Lasting laughs: Before he hosted “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and dueted with superstars in his Carpool Karaoke series, Corden was a comedy writer for British television and an award-winning stage actor. He stars as Francis Henshall in National Theatre Live’s HD rebroadcast of One Man, Two Guvnors, a role he reprised on […]
Who is the city of Leesburg, Virginia, named after? If you answered Robert E. Lee, you may need to study up. If, however, you said the city is named for Thomas Lee, an ancestor of the well-known Confederate general, you’d be a good candidate to play Triviappolis Treasures, a travel-based trivia app created by University […]
Nearly a decade ago, a traveling troupe of musicians was midway through its set at the now-demolished Random Row Books in Charlottesville when the power went out. While darkness settled over the crowd, the band continued its performance undeterred, with no noticeable change in sound. That’s because the group’s set-up was running on a bike-powered […]
Seeing purple: As the Cold War and McCarthyism were dominating headlines in the mid-20th century, another cultural persecution was taking place covertly in tandem with the Red Scare. Jefferson-Madison Regional Library and the University of Virginia’s LGBT Committee present a screening of The Lavender Scare, a documentary narrated by Glenn Close that tells the story […]
Listen to the wind: When considering Mozart’s vast body of work, the clarinet may not be top of mind. Yet, in 1789 the composer “had the wonderful idea of combining a clarinet with a string quartet. The result was one of the greatest musical masterpieces of all time,” says David Shifrin, who will perform the […]
Moving through it: Edwin Roa of Zabor Dance is not letting the coronavirus get in the way of getting together. The dance instructor is, from a distance, teaching couples who are distanced from other pairs at Zoiree. Partners can move to salsa, bachata, cha-cha and tango in a safety-minded outdoor setting with limited numbers. $40 […]
Ida Mitchell Puffenbarger wasn’t an artist. If she had any inclination, she likely didn’t have the time. With the bulk of her days spent cleaning, cooking, caring for her family, and attending church, she also didn’t mix with people outside her religious community of Old German Baptist Brethren. She dressed plainly and, like the other […]
Musical mash-up: Tired of your quarantine playlists? Then it’s time to spice things up with some samba, funk, soul, blues, bossa nova, jazz, and Spanish flamenco—the livestreamed Save the Music with Beleza embodies it all. Madeline and Berto Sales take you to a Brazilian paradise with their musical and marital harmonies: Madeline sings in Portuguese, […]
A Charlottesville trio with literary inclinations has released a catchy new LP. But none of the three band members are sons of Bill Wilson. Mouzon Bigsby, which dropped its debut full-length album, Kino, on August 24, formed after a 2015 Christmas party when UVA English professor John Parker met JMU English professor Brooks Hefner over […]
About halfway through Get Duked!, there comes a moment when you realize this silly little comedy about a group of city-dwelling teenagers in the Scottish Highlands became a bold experiment in instinctive filmmaking. Right when it seems like things are about to fly off the rails, it’s clear that it was slowly evolving into a […]
A. D. Carson i used to love to dream (University of Michigan Press) A.D. Carson has made a career out of breaking boundaries. As a Ph.D. student at Clemson University, his dissertation was an album called Owning My Masters: The Rhetorics Of Rhymes & Revolutions. Across the project’s 34 tracks, he examined identity politics, and […]
Little looks: The biggest little show of the year returns when “Teeny Tiny Trifecta 3” begins this week. The juried group exhibition is a collection of three pieces, all measuring nine inches or smaller, from over 100 area artists who work in a variety of styles. The show also celebrates Second Street Gallery’s 47th season, […]
Bubble wrapped: Kendall Street Company is leading the local return to music festival gatherings with its Company Picnic. The fun-loving jam band will perform four sets outdoors over two days, while guests watch from a distance in “safety bubbles” of two-, four-, and six-ticket groups. Patrons can have concessions delivered to their bubble, and the […]
How does a community arts organization react to an ongoing pandemic that requires the restriction of in-person gatherings? It gets creative. “We’re still dreaming big,” says Alan Goffinski, director of The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative. “One thing that I think we’ve always prided ourselves on as an organization is our ability to shift gears, respond […]
As the lights dim and the countdown begins, it almost feels like a typical evening at Live Arts. But then you look away from your screen, and the illusion is broken. You’re on your couch, with a bowl of microwave popcorn and self-poured wine. And instead of spotlights bursting to life, there’s only the pale […]
All art is political, but printmaking can take it to another level. We only need to consider the history of the Works Progress Administration, Soviet government propaganda, or even the Black Panther Party to see how print pieces can be immersed in ideology. Literally using knives to cut through the public conversation, printmakers are able […]
Hot tip: Part of the reason that Bob Ross and his happy little trees were so popular is that we were able to witness his process in real time (or previously recorded real time). That’s also the appeal of The Bridge’s Art Against The Clock, a series that puts local artists including Sahara Clemons (8/23), […]
Going through stages: Music has always been a great outlet for bonding during times of adversity, and while we are unable to gather at local venues, it doesn’t mean musicians and promoters have stopped creating. Starr Hill Presents answers our need with “So now, where were we?” a live stream series that features a rotation […]
Angela Garcia Cha Cha Palace (Spacebomb Records) Angelica Garcia has that “it” factor. Listen across a series of loops, echoes, and howls, and her performances stop you dead in your tracks. They make you feel something. There are times when a solid live performance doesn’t translate in the studio, but that’s not the case on […]
Identity issues: William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is beloved for its dizzily complicated plot, lively characters, witty banter, and riotous humor. And American Shakespeare Center takes advantage of the lovely evening weather in it’s Under the Stars series to offer a new, outdoor iteration of this classic tale of romance and mistaken identity. Paced like a […]
Family business: In her debut novel, Etiquette for Runaways, local resident Liza Nash Taylor sets the action in her own backyard. Inspired by true events, Taylor’s Jazz-Age story follows the fate of May Marshall who, after being expelled from Mary Baldwin College, settles at her father’s Keswick farm and stumbles upon a moonshine enterprise. Taylor […]
Musical heights: Before the world went head over heels for Hamilton and all our kids memorized the soundtrack to Moana, Lin-Manuel Miranda wowed audiences with his exuberant musical In the Heights. Set over three days and chronicling a vibrant Latino community in New York City, the show dazzles with it’s hip-hop and Spanish-infused lyrics. Live […]
Nathaniel Star is in love. He has a light in his eyes and he is grinning from ear to ear. This is not the giddiness of a new romance or the rose-colored adoration that comes at first sight. Star is in love with his craft, his artform, the feeling that his music brings and how […]