Black Watch, Feldshuh, McDonald et al. Set for Virginia Arts Festival

The internationally acclaimed Black Watch, Tovah Feldshuh’s solo show Mining Golda, and Audra McDonald in concert are among the theater highlights in the 12th annual Virginia Arts Festival, to run April 18-May 26. The festival features hundreds of artists performing in 39 venues in ten cities and towns throughout Hampton Roads.

The National Theatre of Scotland’s Black Watch will be presented at Norfolk’s Scope Arena, May 24- June 1. Directed by John Tiffany, the show is based on interviews conducted by Gregory Burke with former soldiers who served in Iraq. Viewed through the eyes of those on the ground, the play reveals what it means to be part of the legendary Scottish regiment, what it means to be part of the war on terror, and what it means to make the journey home again.

Feldshuh will perform Mining Golda at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach, on May 7. Feldshuh is a four-time Tony Award nominee and won numerous awards for playing Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony.

McDonald will perform at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach on May 11. She has won four Tonys as Best Featured Actress, for the musicals Carousel and Ragtime and the plays Master Class and A Raisin in the Sun. She was also Tony nominated for 110 in the Shade and Marie Christine.

Additional highlights include the Maxwell Anderson/Kurt Weill musical Lost in the Stars at Norfolk’s historic Attucks Theatre (April 22); opera singer Kathleen Battle at Norfolk’s Harrison Opera House (May 1); the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall (May 2-4); the gravity-defying Peking Acrobats at Virginia Beach’s Sandler Center for the Performing Arts (May 9-10); Spain’s Noche Flamenca at Newport News’ Ferguson Center for the Arts (May 17); America’s master storyteller, Garrison Keillor at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach (May 20); and Martha Graham Dance Company at Williamsburg’s Phi Beta Kappa Hall (May 23).

For more information, visit www.vafest.org.