Five Reasons You Should Attend the Virginia Theatre Festival This Summer

The Virginia Theatre Festival is the longest running professional theatre in Central Virginia, annually bringing together a remarkable array of talent both on and behind the University of Virginia’s stages. This year’s VTF company includes cast and crew members from 25 states, and some from right here in Charlottesville! For the season-opening production of Cabaret alone, Artistic Director Jenny Wales and director Matthew Steffens saw more than 1,500 actors in New York and Virginia! The three-show season will run from July 7-August 6.

This year’s season opener takes audiences inside the doors and behind the scenes at of the famed Kit Kat Club with Cabaret, beginning on July 7 at the Culbreth Theatre. Cabaret’s Kit Kat Club is a decadent, fantastical Weimar nightclub where life is beautiful. The gathering storm of authoritarianism may be gripping 1929 Germany, but the revelers, led by chanteuse Sally Bowles and the lascivious Emcee, choose debauchery over despair.

One of the defining musicals of all time, packed with unforgettable songs like “Maybe This Time,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” and, of course “Cabaret,” this timely masterpiece entertains and dazzles while drawing parallels to the world we live in today. The production is directed by UVA and VTF alum Matthew Steffens and features fellow VTF returnee and Law & Order: Organized Crime star Ainsley Seiger leading a remarkable cast as Sally Bowles.

Cabaret will run from July 7-16 in the Culbreth Theatre.

And you can find it in Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise is a delightful love story for everyone who has ever been in, or even dreamed of being in love. The play is a lovely reimagining by the award-winning playwright of his parent’s courtship, conducted entirely through the U.S. Mail during World War II. U.S. Army Captain, Dr. Jack Ludwig and aspiring showgirl Louise Rabiner overcome thousands of miles between them and the perilous times they share to find lifelong love using their hearts, minds, and pens in this ode to the lost art of letter writing.

Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise will run from July 21-30 in the Helms Theatre.

VTF is beyond thrilled to welcome back an artistic force of nature for An Evening with Yolanda Rabun. Yolanda wowed audiences last summer in her one-woman show No Fear and Blues Long Gone: Nina Simone, in which she offered a glimpse into the life and the heart of the “High Priestess of Soul” while lending her formidable talents to a collection of some of her best-known songs. Now she is bringing her band to the Culbreth Theatre for a show that will span eras as well as genres from blues to jazz to pop to musical theatre and then some. Come take in the talent the whole town has been buzzing about and have yourself a fabulous evening! An Evening with Yolanda Rabun will run from August 3-6 in the Culbreth Theatre.

The annual theatre festival is a quintessential summer activity in Charlottesville and Albemarle County and a part of the area’s robust arts scene. It’s as easy as can be to find tickets – just click here. And once you book your tickets, take a look at our places to stay page to make your stay even more memorable. We look forward welcoming you to the Charlottesville area and seeing you at the Virginia Theatre Festival this summer!