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TOTALLY STAGED: THEATER EVERYWHERE IN CHARLOTTESVILLE
BY MARY ESSELMAN
PERFORMANCE@READTHEHOOK.COM

If I were a snooty and ill-informed big-city transplant, what might I expect from Charlottesville’s theater scene?  A touring production of Love Letters, perhaps, starring Jill St. John and Robert Wagner; some earnest Chekhov productions from the University’s Department of Drama; and the occasional community theater event, featuring a cast straight out of Christopher Guest’s mockumentary Waiting for Guffman.
    But on closer inspection, one finds the Guffman comparison is a lot of guff!   
    The local scene is enlivened in summer by operas at Ash Lawn-Highland, productions at UVA's Helms and Culbreth theatres, and the second cycle of the yearly offerings at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton. Four County Players in Barboursville can be counted on for a wonderful summer experience under the stars in the Ruins, and then for fun productions in their playhouse during the year.
    Live Arts never fails to amaze with the variety and quality of their productions on two stages, just as Offstage presents eclectic shows in bars all over town in the annual "Barhoppers" series. Piedmont Virginia Community College not only hosts New Lyric Theater Gilbert and Sullivan productions (this year The Mikado), but the school's theater department can also be counted on to bring in fascinating shows.
The Old Michie Theater and Ash Lawn both offer delicacies for kiddies, including marionette and puppet shows as well as magic, juggling, and other imaginative fare. The Bent Theater troupe makes it up as they go along, but the shows are no less stimulating for all that-- some might say they're even more fun than people reciting memorized lines!
    Add into the mix productions at local schools like Tandem, Miller, CHS, and the Albemarle Players (from the high school of the same name, they were invited to the huge Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland last year), and it's clear that, while we’re a little off Off-Broadway, a little bit south of Soho, the play’s the thing here.   

Live Theater and Dance
American Shakespeare Center. Watch the best of the bard and more in the Shenandoah Valley's recreation of the original Blackfriars Playhouse. In addition to the current series of plays (Love's Labours Lost, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale, and Antony and Cleopatra), the 2007-2008 schedule includes A Christmas Carol, The Santaland Diaries around the holidays. 10 S. Market St., Staunton. $10-26. 540-885-5588

Ash Lawn Opera Festival. This long-running Opera Festival performs opera and musical theater in English in the beautiful Boxwood Gardens of Ash Lawn-Highland, home of President James Monroe. Performances run from the first of July to mid-August, and generally include two major works, a music at twilight series, and pre-concert lectures. Puppet shows delight kids in "Summer Saturdays" events. 2007 schedule: La Boheme and The Sound of Music. $5-26. James Monroe Parkway. 293-4500

Charlottesville Salsa Club. All are welcome at the club's weekly boogie night: Sundays at the Outback Lodge, 917 Preston Ave. Enjoy traditional and contemporary Latin tunes and be prepared to dance with different people. A basic lesson starts the night at 8pm. Last dance around midnight. Membership, $25. Salsa night, $3 members; $5 all others. 979-7211

Four County Players. This nonprofit volunteer community theater is the oldest continuously operating community theater in Central Virginia. 4CP produces several shows throughout the year and holds a Summer Theater Camp. The troupe is now performing Twelfth Night as its annual Shakespeare production at the Barboursville Vineyards.  Winter productions happen in the Barboursville Community Center, 5256 Governor Barbour St. 540-832-5355

Live Arts.  This community theater group formed in 1990 offers a range of theater experiences in its new custom-built, architecturally distinguished arts complex off the Mall on Water Street. Since 1990, Live Arts has fostered the creation of over 200 shows ranging from new interpretations of classics to avant garde performance art. A professional staff works with volunteers to produce a full main-stage season, extensive educational programs, and smaller experimental works. $10-15.123 E. Water St. 977-4177

New Lyric Theatre. Since its premiere in 2000, the New Lyric Theatre Company, composed of volunteer actors, directors, musicians, singers, and technicians, has produced Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. This summer they tackled The Mikado, a full cast and full orchestra, as usual. in the Dickinson Performing Arts Center at Piedmont Virginia Community College. $15-17. 977-7478 newlyrictheatre.com

Old Michie Theatre. This theater and drama school seeks to inspire students with the joys of live theater and puppetry arts. The Theatre offers a wide variety of classes throughout the year for children ages 5-17, as well as a series of Saturday morning puppet plays and dramatic productions. $1 to $7.50. Class fees vary. 221 E. Water St. 977-3690

Paramount Theater. Possibly the most anticipated renovation project in Charlottesville. Between Second and Third streets on the Downtown Mall, this 1931 movie theater has been remade into a first-rate venue for concerts, plays, and more. $19-100. 979-1922

Piedmont Virginia Community College. In addition to hosting New Lyric Theatre's productions of Gilbert and Sullivan, Piedmont Virginia Community College puts on main-stage and chamber theater productions during the year, as well as a children's theater series.  501 College Drive. 961-5376

Play On! A nonprofit community theater group in Charlottesville, Play On! offers comedies, dramas, musicals, and revues at various sites in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.  296-2238

UVA Drama Department. Besides offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in performance and theater design, the UVA Drama Department mounts four main-stage productions each academic year and several additional smaller productions, often student-directed. UVA's theaters include the 600-seat Culbreth, with its proscenium stage, and the flexible Helms Theatre with 160-200 seats. HRT performs in June, July, and August and after renovations to the theater, returns Summer 2008. 109 Culbreth Road. 924-3376

Bent Theater Improv-- The Bent Theater presents live improv comedy shows at R2 behind Rapture restaurant on the Downtown Mall every Thursday night at 8pm. 

Dinner theater?
Charlottesville doesn't have a permanent one. The closest one, seating 450 people, is the Riverside, about an hour away in Fredericksburg. $40-51 includes dinner and the show, which typically runs 2-2.5 hours.This year's lineup includes A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Beauty and the Beast, and Thouroughly Modern Millie. Reservations required. 540-370-4300

Outdoor theater
Besides Shakespeare in Barboursville and Ash Lawn's summer opera, there is outdoor theater over in Lexington. It's a 60-minute drive to the Theater at Lime Kiln, a place that, while fell on fall hard times has begun to make a comeback.  540-463-7088

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