Virginia African American Cultural Center Artist Masterpiece Series MLK Day Celebration featuring Beauty for Ashes Dance Company.

Beauty for Ashes will present The King Project, a dance tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Z Ticket Bank FREE performance provided by Virginia African American Cultural Center. Additional funding for this performance comes from the City of Virginia Beach Cultural Affairs through the Arts and Humanities Commission. 

Sail the Caribbean seas on the sound waves of steel drums with Arts for Learning’s Gary Garlic!

A Z Ticket Bank FREE Family Time performance provided by Arts for Learning. Funding for this performance comes from Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, Arts Alliance, Virginia Commission for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts.

Gary “Ju Ju Drum” Garlic is a percussionist who has performed for a living since 1994 when he was hired as a drummer at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. Since then, Gary has shared the stage with legends that include The Temptations, Earth Wind and Fire, and Donna Summer. In addition to performing, Gary is a music teacher who provides private instruction in instruments that include the drums, keyboard, and electric bass. Gary has also been trained through the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning. Wolf Trap teaching artists partner with teachers and caregivers of children ages four to six-years-old to improve learning through the performing arts: using music, dance, drama, and puppetry to bring literacy concepts to life!

The celebration will include Nathan Richardson performing speeches by Frederick Douglas, intertwined with musical selections from two soloists. The performance will be followed by a panel discussion.

A Z Ticket Bank FREE performance provided by Virginia African American Cultural Center. Additional funding for this performance comes from the City of Virginia Beach Cultural Affairs through the Arts and Humanities Commission.

Contemporary and classical works with a focus on diversity and hope by Ballet Virginia Artistic Director Lydia Roberts Coco. Ms. Coco, a former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer, will be tapping into the diverse cultural roots of the Hampton Roads community. This transcendent program will feature a work honoring local and international ballet star, Lorraine Graves who passed away in 2024. Join us for inspiring dance with soulful music.

Performances Feb. 21-22 on The Z Mainstage

Contemporary and classical works with a focus on diversity and hope by Ballet Virginia Artistic Director Lydia Roberts Coco. Ms. Coco, a former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer, will be tapping into the diverse cultural roots of the Hampton Roads community. This transcendent program will feature a work honoring local and international ballet star, Lorraine Graves who passed away in 2024. Join us for inspiring dance with soulful music.

Performances Feb. 21-22 on The Z Mainstage

Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-American vocalist, songwriter, and composer, known for her electric stage presence, innovative sound and vibrant cultural activism. This exciting and exclusive performance in Hampton Roads will feature works from her latest album, released March 8, 2024: Ethio-Blue.

Meklit’s Ethio-Jazz performances have taken her to renowned stages across 4 continents. Her albums have topped world music charts across the US + Europe, received rave reviews, and been covered extensively by the press. Meklit has collaborated with renowned artists such as Kronos Quartet, Andrew Bird, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the late creator of funk music, Pee Wee Ellis.

Meklit is a National Geographic Explorer, a TED Senior Fellow, and a former Artist-in-Residence at Harvard University, and former Chief of Program at the famous Yerba Buena Arts Center in Sand Francisco.  She is the co-founder of the Nile Project, a featured voice in UN Women’s theme song and the winner of the 2021 globalFEST Artist Award. Her music has been featured by the New York Times, BBC, CNN, NPR, Washington Post, Vibe Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe and many more.

Meklit is co-founder, co-producer and host of Movement, a podcast, radio series , live performance series and community building initiative uplifting the stories, songs and cultural power of immigrant musicians. The show airs monthly on PRX’s The World to an audience of 2.5 million listeners.  Season 2 of Movement launches July 16, 2024, wherever you get your podcasts.

“There is a raw beauty about Ethiopian vocalist and songwriter Meklit. Her voracious musical appetite is always evident, and she manages to honor her heritage while remaining fiercely original.” – JAZZ TIMES

*Reserve your free seats before they run out: https://culture.virginiabeach.gov/710/1017

Learn more about Meklit (rhymes with beat)

Children’s Theatre of Hampton Roads Presents
“The Three Musketeers”
Written by Katherine Nicole Schulze

All for one, and one for all! CTHR’s Three Musketeers is a dashing adaptation of the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas. This rousing coming-of-age adventure takes place in France, 1625. Raise your sword as you follow the story of young d’Artagnan while he pursues his dream of becoming a member of the king’s elite guard: The Musketeers. Three experienced heroes, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis mentor d’Artagnan as he leaps into bureaucratic intrigue and chivalrous adventure.

Appropriate for all ages, best enjoyed by those four and up.

by Sharon Cook
Presented by Underground Performing Arts Collective

Black Girl Magic takes its audience on a journey lead by Sister, a young Black woman, struggling to find a place of acceptance in the world. Guided by her African ancestors, Sister comes to a place of self-reconciliation and acceptance as she is given a glimpse into the lives and legacy of Black women, past and present, young and old.

March 15 at 2PM will include audio descriptions, captioning provided by Access VA.

Plan B Comedy Kids Show. A family favorite, this show offers a delightful mix of laughter, creativity, and memorable moments for everyone in an interactive setting. Our talented comedians create hilarious scenes on the spot based on your suggestions. So come and experience a unique, engaging performance that will have the whole family laughing together!

Plan B Comedy is very proud to be the resident comedy group at The Z. Performing regularly in both the Studio and the Main Stage, Plan B Comedy provides a high energy, fast paced and exciting experience. Plan B Comedy’s brand is “FUN” and it shows.

A Z Ticket Bank FREE Family Time performance provided by Arts for Learning. Funding for this performance comes from Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, Arts Alliance, Virginia Commission for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts.

We only have one earth, and each of us has a responsibility to protect its resources. Award-winning storyteller Via Goode shares humorous folktales from around the world that allow students to imagine how intentional and unintentional actions may affect our environment. With chants, rhymes, and refrains, these stories invite lots of participation and open doors for conversations about what a difference each of us can make in caring for our planet.

Children’s Theatre of Hampton Roads Presents
“I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff: the Absolutely True Story of the Big Bad Wolf”
Written by Scott Quirk
Directed by Mike Burnette

One of CTHR’s most beloved productions is back!
You think you know the story. Pigs. Houses. Red Cloaks. Taking baskets to Grandma’s house. But you’ve never heard the real story – until now!

Boss Beulah Bell (a proper Southern pig) is in charge of a little patch of countryside in the Fairytale Woods. But for Beulah, being the star of The Three Little Pigs isn’t enough. With the help of her dimwitted daughter Petaline and a well-intentioned want-ad Wolf, she plans to alter all the fairytales beyond repair.

With the help of the audience, Petaline Prunella Pig and Wyoming Wolf (a.k.a. The Big Bad) vie to stop Beulah in her quest to change the fairytales as we know them into new works, such as “The Little Pig-maid”, “Pig-nocchio”, and “Snow Pig and the Seven Dwarves”.

An engaging and interactive production that will entertain the youngest audience members, the seasoned theatre-goers, and everyone in between!

(Appropriate for all ages, best enjoyed by those four and up).