In the electric and perpetually sincere terrain of Richmond’s theatre culture, there are institutions that do more than merely reside, they lead. They serve as a measure of our city's potential beyond its natural aspirations. I've witnessed Firehouse Theatre inhabit...
For one weekend, Agecroft Hall stopped being a museum and became a kingdom. What began as a fundraiser to help launch Richmond's first Renaissance Faire has grown into a destination of its own. Warriors in Bloom, created by the folks at Virago Alley, returned with more performers, more artisans, more storytelling, and the kind of fun that...
WARNING: This review contains baseball metaphors. Cadence Theatre’s Pipeline New Works Program is at the plate again, with its last batter, Witchduck, staring at home from third base. It is literally the first swing ever for the new musical, SAFETY!, at Firehouse Theatre, and I’m watching with a bucket of popcorn on my lap on opening night. This...
If you’ve been reading these reviews for a while, you’ll notice I love me some context. Especially surrounding William Shakespeare’s plays. One of my favorite things about the existence of Richmond Shakespeare is that they’ve forced me to go back to the English Lit textbooks, deep dive into some YouTube lectures, search for Elizabethan and modern...
Richmond metal band GWAR says the Secret Service contacted the group following a recent performance at the Vans Warped Tour in Washington, D.C., that featured the mock execution of a Donald Trump effigy. Video of the performance, which showed band members disemboweling a Trump character onstage and spraying the crowd with fake blood, circulated...
Do you remember the rollerblading guy with the American flag kit on September 12th? We will never forget the 11th for the horrors, but do you remember the 12th? The 13th? If you do, I don’t even have to say which year. If you don’t, let me tell you a little bit about your country. I don’t know how many of you slept the night of September 11th,...
It could be said that Shakespeare invented the rom-com. It could also be said that Jane Austen improved it a couple of centuries later. Between the two of them, meet-cutes, notices of love or rejection arriving at exactly the wrong time, and breathless affirmations of adoration and/or regret always end in a heap of laughter and wedding bells. The...
Editor's Note: For more on the life and legacy of Sojourner Truth, read Christian Detres' companion essay HERE. This has been an inspirational season for Richmond’s homegrown theatre. We are following up the sold-out run of Witchduck with the mid-project musical exhibition of Truth, a musical enshrining the story of the inimitable Sojourner...
I am rarely speechless, especially about theatre. Since I don’t get paid if I remain silent, I will make myself criticize a play I don’t feel I have any right to judge. Gotta pay the rent, and all that. I came into this performance of WitchDuck by Cadence and Firehouse Theatre with a vague understanding that this had some historical relevance to...
Beloved humorist and New York Times bestselling author, David Sedaris, will land feet first on April 17th during a stop at the Altria Theater as part of his “An Evening with David Sedaris” 43-show US tour, featuring all-new readings and recollections. Maybe you have been a fan of Sedaris since 1992 when his essay “Santaland Diaries” was broadcast...
