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THEATER PREVIEW

PLAY DATES

The devoted Hampton Roads theater fan can catch more than 60 different shows in just one, nine-month season.

By Montague Gammon III

Times may be tough, but Norfolk's Virginia Stage Company, Hampton Roads' oldest and biggest Equity company—that means it's fully professional, using the best talent it can get—has staked out a bold leadership position catering to quality over commerce. Every VSC production is created here—none of these are touring shows.

The world premiere of Alive And Well by Kenny Finkle taps into Virginia's enduring fascination (obsession?) with the "Late Unpleasantness," a.k.a. the Civil War (Sept.15–Oct. 4). Finkle won hearts with his sentimental Indoor/Outdoor a couple of years back, but according to VSC Artistic Director Christopher Hanna, this specially commissioned piece is "much better."

Next up is the greatest "date play" and cautionary tale about being caught on the rebound in the history of Western Drama. Obviously, that's Romeo & Juliet (Oct. 20–Nov. 8), now "made electric again," with a jolt of 21st-century technology.

For all that has been said about Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, each annual VSC restaging brings a note of freshness, and more than a ghost of new insight, to this reliable holiday classic (Nov. 29–Dec. 24).

Two earlier productions of Billy Bishop Goes to War, the one actor, one pianist true story of Canada's top WW1 pilot, are remembered among VSC's best. This new staging (Jan. 19–Feb. 7) introduces new material by original authors/composers John MacLachlan Gray and Eric Peterson and an older, reminiscing Bishop. 

Five actors, 39 characters, two acts and lots of costume and scene changes add up to Mark Brown's family friendly adaptation of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days (Feb. 23–Mar. 14). Verne's tale of a wealthy London bachelor, his sidekick and a class-crossing romance may seem redolent of My Fair Lady, but 80 Days hero Phineas Fogg braves the wildness of the American West, damsel-threatening thugs, and an Artic blizzard, among other perils.

Half a century after A Raisin in the Sun made Lorraine Hansberry Broadway's first black, female playwright, this family drama remains timely and compelling (Mar. 30–Apr. 18). Both the original production and its 2004 Broadway revival won awards, and it has been a touchstone of classic American drama throughout the years.

While traditional theater makes up just a fraction of the richly varied events presented at The American Theatre each year—joining classical ballet, modern dance, folk, jazz and classical music, theater for young audiences, and a unique helping of modern day vaudeville—the plays visiting this intimate venue in the Phoebus section of Hampton are always noteworthy.

First up is Basic Training (Oct. 16 & 17). Basically, this internationally award-winning, semi-autobiographical monologue trains the light of humor onto some dark family stuff and some seriously absurd real-world events. Perfect for Langley—the title refers to the narrator's experiences as an Air Force recruit. (A film may be in the works.)

William Shakespeare's wonderful pastoral romance As You Like It arrives as the first of two visits from the ever-inventive Aquila Theatre (Nov. 21). There's no such thing as too much Shakespeare.

L.A. Theatre Works offers a sort of live audio theater onstage, often with folks known for their film appearances. The R.F.K. Project (Feb. 14 & 16) looks at the life and the potential of Robert F. Kennedy, the greatest "if only" of modern American politics.

Last year Phoebus got a look at Mad River Theater Works' Rosa Parks Story. This year it's the man who desegregated the American Pastime, helping to set the stage for the Civil Rights Era. The Jackie Robinson Story (Feb. 27) has a morning and an afternoon matinee—perfect for the students who need to hear about him for the first time. 

What could be more timely than a play about politics and pollution, idealism and employment? An Enemy of the People (March 7) was written by one of the masters of Western Drama, the prescient Henrik Ibsen, in 1882! This new staging is by the Aquila Theatre, always a welcome guest in Hampton Roads.

While Frank Ferrante probably won't replicate the Marx Brothers' trick of running across the audience, stepping on the arms of their seats, An Evening with Groucho (March 27) is still a chance to resurrect some of that unsurpassed zany's irrepressible genius.

The mask maker and multi-disciplinary performer Rob Faust swirls through a mixed bag of humorous, gripping and ever so slightly scary stuff, in his Faustwork Mask Theatre (April 23 & 24) "mock lecture demonstration." (It even impressed Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes!)

Lots of folk regard the Broadway Across America series of plays at Norfolk's Chrysler Hall as the heart of Hampton Roads theater, and they are not far off. It is the Southside's reliable way to see recent Broadway hits, and it gauges audience tastes well.

Grease slips in first (Sept. 29–Oct. 4) with its high spirited proof that rock and roll will never die. The more that youthful music changes, the more youths spring eternally the same.

The musical version of The Color Purple picked up a passel of Theatre World and Tony Awards when it opened four years ago on Broadway. The Alice Walker novel and the Spielberg movie are popular classics; the stage version adds a score that promises "jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues"—in other words, the music that is utterly American.

Then comes Legally Blonde the Musical, another movie-to-stage, dialogue-to-song transformation (Dec. 28–Jan. 2). Sorority sis hits Harvard Law in a show boasting two real canines in its cast ... and lots of pink clothing.

And for something completely different—the real Wizard of Oz (March 16–21)! Not a prequel or a sequel, this is Dorothy's dream. It's pretty much as L. Frank Baum—the man who, in boyhood, disliked scary creatures and violent fairy tales—recounted it.

Virginia Musical Theatre is another producing group, joining local talent with top-notch imported pros. Its Broadway at the Center series, in its third year at the Sandler Center for Performing Arts, starts with a prime member of the American theater A-List of musicals. 

Anything Goes, the great Cole Porter musical (Oct. 23–25) is incontrovertible proof of Porter's true genius. It's exactly the sort of witty, tuneful work that has made VMT an important element of Hampton Roads culture.

December isn't complete without caroling. Holiday Melody is a review of all that is best of seasonal songs, and dances, too (Dec. 4–6). 

Stand by Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story uses a double baker's dozen of the country singer's greatest songs to tell her life story (Feb. 5–7).

All the voices that went into the most deadly American conflict find a place in Civil War by Frank Wildhorn (March 19–21). From soldiers in both armies to slaves and abolitionists, the people in and around the War come to life in this multi-media recounting.

Perhaps the most popular Broadway show of all time, the love story of The Sound of Music (April 16–18) offers every sort of crowd pleaser from winsome kids to Nazi villains and a music lesson in song that kids will still be learning when today's gamins are gray.

Speaking of music, the scripts produced by Virginia Opera—they call them librettos—are all well known, as are their scores, but the directing, staging and conducting are fresh with each new production of these great classics.

La Bohème—Puccini's bohemian artists play is one of the original boy-loves-doomed-girl tales in Paris (Oct. 3–11). Love may not conquer illness, but the music has won hearts for more than a century.

On the other hand, Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment ends happily (Nov. 14–22). The yearning of young woman's heart outranks the dictates of her high social rank, and a forced marriage is put aside for the true love of a peasant lad.

Don Giovanni is another name for Don Juan, the notorious seducer (Feb. 13–21). Mozart's anti-hero is figuratively deadly to women and literally the death of some men who oppose him. Eventually his crimes consign him to a fate that is truly hellish.

Gershwin's Porgy and Bess—the opera is American (April 10–18), and the music is unsurpassed. Catfish Row returns to the Harrison Opera House in this tale of faithful love amid poverty and the lure of drugs, and of faith versus cynicism.

The martial moves of the Shaolin Warriors (Oct. 2) and the well-remembered, awesome and stunning showmanship of The Peking Acrobats (Mar. 19) at the Peninsula's Ferguson Center for the Arts are as theatrical as any scripted show.

Big news at this Christopher Newport University venue is the spring visit of Jesus Christ Superstar (Mar. 21) starring Ted Neeley, whose name has been linked to the title role, on stage and on screen, for decades. This is the one that first brought fame to composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber and lyricist Tim Rice.

In the Mood: A 1940's Musical Revue (April 8) reminds us that the practitioners of Big Band Swing—Sinatra, Miller, Dorsey, Goodman, Harry James and lots of others—each earned the title of artist, and that their artistry remains captivating and important.

Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance, the phenomenon that spun off Riverdance, (April 23 & 24) is perhaps best described by quoting its web site. "The Little Spirit travels through time to help the Lord of the Dance protect his people from the challenge of Don Dorcha, the Dark Lord ... "

One of the legends of American entertainment pays a personal visit to Hampton Roads, in Chita Rivera – My Broadway (April 29), recapping a remarkable career.

The VOA is bringing Porgy and Bess to the Ferguson too (May 7 & 8).

Side by side all these big guns stands Norfolk's theatrical equivalent of "the little engine that could." The small Workshop Theatre Group, sharing the space of a downtown storefront turned dance studio, produces impeccably and professionally crafted, wonderfully innovative theatrical artistry.

This fall will see Workshop's world premiere of The Jimmy the Randy Show, an autobiographical monologue by Richmond playwright, actor and teacher Randy Strawderman. He's known internationally for co-writing the Cole Porter review Red, Hot and Cole and locally known for his teaching and directing.

This list only scratches the surface of Hampton Roads theater. Just about every city had at least one community theater, and every college has programs worthy of attention. At least two, ODU and Regent, are essentially pre-professional programs. 

Other venues include the historic Attucks Theatre and the TCC Roper Theatre in Norfolk and The Palace Theatre in Cape Charles. The American Theatre is a hot spot for cool shows aimed at young, student and family audiences. 

The youth-oriented Hurrah Players routinely outstrip many adult troupes, as do the several programs of the Governor's School for the Arts. The community-based Generic Theater strives to be forward thinking, and the premiere-oriented 40th Street Stage can be downright daring. 

The devoted Hampton Roads theater fan can catch more than 60 different shows in just one, nine-month season. That's a lotta curtain calls!

 

Virginia Stage Company
757-627-1234
www.vastage.com

The American Theatre
757-722-2787
www.hamptonarts.net

Broadway at Chrysler Hall
757-664-6464
www.sevenvenues.com

Broadway at the Center
www.broadwayatthecenter.com
340-5446

The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
www.sandlercenter.org
757-385-ARTS (757-385- 2787)

Virginia Opera Association
757-623-1223
866-OPERA-VA (866-673-7282)
www.vaopera.org

Christopher Newport University's Ferguson Center for the Arts
757-594-8752
http://fergusoncenter.cnu.edu

The Workshop Theatre Group
757 626 3262
www.workshoptheatregroup.org

 

 

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