Mark your calendars and get your tickets for these don’t-miss performing and visuals arts events in Coastal Virginia
Compiled By Ava Baker
Hampton Arts League 2025 Member Exhibition
Various Artists
Through March 22, 2025
Charles H. Taylor Visual Art Center
Offering a broad range of media, styles, content and perspectives, the showcase presents the work of The Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center’s member organization, a diverse group of emerging and established artists living in, working in and enriching Coastal Virginia.
Also upcoming at Visual Art Center: Nature’s Dual Lens: Photographs and Botanical Works by Lynne and Victor Frailing (April 12-June 14), PLAYTIME: Toys and Art (April 12 – Aug. 23)
Learn more: hamptonarts.org
The Vessel Revisited: Fundamental Forms in Contemporary Ceramics
Group Exhibition
Through August 10, 2025
Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center
Far removed from its utilitarian origins, the ceramic medium remains a vital pursuit for contemporary artists who transform the earthen material from use to contemplation. The exhibition engages this theme across a range of leading artists’ practices.
Learn more: thetorggler.org
Duke Riley: O’er the Wide and Plastic Sea
Through August 31, 2025
Virginia MOCA
New England-born, Brooklyn-based artist Duke Riley is known for innovative and intricate installations that call attention to the ways institutional power collides with the natural world. Many objects in this exhibition are made from trash collected from the Virginia Beach area.
Also upcoming at MOCA: Open (C)all 2025: Dear Earth; Nature’s Witness (through Aug. 31)
Learn more: virginiamoca.org
Greta Pratt: Jamestown is Sinking
March 6-July 27, 2025
Chrysler Museum of Art
Greta Pratt’s photographic series Jamestown is Sinking explores the disparities and connections between climate change and colonialism in Virginia’s coastal region, where sea level threatens both land and history.
Also at the Chrysler Museum: Oaxaca Central: Contemporary Mexican Printmaking (throughMay 11), Joyce J. Scott: Messages(through Aug. 17)
Learn more: chrysler.org
Michelangelo: The Genesis of the Sistine
March 6-May 28, 2025
Muscarelle Museum of Art
The first major exhibition in the reopened and newly expanded Muscarelle Museum of Art, on display will be Michelangelo’s initial studies and early drawings of the Sistine Chapel’s frescoes. The exhibition explores the origins of these world-famous works.
Also upcoming at Muscarelle Museum: William & Mary Collects III (through June 8)
Learn more: muscarelle.wm.edu
Out of the Box: A Barbie Doll Retrospective
March 7-July 31, 2025
Barry Art Museum
The Barry Art Museum will open a brand-new exhibit dedicated to the world’s most famous doll: Barbie. Focusing on her history as a design icon, this show will investigate the people and processes behind Barbie and her wardrobe.
Also on view at the Barry Art Museum: Carved Couture: 18th-Century British Wooden Fashion Dolls(through July 31)
Learn more: barryartmuseum.odu.edu
Til’ Death Us Do Part’ Murder Mystery Dinner Theater
March 8, 2025
Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts
Does love really last forever? Investigate for yourself through an immersive murder mystery experience. The evening includes dinner, beverages, and the answer to the age-old question of who dunnit.
Also upcoming at Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts: Frozen Jr. (March 18), ELLA the Early Years (April 25)
Learn more: suffolkcenter.org
Little Shop of Horrors
Virginia Stage Company
March 12-30, 2025
Wells Theatre
It sings. It shudders. It…eats people? Dive into this gut-busting, quirky cult classic where screams of terror and laughter go hand-in-hand. A mix of rock, romance, mayhem, meatloaf, and razor-sharp teeth collide in a theatrical extravaganza that has delighted generations.
Also upcoming fromVirginia Stage Company:Ann Talman: Elizabeth Taylor and the Shadow of her Smile (April 18 – 20), Every Brilliant Thing (April 24-27)
Learn more:vastage.org
Ordinary Days
Generic Theater
March 14-30, 2025
Little Hall Theater at Chrysler Hall
Ordinary Days tells the story of four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for fulfillment, happiness, love and cabs. With equal doses of humor and poignancy, it celebrates how 8.3 million individual stories combine in unexpected ways.
Learn more: generictheater.org
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
March 18, 2025
Ferguson Center for the Arts
Armed with a rich Alvin Ailey lineage and a cadre of 16 stunning dancers, Complexions, a New York based ballet company, will present Star Dust, a tribute to the genre-bending innovation of one of the most prolific rock stars of our time, David Bowie.
Also upcoming at The Ferguson: The Book of Mormon (March 19-20), The Kelly Rossum Modern Big Band(April 1), The Addams Family(April 6)
Learn more: fergusoncenter.org
Gustav Holst: The Planets
Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra
March 18, 2025
Williamsburg Community Chapel
In honor of the 150th anniversary of his birth, WSO presents Holst’s symphonic masterpiece with a huge orchestra and stunning NASA video. Complementing this perennial favorite is a brand-new work by John Heins inspired by the moons of Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune.
Also upcoming from Williamsburg Symphony: From the New World (May 14)
Learn more:williamsburgsymphony.org
45 Seconds from Broadway
March 21-April 13, 2025
Little Theatre of Virginia Beach
This classic comedy by Neil Simon is set in the legendary “Polish Tea Room” where Broadway personalities, washed-up and on-the-rise, gather to schmooze even as they lose. This touching valentine to New York is a behind-the-scenes look at those who make sure the show goes on.
Also upcoming at Little Theatre of Virginia Beach: Ripcord (May 23-June 15)
Learn more: ltvb.com
Sister Cities: High Seas Adventure
Symphonicity
March 23, 2025
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Part of the Sister Cities series, this tribute to Miyazaki, Japan, will feature Ballet Virginia dancers, Mendelssohn’s “Trumpet Overture,” the Japanese folk song “Sakura,” Holst’s “Japanese Suite,” and Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suites No. 1 and No. 2, conducted by Daniel W. Boothe.
Also upcoming from Symphonicity: Sister Cities: Pops, an Irish Tribute! (March 24)
Learn more: Symphonicity.org
A Soldier’s Play
March 28-30, 2025
The American Theatre
Winner of the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, A Soldier’s Play is a murder mystery that takes a hard look at institutionalized and internalized racism in the U.S. Army during World War II. This is a Hampton premiere performance.
Learn more: hamptonarts.org
Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
March 28, 2025—Chrysler Hall
March 29, 2025—Ferguson Center
March 30, 2025—Sandler Center
Principal Guest Conductor Thomas Wilkins leads Mozart’s final symphony and crowning achievement nicknamed for the king of the Roman gods. Performances will be preceded by C.P.E. Bach’s most famous flute concerto by acclaimed flutist Demarre McGill.
Also upcoming from Virginia Symphony Orchestra: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert (March 21-22), The Music of Star Wars (May 3-4)
Learn more: virginiasymphony.org
MOMIX Alice
Virginia Arts Festival
April 2, 2025—Chrysler Hall
April 4, 2025—Ferguson Center
Seamlessly blending illusion, acrobatics, magic, and whimsy, legendary modern dance company MOMIX sends audiences flying down the rabbit hole in Moses Pendleton’s newest creation, Alive, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland.
Learn more:vafest.org
Fringe Festival
April 4-6, 2025
Zeiders American Dream Theater
Art that pushes the envelope is taking over The Z this April. The Z Fringe Festival showcases unique creative works in a weekend of adventurous theater and performance art. Featuring exciting, self-produced works on two Z stages.
Learn more: thez.org
Snow White—A Ballet Adventure
Ballet Virginia
April 5, 2025
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Join Ballet Virginia’s professional company for a spellbinding journey through this timeless fairytale, brought to life in an original ballet full of enchantment and wonder with choreography by Suzanne Lownsbury and Janina Michalski.
Learn more: balletvirginia.org
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music Sing-A-Long
Virginia Arts Festival
April 6, 2025
Chrysler Hall
Grab your lederhosen, practice your best Maria von Trapp and get ready to be transported to the music-filled hills of the Austrian countryside! Enjoy a screening of the smash-hit 1965 movie musical in glorious technicolor, complete with onscreen lyrics, a costume contest and trivia.
Learn more:vafest.org
Jazz at Lincoln
Center Orchestra
with Wynton Marsalis
Virginia Arts Festival
April 11, 2025
Chrysler Hall
Led by Grammy, Pulitzer Prize and National Medal of the Arts winner Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center joins the Virginia Arts Festival in nurturing the next generation of musicians with a residency featuring ensembles from HBCUs culminating in an amazing night of music.
Learn more: vafest.org
Flourish
April 19-May 24, 2025
d’Art Center
Make your way to Norfolk’s NEON district community art center and kick off Historic Garden Week right with the fourth annual installment of Flourish, a juried national exhibition of floral and botanical artworks. There will be an awards reception held on April 25.
Also upcoming at d’Art Center: Glass Immersed: The 2025 NFK Glass Circuit Event (March 22-April 12)
Learn more: d-artcenter.org
Footloose
Virginia Musical Theatre
April 25-27, 2025
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
The explosive movie musical that premiered 40 years ago now bursts onto the live stage. Dynamic new songs interweave with compositions from the Oscar-nominated Best Score in a celebration of the exhilaration of youth, wisdom of listening and power of forgiveness.
Learn more: vmtheatre.org
Virginia International Tattoo
Virginia Arts Festival
April 24-27, 2025
Scope Arena
Exceptional performers from the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps are joined by an international cast of 800+ for a celebration 250 years in the making—including Norway’s Band and Drill Team of His Majesty the King’s Guard, the Massed Pipes and Drums and the OzScot Australia Highland Dancers.
Learn more:vafest.org
Ragtime
April 25-May 18, 2025
Smithfield Little Theatre
Set in the volatile melting pot of turn-of-the-century New York, three tales are woven together: a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant and a daring young Harlem musician. Together, they confront history’s contradictions and what it means to live in America.
Learn more:smithfieldlittletheatre.org
Pretty Woman: The Musical
Broadway in Norfolk
May 6-11, 2025
Chrysler Hall
Based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved romantic stories, the stage version springs to life with a powerhouse creative team led by two-time Tony-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray, Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde). Are you ready to fall in love all over again?
Also upcoming from Broadway in Norfolk: Mamma Mia! (March 4-9)
Learn more: broadwayinnorfolk.com
Mahler’s Ninth Symphony
Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Virginia Arts Festival
May 9, 2025—Ferguson Center
May 10, 2025—Sandler Center
One of the most beloved symphonies in the classical repertoire, Mahler’s Ninth begins in hushed awe, harp, horns and strings beckoning, and transports listeners through joy and sorrow, loss and redemption. Eric Jacobsen calls it “one of the greatest accomplishments of humanity.”
Learn more: vafest.org
Memphis
May 9-June 1, 2025
Little Theatre of Norfolk
Set in the 1950s and inspired by real events, Memphis follows a white radio DJ who wants to change the world and a black club singer ready for her big break. Winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, it follows their incredible journey to the ends of the airwaves.
Also upcoming at Little Theatre of Norfolk: Top Girls(Through March 16)
Learn more: ltnonline.org
Cinderella
Virginia Arts Festival
May 15, 2025
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Alma Deutscher began composing at age six, and quickly created an astonishing body of work, receiving global media attention. In this Virginia Arts Festival collaboration, Deutscher conducts student musicians from The Governor’s School for the Arts in her opera Cinderella.
Learn more:vafest.org
Zemlinsky Quartet with Olga Kern
Virginia Arts Festival
May 21, 2025—
William & Mary Concert Hall
May 22, 2025—Robin Hixon
Theater, Clay and Jay Barr Education Center
Much of the great string quartet repertoire has come from Czech composers, a tradition carried on by the award winning Zemlinsky Quartet. In their Virginia Arts Festival debut, Van Cliburn Gold Medal-awarded pianist Olga Kern joins the ensemble for an evening of chamber classics.
Learn more: vafest.org
Black Sabbath – The Ballet with Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Birmingham Royal Ballet and Virginia Arts Festival
May 30-31, 2025
Chrysler Hall
The raw energy of rock meets the graceful strength of ballet in the U.S. premiere of Britain’s internationally acclaimed Birmingham Royal Ballet in a spectacularly entertaining new work. The performance salutes some of Birmingham’s most famous exports—Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.
Learn more:vafest.org
Samara Joy
Virginia Arts Festival
June 7, 2025
Chrysler Hall
This phenomenal young jazz vocalist has critics sharpening their superlatives, calling her “a reincarnation of Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald in the same body” (London Jazz News), and “a voice that seems to have a gravitational pull keeping the planets in orbit” (WGBO).
Learn more: vafest.org
Chris Murphy
