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Richmond Shakespeare Festival returns for 24th installment this June and July

The festival will run from June 1 through July 30, 2023, Thursday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 PM.

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Richmond Shakespeare and Agecroft Hall & Gardens have announced the 24th Annual Richmond Shakespeare Festival. The festival will run from June 1 through July 30, 2023, Thursday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 PM.

“We are so excited to get the festival started at Agecroft Hall this summer. We have one of Shakespeare’s best comedies and a very funny adaptation of Molière’s The Misanthrope by renowned playwright, David Ives. It’s the perfect way to spend a summer evening,” artistic director James Ricks remarked. “The festival is a summer tradition that screams ‘You’re Very Richmond If’,” adds managing director Jase Sullivan. “The combination of theatre under the stars with the gorgeous surroundings of Agecroft Hall on the James River make for an evening of magic.”

The festival kicks off with The School for Lies by David Ives. A gleeful truth-teller, Frank is a French aristocrat who despises his society of liars and doesn’t mind telling them so. His well-aimed barbs wreak havoc in a world of pompous suitors and extravagant ladies, until rumors ricochet and alternative facts become reality. This wild farce of furious tempo and stunning verbal display, all in very contemporary couplets, runs variations on Molière’s The Misanthrope, of which it is inspired.

Closing out the season is William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. Shakespeare’s most farcical comedy tells the story of two sets of identical twins accidentally separated at birth. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps, based on mistaken identities, leads to melodrama and mayhem. This contemporary take on Shakespeare’s shortest play promises to be a hilarious evening for the whole family.

Agecroft Hall executive director Anne Kenny-Urban invites patrons to, “come wander through our gardens, enjoy a picnic with your friends on the lawn, and then sit back and be entertained by a wonderfully comic romp by Richmond Shakes. They breathe new life into Shakespeare, and you will leave relaxed, happy and full of special memories.” This summer’s festival features returning favorite vendors including Garden Grove Brewing and Urban Winery, who will be on-site Thursday through Saturday evenings with beers and wine.

In addition, the festival will include several new vendors throughout the season. Thursday through Sunday evenings will feature various ice cream and frozen treat vendors. Kismet Market will offer a variety of stalls featuring local makers June 10-11 and July 15-16. Kenny-Urban adds “with all of these offerings in addition to the beautiful setting and the classic plays at the center of it all, the Richmond Shakespeare Festival offers a uniquely Richmond experience to tantalize all of your senses.”

Tickets for the 24th Annual Richmond Shakespeare Festival are on sale now. Visit www.richmondshakespeare.org for more information and to purchase tickets.

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Trevor Dickerson is the Editor and Co-Founder of RVAHub.

Arts & Entertainment

Richmond Flying Squirrels to host summer movie series in the Diamond outfield

The Richmond Flying Squirrels will host Summer Movie Series presented by Woodfin at The Diamond with three chances to watch movies at The Diamond, the team announced recently.

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The Richmond Flying Squirrels will host Summer Movie Series presented by Woodfin at The Diamond with three chances to watch movies at The Diamond, the team announced recently.

Movies will be shown on the video board at The Diamond on Friday, June 30, Sunday, August 27 and Saturday, September 16. Admission is $10 per person (children ages three and younger are admitted free). Tickets are available now at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Movies.

The three-night movie series begins on Friday, June 30 with a showing of the classic Pixar film, “WALL-E.”The gates open at 6:30 p.m. and the movie will start at 7:30 p.m.

On Sunday, August 27, the Flying Squirrels will host a showing of “The Goonies” at 7 p.m. The gates will open at 6 p.m.

The movie series concludes on Saturday, September 16 with “Encanto.” The gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and the movie will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Seating will be located on the field or in the first-base lower bowl. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets or pillows, but chairs are prohibited.

Concessions will be available for the Summer Movie Series at the first-base lower stand on the stadium’s concourse. No outside food and drinks are allowed. Only credit or debit cards will be accepted at the concession stands.

Parking for the Summer Movie Series will be available for free in the Blue Lot at The Diamond, located off Arthur Ashe Boulevard across from the bus station. All guests should enter the stadium through the right-field gate located near the Cross Timbers Roofing Party Pavilion.

Attendees are asked to apply any sunscreen and bug spray before entering the field.

Tickets and more information are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Movies, by phone at 804-359-3866 (FUNN) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.

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Arts & Entertainment

Richmond Triangle Players announces 2023-2024 season shows

Five plays, including a new production of one of RTP’s biggest holiday hits, will take the stage at Richmond Triangle Players for its 2023-24 season, as the company celebrates its 31st year.

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Five plays, including a new production of one of RTP’s biggest holiday hits, will take the stage at Richmond Triangle Players for its 2023-24 season, as the company celebrates its 31st year.

“Last year’s 30th Anniversary Season included some of the largest and most ambitious productions we have ever attempted,” said RTP artistic director Lucian Restivo. “This new season, we will take an in-depth look into the LGBTQ+ experience with some intimate and edgier works, alongside a fantastical musical and the return of one of our favorite holiday hits.”

As always, the focus of every RTP is rooted in staying true to its mission, presenting unique — sometimes provocative, sometimes challenging, and sometimes simply hilarious –- works of theater.

For over three decades, Richmond Triangle Players has transformed the community’s conversations about diversity and inclusion through the production of LGBTQ+-themed works A nonprofit, professional theatre company founded in 1993, RTP takes pride in being the leading performing arts company in the region that produces high-quality transformational programming rooted in queer experiences and supports the development of queer artistry.

RTP is the only professional theatre company in the Richmond area – and the longest continually operating one in the entire Mid-Atlantic region — which expressly and regularly serves the LGBTQ+ community. While other local theatres occasionally produce plays with LGBTQ+ content, only Triangle Players has made an ongoing commitment to queer artists, issues, audiences, and community support.

The 2023-24 Season will Include:

A defiantly embracing call to action
One in two by Donja R. Love
September 20 – October 14, 2023

The raucous holiday treat returns in a brand-new production
Scrooge in Rouge, book and lyrics by Ricky Graham, additional material by Jeffery Roberson, other interesting bits by Yvette Hargis, original music composed by Jefferson Turner
November 15 – December 23, 2023

A new look at a ground-breaking comedy
Torch Song by Harvey Fierstein
February 14 – March 9, 2024

Forgotten women who are not easy to forget
Airswimming by Charlotte Jones
April 10 – May 4, 2024

The musical that will roll right into your heart!
Xanadu book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 film of the same name
June 5 – July 13, 2024

Plus, on our Spotlight Cabaret Series (a separate subscription), we will feature:
Georgia Rogers Farmer: Re-Butter My Biscuit! October 19 – 21, 2023
Darienne Lake: Altered Boy, January 19 – 20, 2024.
Dan and Jim: A (Sorta) Love Song, March 15 – 16, 2024.
Nicholas Rodriguez: Sincerely, SondheimMay 10 – 11, 2024.

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Arts & Entertainment

Author Sadeqa Johnson discusses The House of Eve on June 8 as part of the Library of Virginia’s 2023 Carole Weinstein Author Series 

Johnson is an international best-selling and award-winning author of five novels. Her novel Yellow Wife, which won the Library’s 2022 People’s Choice Award for Fiction, follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia. 

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The Library of Virginia’s 2023 Carole Weinstein Author Series continues with a talk by best-selling author Sadeqa Johnson on The House of Eve, the historical fiction follow-up to her award-winning novel Yellow Wife. The free talk will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 8 at the Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond. A book signing will follow the talk.

The House of Eve continues Johnson’s tradition of confronting timeless questions that have no easy answers. In this moving work of historical fiction set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., the stories of two women collide in unexpected ways as they both make decisions that shape the trajectories of their lives. The book explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal. The House of Eve was an instant New York Times best seller and was selected by Reese’s Book Club as the February 2023 pick.

Johnson is an international best-selling and award-winning author of five novels. Her novel Yellow Wife, which won the Library’s 2022 People’s Choice Award for Fiction, follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia. Johnson is a Kimbilo Fellow, a former board member of the James River Writers and a member of the Tall Poppy Writers. She also teaches fiction writing for the MFA program at Drexel University.

The Carole Weinstein Author Series supports the literary arts by bringing both new and well-known authors to the Library of Virginia. Free and open to the public, the series focuses on Virginia authors and Virginia subjects across all genres and is made possible through support from the Carole Weinstein Endowment for Virginia Authors. This year marks the Library’s 200th anniversary, a special occasion for spotlighting the Library’s role in bringing attention to talented Virginia writers and fascinating Virginia subjects.

To see the series schedule and register for events, visit www.lva.virginia.gov/public/weinstein. For more information, contact Elizabeth Kaczynski at [email protected] or 804.692.3536.

Will you help support independent, local journalism?

We need your help. RVAHub is a small, independent publication, and we depend on our readers to help us provide a vital community service. If you enjoy our content, would you consider a donation as small as $5? We would be immensely grateful! Interested in advertising your business, organization, or event? Get the details here.

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