2025 ARTS PREVIEW
December 23, 2024
True story
Art imitates life in a few of our 20 best bets for the first half of 2025. Bright Star, Parade, Mary Jane and Breach of Peace turn real events into powerful drama.
by Page Leggett
Truth can be stranger than fiction.
And the truth — or one artist’s version of it — makes a good foundation for a play, song, art exhibition or stand-up act. For the next few months, Charlotte audiences can see a number of works inspired by actual events.
In Breach of Peace (Children’s Theatre), the playwright was inspired by the Freedom Riders’ activism in support of desegregation. Parade, the hit revival coming to the Belk Theater, tells the tragic story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man in the South tried and convicted for a heinous crime most scholars agree he didn’t commit.
Not all true stories are heavy. Stand-up comics like Kumail Nanjiani (The Fillmore) and Kevin Nealon (Comedy Zone) mine their own lives for funny bits to include in their acts. On Valentine’s Day at The Gantt, Heide and Dr. Oscar Groomes — world travelers, wine lovers and philanthropists — will share stories from their globe-trotting adventures alongside wines from their own cellar.
Unfortunately, there’s not enough space here to list every cultural happening we’re excited about. But you probably already know about Hamilton (Jan. 7 – Feb. 2), Billy Joel and Sting (May 10), Shakira (May 13), Metallica (May 31) and the second annual Lovin’ Life Music Festival (May 2 – 4).
The truth of it is: There’s a lot worth seeing in early 2025.
January
Bright Star, Matthews Playhouse, Jan. 17-Feb. 1
Art imitates life in this musical based on a true story. When a farmer and Civil War veteran finds a days-old baby by a Missouri railroad track, he and his wife nurse the infant back to health. The folk song, “The Ballad of the Iron Mountain Baby,” is based on that tale. Steve Martin and Edie Brickell used it as the basis for Bright Star, a love story set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The musical was also inspired by the pair’s Grammy-winning collaboration, the 2013 bluegrass album Love Has Come for You. In Bright Star, literary editor Alice Murphy meets soldier and aspiring writer Billy Cane, who’s just returned from World War II. She begins to recall buried memories, leading her to confront and make peace with her past. Charles Isherwood of the New York Times lauded the “yearning ballads and square-dance romps rich with fiddle, piano and banjo.” Paula Baldwin directs the production that’s recommended for ages 12 and up. Tickets are $18-20. 100 E. McDowell St. matthewsplayhouse.com
Jim Lauderdale, The Evening Muse, Jan. 16
The Troutman native and UNC School of the Arts alum has won two Grammys, released 34 albums and been honored with the Americana Music Association’s Wagonmaster Lifetime Achievement Award. His career got off to an auspicious start in 1991 when two titans of Americana music — Rodney Crowell and John Leventhal (Rosanne Cash’s ex- and current husbands, respectively) — produced Lauderdale’s solo debut, Planet of Love. His songs have been recorded by The Chicks, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless and George Strait, who’s recorded 14 of them! You can hear evidence of his upbringing in Due West, South Carolina, where his dad was a minister and his mom was a choir director in songs like “I Met Jesus in a Bar”: Man or angel, son of God/He did not tell me who he was, but I knew/In that least expected place/I saw heaven in His face. Tickets start at $18. 3227 N. Davidson St. eveningmuse.com
Jim Lauderdale and Kumail Nanjiani. Jim’s photograph by Mike Dunn.
Kumail Nanjiani: Doing This Again tour, The Fillmore, Jan. 17
You may know the Pakistani-born funnyman as Dinesh from “Silicon Valley,” the HBO comedy co-created by Mike Judge. Or you may know him from The Big Sick, the autobiographical 2017 rom-com he starred in and co-wrote with wife Emily V. Gordon. (The indie film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and grossed over $40 million.) Or perhaps from “The Colbert Report,” “Portlandia” or the 2021 Marvel Studios film, Eternals, co-starring Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie. But he got his start as a stand-up comic — first at an open mic at Grinnell College and later in Chicago. Now, he’s returning to his roots for the first time in a decade. His observational comedy touches on horror movies, video games, memory and occasionally, politics. Tickets start at $56.50. 820 Hamilton St. livenation.com
February
Mary J. Blige: The For My Fans Tour, Spectrum Center, Feb. 6
The queen of hip-hop is not just a dynamic performer; she’s also a songwriter, actress and entrepreneur who founded her own label, Matriarch Records. Her latest album, Gratitude, dropped in November, just a month after she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2017, Blige became the first person nominated for an acting and songwriting Academy Award in the same year for her supporting role in Mudbound and for writing the original song, “Mighty River,” featured in the film. She started out in 1988 as a back-up singer before releasing her debut album, What’s the 411?, in 1992. She performed at Super Bowl LVI in 2022 with rappers Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and others, and in 2023, Rolling Stone ranked her as the 25th greatest singer of all time. Special guests Ne-Yo and Mario join her on the 27-city tour. Ticket prices vary. 333 E. Trade St. spectrumcentercharlotte.com
Virginia Jaramillo: Principle of Equivalence, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Feb. 6 – June 8
Charlotte is the last stop for this traveling exhibition, organized by the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri. The first retrospective of the Mexican American artist’s long career provides a comprehensive look (more than 60 works dating back to 1964) at the career of the El Paso, Texas, native who grew up in Los Angeles. Jaramillo’s large-scale abstract paintings and handmade paper works explore the relationship between Earth and the metaphysical. Her childhood ambition was to be an archeologist — look for her fascination with ancient cultures in her work, as well as her interest in physics, the cosmos, mythology and modernist design. Free with museum admission. 420 S. Tryon St. bechtler.org
Carmen, Opera Carolina, Feb. 6-9
Don José, a naïve Spanish soldier, is seduced by the tempestuous gypsy, Carmen. He leaves his childhood sweetheart and the military for her. Not one to be tied down, Carmen soon abandons him for the charismatic bullfighter, Escamillo. This is a love triangle with disastrous consequences. Georges Bizet’s four-act opera shocked Paris audiences when it debuted in 1875. Bizet didn’t live to see Carmen become one of the most beloved and oft-performed operas in the canon; he died after just the 33rd performance. It’s in French with English captions. Tickets start at $23. Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. blumenthalarts.org
Left: Virginia Jaramillo (American, born 1939), Anonymous Site 1-603, 1990, linen fiber paper on canvas, 69 x 60 inches, Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Gift of the William T. Kemper Charitable Trust, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee, 1995.045.01. ©Virginia Jaramillo, courtesy of the artist and Douglas Drake Fine Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Right: Virginia Jaramillo (American, born 1939), Teotihuacan Studies, The Plane Where the Heavens Touch the Earth, 1997, linen fiber with hand-ground earth pigments, 32 3/4 x 34 7/8 inches framed, Courtesy of the artist, Hales Gallery, and Pace Gallery. ©Virginia Jaramillo. Image courtesy of the artist and Hales Gallery, and Pace Gallery. Photographs by E. G. Schempf and JSP Art Photography courtesy Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.
Mary Jane, Three Bone Theatre, Feb. 7-23
With the support of a diverse community — including a nurse, a music therapist, a Buddhist nun and a Hasidic Jewish woman — single mother Mary Jane navigates the demands of caring for her chronically ill son. Amy Herzog, a Tony Award-nominated Yale School of Drama alum who teaches at her alma mater, knows whereof she writes. The story is based on her daughter, who was born with a rare congenital neuromuscular disorder. Herzog won an Obie Award for Mary Jane’s 2017 Off-Broadway run. When the show opened on Broadway last year, Rachel McAdams played the lead. She and the director, Anne Kauffman, were nominated for Tony Awards, along with the play itself. Robin Tynes-Miller, Three Bone’s artistic and operations director, directs an all-female cast in this Charlotte premiere. Recommended for ages 14+. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door and $15 for students and teachers. The Arts Factory, 1545 W. Trade St. threebonetheatre.com
Art of Wine: Tasting with the Groomes, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Feb. 14
World travelers and oenophiles Heide and Dr. Oscar Groomes have a passion for fine wine. The Charlotte couple has amassed a collection of more than 4,000 bottles. At this special event, they’ll share four wines from their private cellar, each paired with gourmet bites. Beyond the tasting, the couple will share stories from their journeys to the world’s greatest winemaking regions. Guests will receive a booklet with detailed wine lists, budget-friendly alternatives, and tips for food and wine pairings. Oscar, a metallurgical engineer and physicist, will discuss the role of philanthropy in the arts. He’s an expert in that, too: He and Heide are major donors to the Gantt. Art of Wine would make an original and unforgettable Valentine’s Day. Ages 21+. Tickets are $125. 551 S. Tryon St. ganttcenter.org
Kevin Nealon, The Comedy Zone, Feb. 20-22
The Emmy- and SAG-nominated actor and comedian is best known for his nine years as a cast member on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” But he’s also an author whose latest book, I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame, contains his full-color caricatures alongside personal essays about a few of his famous friends. It’s a follow-up to 2008’s Yes, You’re Pregnant, but What About Me? The funnyman appeared in the Showtime series “Weeds,” and on the big screen, he’s been in Daddy Day Care with Eddie Murphy, Roxanne with Steve Martin and Anger Management with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler — a frequent collaborator. Tickets start at $30. 900 NC Music Factory Blvd. cltcomedyzone.com
Sacred Spaces Volume 1: The Minutes, Davidson Community Players, Feb. 20-March 9
Tracy Letts, the actor (Lady Bird, Ford v Ferrari) and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of August: Osage County, has written a dark comedy about an unlikely topic: small-town government. When an upstart city councilman returns from a brief leave of absence and discovers the minutes from the previous meeting missing, he worries his fellow council members are hiding something. But why? The council is gearing up for the town’s Founders Day celebration, and surely that can’t be controversial, can it? Every small town has its secrets, and the denizens of Big Cherry just may have to confront a few of theirs, including the town’s racist past. The Minutes was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. Recommended for ages 15+. Tickets start at $12. Armour Street Theatre, 307 Armour St., Davidson. davidsoncommunityplayers.org
March
Breach of Peace: The Freedom Riders of 1961, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, March 22-30
On May 24,1961, 12 brave citizens boarded a Trailways bus in Montgomery, Alabama, bound for New Orleans. The Freedom Riders, as they came to be known, set out to desegregate buses by showing how “separate” was anything but “equal.” Hundreds more would follow their lead, even though they were risking their lives for the cause of freedom. Mike Wiley’s powerful one-man show is based on the accounts of participants involved in the early struggle for Black equality. Wiley, who’s written plays about Emmett Till and Jackie Robinson, earned an MFA from UNC Chapel Hill and is a professor of documentary and American studies at Duke University and UNC. This one-act, 60-minute show is appropriate for kids 7+. Tickets start at $23. Wells Fargo Playhouse at ImaginOn, 300 E. 7th St. ctcharlotte.org
Parade, Blumenthal Arts, March 25-30
Leo and Lucille Frank are newlyweds struggling to make a living in Georgia. When Leo, a factory manager, is accused of a horrific crime, it tests the Jewish couple’s marriage and their faith. Parade, a dramatization of Leo’s 1913 trial, conviction and imprisonment, premiered on Broadway in 1998. The revival won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, and Michael Arden won a Tony for his direction. Parade has quite a pedigree; it was co-conceived by 21-time Tony Award-winning legend Harold Prince (West Side Story, Cabaret, Phantom of the Opera) with a book by two-time Tony Award winner, Pulitzer Prize winner and Academy Award winner Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) and music and lyrics by three-time Tony winner Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County, The Last Five Years). Parade brings this shameful story, which attracted national attention in the early 1900s, to a new generation. Tickets start at $30. Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. blumenthalarts.org
Annie Leibovitz, Patti Smith, Electric Lady Studios, New York City, 2007. Photo courtesy of the artist ©Annie Leibovitz.
Violet, Theatre Charlotte, March 28-April 13
“The Ugliest Pilgrim” became the late Doris Betts’ most widely reprinted short story. But nothing else Betts — a Statesville native and professor emerita at UNC Chapel Hill — wrote has had the staying power of that story, first published in 1969. It became the basis for Violet, a 1981 film adaptation that won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short, and later a 1997 Off-Broadway musical. Set in 1964 during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, Violet is the story of an embittered young woman whose face was disfigured in a childhood accident. Believing a TV evangelist can heal her, she embarks on a bus trip from Spruce Pine to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Along the way, she encounters a young Black soldier who teaches her about love, courage and real beauty. Ticket prices vary. 501 Queens Rd. theatrecharlotte.org
April
Max Weinberg’s Jukebox, Cain Center for the Arts, April 18
The longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and former bandleader on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien has been touring, on and off, with a four-piece band since 2017. In this free-wheeling, crowd-pleasing show, Weinberg invites the audience to create the set list, in real time, that he and his bandmates — two guitarists and a bassist — will play that night. The crowd yells out their song choices, and the band obliges. Expect to hear everything from The Dave Clark Five to Led Zeppelin to, of course, Springsteen. Tickets start at $55. 21348 Catawba Ave., Cornelius. cainarts.org
ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/ WORK, Mint Museum Uptown, April 27-Aug. 10
In a career spanning more than 50 years, she’s photographed everyone from Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep to John Lennon and the Royal Family. In this immersive exhibition that combines photographic prints with digital displays, viewers can follow along in the creative journey of legendary portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz, from her early black-and-white work to her more recent conceptual portraits. Free with museum admission. 500 S. Tryon St. mintmuseum.org
May
Samara Joy, Blumenthal Arts, May 7
At just 25, Samara Joy already has a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album (Linger Awhile) and another for Best New Artist. She won those in 2023. In 2024, she won her third Grammy, this time for Best Jazz Performance. The Bronx native loved classic R&B even as a child and got her start in her church’s gospel choir. It was during her studies in SUNY Purchase’s jazz program that she won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, which made the jazz world take notice. So did her 560,000 Instagram followers. She sings old-school jazz in the vein of some of her idols — Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald. Tickets start at $35. Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. blumenthalarts.org
Sunday in the Park with George, QC Concerts, May 9-10
Inspired by Georges Seurat’s masterpiece, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine wrote this musical about life, love and the power of art. In the show, a fictionalized version of Seurat obsessively tries to finish his massive and intricate masterpiece using the pointillism technique he devised while struggling to maintain a romance with his lover, Dot. A century later, Seurat’s great-grandson, an artist also named George, struggles with creative burnout himself — until he discovers the key to his future by examining the past. The musical, which debuted on Broadway in 1984 with Mandy Patinkin in the lead, won a Pulitzer Prize and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards. Tickets start at $18. Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. qcconcerts.com
Wilco, The Amp Ballantyne, May 15
Wilco, the Chicago-based alt/indie/rock band composed of the remaining members of the band Uncle Tupelo, got their start in 1994. The lineup changes frequently, and the list of former members is as long as the list of current ones. But Jeff Tweedy and whatever bandmates are with him are known for an ability to play diverse genres and for the diverse setlists at their live shows. Wilco is touring in support of their 2024 EP, Hot Sun Cool Shroud. Lawn seats are $50; reserved seating starts at $75. 1115 Upper Ave. ampballantyne.com
Samara Joy and Wilco. Photographs by AB+DM and Peter Crosby.
Teddy Swims: I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy Tour, Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre, May 15
The singer formerly known as Jaten Collin Dimsdale was introduced to soul music by his dad when he was a kid in Conyers, Georgia. The soulful Swims (he took the name from the internet acronym which stands for “Someone Who Isn’t Me Sometimes”) became “internet famous” in 2019 and 2020, when fans took note of the powerful cover songs he’d post on his YouTube channel. His version of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One,” which he dedicated to his mom, has been viewed more than 191 million times. Swims’ 2023 single, “Lose Control,” reached the top 10 in several countries. He’s now famous enough to be playing the iconic Red Rocks this August. But he’ll stop in Charlotte first. Ticket prices vary. 1000 N.C. Music Factory Blvd. skylacuamp.com
Bernstein & Copland, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, May 16-18
Two giants of the American songbook on the same bill? Yes, please. It’s fitting to honor them together. They enjoyed a 50-year friendship, and both sought to make classical music accessible and enjoyable to all. Leonard Bernstein was a composer, conductor, pianist and humanitarian who wrote the music for the Broadway musical, West Side Story, and the classic film, On the Waterfront. Aaron Copland had as many titles as Bernstein — composer, conductor, pianist, teacher. “Appalachian Spring” and “Fanfare for the Common Man” are among his best-loved compositions. Conductor Laureate Christopher Warren-Green returns to lead the CSO’s season finale. Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic — where Bernstein served as music director — performs Copland’s jazz-inspired Clarinet Concerto. Tickets start at $26. Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. charlottesymphony.org SP
Featured Image: The company of Parade. Photograph by Joan Marcus.
