The Williamsburg Players production of A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine is half musical review and half short musical comedy. While Day was unfortunately a bit of a struggle to sit through, Night made up for it in spades. I think I’m a new fan of the Marx Brothers now.

What can anyone say about two of the world’s most famous musicians?  Itzhak Perlman on violin and Rohan DeSilva on piano perform beautifully together.  The audience delighted in their performance – kudos to the Virginia Arts Festival for bringing some extraordinary artists!

THIS FREAKING MOVIE WAS INSANE!!!  Considering the title is almost identical, it should be obvious that this is the sequel to 28 Days Later, which basically gave Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, Red Eye) his big break.  Danny Boyle directed that flick, which came in 2002.  You might recognize some of Danny Boyle’s work such as Trainspotting and The Beach starring Leonardo Dicaprio.  Danny Boyle did not return to the direct the sequel, which actually left me doubting whether it would be good or not. 

One of the most beautiful and moving forms of music is the string quartet, and the Brentano String Quartet, brought to us by the Virginia Arts Festival, definitely exceeded my expectations!  Even the name of their group is so poignant:  The Brentano String Quartet was named after Antonie Brentano, whom scholars believe was Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved” – and they play with all of the passion of a secret love!

Biloxi Blues, the second selection of the trilogy of plays based on the life of the author, Neil Simon, takes us into the world of a group of GI's in Basic Training during WW2.  The manner in which "the greatest generation" is shown at Little Theatre of Norfolk, gives us all a new perspective on their life.  Especially during the greatest conflict the world has seen to date.

Hampton Roads receives a rare treat experiencing a production from the romantic era with the grandeur attributed to the larger opera houses throughout the world. Through the efforts of the Virginia Arts Festival, the production of the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty was presented last weekend at Chrysler Hall.

Man of LaMancha has always rated amongst my favorite musicals and overall Smithfield Little Theatre has met my expectations. For those who may not know, Man of LaMancha is based on the novel Don Quixote, written by Miguel de Cervantes about a dreamer, idealist and optimist much like Candide. We follow his journey as he battles windmills, knights and moors all to defend the honor of his Dulcinea.

For those keeping count, a review has to accomplish a few things. In general, those things are: to tell a bit about the story, to describe how well it was acted, to describe the technical aspects, and finally, to motivate a reader to either attend or avoid the event. However this is easier said than done.

It’s not always easy to make the time to see all of the art exhibits that are so abundant in Hampton Roads. Since my time was limited (and seems to shrink day by day), I really wanted to see something that would make an impression and remind me of how much I love visiting our local art museums and centers. I chose to make my excursion to the Chrysler Museum to view their newest exhibition, From Goya to Sorolla, and hoped that it would live up to my expectations. After all, when you put together the high standards of the Chrysler Museum and a collection that has the phrase “masters” associated with it, I would expect it to be excellent. Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

Remember when we were all young students sitting in history class being bored to tears by the driest lecture on history? Personally, I love history, but for you history haters, seeing the Ancient Academy of Music from Cambridge University perform Baroque music on period instruments would have sparked your interest. The Baroque sounds definitely evoked a great sense of the era.