A Skaggs Family Christmas  

November 30 ▪ 8pm

4 STARS 'Dream casting of Alex Jennings as Bulgakov and Simon Russell Beale as Stalin... A truly tremendous double act which thrills, chills and makes you laugh out loud' Daily Telegraph 

4 STARS 'Collaborators is fresh and energetic, with a thick, throbbing vein of grotesque humour.' Evening Standard 

4 STARS 'Rare and special... An absurdly fantastic view of Stalin, and it's seriously funny.' The Times

Moscow, 1938. A dangerous place to have a sense of humour; even more so a sense of freedom. Mikhail Bulgakov, living among dissidents, stalked by secret police, has both. And then he's offered a poisoned chalice: a commission to write a play about Stalin to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. 

John Hodge's blistering new play depicts a lethal game of cat and mouse through which the appalling compromises and humiliations inflicted on any artist by those with power are held up to scrutiny. 

Alex Jennings (The Habit of Art) plays Bulgakov and Simon Russell Beale (London Assurance), Stalin.  

The Golden Dragon Acrobats represent the best of a time honored tradition that began more than twenty-five centuries ago. The Golden Dragons are recognized throughout the United States and abroad as the premiere Chinese acrobatic touring company of today.  

They combine award-winning acrobatics, traditional dance, spectacular costumes, ancient and contemporary music and theatrical techniques to present a show of breathtaking skill and spellbinding beauty.

Golden Dragon Acrobats

The Golden Dragon Acrobats have become the world's leading Chinese acrobatic troupe, performing more than any other company.  World-renowned impresario Danny Chang and choreographer Angela Chang combine their expertise, love of their art and life-long discipline in producing a spectacular event.

Comedian Ron "Tater Salad" White, best known as the cigar smoking, scotch drinking funnyman from the "Blue Collar Comedy" phenomenon, returns to Charlottesville with his new stand-up show, Moral Compass. White has achieved two Grammy nominations, a Gold Record, two of the top rated one-hour specials in Comedy Central history, a book that appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List, and CD and DVD sales of over 10 million units.For mature audiences.     www.tatersalad.com

Since 2006, Tom has been applying his experience and expertise to television as the head judge on Bravo's hit reality cooking series "Top Chef."  The Emmy-winning show is now in its ninth season, focusing on the Lone Star State, Top Chef: Texas.  Tom not only serves as head judge on the show, but also as a mentor to the up-and-coming chefs.

Top Chef Tom Colicchio with Charlie Rose

 Sponsored by:

David & Janna Gies

Romeo and Juliet is a full length ballet in two acts based on William Shakespeare's tragedy.   

Since its inception , the Moscow Festival Ballet has completed two tours of Europe, with extraordinary receptions in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. Two tours of the United Kingdom, including capacity audiences at London's famed Coliseum.  

Whether it's with his deep, soulful voice, his South Carolina accent or his philosophy on life, Josh Turner has never been one to hurry. But a memorable country song recently convinced him to pick up his pace.

The singer-songwriter was months away from scheduled recording sessions when he first heard Why Don't We Just Dance, which became the debut single from his fourth studio album, Haywire. Josh placed the song on hold with the music publisher so they wouldn't allow anyone else to record it. But when another artist expressed interest in the song, the publisher asked Josh to record the song to see if he liked it enough to keep it, and he did.

"We felt like we couldn't lose that one," Josh says. "It's a strong song and something that I could have a lot of fun with vocally. I felt it would be a great center point for the record. It is positive and a love song and you can dance to it. Nowadays, that's a good formula."