What if Dr. Frankenstein’s kid didn’t want to continue the family business? That’s the question posed in Young Frankenstein, the stage adaptation of the campy Mel Brooks classic film of the same name. Join Frederick “Fronk-en-steen” and his trusty assistant “Eye-gore,” who convinces the scientist to go a little mad and create the famed monster. Hilarity ensues, complete with cartoonish violence, risqué humor and a memorable rendition of “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”
Milestone milieu: It’s been a tumultuous five years for Phosphorescent (née Matthew Houck, left). He fell in love, had two kids, moved to Nashville, and “somewhere along the way, he nearly died of meningitis.” This life-altering period also sourced his critically lauded new album, C’est La Vie,
Unfolding history: Why did the traumatic events of August 2017 happen in the first place? Why did they happen here? Priyanka Shetty seeks answers to these questions in her new theater piece #charlottesville. Shetty crafted her script verbatim from conversations with Charlottesville residents
Spelling bound: Contestants in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee process their dreams and self-doubts through song in this quirky, Tony Award-winning musical created by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin. The cast gives words new meaning as students, teachers, and townspeople belt out
Backstage pass: Musically connected trans-formations are the theme at Hoot & Holler’s Soundtrack of My Life, an evening of storytelling that draws from personal experiences involving songs, concerts, and listening. Find out what happened at an after-hours hotel room party involving The
Many times, a film based on true events will inspire you to seek out the source material once it’s over. Not necessarily to test the movie for accuracy—facts are sometimes changed for clarity or artistic license—but as a way of further engaging with a story. Even a film à clef based on actual
Hosting an all-LGBTQ+ hip-hop showcase has been on Remy St. Clair’s mind for a while now. Over the past few years, while performing at various regional Pride events as rap duo Sons of Ichibei, St. Clair and Cullen “Fellowman” Wade kept hearing similar refrains from artists on these Pride bills:
There’s a lot of buzz about Shazam! for being the first DC Extended Universe movie that has a healthy sense of humor. Perhaps it’s a consequence of the audience’s exhaustion from grim years of Bats and Supes that the DCEU gives an individual filmmaker the freedom to do whatever he wants. DC
After writer and UVA professor Sydney Blair died unexpectedly in December 2016 due to complications from pancreatitis, her children, Tom and Abbie Swanson, found a manuscript-in- progress titled Honorable Men: And Other Stories. When they revealed their discovery to their mother’s longtime
Behind the smile: Equally Divine: The Real Story of the Mona Lisa is a true-crime musical that explores gender identity and the artistic genius of Leonardo da Vinci. The story is told through one actor, accompanied by music from the Italian Renaissance provided by the Core Ensemble, and follows
Federico Cuatlacuatl began making art when he was 7 years old. It was a “survival instinct” that kicked in when his family moved from Cholula, Mexico, to Indiana. “I knew like, two words of English, and I needed a way to communicate that I felt sad and depressed, and that I missed home, and
Hand to mouth: In a show built around bad behavior and puppets, Jeff Dunham dishes out political and cultural commentary through multiple characters. As a ventriloquist, Dunham has carved out a unique space in comedy, and his act is hugely popular—he’s the third-highest-paid comedian in the
After being wooed by four mop-haired musicians in matching black turtlenecks harmonizing “Help!” on a television screen, 5-year-old Rob Sheffield became a Beatles mega fan. “Don’t you know that band broke up?” his parents would ask. “They don’t exist anymore,” his teacher would say. It was the
Hindsight is 1616: It’s a battle to save the legacy of William Shakespeare when the Bard’s mates go on a mad scramble to gather up his disparate writings in Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will. At the time of his death in 1616, Shakespeare was well-off and popular, but had his friends John
Marvin Gaye You’re the Man (Universal) The follow-up that never was is finally here—and honestly probably sounds better now than it would have in 1972. You’re the Man could hardly have matched the gorgeously sighing melodies, elegant textures, and memorable aphorisms of What’s Going On, and
Red rocks: The launch of the outdoor music season finds Red & The Romantics playing original tunes in the fresh air at Fridays After Five. Erik “Red” Knierim leads his band through joyful grooves that draw from Americana, blues, roots, and gospel. Friday 4/12. Free, 5:30pm. Sprint Pavilion,
Funny not funny: Contemporary playwright Alan Ayckbourn weaves themes of domestic strife, family dysfunction, and a longing for lost love through the perspectives of three different couples in Time of Your Life. After a birthday toast to happy times, Gerry Stratton and his two sons split the
Our voices bounce back at us as we speak. I’m one street over from the Downtown Mall in Megan Read’s studio, and it, like her paintings, has an uncluttered spaciousness about it. Older finished works line part of a wall, and paintings in progress are set up at various heights on another. But
Calloway calling: The Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra is named for the famous jazz club, founded in 1926, where Washington, D.C.’s elite once gathered to see artists such as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. When the club closed in 2016, it left the big band orchestra without a home, so the
Over the course of her six years teaching dance in UVA’s drama department, lecturer and faculty member Katie Schetlick has noticed a shift in her students. More and more, she’s seeing students connect with the influential work of choreographer Merce Cunningham. “A large body of his work is from
Brilliant moves: In the mid-’90s, Solas found stateside success crafting an accessible blend of modern and traditional Celtic folk. The band’s founder, Seamus Egan, has spent decades nurturing the evolution of Irish music from his groundbreaking 1996 album, When Juniper Sleeps, through a