Celebrating 50 years of the Virginia Theatre Festival

Photo by Tristan Williams

The Virginia Theatre Festival finished one of its most explosive seasons yet in its 50th year. Every summer, the professional summer theater of the University presents annual festivals of musicals, classical works, and new plays to the Charlottesville community. This year, among productions of “Little Shop of Horrors” and tour de force performances of “The 39 Steps,” VTF presented a 50th Anniversary revue to highlight the company’s history.

But 50 years ago, VTF started on a much smaller scale and in true Wahoo style — with the production of “The Patriots,” a play about Thomas Jefferson. Former University Drama Chair David Weiss founded the company in 1974 under the name Heritage Repertory Company with the goal of celebrating American plays. Over the years, the company would go by two more names — Heritage Repertory Theatre and Heritage Theatre Festival, respectively — before becoming the Virginia Theatre Festival in 2022.

Jenny Wales, artistic director of VTF and associate professor in the Department of Drama, pointed to circular mentorship as a backbone of the company’s process. Instead of only older professionals teaching the younger generation, learning goes both ways.

“How can we constantly learn from one another so that it's not solely those who've been in the business for decades that are the ones teaching the newer [people]?” Wales said.

Robert “Bob” Chapel served as the artistic director of VTF from 1995 to 2015. As the first person to produce musicals with the company, Chapel marked a significant shift and expansion in its production capabilities.

This past summer, Chapel returned to direct “50 Years and Counting: A Musical Revue,” which featured highlights from the company’s previous shows. Ten VTF alumni returned, with many of the original actors reprising their former roles for the night. The revue included songs from a variety of musicals, including “Guys and Dolls,” “West Side Story” and “The Sound of Music.”

Standout shows included the unique harmony of “Cabaret” in the 2023 season, which brought dance to a new level.

VTF overcame struggles to earn its current success. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic plunged VTF into a blackout for two years. For the first time in its history, the company didn’t produce a single show during its season. Wales called it going “dark.” Yet in 2022, VTF emerged with a new name and a renewed purpose.

“One of the things that’s been most impactful about that experience has been how responsive our community has been,” Wales said. “It’s been a real humbling reminder of how grateful I am to live and work in a community that is so supportive of and enjoys the necessity of the arts as being a real temple of a functioning democracy.”

The relationship between the Charlottesville community and VTF emphasized that idea of a collaborative democracy. As audiences flocked back into the theater, many of the VTF’s donors continued to support the company. In 2023, VTF engaged with 45 different local organizations to distribute tickets across the community in a program called Spotlight on Service. They distributed 175 complimentary tickets to 16 area nonprofits, including Charlottesville Free Clinic and Cville Tulips.

Wales studied drama at the University under Chapel. She worked the box office for her first professional job in the theater. After graduation, Wales left Virginia for two decades and returned once the job opened up.

When planning for a new season, Wales said she analyzes scope and scale. She brainstorms what the company can realistically accomplish while always pushing themselves, establishing first the logistics of calendar timing and spaces. Then she plays around with form and style, in a manner she compared to an accordion — expanding and contracting to create a balanced program.

“Hopefully, what we’re doing year after year is that we’re producing at a level that whatever we end up producing, people are going to want to come and see, because they’ll trust that we are going to take them on a journey and we’re going to tell incredible stories,” Wales said.

In the short-term future, Wales said she wants to extend the professional theater into the academic year, including masterclasses. Some recent examples involved when two University alumni, “The Mandalorian” star Emily Swallow and Broadway actor James Seol, returned to Grounds to collaborate with drama students.

According to Wales, the Virginia Theatre Festival’s next season is already in the works and will be announced at the beginning of Spring semester. Then the process of hiring, casting and rehearsing begins again.

“I feel a deep sense of gratitude for being a very small part of the story of this theater,” Wales said. “Hopefully, my work can be a bridge to the next 50 years, and that we will in 50 years continue to be talking about the plays and musicals that are produced at VTF.”