The Works: Live Arts’

Acting in ‘The Twilight Zone’

Live Arts wraps mystery in fishing enigma with The River

By Julia Stumbaugh

arts@c-ville.com

Aman catches a silver trout, which turns into a “glimmering girl with apple blossom in her hair” before fading away. Though he grows old searching for her, he will find where she has gone, pledges the narrator of William Butler Yeats’ ethereal 1897 poem “The Song of Wandering Aengus.”

This yearning poem’s lyrics open and close Jez Butterworth’s The River, a play that will turn the Live Arts stage into a fisherman’s cabin perched on a cliff above a trout-filled river, from January 20 to February 11.

What happens on this moonless night, says Director Robert Chapel, is “something akin to what one might see while watching an episode of ‘Twilight Zone.’”

Chapel, professor emeritus at the University of Virginia, led more than 50 productions as executive director of the Virginia Theatre Festival (formerly the Heritage Theatre Festival), and ran the UVA Department of Drama for more than 25 years. He says The River is like no other production he has introduced to Charlottesville audiences. “This is a very different play than they are used to me directing,” Chapel says. “I think it’s going to be fun to get their response.”

The River takes place on a single stage set, the remote cabin where fishing enthusiast The Man (Steve Tharp) brings his guest, The Woman (Christina Ball). What appears to be a simple setup is complicated by the introduction of The Other Woman (Caitlin Reinhard)—as well as the unsettling feeling that the chronology of the play is not as it first appears.

“We have found in rehearsal that the play has evolved, and the understanding of the play has evolved, as rehearsal has gone on,” Chapel says. “It’s not an easy play to decipher on the first reading.”

Ball and Reinhard bring what Chapel describes as a “different kind of energy” to each of the two diametrically opposed women, and the entire cast’s understanding of the play continues to grow alongside their characters.

WILL KERNER

Live Arts presents The River by Jez Butterworth, directed by Robert Chapel, and starring Caitlin Reinhard, Steve Tharp, and Christina Ball.

“When I first read it, I gasped.”

ROBERT CHAPEL

“I try to be more of an editor than a director, because I was an actor once in my lifetime and I never liked a director necessarily standing over me and telling me exactly what to do,” Chapel says. “We’re all working together on this.”

Artistic Director Susan Evans introduced Chapel to The River when she asked him to return to Live Arts to direct it. He agreed before reading the play because he had already fallen in love with Butterworth’s writing while attending New York productions of The Ferryman, a journey to rural Northern Ireland during the Troubles of the 1980s, and Jerusalem, which received international acclaim for its punchy portrayal of modern-day Britain. When he picked up The River for the first time, Chapel was introduced to what he describes as a poignant and poetic new side of the playwright.

It took Chapel several read-throughs to cement his understanding of the story. “When I first read it, I gasped,” he says—but that doesn’t mean he wants audiences to spend their time agonizing over the story’s ambiguity. Butterworth’s intent, Chapel says, is for the audience to encounter The River, not solve it.

The River

Live Arts January 20-February 11

The River runs 80 minutes with no intermission, and many people will likely leave the production with questions, and maybe spend the drive home thinking it over. “You just have to play the play for its truths, and play the text, and let the audience decide what they will,” says Chapel.

Friday 1/20

music

Kat & The Travelers. Americana tunes. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com Tim Ryalls and Barry Collins. The acoustic duo performs a blend of classic rock, blues, and country tunes. Free, 6pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com

dance

Square Dance Party. A beginnger-friendly dance with Boot Scoot Square Dance Party. Free, 5:30pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraftcider.com

stage

The River. Live Arts’ production of Jez Butterworth’s bewitching and mysterious play stars Steve Tharp, Christina Ball, and Caitlin Reinhard. $22-27, 8pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org

words

challenged Hitler and was involved in the plot to kill him. Free, 1:30pm. Online. olliuva.org Charlottesville Reading Series. Amy-Sarah Marshall and Sofia Samatar read from their works. Free, 7pm. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. ndbookshop.com

CreativeMornings with Maria Chavalan

Sut. A breakfast lecture for the creative community. Free, 8:30am. New City Arts, 114 Third St. NE. creativemornings.com

outside

Playdates at the Playscape. BYO snacks and buddies and enjoy outdoor play. $20, 9:30am. Wildrock, 6600 Blackwells Hollow Rd., Crozet. wildrock.org

etc.

Botanical Drag Bingo. Enjoy a drag show and play bingo to win prizes. $15, 6:30pm. Botanical Plant-Based Fare, 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. botanicalfare.com I Am Not Your Negro. The film explores the lives of leaders of the Civil Rights movement from the perspective of author James Baldwin. Free, 7:30pm. PVCC’s V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. pvcc.edu

Saturday 1/21

music

Berto’s Latin Guitar Brunch. Enjoy the sounds of Brazil, Spain, and Latin America with Berto Sales. Free, 11am. Tavern & Grocery, 333 W. Main St. tavernandgrocery.com Brisk. Sip on wine and enjoy live tunes. Free, 1pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com Conley Ray & The Joneses. Old and new country favorites. $10, 7pm. The Batesville Market, 6624 Plank Rd., Batesville. batesville market.com Tara Mills. Original folk and roots music. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarle ciderworks.com The Michael Elswick Gathering. Jazz, blues, ballads, and Latin tunes. Free, 5pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com

words

Janasha Bradford. Celebrate Janasha Bradford’s recent children’s book, Malcolm’s Master Plan to Gazillionaire, with a reading and Q&A. Free, 10:30am. Bluebird & Co., 5792 Three Notched Rd., Crozet. bluebirdcrozet.com Mary Alice Hostetter: Plain. Celebrate the release of Mary Alice Hostetter’s memoir. Free, 4pm. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. ndbookshop.com Storytime. Readings of recent favorites and classics. Free, 11am. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. ndbookshop.com

classes

Human Milk Show-and-Tell. Share knowledge and learn something new at this handson breastfeeding workshop. Free, 11am. Our Neighborhood Child Development Center, 1015 E. Market St. ourneighborhood.community

outside