London’s National Theatre Live broadcasts I’m Not Running, a new play from critically acclaimed playwright David Hare. The drama centers around Pauline Gibson (Siân Brooke, right), a doctor turned politician who has her life turned upside down after a run-in with a stalwart loyalist of the Labour Party, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. […]
Shakespeare’s tragedies are mercilessly disastrous, but Antony and Cleopatra elevates callousness with political intrigue and brutal battles for power. Caught between two war-torn empires, a Roman general (Ralph Fiennes), and the Queen of Egypt (Sophie Okonedo) find love against the odds—then face heavy consequences. Adopting a creative take on history, the classic play takes a new form […]
As Charlottesville’s character has broadened, so has its classical music scene, which is now largely driven by community efforts to build the culture. When Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach began transforming the sounds we were used to hearing, 250 years ago, people said it was the death of classical music,” says Benjamin Rous, music director of […]
When Rufus Wainwright’s second album, Poses, came out in 2001, the singer-songwriter extraordinaire was in the throes of critical adoration, collecting awards and accolades, but lacking commercial success and struggling with addiction. Good pal Elton John helped him into rehab, and Wainwright [...]
When it comes to magic, card tricks, rabbits tucked away in top hats, and halved assistants are all icons of the trade—but how about a reveal of winning lottery numbers? Mike Super’s unconventional approach to the art form reaches new heights with his latest crowd stunners. The only magician in [...]
When New York-based comedian and actress Ashley Gavin met Jerry Seinfeld, she asked him when he last bombed a show. Seinfeld’s answer? “At a party last New Year’s Eve.” “I bombed a show last week. Everybody bombs,” Gavin says. “People think it stops happening.” She feels less likely to fall [...]
On Sometimes Just the Sky, Mary Chapin Carpenter takes measure of her 30-year career through fresh renditions of songs from her original studio albums. Carpenter curated gems from her catalog that reflect her soul and trace the evolution of her songwriting, from award-winning country music to [...]
“Half of the people are stoned / and the other half are waiting for the next election. / Half the people are drowned / and the other half are swimming in the wrong direction.” This quatrain may bring a contemporary alternative-rock song or spoken-word critique on the political climate to mind, [...]
Through his unique gift of gab, Eddie Izzard can deliver off-color punchlines and move on to European politics without skipping a beat. In celebration of his 2017 memoir, Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens, Izzard takes the stage to reflect on childhood, alternative [...]
Over the course of the past year, Light House Studio has engaged more than 1,700 students to produce 400 films ranging from animation and visual effects to documentary, narrative storytelling, and music video. The 17th Annual Youth Film Festival gives viewers a peek at the latest productions [...]
Hardcore indie rock’s Muse is iconic to the point that fans are filling theaters to watch the rockers fill stadiums via the Drones World Tour broadcast in HD. It’s not quite a live show, but the 360-degree recording, which showcases the best of the band’s 2015-2016 concerts on the big screen, [...]
While strolling the Downtown Mall this summer, you may encounter an enormous bass drum with “FREE CONCERT TONIGHT” emblazoned across the head. This refers to the Charlottesville Municipal Band, a group whose performances are as impressive and larger-than-life as its advertisement. Now in its [...]
Boasting three Grammys, a 2006 performance at the White House and, maybe most impressively, an animated appearance on “The Simpsons,” Brian Setzer has enjoyed enormous success. He’s been making music since the early ’80s, around which time he combined rockabilly and swing into something bold, [...]
Dramatic mountainous backdrops compete with daring cinematography during the Banff Mountain Film Festival, where the audience has a bird’s-eye view of outdoor sports pros at their most extreme. The festival offers more than 30 short films that connect with personal stories like that of American [...]
In The Parking Lot Movie, the role of attendant goes beyond transactional and becomes a rite of passage. From their seat in the payment booth at The Corner Parking Lot on UVA Grounds, grads and undergrads spend their shifts intellectualizing and lamenting societal ills, from capitalism, anger [...]
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox can be summed up in three words: musical time travel. The group, founded by pianist and arranger Bradlee in 2009, takes listeners on a journey across decades, playing songs from the modern era—everything from the party pop of Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga to the [...]
Before playing in C’ville, American rapper, singer-songwriter, musician, slam poet, writer and actor Saul Williams has appearances in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium and Austria on his calendar. The global schedule speaks to the broad messages of the art activist, who emphasizes them with [...]
Choreographer Christal Brown’s multimedia creation, The Opulence of Integrity, follows the life of Muhammad Ali and his journey, not only as a boxer, but also as a social activist and public figure. Brown creates a vivid representation of the fight for worth and identity experienced by men of [...]
Showgirls and show makers gather to pay tribute to their theatrical past in Follies, a Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman musical that magnifies its characters’ dreams and illusions through emotional reminiscences. The play had a contemporary setting when it opened on Broadway in 1971, went on [...]
The well-known Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel becomes an absurd opera in the hands of producer Richard Jones. In a special English-language Met Live In HD presentation, the doomed siblings wander from their home into the dark forest and end up at the Witch’s gingerbread house. With [...]
On their first tour together, Phil Vassar and Kellie Pickler are showcasing their holiday collaboration “The Naughty List,” a single that pairs infectious melodies and soulful lyrics in a swinging new favorite. Each of the country stars has become known for covers of Christmas favorites, and by [...]
John Waters is a man of many names. Dubbed the Prince of Puke, the People’s Pervert and the Pope of Trash, among others, the legendary filmmaker has made a career out of his personal brand of quirky, twisted humor. Although best known for bringing Hairspray to the big screen along with cult [...]
Writer and performer Ann Randolph has lived an amazing life. In college, rather than paying to live in a dorm, she lived in the schizophrenic unit of a state mental hospital in exchange for writing plays with patients. She worked the graveyard shift at a homeless shelter for minimum wage for 10 [...]