Xander Wong as Ryu and McLean Jesse as Katha in Firehouse Theatre's "Maple and Vine," which opens April 9. (Photo by Bill Sigafoos)
What would happen if you turned back the clock a few (say, six) decades? Firehouse Theatre's "Maple and Vine" explores that question when New York power couple Katha (McLean Jesse), an editor at Random House, and Ryu (Xander Wong), a plastic surgeon, decide to give it all up to pursue a midcentury lifestyle in a Midwestern gated community of 1950s re-enactors. The show opens Saturday (April 9) after previews Thursday and Friday, and runs through May 8. $35. 355-2001 or firehousetheatre.org.
Also getting under way is the James River Film Festival. Its 23rd year starts tonight (April 7) at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' Leslie Cheek Theater with "The Very Best of Rural Route Films, 2011-2015," (6:30 to 9 p.m., $8.) Additional offerings during four days at varying locations, some free and others ticketed, include a widescreen 35 mm matinee Sunday (4:30 p.m., The Byrd Theatre) of “The Man Who Fell To Earth,” featuring the late David Bowie and a 30th anniversary screening of the documentary “Heavy Metal Parking Lot" (Sunday, 3 p.m. at The Byrd.) Read more in Harry Kollatz Jr.'s preview.
Speaking of films, Richmond-based Belltower Pictures' "Shooting the Prodigal" will be showing Friday (April 8) at Bow Tie Cinemas' Movieland at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:20 p.m., and 10 p.m. The 7:20 showing will be followed by a Q&A session with director David Powers, the film's producers and cast members. Heather Waters, one of the producers, says the film may be extended at Movieland if it has a strong opening weekend, and possibly travel to other Bow Tie locations.
EVENTS
READ Art Show & Sale 4/8-9
This year is the eighth annual art auction benefitting The New Community School and featuring work from regional artists. Entry to the auction is free; a ticketed opening reception will run from 7 to 9 p.m. on April 8 for $45 per ticket. 4211 Hermitage Road, 266-2494 or tncs.org.
Photo courtesy of Monument Avenue 10K
Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K 4/9
It’s a race along iconic Monument Avenue, but with 40,000 participants, it’s also RVA’s biggest block party, with costumed runners, bands, spirit groups and other family-friendly activities. 285-9495 or sportsbackers.org.
MUSIC
Janet Martin Duo 4/7
A Richmonder who has also developed a following overseas, Martin’s sound ranges from bluegrass to electric rock to rhythm and blues. Tin Pan. 7:30 p.m. $8. 447-8189 or tinpanrva.com.
Gregg Allman 4/10
A founding member of the Allman Brothers, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (also named one of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”) comes to The National on a bill with Gabriel Kelley. 7:30 p.m. $40 to $75. 612-1900 or thenationalva.com.
They’ve got brass. Seraph (l to r): Beth McDonald, Alexis Smith, Mary Bowden, Amy McCabe, Katy Ambrose.
Seraph Brass 4/10
The all-female brass quintet, including Richmond Symphony trumpeter Mary Bowden, will perform original transcriptions, newly commissioned works and well-known classics at River Road Church, Baptist. 7 p.m. 8000 River Road. seraphbrass.com. See Harry (The Hat) Kollatz Jr.'s interview with Mary Bowden here.
STAGE
In a mash-up of mime, performance art and vaudeville, puppeteers Teatro Hugo + Ines visit Gottwald Playhouse at the newly christened Dominion Arts Center from Friday to Sunday (April 8 to 10), presented by the Modlin Center for the Arts. $20. 600 E. Grace St. 289-8980 or modlin.richmond.edu.
Other continuing productions ...
Larry Cook and Lauren Leinhaas-Cook in Virginia Repertory Theatre's production of "I Do! I Do!" (Photo by Jay Paul)
“I Do! I Do!” through 4/10
This intimate musical by the creators of “The Fantasticks” follows two soul mates as they navigate the joys and challenges of a 50-year marriage. It’s been extended by a week at Hanover Tavern. $40. 282-2620 or va-rep.org.
“I Ought To Be in Pictures” through 4/10
In this Neil Simon play, it’s 1980 and a struggling screenwriter suddenly finds that his estranged 19-year-old daughter has hitchhiked to Hollywood and landed on his doorstep to pursue a movie-acting career. $25. 285-6500 or weinsteinjcc.org.
“Croaker” through 4/17
The musical by Jason Marks and Debra Clinton is a contemporary re-telling of “The Princess and the Frog," playing at Virginia Rep’s Children’s Theatre at Willow Lawn. $20. 282-2620 or va-rep.org.
"Little Shop of Horrors" through 5/21
Swift Creek Mill Theatre’s 1986 production of the horror-comedy rock musical became the theater’s longest-running show. Now, Audrey II returns to consume the theater once again. $38 or $55 (with buffet). 748-5203 or swiftcreekmill.com.
ART EXHIBITIONS
The Iridian Gallery at Diversity Richmond is holding an opening reception tonight (April 7) for "{D}Light: Works in Copper by Cathy G. Vaughn." The Richmond-based artist's show is installed as garden, dining and bedroom-themed rooms featuring copper works interacting with light and shadows. It runs through May 21. 1407 Sherwood Ave. 622-4646 or diversityrichmond.org.
Opening Friday are the VCU Graduate MFA Thesis Exhibitions. Round one begins with a reception April 8 at the Depot Gallery (814 W. Broad St.) and continues through April 24; round two starts with a reception April 29 and continues through May 15. Work will also be shown at VCU’s Anderson building (907 1/2 W. Franklin St.). 828-7720 or arts.vcu.edu.
"I Thought I Knew," by Whitney Oldenburg, oil on rock, 2014. (Image courtesy of the artist and Reynolds Gallery)
At Reynolds Gallery, exhibitions by Conor Backman and Jiha Moon also open Friday, April 8, with an opening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. and continue through May 27. A Hudson, New York-based artist and VCU alumnus, Backman draws on his education in both sculpture and painting to incorporate three-dimensional elements in “Circular Garden.” The second exhibition, by Korean-born, Atlanta-based artist Jiha Moon, features paintings that explore cultural identity by combining imagery from both Eastern and Western cultures. Also on Friday, there will be a reception for VCUarts Fountainhead Fellows Whitney Oldenburg (an adjunct faculty member in VCUarts' Painting and Printmaking department) and Zachary Trow, who will be exhibiting in the upstairs gallery. 1514 W. Main St. 355-6553 or reynoldsgallery.com.
Continuing exhibitions include ..
Artspace: Five Gallery Exhibitions through 4/17
Digital photography by Anne Savedge, sculptural ceramics by Claire Parrish, fiber and mixed media by Robin Ryder and drawings, modified imagery and animation by Bill Porter are featured, along with mixed media works by Richmond artists in the Suzanne Foley Gallery. Exhibitions continue through April 17, and the artists will hold a gallery talk at 2 p.m. on that day. 0 E. Fourth St. 232-6464 or artspacegallery.org.
“The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Design” through 4/17
Organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville and the Thomas H. and Diane DeMell Jacobsen Ph.D. Foundation, this exhibition at the Virginia Historical Society features 44 chairs from the early 19th century to the present, chosen for their beauty and historical context. $20. 358-4901 or vahistorical.org.
“The Art of Making Faces” through 4/22
Culled from the University of Richmond museums’ collections of drawings, prints, photographs, and paintings, the exhibition begins with 16 prints created by Giovanni Castiglione from 1645 to 1650 and ends with a selection of screen prints and Polaroid prints from the 1970s and 1980s by Andy Warhol. Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center. 287-6424 or museums.richmond.edu.
“Subject to Change” through 4/23
Works by David Emitt Adams, K.K. DePaul, Heidi Kirkpatrick, Lisa Kokin, Tarrah Krajnak, Rachel Phillips and Kris Sanford at Candela Books + Gallery. 214 W. Broad St. 225-5527 or candelabooks.com.
(Images courtesy: Bernard Martin)
“The Authentic Death of Vincent Van Gogh,” through 4/30
When he was a young man, artist Bernard Martin, 82, read a cowboy book titled “The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones.” Marlon Brando in 1961 made a film from the novel called “One-Eyed Jacks” — a fact that Martin, a movie lover, enjoys contemplating. This is the thought behind “The Authentic Death of Vincent Van Gogh,” exhibited through April 30 at the ADA Gallery. See Harry Kollatz Jr.'s full story here.
“Fine Art and Furniture” through 4/30
This show at Ashland’s Gallery Flux pairs paintings by a variety of artists with artisan-made furniture and pottery. 307-B England St. 752-3540 or galleryflux.com.
“Hyperrealism: Beyond the Photograph” through 5/15
Artist Sharon Guyton Lalik says in an artist’s statement that “painting in a photographic style allows me to showcase an ordinary subject in an extraordinary way, revealing its intricate details, blemishes, and irregularities.” See her work in the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen’s Gumenick Family Gallery. 261-2787 or artsglenallen.com.
Anna Hepler at work. (Photo courtesy Visual Arts Center of Richmond)
“Push Me Pull You” through 5/29
Maine-based artist Anna Hepler’s exhibition at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond will feature wire and fiber sculpture, ceramics, woodcuts, etchings and cyanotypes. In conjunction, Quirk Gallery will present “Alphabet,” an exhibition of Hepler’s work on paper and small sculptural models in mixed media, from April 5 to May 8. VisArts: 353-0094 or visarts.org; Quirk: 644-5450 or quirkgallery.com.
“Different Trends” through 5/31
Works by Ugandan artist Hassan Mukiibi at Elegba Folklore Society. 101 E. Broad St., 644-3900 or efsinc.org.
“Thomas R. Schiff: Virginia 360°” through 6/19
Contemporary photographer Thomas R. Schiff made these 40 panoramic images in Virginia between 2004 and 2013. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Free. 340-1400 or vmfa.museum.
