Michael Jarrett News

Alice Walker's Pulitzer-winning The Color Purple is one of the greatest stories of the last 50 years, and its musical adaptation is one of the most magical Broadway experiences of the last 20 years. Riverside Center for the Performing Arts has captured much of that charm in its moving production of The Color Purple, running through May 5 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Alice Walker's Pulitzer-winning The Color Purple is one of the greatest stories of the last 50 years, and its musical adaptation is one of the most magical Broadway experiences of the last 20 years. Riverside Center for the Performing Arts has captured much of that charm in its moving production of The Color Purple, running through May 5 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Hometown choreographer Iquail Shaheed brings his company back and returns to an iconic piece about the black ballerina. Dance Iquail presents Black Swan, a 90-minute dance-based production choreographed to the music of artist and activist Nina Simone. Black Swan runs February 22-23 at the Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine Street. Tickets cost $15-$40 and are available on the website of the Performance Garage at www.performancegarage.org/upcoming-performances. More information on Dance Iquail can be found at www.danceiquail.org.

Hometown choreographer Iquail Shaheed brings his company back and returns to an iconic piece about the black ballerina. Dance Iquail presents Black Swan, a 90-minute dance-based production choreographed to the music of artist and activist Nina Simone. Black Swan runs February 22-23 at the Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine Street. Tickets cost $15-$40 and are available on the website of the Performance Garage at www.performancegarage.org/upcoming-performances. More information on Dance Iquail can be found at www.danceiquail.org.

On Thursday, April 4, two days after Chicago's municipal election run-off, the 2019 CHF Presents Spring series will kickoff with one of Chicago's most powerful women, Valerie Jarrett. Jarrett will reflect on her longtime friendship with the Obama family, her time in public service from LaSalle Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, and what she plans to do next. Jarrett's event will be held at KAM Isaiah Israel Temple in Hyde Park.

Voting continues for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Central Virginia Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Norfolk Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Norfolk Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just one month left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Norfolk Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just one month left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld West Virginia Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

Riverside Center for the Performing Arts continues its season with the Disney classic BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. If audience response is any indication, this musical extravaganza is enjoyable for the entire family. Arrive early as the dinner theatre offers its audiences a variety of three-course meals that are appetizing and perfectly-themed for this production. Kids will also appreciate a meet and greet with some of Disney's most iconic characters following the performance.

On October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepherd was tied to a fence post and beaten to an inch of his life. On October 12, 1998, Matthew Shepherd died. A tragedy that was felt around the world, the horrific event planted new seeds for equality and birthed new anti-hate laws in America.

Riverside Center for the Performing Arts closes its season with the classic Broadway musical A CHORUS LINE. From the iconic opening number to the show-stopping finale, 22 triple-threat performers work tirelessly and prove this production is something really special. There have been recent tours and productions in Virginia, but this is the 'One' audiences really must see.

Audiences who want to be thoroughly entertained should get down to The Basement to see a sidesplitting production of Robert Askins' HAND TO GOD. Boasting one of the strongest ensembles of the summer, TheatreLAB and 5th Wall Theatre's co-production is certainly not for children or those easily offended. It is provocative and deliciously funny. It's the puppetry of AVENUE Q and the irreverence of THE BOOK OF MORMON-without song and dance numbers.

Richmond Triangle Players closes its 25th anniversary season with an already-extended, completely-sold-out production of the very ambitious A CHORUS LINE.

The Richmond Triangle Players' production of Larry Kramer's THE NORMAL HEART is not the most polished audiences have seen, but it is one of the most important and heartrending pieces of theatre the company has produced in recent years. While the story may be more compelling to those who lived through the AIDS crisis, it's imperative for millennials to visit this monumental time in LGBTQ history.

True to their slogan 'Theatre Beyond Boundaries,' director Lucian Restivo and the personnel at 5th Wall have executed (pun intended) a distinctly immersive theatrical gambit with pulverizing marks. By staging Murder Ballad entirely within the confines of the main room at Club Infuzion in Scott's Addition (as per the original Off-Broadway production's cue to venue selection), the audience is treated to a 360 degree display of four spellbinding actors belting out booming rock tunes whilst weaving around and about the respective patrons' tables and sitting areas.

The images are haunting. Their stories are heartbreaking. Prior to the Pulse nightclub tragedy, it was the most deadly attack against the LGBT community. The arson at the UpStairs Lounge in the French Quarter of New Orleans is at the center of Richmond Triangle Players' entertaining and moving season opener, THE VIEW UPSTAIRS.