Month: December 2023

Categories
News

In brief

CCS Superintendent Royal Gurley (left) and Charlottesville High School interim principal Kenny Leatherwood spoke to hundreds of parents who gathered at CHS on November 30 for an information and feedback session. Supplied photos.

Now what?

After a tumultuous few weeks for the Black Knights, Charlottesville City Schools hosted a community information and feedback session on November 30 at Charlottesville High School.

The meeting was prompted by a wave of fights at the school, three unanticipated days without instruction due to staff absences, and the abrupt departure of former principal Rashaad Pitt. CCS hoped the meeting would assuage community concerns about safety, security, and the environment at the school, but many attendees left the event frustrated.

Superintendent Royal Gurley and interim principal Kenny Leatherwood were the evening’s first speakers, followed by CCS officials, who outlined the immediate and planned changes to improve safety and security. Few of the slides revealed new information, but the district did share limited details about Knight School—a new night-time alternative education program—and plans to redo the bathrooms at CHS.

Many of the hundreds who attended the meeting were clearly frustrated with the lengthy presentation and CCS’ assurances about safety and standards at the school. When a district leader said that “We’ve always been disciplining students,” an audience member loudly responded, “No, you don’t.”

Following the presentation, community members were split into small groups to discuss their concerns and feelings about the school environment and security. Members of the local media were informed ahead of the event that they would be barred from participating in or recording audio of these discussions. Several organizations, including C-VILLE, objected to this lack of transparency.

Speakers from the groups were given the opportunity to share takeaways and potential solutions after reconvening. They expressed their discontent with communication about incidents at the school and the lack of consideration for deeper systemic issues underlying disruptive behavior, but said they appreciated CHS teachers and staff.

As attendees trickled out of the school’s common area, several shared their feelings about the session and the broader situation at CHS.

“I was amazed at how many people were in the room. I thought that was great,” said CHS parent David Leblang about the event. “I was disappointed in the sense that in the presentation, I didn’t hear anything about change. I just heard, ‘This is what we’re doing … we’re thinking about metal detectors, and we’re going to redo the bathrooms.’ That’s great, right, but how is that going to solve things in the spring?”

“I don’t feel unsafe at the school. And I do think that the administration is here for us, for the most part, but I do think it’s not really about the fights as much it is about … deeper systemic issues,” said Senior Class President Maggie Heaphy. Though glad the event offered people the opportunity to vocalize their concerns, she was disappointed by the lack of conversation between administrators and community members. “I think a lot of the frustration around tonight is that the whole kind of listening session idea, people don’t just want to say what they have to say, they want to hear the responses to that.”

“Yeah, there are things that need to change,” said Heaphy. “But there are also so many positive things that happened in these schools.”

In brief

Burial Grounds

The infamous Monroe Doctrine—introduced by President James Monroe on December 2, 1823—was symbolically laid to rest 200 years later on University of Virginia Grounds. Activists from the organizations CODEPINK and World Beyond War arranged the mock funeral, which began with a procession of the doctrine’s casket from the Downtown Mall’s Free Speech Wall to Monroe Hill House at UVA. The Monroe Doctrine profoundly influenced U.S. foreign policy, especially in regards to the country’s engagements in Latin America, by expanding the nation’s sphere of influence to the whole of the Americas.  

Turning the page  

Daedalus Books is under new ownership. According to The Daily Progress, Jackson Landers, a writer who was working part-time at the bookstore, was asked to buy the business by its 81-year-old longtime owner Sandy McAdams. The three-floor shop specializes in fiction and contains about 100,000 books, many of which are out of print.

Rookie of the year

During the 2023 Virginia Football Awards, 34-year-old Matt Ganyard was named Rookie of the Year under the Special Teams category. The oldest current player in NCAA Division I football, Ganyard debuted as a kicker for UVA this year, despite never playing a game of organized football in his life. Ganyard was allowed to play for Virginia due to his eligibility clock being paused while he served as a pilot in the U.S. Marines. A second-year graduate student at the Darden School of Business, Ganyard was also a nominee for the Armed Forces Merit Award.  

Image by UVA Athletics Communications.
Categories
News Real Estate

Ever expanding

A UVA Foundation associated entity called Ivy Square of Charlottesville LLC paid $20 million for the Ivy Square Shopping Center in December 2021. File photo.

Members of the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors who drive to Charlottesville along U.S. 29 from points north for this week’s meeting will pass the latest purchase made on behalf of the public institution.   

The UVA Foundation has paid $3 million for nearly one and a half acres off of Earhart Street. That’s the first right on southbound Emmet Street after passing underneath the U.S. 29/250 bypass bridge. The property currently contains one of UVA’s child care centers as well as an industrial building that’s at least partially vacant. 

The seller is a trust associated with the late Gloria Rennolds, who died in March. Her husband bought the property in 1973 and the trust still owns 1417 Emmet St. N, which is currently rented to several businesses, including the Super Amanecer Latino Market. 

As of November 30, the UVA Foundation owned 24 parcels of land within city limits under its name, but it owns other properties across the community under different names. For instance, an associated entity called Ivy Square of Charlottesville LLC paid $20 million for the Ivy Square Shopping Center in December 2021. 

The Earhart property is outside the scope of the draft master plan for UVA, as is the Oak Lawn estate in Fifeville that UVA itself purchased in late October for $3.5 million. The latter will be used in the short-term by the UVA Health System, but child care is one use suggested for the property near Buford Middle School. 

While there’s no clear indication of what might happen in the long-term to Foods of All Nations and other Ivy Square businesses, the Grounds Plan does lay out a future for the Ivy Garden apartment complex on Old Ivy Road in Albemarle County. The Foundation bought that property in 2016 for nearly $22.4 million, and a master plan has been created for up to 718 units as well as academic and commercial space.

The BOV’s Buildings and Grounds Committee meets on December 7, and its consent agenda includes a resolution to demolish several structures on Ivy Road including 2025 and 2029, a parcel the UVA Foundation paid nearly $1.73 million for in April 2010. 

On November 16, the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia transferred $1.836 million back to the Foundation for land upon which the Karsh Institute of Democracy will be constructed. That took the property off of Charlottesville’s property tax rolls. 

One of the only properties on the north side of Ivy Road not owned by UVA is 2117 Ivy Rd., a one-acre property that is being developed by RMD Properties. At its December 4 meeting, City Council was expected to take up rezoning an eight-story building. The developer reduced the building by two stories following criticism from top officials at the University of Virginia. 

The Buildings and Grounds Committee will also see the schematic design for the new Manning Biotechnology Institute and a new parking garage at Fontaine Research Park. The UVA Foundation owned that property for many years before UVA took possession in January 2018.

A request for comment from the UVA Foundation was not returned by publication time. 

Categories
Arts Culture

Mary’s Christmas

From left to right, Evelyn Garey, Austen Weathersby, Ella Caplin, and N. Adora Txakeeyang bring the iconic Bennet sisters to life in Live Arts’ Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, on stage through December 17. Photo by Will Kerner.

Family gatherings during the holiday season are a universally acknowledged experience. You know, the simultaneous dread and excitement, dodging probing questions about your love life, gossiping about family members who’re in the other room, rehashing old dramas, and adding fire to new feuds. 

In Live Arts’ holiday offering, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, characters new and beloved navigate the most joyous time of the year. Set in England in 1815, two years after Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the romantic comedy sees four of the five Bennet sisters gather at Lizzy and Darcy’s mansion to celebrate Christmas. 

With Jane and Bingley expecting, Lizzy and Darcy having tied the knot, and Lydia still married to the diabolical Mr. Wickham, it’s middle-sister Mary’s time to step into the spotlight, and perhaps find love after the arrival of an unexpected gentleman. 

Marianne Kubik was brought on to direct the play, which calls for knowledge of period movement and dialect. A UVA professor of movement and acting and a Jane-ite herself, Kubik is no stranger to Austen’s characters—in 2022, she directed Kate Hamill’s Sense and Sensibility for UVA Drama. Kubik is a longtime Live Arts collaborator, but Miss Bennet marks her first time directing for the community theater.

Kubik went through multiple rounds of casting and callbacks to ensure she found the perfect actors and partnerships. 

“I did my best to consciously put aside the characters that I know from Pride and Prejudice because this isn’t the novel, it’s a complete imagining of a previously imagined story,” says Kubik. “I wanted to look at the humans who were coming in to audition, and think about who might pair well with whom.” 

“It was worth spending all that time on callbacks because the cast really has bonded,” Kubik says. “They seem to enjoy each other’s company, and they certainly enjoy each other’s company and work on stage, and that shows.”

To play Mary, the iconic and curious black sheep of the Bennet family, Kubik cast Austen Weathersby—whose namesake is none other than Jane Austen. Benedict Burgess tackles the role of her potential paramour, Arthur de Bourgh.

Chemistry came naturally for the two actors, who first met at Live Arts 15 years ago, and grew up attending the theater’s camps and workshops.

“This whole show is a bit of a family reunion for me,” says Burgess. “I remember the very first scene that Austen and I did together, I thought she was absolutely fantastic. It’s a scene where Mary is tearing Arthur a new one verbally and she was so good, I just kept breaking. It wasn’t very professional but it was really fun.”

Embodying characters who exist in another time period can be a challenge. Weathersby and Burgess relied on their own lived experiences, and their interactions as scene partners, to find their characters’ motives and mindsets. 

“Mary is very different in this play than the person she is in Pride and Prejudice,” says Weathersby. “She’s grown a lot and developed a lot and is really finding herself. A lot of my process was going to the script and picking out specific things that I could relate to myself and things that I could research, like her interests in music, science, travel, and really try to dig into those and discover what she loves about those things.”

Arthur de Bourgh is an entirely original character, created by Miss Bennet writers Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, so Burgess couldn’t reference the original book or any other versions for inspiration. 

“A lot of the stuff that I put into Arthur, I put in from myself because I feel a lot like him at times,” says Burgess. “He’s someone who’s kind of awkward and shy, but who still feels things very keenly and deeply and wants to express it, even if he doesn’t always have the right words for it.”

“Mary and Arthur are very different from Lizzy and Darcy and Jane and Bingley, and yet just as romantic,” Burgess continues. “They have these just absolutely passionate ideas about who they are and what the world is and what they want out of life. I think that’s going to be a very nice treat because it’s still a romance, but it allows you to see a very different kind of romantic hero.”

Immersion in Mary and Arthur’s world is made easier for Weathersby and Burgess thanks to scenic designer Kerry Moran’s gorgeous yet homely interpretation of Pemberley, and costume designer Megan Hillary’s elegant empire-waist gowns and well-fitted waistcoats. 

Much like its unofficial prequel, Miss Bennet retains Austen’s signature relatability and commentary on marriage and a woman’s place, while also giving audiences new characters to root for.

“There’s a warmth to the whole piece that I really appreciate, especially for this time of year, and I appreciated how it all relates to a lot of the emotions that we feel today,” says Weathersby. “I think that’s a hallmark of Jane Austen’s work—it’s extremely relatable even though it’s a completely different time period with different social rules. I think this play reflects that just as beautifully.”

Categories
News

The Big Picture

Photo by Stephen Barling.

The Oatmeal lineage has been felled. Every year, Charlottesville residents vote on what to name the city’s Christmas tree. In 2021, we were all taken by surprise when Oatmeal was deemed the winner—the name derives from “Frosty the Snowman,” with Oatmeal
being a suggested name for the magical snowman. Some loved it, some hated it, but Oatmeal’s pollen reigned supreme the following year, when C’ville’s tree was dubbed Son of Oatmeal. Charlottesville’s Grand Illumination was last Friday, December 1, and many
hoped Oatmeal the Third would carry on the legacy. Alas, with a hearty yippee-ki-yay, Oatmeal the Third was bested—by one vote—by none other than Spruce Willis. Spruce Willis is currently standing tall outside the Ting Pavilion, and is lit with over 20,000 LED lights.

Categories
Arts Culture

The emperor strikes out

Joaquin Phoenix stars in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, but he can’t quite rise to the stature of the military general. Image by Columbia Pictures.

Ridley Scott’s historical epic Napoleon covers the well-worn territory of the titular French emperor’s monumental military conquests and eventual downfall. Scott’s battle sequences are undeniably extraordinary, and it’s gorgeous overall, but mediocre dialogue and Joaquin Phoenix’s dull title performance noticeably weaken the film.

Scott opens Napoleon with a climax: a bold sequence depicting the beheading of Marie Antoinette, with Napoleon in attendance—one of the film’s many historical inaccuracies. From there, the story alternates between Napoleon’s rise to power from one bloody battlefield to another and his tumultuous marriage to Josephine (Vanessa Kirby). In this interpretation of history, the conqueror is depicted as mannerless, childish, and deeply insecure, all of which Josephine is well aware of and uses to control him.

At 85, Scott is still fully capable of creating intricate, sweeping battles, heavy on extras and mayhem, and his visions of combat are Napoleon’s real stars. He has lost none of the visual acumen that went into his earlier masterpieces like Alien and Blade Runner, particularly in his lighting and compositions. Likewise, the enthusiasm he showed for restaging the Napoleonic Wars in The Duellists is still vividly apparent.

These exceptional battles overstay their welcome, and the viewer eventually starts to feel buried under all the mortar fire and severed limbs. But the film goes deeply astray with its central human story of Napoleon’s overwhelming passion for Josephine. What made The Duellists so engaging was the central performances by Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel. Scott’s Napoleon is most significantly undercut by Phoenix as the “Little Colonel.”

Not since Phoenix’s Johnny Cash in Walk the Line has he been so hopelessly miscast. Delivering much of his dialogue in a flavorless monotone, he creates, possibly, cinema’s dullest Napoleon. Were it not for his wardrobe and makeup, it would seem like he was playing an entirely different historical figure. To make matters worse, he keeps adding self-indulgent touches in the worst method acting tradition. Phoenix significantly drains the suspension of disbelief in all of his scenes by constantly reminding the viewer he’s acting.

Despite Phoenix’s lame work here, Kirby gives a fine performance as Josephine, and easily outshines her co-star. The rest of the cast is good, even when saddled with mediocre dialogue—the film’s other big flaw. The cinematography, editing, musical score, production design, and costumes are all excellent. Within Napoleon’s gargantuan scope, the richly detailed wardrobe and sets are up to Scott’s usual exacting standards.

There have been rumors that the theatrical version of Napoleon is significantly shorter than Scott’s full director’s cut, and that the streaming version will be longer. This is a mixed blessing: It will likely flesh-out Napoleon’s character in ways the film doesn’t, but it also means there will be more of Phoenix’s histrionics to deal with. It would be a significantly better film if all of his dialogue was cut.

Napoleon is worth seeing on the big screen almost solely for its battles and visual splendor. Lower your expectations of a stirring or believable lead performance, and the film delivers a halfway extraordinary cinematic experience. But battlefield porn can only carry a movie so far, and its star shouldn’t be its own Waterloo.

Categories
Arts Culture

Bright spots

Winter Wander at Boar's Head Resort. Supplied photo.

It’s hard to be a humbug when you’re looking at a twinkling display of festive lights. Here’s where to gawk at the glow: 

Let There Be Light

PVCC’s annual outdoor exhibition returns on December 8. Bring your flashlights, grab a warm cup of hot chocolate, and enjoy glowing sculptures, floating artwork, and interactive installations. pvcc.edu 

Veritas Illuminated

The groves and vines of Veritas Winery
are aglitter with sparkling lights and decorations. The half-mile walk weaves through tunnels, bright stepping stones, and glowing copses of trees. veritaswines.com

Winter Wander

Journey through a winter wonderland of dynamic light installations at Boar’s Head Resort, including the flickering firefly grove and the sun-kissed meadow. winterwander.com

Hooville Illumination

Light and music collide at this holiday experience, created by Greg McFadyen, C’ville’s own Clark Griswold. Tune your radios to 94.7, and watch as the McFadyen house transforms into a synchronized light show. hoovilleillumination.com

Mountain View Street

Jeff Norford has staged one of the brightest holiday light displays in town for over 20 years now, with thousands of lights and hundreds of inflatables. 

Balloon Glow

While tethered to the ground, pilots inflate hot air balloons, creating a field of giant, colorful light bulbs. foxfieldraces.com

Spruce Willis

Don’t skip a visit to the city’s Christmas tree on the Downtown Mall.

Categories
Arts Culture

Social Dance

Social Dance. Supplied photo.

Dancers and audience members move together by communicating through phones—no speaking, talking, or touching allowed—in Amanda Monroe Finn’s Social Dance. The four-minute short documents last year’s immersive performance experience at Mad Bowl Field, which featured choreography by Shandoah Goldman. Following the screening, audience members are invited to participate in their own social dance using their phones and movements from the film.

Thursday 12/7. Free, 5:30pm. The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA, 155 Rugby Rd. uvafralinartmuseum.virginia.edu

Categories
Arts Culture

Pentatonix

Pentatonix. Supplied photo.

It may not look a lot like Christmas, but it sure does feel like it when Pentatonix comes to town. The a cappella supergroup recently put out its seventh holiday album, The Greatest Christmas Hits, with 23 previously released tracks and eight new tunes for holiday carolers to belt out. Audiences have a chance to get in on the action during Pentatonix’s live shows, when the vocalists invite the crowd to sing along on songs like “Somebody to Love,” “Hallelujah,” and “Mary, Did You Know?”

Saturday 12/9. $55.50 and up, 7pm. John Paul Jones Arena, 295 Massie Rd. johnpauljonesarena.com

Categories
Arts Culture

December galleries

Michael Reisor at Quirk Gallery. All images courtesy of the galleries.

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library 2450 Old Ivy Rd. “Their World As Big As They Made It: Looking Back at the Harlem Renaissance” showcases the visionary works of writers, artists, and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance, plus other permanent exhibitions. 

Angelo Jewelry 220 E. Main St. “Sentiment in Place,” landscapes by V-Anne Evans. Through December 24.

Botanical Fare 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. Works by Judith Ely. Through December. 

The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. The Second Annual Small Works Open Exhibit features works no larger than 13 inches in a variety of mediums. Through December.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. On the main floor, “Congregation,” mixed-media vignettes by Aggie Zed. In the great halls, Sara Clark’s “Ornatus Mundi” continues. 

The Connaughton Gallery McIntire School of Commerce, UVA Grounds. “Landscapes and Georgia O’Keefe Revisited,” alkyd oil paints on canvas, MDF panels, and textile/multi-media works by Eric T. Allen and the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective. Through December 8.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Making Spirits Bright,” a group show featuring seasonal designs. Through December.

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd., UVA Grounds. Exhibitions include “Look Three Ways: Maya Painted Pottery,” “Processing Abstraction,” and “N’Dakinna Landscapes Acknowledged.”

Grace Estate Winery 5273 Mt. Juliet Farm, Crozet. Works by local landscape artist Anne French. Through March.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA 400 Worrell Dr. “Performing Country,” never-before-seen works from the museum’s permanent collection. Through March 3.

Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Fleeting,” oil on canvas by Annie Harris Massie. Through December 20.

Live Arts 123 E. Water St. “Celebrating Life” by Chicho Lorenzo.

Chicho Lorenzo at Live Arts.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. The Holiday Show & Shop features three floors of original art, home goods, prints, ceramics, cards, fiber arts, and ornaments. Through December.

New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. “repair is the dream of the broken thing,” an installation by Matt Shelton. Through December 28. 

Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. W. A multimedia exhibit with BozART Fine Arts Collective artist’s Judi Ely, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Shirley Paul. 

Phaeton Gallery 114 Old Preston Ave. “Never a Dull Moment,” abstract expressive art by Vickie Marsango, and the Carriage Works Studios Group Show. Through December 17. Reception December 14 at 5pm. 

The PVCC Gallery V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. In the North Gallery, “Looking Small, Thinking Big,” from Fenella Belle. In the South Gallery, “Drawn to the Light” by Deborah Davis. Through January 13.

Quirk Gallery 499 W. Main St. “game of telephone,” contemporary works by Michael Reisor. Through January 21.

Random Row Brewery 608 Preston Ave. Watercolors byJuliette Swenson. Through January 15.

The Ruffin Gallery McIntire Department of Art, UVA Grounds. “Thinking of Place iii” features 85 printmakers from around the world inspired by the themes of space and place. Through December 15.

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “The Labyrinth,” many-layered constructions of mineral-pigmented glazes by Clay Witt. In the Dové Gallery, “Under the Skin,” paintings and works on paper by Akemi Ohira. Through January 19.

Clay Witt at Second Street Gallery.

Studio Ix 969 Second St. SE. “Wheel of the Year,” a collection of eight quilts by Amanda Wagstaff. Through December.

Superfly Brewing 943 Preston Ave. “Charlottesville Stages: Concert Photography” showcases photographs of local bands and international superstars performing on Charlottesville’s stages by Henry Strauss, Sanjay Suchak, and Rich Tarbell. 

Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello 931 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. An exhibition that includes a rare engraving of the Declaration of Independence. Through December.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charlottesville 717 Rugby Rd. “Season of Light,” a group show. Through December.