Rebecca Porter heralds her act as “Virginia’s country music powerhouse,” and you’d be right to put your Stetson boots on. Porter and her backing band the Rhinestone Roses ride high on the wave of modern country while delivering a kick to the genre’s classic tropes. As a Pacific Islander living in rural Virginia, Porter writes from experience about trauma, discrimination, and the challenges of motherhood, and she stands up to declare that country music is for everyone. With Cassidy Snider & the Wranglers plus Jim & Juice.
Thursday 6/27. $12–40, 7pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are touring on the band’s 2023 album, "Weathervanes," a compendium of Isbell’s facility with words, guitar strings, and musical IQ.
Photo by Danny Clinch.
By L. Kent Wolgamott
arts@c-ville.com
Pushed off the road by the pandemic, Jason Isbell spent a good chunk of 2021 in Oklahoma, where he was acting in director Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. That experience, from meeting Oklahomans in the rural areas where the movie was shot to watching Scorsese work, figured into Isbell’s latest album, Weathervanes.
So how and why did Isbell end up in the Oscar-nominated movie?
“I didn’t really want to be an actor, but I think I wanted to act,” says Isbell in a recent phone interview. “I was looking for a way to help somebody tell a story. We were locked down; COVID kept us from touring. So I asked my manager to see if there were any television shows or movies I could get on. I’d never done that before. I played myself on an episode of ‘Billions’ and was an extra on the Deadwood movie on HBO because I loved ‘Deadwood.’”
That opportunity for Isbell came by way of Scorsese’s adaptation of the 2017 bestselling non-fiction book about a series of murders that took place in the Osage Nation after oil was discovered on tribal land, triggering an FBI investigation.
“I just kept auditioning. I knew I didn’t have any experience,” Isbell says. “But I told them if they gave some instruction, I could do it. And I wound up on set with Scorsese, (Robert) DeNiro, and (Leonardo) DiCaprio. It was terrifying. I was scared to death. That felt really good. It is important to challenge myself as I get older and do some new things creatively.”
Isbell landed the role of Bill Smith (spoiler alert: He was one of the murder victims back in 1917) and found himself on set observing Scorsese and meeting folks who lived nearby. Some of them made their way into the songs that populate Weathervanes.
While he’s known as a great guitarist from his days with Drive-By Truckers onward, Isbell knows it’s the songs that have made him a six-time Grammy-winning Americana star and one of the most respected musicians of any genre over the course of the albums he’s released since leaving the Truckers in 2007.
“That’s the part that really matters for me,” Isbell says. “There’s a whole lot of great singers and guitar players on my street in Nashville. I have to be able to write to stand out.”
Like much of his earlier work, the songs on Weathervanes are often sad character studies: a depressed suicidal woman (“Death Wish”), a copper-stealing, pain-killer addict who can’t go back to work (“King of Oklahoma”), and a kid kicked out of foster care who winds up living in a KOA campground (“Volunteer”).
“Suffering builds character, and it also builds characters if you’re trying to tell a story,” Isbell says. “That’s what’s interesting to me in other people’s songs, and they’re the kind I write myself.”
The time in Oklahoma not only influenced the songs on Weathervanes, it filtered into Isbell’s process.
“It definitely influenced how we made this album, just seeing the way Marty (Scorsese) worked and the fact that he had such confidence in his vision. He would accept ideas and collaboration,” he says, equating the role of a movie director with that of a record producer. “Just to watch somebody work like that, he was able to create a whole universe with his vision. He’d keep some ideas and throw some out.
“I had a vision for how I wanted the record to sound. With that direction, we let the band have some freedom,” says Isbell. “My production style is I try to get the right people in the room and let them play. We viewed it more as a band record than a solo project. I wanted to make it feel more like a live show.”
Given that creative aim and their finished sound, the new songs were immediately ready to be plugged into the live shows Isbell and his band, the 400 Unit, were playing.
“I thought about that a little in the studio,” Isbell says. “We’ve got a pretty big catalog at this point. I can play a whole lot of shows without playing the same song twice. I don’t want it to be in there because it’s the newest song. I don’t want it to be when everybody goes to the bathroom or the bar. It has to be in there for a purpose. I’ve never made promotion my priority, maybe it’s the third or fourth reason. I want to make a show that’s meaningful and moves people.’”
Deborah Bell and Martin Burks of J.F. Bell Funeral Home. Photo by Amy Jackson.
In a city like Charlottesville, where Thomas Jefferson sneezed his creativity and innovation into practically every brick paver, it’s easy for entrepreneurs to feel buoyed enough to follow a dream. It makes for an ever-changing skyline, with new businesses springing up like wildflowers.
But amid that same skyline there exists a group of businesses that have stood the test of time—some even for centuries. With this year’s Power Issue, we’re taking a look at 40 over 40: venerable establishments that have, over the course of their tenure in Charlottesville, become pillars of the community, repositories of local lore, and witnesses to the city’s transformation.
Their endurance is a testament to their commitment to quality and service, certainly, but it also endows them with a unique form of power–one that’s not merely economic, but is woven into the social and cultural fabric of the city. It manifests in their ability to shape local traditions, support community initiatives, and even steer public discourse. As we delve into the stories of the longest-running businesses in our city, we uncover how their remarkable longevity grants them a potent and enduring legacy of influence and respect.
#lawyered
McGuireWoods 1834 (190 years)
Supplied photo.
The story of local law firm McGuireWoods starts nearly two centuries ago with President James Monroe’s private secretary, Egbert Watson. An Albemarle native who began his legal career as a law clerk for George Hay (a co-counsel in the treason trial of then-Vice President Aaron Burr), Watson started his one-man law firm—the very one that would become McGuireWoods—at the Albemarle County Courthouse at age 24. Watson’s first case, tried unsuccessfully, was the defense of two Black men accused of murdering a local tinsmith.
Today, McGuireWoods is a leading full-service law firm with 21 offices and 1,100 lawyers worldwide handling cases across multiple sectors: energy, commercial, fiduciary, products and consumer goods, transportation, and labor and employment.
“Our rich culture is one of a kind, in large part because we live our core values everyday—excellence, integrity, client service, diversity and inclusion, community, and collegiality,” says Michael Sluss, McGuireWoods’ marketing and communications manager.
According to National Law Journal’s 2023 NLJ 500, McGuireWoods is the 64th highest-grossing firm in the world. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the firm has changed hands multiple times since its founding but continues to hold its roots in high regard.
“Our history … imbues us with a profound sense of responsibility for the firm of today and tomorrow,” says Sluss.
Good, better, best
Better Living Building Supply 1893 (131 years)
Supplied photo.
Better Living has its stamp on buildings across the city. As general contractors, they built the McGuffey School, the Barringer Wing of the original University Hospital, and Peabody Hall at the University of Virginia—not to mention subdivisions like Camelot, Foxbrook, and Green Lea.
But when L.W. Graves started the business in 1893, the company had one product: lumber. And it was delivered by horse and buggy, no less!
It wasn’t until the mid-1920s that Better Living—then known as Charlottesville Lumber—expanded into the construction business, and later, during World War II, produced portable barracks and large shipping crates to support the war effort. (Future company president Richard L. Nunley was at the time serving in the 13th Air Force in the Philippines.) It opened a furniture business in 1960, changing its name in 1969 to Better Living, but closed in 2016 to refocus on its speciality: building supplies, custom millwork, and cabinetry.
Stay fancy
Keswick Hall 1912 (112 years)
Photo via Keswick Hall.
The first 35 years of Keswick Hall’s centerpiece structure, Villa Crawford, were spent as a residence to five different owners, including Robert and Florence Crawford, the couple who built it in 1912. But, as with any home—even the upscale ones—the more people living in it, the more wear and tear it acquires, and by the 1980s, it was in shambles.
The property was rescued in 1990 by Sir Bernard Ashley, an English businessman who, with his wife Laura Ashley (yes, that Laura Ashley), had a growing textile and clothing empire. Laura Ashley had passed five years prior, and Bernard began purchasing estates to convert into hotels—two in America (including Keswick) and one in England. He transformed the residence into a boutique hotel, decorating it with his own collection of antiques and giving each room a theme.
From there Keswick changed hands a few more times, but unlike before, it leveled up with each new ownership. Today the hotel is owned by Molly and Robert Hardie, longtime guests and eventually members of the club who bought the property in 2017. Together they’ve upgraded its dining (Marigold by Jean-Georges), accommodations (standardizing room sizes and creating custom-scented in-room toiletries), and amenities (a revamped horizon pool, seven-court tennis facility, and a pickleball court). And the iconic Villa Crawford? It was transformed into Crawford’s Bar, “a beautifully preserved space that retains the charm of its 1912 origins,” says Molly.
“Our design philosophy draws direct inspiration from the region’s rich environmental and historical tapestry, offering guests an authentic journey through the area’s cultural past,” she says. “Our aim is for every guest to depart with cherished memories of a stay that captures the essence of Keswick Hall’s storied heritage and contemporary comforts.”
Resting place
J.F. Bell Funeral Home 1917 (107 years)
Photo by Eze Amos.
Today the oldest Black-owned business in Charlottesville, J.F. Bell Funeral Home might never have opened were it not for John Ferris Bell’s cousin, who lured the tailor to Charlottesville. A local dentist, John Jackson told Bell that the city was lacking a funeral home for its growing population of Black residents. Bell moved from Chicago, where he’d also trained as a funeral director and mortician, to the heart of Charlottesville’s Vinegar Hill neighborhood to set up shop.
He opened J.F. Bell Funeral Home in 1917 at 275 W. Main St., a two-story brick building across the street from the wooden boarding house where Bell lived. A few years after he married in 1919 to Maude Lee, who later became a funeral director herself, the couple relocated the business to its current location on Sixth Street NW, hiring a local contractor to build the funeral home with an apartment upstairs for the family.
Four generations later, J.F. Bell Funeral Home is today run by Bell’s granddaughter, Deborah Burks, and her husband Martin.
Turning the page
New Dominion Bookshop 1924 (100 years)
Photo by Amanda Maglione.
C.C. Wells, the UVA student who purchased New Dominion in 1926 and moved it to the Downtown Mall, had a dream.
“All I ever wanted to do was sell books,” Wells told Charlottesville’s Observer newspaper in 1989, two years after Carol Troxell had taken over as the shop’s owner. And that’s exactly what he did, to hordes of customers who will likely forever remember seeing their favorite author give a book talk at the base of the store’s iconic staircase, or having one of the knowledgeable staff members pick out their next favorite read, or even getting married (the shop has recently begun offering microweddings for bibliophiles)!
The oldest independent bookstore in Virginia, New Dominion continues to build on its legacy. In 2017, creative writing M.F.A. and former schoolteacher Julia Hoppe purchased the store, making a few modern changes (including a new cash register and website) while keeping the best of what Wells (and Troxell) had established before her.
Open to all
Barrett Early Learning Center 1935 (89 years)
Supplied photo.
Born to a formerly enslaved woman just after the Civil War, Janie Porter Barrett spent a lifetime advocating for the rights and education of Black girls and women. She studied at Hampton University, taught there and at industrial schools in Georgia, and eventually founded the Locust Street Settlement House, where local Black students would come for classes, entertainment, and childcare.
In 1915, Barrett opened the Industrial School for Wayward Colored Girls near Hanover to serve Black girls paroled from the prison system; it was renamed the Janie Porter Barrett School for Girls in 1950.
But it was in 1935 that, under FDR’s Works Progress Administration program, the Janie Porter Barrett Day Nursery opened its doors in Charlottesville’s Vinegar Hill neighborhood. It remained there until 1958, when the United Way (then Community Chest) gifted it a new home on Ridge Street. In the years since, it has become a fixture for the neighborhood as one of the few affordable childcare options for low-income residents, and it still attracts generations of mostly Black families.
In 2013 it nearly shuttered due to financial hardship, but residents rallied, forming a board of directors that within a month raised more than $30,000 to keep its doors open, demonstrating its vital role in the community.
Pipes to t-shirts
Mincer’s 1948 (76 years)
Supplied photo.
Everyone’s favorite UVA merch spot didn’t always sell apparel with the University logo. In fact, the Corner shop’s first product was … pipes?
Robert Mincer started the business just after the end of World War II, following a layoff from his job as a foreman at a Long Island-based pipe manufacturer. Too many military-issued pipes had made their way back to the United States post-war and, thanks to increased supply and demand, Mincer needed to find his next step. He and his wife moved to Charlottesville, where they opened a 100-square-foot smoke shop.
The store evolved over time to the sportswear business it is today, moving to its current location at the corner of Elliewood and University avenues, and expanding the product line to include everything from t-shirts and sweatshirts to books, water bottles, and toys for kids. It’s the go-to spot for UVA merch—especially after UVA wins a game.
Today the store, which opened a second location at Stonefield Shopping Center in 2013, is run by Mincer’s great-grandson, Cal, who took the reins in early 2023 following the passing of his father, Mark, who himself had run the store since graduating from the University’s McIntire School in 1985.
Spree spot
Barracks Road Shopping Center 1957 (67 years)
Before there was the Downtown Mall, there was Barracks Road Shopping Center. In fact, the success of Barracks Road was a major impetus for the Mall’s conversion. The shopping center touted “acres of free parking” on its first run of advertisements from developer Rinehart, luring shoppers from Main Street’s metered spots and prompting studies in 1959 to reboot downtown’s popularity shortly after Barracks Road opened.
Today Barracks Road is one of the oldest shopping centers in the country, with a mix of 80+ stores, restaurants, and experiences that include both big-name brands like Madewell, Warby Parker, and Ulta, as well as locally owned boutiques like Scarpa and Happy Cook.
“Known for its evolving collection of popular national and regional brands, intertwined with the allure of specialty local boutiques, eateries, and convenient services, Barracks Road continues to attract and maintain retailers,” says Sarah North, senior director of marketing for Federal Realty, who owns the shopping center. “Barracks will remain a fundamental member of the community and we look forward to the next 40 years.”
Play’s the thing
Shenanigans 1974 (50 years)
Photo by Eric Kelley.
When Kai Rady moved to Charlottesville with her family in 1974, she was surprised (and dismayed) to find it didn’t have a toy store. Her son was active and curious, and she needed things to keep him stimulated.
Rady remembered seeing an article in Ms. Magazine (“a terrific list of at least 100 items, 90 percent of which were not in the area—including LEGO!” she told C-VILLE in 2013) and it spurred her to start her own store. She opened Shenanigans in her Ivy Road home before moving it to Barracks Road Shopping Center and, eventually, to its current spot on West Main Street.
Now 50 years in, the store hasn’t changed much in terms of its mission: “I’m looking always for play value,” Rady told us. “A toy can be very educational … but if they’re not going to play with it, it’s not [useful]. It has to appeal to a child’s sensibilities.”
Amanda Stevens, a former elementary school teacher and principal, purchased the beloved shop with her husband Jimmy in 2019 and has since made a few valuable changes, including creating an online inventory.
“Generations of families have shared in the wonder of Shenanigans Toy Store over the last 50 years, and our family considers it a tremendous honor to be a part of this legacy,” Stevens said in a press release announcing the store’s 50th anniversary. “We treasure our customers’ loyalty, the opportunities we have to interact with families, and the chance to give back to children in the community.”
Making history
The story of Charlottesville’s life wouldn’t be complete without each of these well-established players:
Southern Development seeks a rezoning to allow for eight affordable units slated for a project on Stribling Avenue to be built at the company’s Flint Hill community instead.
Photo by Sean Tubbs.
When Southern Development Homes won a rezoning in Charlottesville to allow for the construction of 170 dwelling units on Stribling Avenue, the idea was that all of the required affordable units would be built on the 11-acre site in Fry’s Spring.
As part of the rezoning in late April 2022, Southern Development agreed to designate 15 percent of the units as affordable to households with gross earnings of less than 60 percent of area median income (AMI). Under the city’s definitions, that’s classified as “low- and moderate-income.”
A new request from the developer seeks to add the definition of “very low-income household,” reserved for families who earn between 30 percent and 50 percent of AMI. But the amendment also requests permission to build at most eight of those units elsewhere so that they are available to potential residents sooner.
“Assuming the final site plan approval proceeds in a timely manner, construction of new homes [at 240 Stribling] is still likely to be no less than two years in the future, and possibly more,” reads the narrative for the request.
Southern Development also points out that construction is underway at its Flint Hill project, which is also in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood. Tree-clearing has begun for the 60-unit community built between Moseley and Longwood drives.
Under the Flint Hill rezoning, granted in April 2020, eight affordable units are required to be built and the new request transfers the obligation to build—at most—eight of 240 Stribling’s 26 units to the Flint Hill project. That would create up to 16 units there, with at least two of them reserved for the “very low-income” category.
Southern Development is working with Habitat for Humanity to build those units.
“We’ve had some amazing recent partnerships with them at Burnet Commons and Southwood,” says Charlie Armstrong, vice president at Southern Development. “They will definitely be building eight Habitat units at Flint Hill and we want them to build 16.”
Meanwhile, the city continues to work on the design for infrastructure to support the Stribling project. The council’s original vote to rezone was conditional upon the city entering into a public-private partnership with Southern Development to upgrade Stribling Avenue with sidewalks. The road currently lacks walkways and drainage. The city has created drawings and a final version is expected to be ready for public review in July.
This will be the first rezoning under the city’s new Development Code. Southern Development is not asking for any other changes to the rezoning beyond the affordability provisions.
You may have seen him performing on “Saturday Night Live,” or perhaps in one of several critically acclaimed films like The King of Staten Island. Maybe you’ve encountered him on your Instagram feed with Kim Kardashian or Ariana Grande and wondered, who is this guy? The answer: Pete Davidson, who’s bringing his Prehab Tour to The Paramount. To keep the show an intimate experience, Davidson has requested that no digital devices be allowed into the performance space. Instead, bring your undivided attention to enjoy (and cringe) while catching live standup from a talented comedian, actor, writer, and producer.
Thursday 6/27. Tickets start at $54.75, 7pm & 9:30pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net
With her blazing-fast 100-meter butterfly, Gretchen Walsh became the first swimmer to set a new world record at the US Olympic trials since 2008.
Photo via UVA Athletics Communications.
The University of Virginia will be well represented in the pool at the 2024 Olympics this summer. Several current and former Hoos will swim for Team USA, along with Cavalier commit and Western Albemarle High School student Thomas Heilman.
Even before the competition, the pressure was on for former UVA swimmer and Olympian Kate Douglass, who, as one of the top-ranked swimmers in the country, has been widely considered someone to watch coming into the event. Douglass smashed all expectations, including her own, by winning three events: the women’s 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter breaststroke, and 200-meter individual medley.
Finishing right behind Douglass in the 200-meter IM was Alex Walsh, who solidified her spot on Team USA with the second place finish. The pair has dominated this event in international competitions for several years, with Walsh and Douglass winning silver and bronze respectively in the race at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Alex’s younger sister, Gretchen Walsh, also made a major splash at Olympic trials. On the opening day of the swim meet, she set a new world record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly semi-final with a time of 55.18 seconds.
“I’m still in shock,” Gretchen told NBC Sports in an interview after winning the event final. “Making the team was the biggest goal, but getting a world record was absolute insanity. I couldn’t ask for a better first event of the meet.”
In addition to the 100-meter butterfly, Gretchen will represent the U.S. in the 50-meter freestyle and on the 100-meter freestyle relay team.
While Alex is already an Olympic medalist, this year’s games will be the first time both Walsh sisters swim for Team USA. “To have a sibling duo that is this elite … both going for the same Olympic dream is so rare,” Alex said at a press conference in the weeks leading up to Olympic trials. “We’re proud of each other no matter what.”
Current Cavalier Emma Weber also made the roster in the 100-meter breaststroke, qualifying for her first Olympics. Weber swam a blazing-fast 1:06.10 in the event finals, setting a new personal best and finishing 0.67 seconds behind defending two-time Olympic gold medalist Lilly King.
Alumna Paige Madden also had a stellar showing at trials, qualifying for the Olympic team individually in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle races. Madden will also be competing as part of the 200-meter freestyle relay team, an event for which she won a silver medal in 2020.
Virginia Head Coach Todd DeSorbo, who was tapped to head the US women’s Olympic team last year, will coach Douglass, Weber, Madden, and the Walshes in Paris.
On the men’s side of trials, Charlottesville 17-year-old Thomas Heilman made waves as the youngest swimmer to make the US men’s Olympic swim team since Michael Phelps. Heilman will represent the US in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly races.
Several other current and former Virginia swimmers posted impressive times at Olympic trials, with Claire Curzan and Jack Aikins coming just short of making the cut for Paris. Aikins took the 2023-24 season off from NCAA competitions to focus on the trials, and placed third in both the 100- and 200-meter backstroke finals.
The 2024 Paris Olympics kick off on Friday, July 26, with swimming events starting the next day.
Bob Good was first elected to Congress in 2020.
Supplied photo.
More than a week after election day, the results of the Republican primary in Virginia’s 5th district remain up in the air. After a campaign riddled with barbs between incumbent Bob Good and state Senator John McGuire, election day saw a razor-thin margin between the two ultra-conservatives.
Things in the 5th district have been ramping up for months and fully kicked into overdrive when Donald Trump endorsed McGuire in late May. Though Good has since endorsed Trump’s 2024 bid for the presidency, his original backing of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis soured him to Trump loyalists in the Republican party.
“Bob Good is BAD FOR VIRGINIA, AND BAD FOR THE USA,” Trump shared in a May 28 Truth Social post formally endorsing McGuire. “He turned his back on our incredible movement and was constantly attacking and fighting me until recently.”
Between the Trump endorsement and McGuire’s accelerated fundraising leading up to the primary, Miles Coleman, associate editor of the Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, says, “If there was any surprise here, it’s that Good held up as well as he did. … For [Good] only to lose by a relative handful of votes, I think that says something about how resilient he was.”
Vote totals point toward a narrow victory for McGuire, but Good has told constituents not to count him out yet.
“This race remains too close to call,” Good posted on X/Twitter on June 19. “We are asking for full transparency from the officials involved and patience from the people of the 5th District over the coming weeks as the certification of results is completed. We believe we can still prevail.”
Since election day, Good and his supporters have become increasingly critical of the results, with the congressman blaming election fraud for his potential loss. Campaign Manager Diana Shores repeated these claims in a comment via email, citing concerns around procedural issues in Albemarle County, Buckingham County, and Lynchburg.
McGuire’s team has not addressed the allegations of election fraud in the 5th district primary. The challenger declared victory just after midnight on June 19, well before any election results could be verified.
“My life is a testament to the fact that America is the greatest country on this planet and I’m so honored to have the chance to serve her again,” McGuire shared on X/Twitter. “Folks in the 5th can rest assured that should they elect me in Nov., they will have an effective fighter in Congress who will get the job done for them.”
As of press time, the results of the race have not been certified, but Good has preemptively called for a recount and investigation of election practices. He has also cited concerns about fires at three precincts on election day. No actual fires occurred at the precincts, though election officials told ABC 13 that fire alarms were triggered at three precincts. Voting access was reportedly restored at each location within 30 minutes.
Current counts have McGuire ahead by 344 votes.
“There is a saying among poll workers: May your turnout be high and your margins wide,” says Coleman. “This election kind of had neither, because it was fairly low turnout and … the margin obviously isn’t wide.”
Accusations of election fraud aren’t common among members of the same party, but both Good and McGuire have a history of election denial. Both candidates publicly questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, with McGuire attending a “Stop the Steal” event on January 6, 2021, and Good voting against certifying election results as a member of the House.
If Good ends up losing the primary, Coleman says it’s anyone’s guess whether he doubles down as an “agent of chaos” or tries to improve his relationship with Republican leadership in anticipation of future campaign efforts.
While either McGuire or Good will still have to face Democratic primary winner Gloria Witt in November, whoever wins the Republican primary is likely to win the general election, according to Coleman.
“I would still put [VA-5 as] safe Republican,” he says. “This is a district where the Democrats can get maybe 45 to 46 percent of the vote pretty easily, but getting much past that is hard. … The last time this [district] flipped to a Democrat was in ‘08 with Tom Perriello.”
Control of the House of Representatives is expected to be close between the two parties this year, leading Democrats to focus resources on more competitive races.
“From the Democratic perspective, they have a few targets in Virginia that are kind of sexier,” says Coleman. “They very much want to oust Kiggans in the Virginia Beach area. District 7, the Spanberger seat, well that is a blue district, but one that they can’t take for granted.”
As of press time, a timeline for the recount in the VA-5 Republican primary has not been announced.
Photo via Emily Faith Morgan/University Communications.
Conceived and directed by longtime artistic director Robert Chapel, The Virginia Theatre Festival presents 50 Years and Counting: A Musical Revue, running Thursday, June 27, to Sunday, June 30. Celebrating the golden anniversary of professional theater in Charlottesville, this program highlights some of the most well-known and loved songs from the company’s first half-century, including hits from Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and many more. Performed by audience-favorite actors and vocalists—including some Broadway veterans—this is certainly an event worth popping some champagne for. In advance of this raucus revue, C-VILLE Weekly spoke with Chapel to gain some insight into the man behind the production.
Name: Bob Chapel
Age: 79
Pronouns: He/him/his
Hometown: Detroit, Michigan
Job(s): Professor of Theatre (now Emeritus); Theatre Director
What’s something about your job that people would be surprised to learn: Talent really doesn’t grow on trees.
Best part of living here: Everything that a university town offers and my very good friends.
Worst part of living here: Extreme heat and humidity in the summer months.
Favorite Charlottesville restaurant: The Villa and/or Tip Top.
Bodo’s order: Lox, cream cheese, tomato, and onion on an “Everything” bagel.
What’s your comfort food/meal? Ribeye steak, green beans, mushrooms, baked potato.
How do you take your coffee? With 2% milk and Sweet and Low.
Who is your hero? Joseph Papp, former Artistic Director of NYC’s Public Theatre.
Best advice you ever got: Do the thing one loves and let the experts worry about the investments.
Proudest accomplishment: Chairing the UVA Department of Drama and producing the Heritage Theatre Festival at UVA.
Describe a perfect day: Eight hours of very good rehearsal, then a lovely dinner and evening with my wife and dog.
If you could be reincarnated as a person or thing, what would you be? A person who could hit a golf ball 300 yards.
If you had three wishes, what would you wish for? Extended good health for my wife, Maria, my dog, and me. Wars around the world to end. Whatever current show I might be directing at the time to be a success (in this case: 50 Years and Counting).
Most embarrassing moment: Many moments—not being able to remember people’s names when I should.
Do you have any pets? A 4-year-old, 12-pound Havanese dog named Mayzie.
Favorite movie and/or show? Show: “Sunday in the Park With George.” Film: Mr. Holland’s Opus.
Favorite book: Act One by Moss Hart.
What are you listening to right now? “Morning Joe.”
Go-to karaoke song: “Somebody Loves Me” by Gershwin (I’m old).
Best Halloween costume you’ve worn: I never liked Halloween so I can’t remember.
Who’d play you in a movie? Richard Dreyfuss.
Celebrity crush: Meg Ryan (many years ago).
Most used app on your phone: Maps.
Last text you sent: To an actor in 50 Years and Counting.
Most used emoji: I don’t use them.
Subject that causes you to rant: Donald Trump.
Best journey you ever went on: State Department Performance Tour all over Russia in 2006 (when Russia was a nice place to visit).
Next journey: Possibly to Greece in the fall.
Favorite curse word? Or favorite word: (I’m) Sorry.
What have you forgotten today? Nothing, it’s early in the morning, but I’m sure will be many things as the day progresses.
Sen. Tim Kaine was first elected to the Senate in 2012.
Supplied photo.
Cost of care
Sen. Tim Kaine stopped by Charlottesville on June 21 for a roundtable with the Jefferson Area Board for Aging.
Kicking off the discussion, JABA CEO Marta Keane highlighted how Kaine’s work to reduce healthcare costs through the Inflation Reduction Act and work on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee have benefitted local seniors.
As part of the IRA, maximum insulin prices have been set at $35 and annual out-of-pocket prescription costs have been capped for Medicare recipients. Other legislation co-sponsored by Kaine—the Help Ensure Lower Patient Copays and Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging Acts—aims to expand patient protections from potentially predatory medical and pharmaceutical practices.
One issue of particular concern to JABA leaders not addressed by existing legislation is the marketing of Medicare Advantage Plans in Virginia. While they may be a potentially good option for seniors in other states, where coverage and plan availability vary, several roundtable attendees indicated the plans have major pitfalls.
“The most common thing I hear from Medicare Advantage beneficiaries is, ‘I liked my Medicare Advantage plan until I had to use it,’” said Randy Rogers, JABA insurance counseling team manager.
Kaine acknowledged the concerns but told the press it would be difficult to pass a bill regulating marketing of Medicare Advantage plans given first amendment protections for commercial speech.
The senator’s conversation with JABA comes amid his reelection campaign. Kaine is currently running for a third term in the Senate and will face off against newly nominated Republican primary winner Hung Cao this November.
Supply drive
Charlottesville City Schools just closed for the summer, but families looking for help with supplies for the 2024-2025 school year can begin requesting free school supplies.
By applying through school-specific forms on the CCS website, families in need of assistance can request free school supplies and backpacks for each of their children. Supplies will be available for pickup during open houses and meet-and-greets at students’ schools later this summer.
People interested in donating to the drive, either through the Amazon wishlists or check donation, can find more information on the same site.
Beyond the supply drive, students in Charlottesville and Albemarle can also visit the Back to School Bash on August 10 at Ting Pavilion. In addition to classroom materials, haircuts and hairstyling will be available at the event. For a fun time, students can also check out the Back Together Bash on August 11 at the Cherry Avenue Boys & Girls Club, which will feature basketball, roller-skating, food, giveaways, and more.
Redemptive justice
The FBI has identified a suspect in the 1996 Shenandoah Park murders of Julianne Williams and Laura “Lollie” Winans through DNA testing. In a June 20 announcement, FBI Special Agent Stanley Meador indicated new DNA tests gathered from evidence matched the profile of Walter “Leo” Jackson Sr. A convicted serial rapist, Jackson died in an Ohio prison in 2018 while serving time for other offenses.
Triple threat
Police have responded to multiple shots-fired calls in the last week alone. Around 5pm on June 17, police responded to two calls at Sixth Street SE and Monticello Avenue, as well as the 1400 block of Midland Street. Suspect Malik Luck is charged with three offenses and is in custody. Later that evening, CPD responded to calls at the 900/1000 block of South First Street where, after an investigation, 69 shell casings were recovered. The morning of June 20 at Carlton Avenue, an 18-year-old woman suffered gunshot wounds to her upper body and was rushed to UVA Medical Center, where she remains in serious condition. Five charges have been placed against 25-year-old Travis William Herndon, who turned himself in on June 23. All incidents remain under investigation.
Backed support
Following Gloria Witt’s victory in the Democratic primary for the 5th district congressional seat, she is kicking off her campaign with a visit to Louisa alongside 2025 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger currently represents Virginia as a congresswoman in the 7th district and is the only candidate in the Democratic primary for governor. Gov. Glenn Youngkin cannot run for reelection due to a ban on consecutive gubernatorial terms in Virginia.
“Colleen Rosenberry: Journey From Grief To Art” remains on view at Studio Ix through June 30.
Image courtesy of Studio Ix.
Following the sudden death of her youngest son, Colleen Rosenberry revived a painting practice she had cultivated in her youth but that she had let wane as the responsibilities of motherhood and work mounted. Seeking solace in her grief, Rosenberry turned to artistic expression.
In the gallery at Studio Ix, Rosenberry presents “Journey From Grief To Art,” a collection of paintings with subjects including landscapes, interior settings, cityscapes, and architectural studies. The show is unified by the connecting threads of loss, memory, and peace, as well as the impressionistic style employed by the artist, who cites Monet and Van Gogh as inspirations.
The scene set in “Breath” evokes a vigil, with a single light burning in remembrance of a pictured subject. We see the outline of an empty chair, vignetted by lamp light. There is warmth, but it only extends so far. The painting holds a second vignette, as this interior scene is couched within a view of the cosmos. Here, we gain the sense of how a small slice of life fits into the greater design of existence. At 14 by 12 inches, the size of the painting is intimate, pulling the viewer to look closer, drawing one into the scene.
“Breath” by Colleen Rosenberry, on view at Studio Ix. Image courtesy of Studio Ix.
“Guide into the Blooms” reinforces the notion of light as a beacon. A single lamp hanging from a shepherd’s crook stand drives home the idea of guiding and tending, but behind the lamp, the viewer is drawn into an overwhelming sea of flora. Tension is built between the tight, flat rendering of the lamppost against the loose and impressionistic flowers that fill the picture plane.
A third piece trafficking in the theme of illumination, “Welcome into the Light,” offers a warmer composition dominated by yellow hues. There is warmth, but also an air of absence. The room is lit and inviting, but the table is empty; there are no dishes or silverware, no remnants of a meal or game of cards, just a solitary vase of flowers. The chair at the head of the table glows, perhaps alluding to a privileged position that will remain unfilled.
Together, these three works adeptly convey the presence of absence, where we see the trappings of habituation, but the inhabitants are nowhere to be found.
Other works in “Journey From Grief To Art” feature water and bridges, symbols of cleansing and “crossing over.” Still others focus on sunrises and sunsets, periods of transition and rebirth within a cycle of brilliance and darkness. Taken together, this collection of paintings is a strong illustration of the exhibition title, where raw emotion gives way to aesthetic understanding.
