by Page Leggett
Charlotte’s cultural institutions are ready to deliver this spring and a couple have very ambitious plans:
Celebrate America’s 250th birthday at the Charlotte Museum of History with the American Revolution: The Augmented Exhibition, opening April 14. Video-game technology lets you insert yourself into historic events like the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
One of opera’s biggest stars returns to Charlotte for her directorial debut. Denyce Graves does double duty, as she’ll also star in Opera Carolina’s The Medium (April 17-19) at Belk Theater. Gian Carlo Menotti’s two-act opera focuses on a fraudulent fortune teller driven mad by a gnawing fear that the dearly departed can really return from the dead to haunt us.
We’ll share more about the Mint Museum’s Caravaggio/Revolution: Baroque Masterpieces from the Roberto Longhi Foundation in our April issue. Fewer than 50 works are attributed to the master of shadow and light who died at just 38. One of those, along with others by Baroque masters, is headed from Florence to the QC for a show that runs April 26 – Oct. 15.
But that’s not all. Read on for more of what we’re looking forward to. Want more? Browse our calendar of events here.
March
Ravel’s Boléro, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
March 6 – 7
Boléro’s reputation as one of classical music’s sexiest songs was cemented in the 1979 rom-com 10, starring Dudley Moore and a bikinied and braided Bo Derek. Millions of people who’d never heard of Ravel were suddenly fans, and album sales soared. The song often described as “seductive” and “hypnotic” is the climax of a CSO program that features Bedřich Smetana’s “The Moldau” from Má Vlast (“My Country”), inspired by a river in his native Bohemia (now Czechoslovakia). Charlotte composer Malek Jandali’s Clarinet Concerto is a tribute to his native Syria. And Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad blends sounds from the two Americas in Sin Fronteras (“Without Borders”). Christopher James Lees conducts a program about the power of home.
Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists, presented by The Warehouse Studio Theatre in Cornelius
March 13 – 28
Atlanta native Gunderson, known for her feminist themes and strong female characters, turns the French Revolution into a … comedy. The four revolutionary characters are Marie Antoinette — of “Let them eat cake” fame, playwright Olympe de Gouges, unlikely assassin Charlotte Corday and Haitian rebel and spy Marianne Angelle. The play’s subject is described as “art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world.” Reneé Welsh Noel directs, and Warehouse founder (and actor/director/professor) Marla Brown produces.
Photographs by Allyson Huntsman
David McGee: The Griot and the Nightingale, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
March 14 – Aug. 23
Harvard, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Seattle Civic Art Collection and other impressive institutions have David McGee’s work in their permanent collections. But the African-American artist, known for his incisive social commentary, has never had a major museum present a comprehensive survey of his work — until now. The Bechtler’s retrospective of his art from the early 1990s to now includes more than 100 paintings and works on paper. The Louisiana native’s work explores race, class and the changing nature of language and features literary, musical and pop cultural allusions.
Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival, Knight Theater
March 15
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the film festival that celebrates achievements in what they call “outdoor storytelling.” (Or, what I call, “documentaries about extreme sports I’d never have the guts or ability to attempt.”) Over the years, festival films have depicted visually impaired mountain climbers, cross-country skiers traversing frozen lakes and kayakers going over waterfalls. Each fall, the festival is held in Banff, Alberta, Canada before hitting the road. It comes to Charlotte for one day only.
God of Carnage, Theatre Charlotte
March 20 – April 5
There are parents who defend their children’s bad behavior no matter what. And then there are the characters in Yasmina Reza’s 2009 Tony Award-winning play. After one 11-year-old hits another, their parents meet to discuss the incident like adults. But their confab quickly devolves into a four-way temper tantrum. The dark comedy reminds us that playground fights don’t necessarily cease as we grow up — they just move indoors. The original Broadway production was the third-longest running play of the 2000s.
Sheena Easton at Cain Center for the Arts
March 22
Those of us who grew up in the ’80s will recall the earworm that was Sheena Easton’s “Morning Train.” It was everywhere. Four decades on, Easton’s a Vegas darling, a Grammy-winning, multiplatinum artist and the only performer to land top-five hits on five major Billboard charts. The Scottish chanteuse has also done TV (“Miami Vice,” “Highlander”) and Broadway (Grease, Man of La Mancha).
AI and the Future of Everything with Nita Farahany and Nicholas Thompson, presented by Queens University of Charlotte Learning Society
March 26
The future is here. We didn’t get flying cars and robot maids, as “The Jetsons” predicted. But we did get assistance on our laptops in the form of artificial intelligence. As CEO of The Atlantic and former editor-in-chief of Wired, Thompson has witnessed important AI breakthroughs firsthand. Farahany, an expert on the ethical and legal ramifications of emerging technologies, explores that topic in her latest book, The Battle for Your Brain. The duo will share their perspectives on how AI is shaping our daily lives and the future. Learn to harness AI before it can harness you.
Disney’s Frozen the Broadway Musical, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte
March 28 – April 26
“Let It Go” sold nearly 11 million copies when it came out in 2014. It’s the theme song from Frozen, a fairy tale of self-acceptance, authenticity and — surprise! — familial, rather than romantic, love. The princess gets something better than a handsome prince; she gets a renewed bond with her sister. Fun QC connection: Former Charlottean Kristen Anderson-Lopez and her husband, Robert Lopez, wrote the music and lyrics, including the memorable lines, “I don’t care what they’re going to say/Let the storm rage on/The cold never bothered me anyway.”
April
Eric Church with Ashley McBryde, Spectrum Center
April 4
The pride and joy of Granite Falls has come a long way since playing Jimmy Buffett covers in dive bars. His live shows are known for their excitement, and Church is known for his stamina. With hits like “Drink in My Hand,” “Jack Daniels” and “Hungover & Hard Up,” you can imagine the atmosphere at a Church show is a bit different from being in church.
CeCe Winans: More Than This Tour, Ovens Auditorium
April 9
Here’s a concert that will feel like going to church. Winans and her nine siblings were raised in Detroit by parents who listened only to gospel music. She’s won 18 Grammys — more than any other female gospel singer. Her Ovens Auditorium show is a homecoming for Winans, who first came to the QC in 1981 to sing on Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s The PTL Club. Originally part of the larger Winans family group, CeCe and her brother, BeBe, enjoyed crossover success as a duo with songs like “Addictive Love” and “I’ll Take You There.” But unlike her close friend, the late Whitney Houston, Winans has mostly stuck with the genre she loves best.
Jason Salmon, The Comedy Zone
April 22
Salmon wasn’t always — and still isn’t — a political stand-up comic, but Trump 2.0 has brought out that side of him. Each week, Salmon takes to social media to do an “Another Weird Week” recap. His quick commentaries, some of which have more than 1 million hits, always end with the catch phrase, “Stay ornery.” His YouTube stand-up special, “Biscuits and Gravity,” covers Gen X, men who get pedicures and his confusion over weddings. (“That’s a grown woman pretending to be a princess.”) The Texas native is known for clean comedy that doesn’t offend — unless you’re offended by his spot-on comedic critiques of the current administration.
The Lifespan of a Fact, Davidson Community Players at Armour Street Theatre
April 9 – 26
Author and humorist David Sedaris famously said that his autobiographical stories are “true enough,” meaning they’re based in fact but may be embellished. John D’Agata, a writer and professor at the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop (which is even harder to get in than Harvard!) may subscribe to the same theory. When D’Agata turns in a magazine story about the suicide of a 16-year-old boy in Las Vegas, Jim Fingal, a newly minted Harvard grad, is assigned to fact check. But Fingal’s insistence on the literal truth is at odds with D’Agata’s belief that “true enough” should suffice. The magazine editor must balance serving the truth with serving the reader as she referees the extended battle between the two. This true story became a book and then a comedic Broadway play starring Daniel Radcliffe as Fingal. The play is recommended for ages 15 and up.
Stereophonic, presented by Blumenthal Arts at Knight Theater
April 15 – 26
The most Tony Award-nominated play of all time examines an up-and-coming rock band (thought to be based on Fleetwood Mac during its Rumours era) recording a new album. Written by David Adjmi and featuring original music by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, the play shows us musical geniuses at work, under pressure, as they hope for their big break while simultaneously trying not to break up. After earning 13 Tony nominations, Stereophonic went on to win five, including Best Play.
The Cleverlys, Cain Center for the Arts
April 17
I never realized how much I wanted comedic bluegrass until I heard the Cleverlys. Founded in 2009 by Arkansas native Paul Harris, the band with an evolving lineup has a (fictional) backstory that involves the father and four uncles of Harris’ alter-ego, Digger Cleverly, starting the band in 1952. When not touring, he runs an alpaca farm that “produces everything from alpaca sausages and dairy products to woolly lingerie — though the latter hasn’t quite caught on yet.” Their schtick is decidedly not serious, but you know they’ve got serious talent because they’re regulars on the prestigious Grand Ole Opry stage. You’ll likely know most songs they perform, since their repertoire includes bluegrass versions of hits like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” and The Black Eyed Peas’ “Let’s Get it Started.”
St. Paul and the Broken Bones, The Fillmore
April 17
Singer Paul Janeway and bassist Jesse Phillips formed their first band in the mid-2000s in Birmingham, Alabama. Later joined by Browan Lollar, formerly of The 400 Unit (Jason Isbell’s band) and three others, they recorded their first full-length album, Half the City, at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. That’s the same place where Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, Bob Dylan, Etta James and Isbell have recorded. Today, they’re an eight-piece band with an impressive horn section and an international reputation. The adjective often used to describe their live performances — “high-energy” — doesn’t begin to cover it. I’m surprised Janeway doesn’t have to leave the stage on a stretcher; he makes Springsteen look lazy by comparison.
Bruno Mars, Bank of America Stadium
April 29
Girls (and guys), hit your hallelujah. When Bruno Mars’ “The Romantic Tour” hits Charlotte, it’ll be his first time here in over a decade. Barely 40, the artist formerly known as Peter Gene Hernandez has already attained pop-icon status. (That’s not surprising since he got his start as a kid in Honolulu doing impersonations of another icon: Elvis.) He’s wowed sellout crowds at two Super Bowls and has sold over 150 million records worldwide. Celebrated as much for his showmanship as his three-octave tenor vocal range, many of his songs (“Just the Way You Are,” “Grenade,” “I Just Might”) are party-playlist essentials. Special guests Anderson .Paak and Leon Thomas gon’ show up, show out and show Charlotte what “Uptown Funk” means.
May
Intimate Apparel, Piedmont Players Theatre
May 1 – 10
Playwright Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, which premiered in 2003, tells the story of Esther, a Black seamstress in 1905 New York City who makes lingerie for society women (as well as prostitutes) and diligently saves her money. Esther longs for love and believes she’s found it when, through a mutual acquaintance, she begins getting letters from George, a Caribbean man working on the Panama Canal. Esther finds herself more drawn to her fabric supplier — a kindly Hasidic shopkeeper — yet they know a future for them is impossible. George proposes marriage, and Esther agrees. But he’s not the man he seems. Nottage explores themes like race, class, gender and loneliness in what is perhaps her most deeply personal play, based on the life of her great-grandmother. Salisbury’s historic Meroney Theater, built in 1905, is a gorgeous venue; it and Intimate Apparel should prove worth the drive.
Judy Gold at the Carolina Theatre
May 7
The writer/comedian’s takes on family, politics and modern life have won her an Emmy Award and legions of fans. Her stand-up is described as both insightful and outrageous. The title of her book, which debuted as the No. 1 comedy release on Amazon and was featured in The New York Times Book Review, tells you where she stands. It’s called Yes I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble, and it’s (obviously) about free speech.
One Thousand Pieces, presented by Charlotte Ballet at Knight Theater
May 7 – 10
Marc Chagall’s “American Windows,” part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection, was Alejandro Cerrudo’s inspiration for creating One Thousand Pieces, which premiered in Chicago in 2012. The Charlotte Ballet artistic director’s works have been performed by more than 20 professional dance companies across the globe. “Cerrudo always makes his dancers move like gyroscopes in perpetual motion, constantly spinning, ducking, weaving, tangling and detangling,” wrote one critic in a glowing review of a 2024 Pacific Northwest Ballet production. One Thousand Pieces is set to the music of Phillip Glass, performed live by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
Sting, Truliant Amphitheater
May 18
The venue formerly known as PNC Pavilion hosts the legendary former frontman of The Police. The former Gordon Sumner’s early hits include “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne,” “Message in a Bottle” and “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” a song whose literary allusions (to Nabakov’s Lolita) remind you of the English teacher he was before becoming an international superstar. His solo hits include “Fields of Gold,” “Fortress Around Your Heart” and the haunting tribute to his late father, “Why Should I Cry for You?” The elder Mr. Sumner was a milkman who encouraged his son to live a big life. The son obviously obliged. SP
