The HRACT Awards
The Hampton Roads Achievement in Community Theater Awards
Recent posts
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Hijinks and Hoaxes: the Z’s Curtain Up New Play Series Brings Us “As You Love It”
Photo courtesy of J. Stubbs Photography (https://jstubbsphotographyvb.com/) *Note: As per the performance eligibility requirements laid out here, this production is not up for HRACT Award consideration.* It has been a year full of Shakespeare-adjacent plays for us, from “Something Rotten” to “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (revised) (again)”, so it seemed only proper that…
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Turn Your Radio to W-LTN, Right in the Middle of the Dial, for “Memphis: The Musical”
Photo courtesy of J. Stubbs Photography (https://jstubbsphotographyvb.com/) Sometimes the English language doesn’t quite have the right word to describe something. For some, that might lead to a long paragraph to explain it. Others might just stagnate and keep the thought to themselves. The visionaries, however, don’t let a lack of creativity from prior generations get…
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Heartwarming and Heartbreaking, PCT’s “The Boys Next Door” Lives in the Moment, and That is Enough
“A society should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members.” This line, delivered in an aside directly to the audience by Jack, the social worker in charge of the four intellectually disabled men living together in the acceptable-if-not-luxurious apartment in which this show spends the majority of its time, ensures the intent…
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Dance to that Americana Beat as You Head to Smithfield Little Theatre for “Ragtime the Musical”
It might make for a worse image for our traditional Instagram pre-show pic, but I do love it when you walk into a theater and the curtain is closed. There is something about the element of mystery that heightens your senses as the music starts and the curtain is drawn, bringing you more fully into…
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Is He or Isn’t He? That’s the Magic of Harvey at Williamsburg Players
As someone who has watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” many a time in my day, I am mildly familiar Jimmy Stewart’s work, and thus, although having never seen the movie “Harvey”, was excited to attend Williamsburg Players’ production involving that famous tall rabbit. (Don’t tell anyone, but just a couple hours before the show, I…
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LTVB’s “45 Seconds From Broadway” is a Reflection on the Importance of Found Family
Photo courtesy of J. Stubbs Photography (https://jstubbsphotographyvb.com/) As we sat down in our seats at LTVB on Friday night, the first thing we did was check how our March Madness brackets were doing (unsurprisingly, not well). The second thing we did was be amazed by the restaurant set out in front of us. My wife…
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Extraordinary Performances Create “Something Simple, Familiar, and Full of Feeling” in Generic Theater’s “Ordinary Days”
Photo courtesy of J. Stubbs Photography (https://jstubbsphotographyvb.com/) We walked into Generic Theater with sky-high expectations for “Ordinary Days”. Not only was this the closing show for Generic’s very successful season (the same final show slot that HRACT Award Best Play winner “Indecent” was in last year), we knew it was being fronted by four absolute…
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See Your Reflection in the Glass Ceiling in “Top Girls” at Little Theatre of Norfolk
Photo courtesy of J. Stubbs Photography (https://jstubbsphotographyvb.com/) In 2016, I began working in a very male-dominated field. As a Millennial woman, I truly believed that this would be a non-issue. While I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that we lived in a post-racism world or that people of the LGBTQIA+ community had achieved full equality,…
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Teamwork Brings “Working” to Life at Peninsula Community Theatre
The first thing I noticed as we walked into “Working” at Peninsula Community Theatre on Friday night was a teddy bear hanging tight to the impressively large set of scaffolding on stage. The second thing I noticed was the hand saw, intimidatingly directly next to the teddy bear. Don’t worry, I thought to myself –…
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Enjoy a Slice of Pizza with That Slice of Life at Smithfield Little Theatre’s “Italian American Reconciliation”
When you think of Little Italy, what comes to mind? Cute little restaurants? Dramatic poetry? How about passionate love? Well, in Smithfield Little Theatre’s “Italian American Reconciliation”, you do get all of those, but a much less romanticized version than is typically depicted. Our cute little restaurant is more of a soup counter, our dramatic…
HRACT Awards 