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Two men stand closely in front of a black background and stare directly into eachothers' eyes.
Drama

‘The Fifth Step’ at The Paramount Theater 1/8

Experience critically acclaimed British performances with National Theatre Live in HD’s presentation of The Fifth Step. Olivier Award-winner Jack Lowden (“Slow Horses,” Dunkirk) and Emmy- and BAFTA-winner Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, “The Responder”) star in the subversively funny play by David Ireland, directed by Finn den Hertog. In a story built around recovery from alcoholism, the lead characters trade stories, bond over black coffee, and build a fragile friendship based on shared experiences before dangerous truths emerge.

https://c-ville.com/the-fifth-step-at-the-paramount-theater-1-8/

Graphic of three books stacked up with play blocks with the phrase "A&E" placed on top of the books. The background is a gray graphic of a cityscape.
Creative Writing

January Book Club: Three Dystopian Novels to Ring in the New Year

With the arrival of the new year comes reflection on the past one, and 2025 was a year ripe for reflection. While it is impossible to condense a year into one defining moment or cultural trend, 2025 felt marked by an explosion of advances in artificial intelligence technology. The increased presence of AI technologies in everyday life — from enabling pervasive surveillance and data collection to spreading political misinformation and stoking partisan division — have resulted in people labeling 2025 as “dystopian” online.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2026/01/january-book-club-three-dystopian-novels-to-ring-in-the-new-year?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

A man in a bright yellow sweater stands at a podium with a mic and raps to an audience, with a seated orchestra playing behind him.
Music

My Book: ‘Being Dope: Hip Hop & Theory Through Mixtape Memoir’ By Dr. A.D. Carson

By now, the phrase “Hip-Hop changed my life” is a well-worn cliché, but that won’t stop me from saying it. I’m from the small Central Illinois town of Decatur. My hometown is one of the sites where the war on drugs and many of its battles took place. In 2018, Decatur was listed at number seven in USA Today’s “15 worst cities for Black Americans” and ranked third nationally in their 2019 “America’s fastest shrinking cities” poll.

https://hiphopwired.com/2987643/my-book-being-dope-hip-hop-theory-through-mixtape-memoir-by-dr-a-d-carson/

Two male ballet dancers are in Snow White Dwarf costumes and are jumping to click their heels.
Dance

The Grand Kyiv Ballet Presents: Snow White at The Paramount Theater 1/4

You’ve likely seen the classic Disney cartoon—and maybe even the Magic Kingdom’s live action $270 million stinker from earlier this year. Now you can witness the beauty of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in ballet form when this family-friendly version arrives in town for a Sunday afternoon show.

https://c-ville.com/the-grand-kyiv-ballet-presents-snow-white-at-the-paramount-theater-1-4/

A stage with a red rug and a small neon sign that says "Don't Tell Comedy" in white and red letters.
Drama

Don’t Tell Comedy is Charlottesville’s Most Mysterious New Forum for Laughs

Founded in 2017 in Los Angeles, Don’t Tell Comedy has since expanded to over 200 cities around the country. Recently, they found a new home in Charlottesville and have put on several events around Albemarle County. Local comedian Chris Alan brought this chapter to Charlottesville in 2024 after establishing a comedy open-mic presence in the City and performing at Don’t Tell shows in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Washington, D.C..

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/dont-tell-comedy-is-charlottesvilles-most-mysterious-new-forum-for-laughs?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_latest

Two hands are around a crystal ball that has the phrase "Whats next in pop culture?" written inside.
Creative Writing

What’s Next in Pop Culture?

The new year may have just begun, but 2026 is already set to be a busy year in pop culture. From music to movies to books, UVA Today talked to University of Virginia experts in pop culture to see what upcoming releases they are looking forward to the most. Here’s the list.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/whats-next-pop-culture

A line up of books on a table with their spines facing the camera, and a phone with a Jane Austen novel on the screen is leaning against the books.
Creative Writing

Jane Austen Was Not Popular in Her Lifetime. Why Do We Love Her Today?

In 1811, Thomas Egerton, who primarily printed military texts, published a novel about two sisters and their widowed mother, “Sense and Sensibility.” It was written anonymously, “by a lady.” More than 200 years later, readers know that lady as Jane Austen, one of the best-known writers in the English language. “Sense and Sensibility” alone has been adapted more than 10 times for stage, screen and radio, while dozens of movies, TV shows and web series are based on other Austen titles, like “Pride and Prejudice” and “Emma.”

https://news.virginia.edu/content/jane-austen-was-not-popular-her-lifetime-why-do-we-love-her-today

Three students sit in a black box theatre on benches, writing in their script books, with a black chalk board on an easel behind them.
Drama

The University Student Producing Theater Class Performs ‘Where Words Once Were’

This Wednesday, DRAM 3652 “Producing Theatre” put on their semester-long culminating performance of “Where Words Once Were.” Free to all, the play was performed in the Helms Theatre. With audience members seated on three sides of the stage — a configuration known as black box theatre — and a stripped down set, viewers were able to immerse themselves within the dystopian universe.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/the-university-student-producing-theater-class-performs-where-words-once-were?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

The inside ceiling dome of the Rotunda with projections of constellations in white light.
Visual Art

Starry, Starry Night: Dome Room Constellations Will Shine For the Public

Thomas Jefferson wanted to bring the stars indoors. Jefferson, in designing the University of Virginia’s iconic Rotunda, planned to paint constellations on the ceiling of the Dome Room. He never completed this part of his vision, but in 2019, three graduate students set up projectors to display the constellations on the Dome Room’s ceiling.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/starry-starry-night-dome-room-constellations-will-shine-public

A series of 5 pictures: First, a group of 4 young adult women in caps and gowns; Second, a white dish with three pastries; Third, a young woman with brown hair stands smiling at the camera while standing against a white column; Fourth, a blue dish with four pastries; Last, a young woman decorating pastries on a kitchen island.
Creative Writing

UVA Alumna Stirs Memories Where Her Food-Writing Career Began

With her newest cookbook, “Chesnok,” in hand, 2014 University of Virginia alumna Polina Chesnakova returned to Charlottesville, the place where her interest in writing about food began to simmer. What started as curiosity about food and identity led her from a pre-med track to a double major in Eastern European studies and religious studies, and eventually to experiment with food writing.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-alumna-stirs-memories-where-her-food-writing-career-began

A black and white background of rings of circles, creating a visual hypnotic effect. In the center is a green circle with a black arrow pointing to the right.
Music

Why Spotify Wrapped Turns Your Music Habits Into a Social Event

Millions of Spotify subscribers woke up Wednesday morning to a much-anticipated annual tradition: Spotify Wrapped. In 2016, the world’s largest music streaming platform began showing users their most listened-to artists and songs, assigning music fans different listening personalities based on their favorite genres. The compilation of individual user data comes in brightly colored, stylish infographics designed to share on your social media feed. With a name like “Wrapped,” arriving right on time for the holidays, it feels like a thoughtful gift from the streamer delivered directly to your phone.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/why-spotify-wrapped-turns-your-music-habits-social-event

Three women stand in front of a movie theatre with a large sign, "Violet Crown" above them. The outside wall is filled with various movie posters.
Film

How Three Local Women Saved the Violet Crown From Demolition

Since the Violet Crown’s opening in 2015, the theater was shown to have a different mission than the other commercial theaters in Charlottesville. While the Violet Crown’s program included some of the requisite studio blockbusters shown at Alamo Drafthouse and Regal Stonefield, it also screened independent, arthouse and international films — films which are not often screened at larger cinemas.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/12/how-three-local-women-saved-the-violet-crown-from-demolition?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured