polaroid Stories

Gorilla Theater Productions presents Polaroid Stories, an interpretation of Roman poet Ovid’s narrative epic, Metamorphoses, which chronicles the history of the world beginning with its creation. The show portrays the outcasts of modern America’s youth living out enduring human compulsions. Thursday 4/14. 18-plus. $10-15, The Studio, 1713 Allied St., Ste. 2A. 547-7986.

Why design? Local creators delivering big on visual impact

Here at C-VILLE, we spend a lot of time thinking about design—how what we’re showing you on the page helps you receive the message. That’s most obvious in our weekly covers, where we have only a 9.25″x12.75″ space to relay to you, the reader, what we’re interested in this week. But we consider the design […]