ARTS Pick: Scooby Doo Live!

The curious group of unlikely pals and their tongue-tied talking dog have made the leap from screen to stage in Scooby Doo Live!, a classic caper played out in song and dance. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and of course the eponymous pooch arrive in the Mystery Machine to help solve a serious ghost problem. Tuesday […]

The Bridge dots the landscape with ‘Public Artists’ habitats

Apart they are a solitary beehive, a rogue bicycle stand, an enterprising greenhouse, a living gramophone, a micro library, a community gallery, an artist studio, a school garden shed, and a different kind of waiting room. Together they are Habitat City, a microcosm of Charlottesville culture embodied in nine 6’x 6′ sheds. The project, led […]

Daniela Sandler explores activism in urban reinvention

For many, Brazil conjures images of rain forests, samba dancers, and favelas. It’s also the host country for this year’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. A great deal of news coverage has detailed both the construction that has gone into preparations for these global sporting events as well as resulting public demonstrations demanding stronger […]

ARTS Pick: Mike Birbiglia

Honesty has been the best policy for actor, writer, and comic Mike Birbiglia. He earned a slew of accolades for his one-man show Sleepwalk With Me, in which he chronicled his struggles with Rapid Eye Movement Disorder, an affliction that frequently found him in a state of dream walking, talking, and even jumping—he once leapt […]

ARTS Pick: Man at a Crossroad

Lyndia Porter had no idea that she was creating a new form of ministry when she sat down to write her stage play Man at a Crossroad. Performed by volunteers from across Virginia, the play explores the struggles of living a Christian life within a secular society. But unlike some stage performances, nothing here is […]

ARTS Pick: Women of Ireland

Prepare for St. Patrick’s Day with an evening of traditional Irish song and dance as former Riverdance members and a number of other talented dancers make up the Women of Ireland. The all-female lineup performs iconic steps to enchanting Celtic vocals by a sisterly trio from County Kerry, Ireland. Special guest Anthony Fallon, a four-time world champion […]

ARTS Pick: Bye Bye Birdie

Take a family-friendly romp through the 1960s in Four County Players’ production of the mod musical Bye Bye Birdie. When teen heartthrob Conrad Birde is drafted into the Army, his agent plans to send him off in style with one last kiss from a lucky fan. Based on the legend of Elvis Presley’s draft controversy, […]

ARTS Pick: Frankenstein

During a stormy summer holiday, Mary Shelley and her companions were challenged by their host Lord Byron to see who could compose the best ghost story. After a few fretful days devoid of inspiration, the tale of Frankenstein revealed itself to her in a lucid dream. Gorilla Theater presents a modern adaptation of the thriller […]

Interview: The American Shakespeare Center doubles down

The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton reached two milestones this season: the quarter-century mark and the completion of Shakespeare’s canon. All but two of the 38 plays we attribute to Shakespeare were published in the First Folio in 1623, and with its current production of Timon of Athens, ASC can claim performances of all of […]