Five productions comprise Norfolk’s Theatre Festival, which begins Sunday and runs throughout June.
The 2025 festival invites the community to experience a range of emotions, from a jarring topic with a comedic touch to a familiar classic resurrected and told in a uniquely fresh way. From trickery that’s seemingly impossible to unorthodox brotherly love to entertainment from a bygone era.
The festival began in 2019 when the Virginia Arts Festival invited performing arts organizations in the city to participate. The pandemic suspended it and the festival returned last year.
“The festival focuses on art created right here in Norfolk,” said Tom Quaintance, producing artistic director of Virginia Stage Co. “As an arts community, we punch above our weight class, and the festival is a great way to celebrate that.”
Here's a look at each of the productions.
Sunday: “Every Brilliant Thing,” co-produced by Norfolk State University’s Theatre Co. and Virginia Stage Co. at NSU Brown Memorial Hall Theater
A one-person show featuring NSU alumna Candunn Jennette, the interim director of enrichment at Virginia Stage Co., which has produced the play multiple times. The interactive story chronicles the life and residual effects of losing someone to suicide. The heavy topic uses humor and joyful storytelling to remind us that every moment holds value.
“As a theater serving our community, one of the most important things we do is start conversations,” Quaintance said. “In all the years I’ve been doing this, I don’t know of another play like it. The conversations around mental health we’ve been able to have are among the most important of any play we’ve ever done.”
June 10-11: “Frankenstein,” produced by CORE Theatre Ensemble at the Wells Theatre. Created in 2025 from CORE’s adaptation from 2008.
“The fun thing is that since it’s our own script, we looked at the script again and revamped it,” said director Edwin Castillo. The focus is on the weight of guilt that Victor Frankenstein carries in creating a monster responsible for so many negative actions. Without spoilers: The show uses body parts and multiple voices to create the creature. The production centers on a son losing his mother and wanting to defy death to bring her back. A “very metal” show, Castillo said, noting the drama is filled with musical moments.
Appropriate for ages 13 and up.
June 13-15: “Glitches in Reality,” a Virginia Arts Festival production at the Robin Hixon Theater, Clay and Barr Education Center
The illusion of magician Simon Colonel's show comes from the arts. The Australian has nothing up his sleeve as he wears no long sleeves, making his sleight of hand all the more mind-blowing. His many international awards include two prizes from the FISM World Championships of Magic and Illusion, recognized as the “Olympics” of magic. Coronel is a software engineer who double majored in psychology and Chinese. As part of the lecturing staff at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, he highlights the importance of the science behind illusions.
June 19-29: “Topdog/Underdog,” produced by NSU Theatre Co. at NSU Brown Memorial Hall Theater
The 2023 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Play takes an unorthodox look at sibling rivalry with brothers Lincoln and Booth. This is the second show for NSU’s professional theater company, launched last summer. NSU’s student theater group previously performed this show. The playwright, Suzan-Lori Parks, won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this piece. Proceeds from the show will go toward a scholarship named in honor of Jadon Z. Jenkins, who starred as Booth in the production and died unexpectedly in 2018.
“It’s a very layered play,” said Anthony Stockard, founder of NSU Theatre Co. and artistic director. “There’s laugh-out-loud comedy. There’s amazing drama, but it requires superior acting performances.”
June 21: Mister Showtime at Virginia Art Festival's Robin Hixon Theater.
Scott Wichmann is a favorite of Virginia Stage Co., appearing in “Fiddler on the Roof,” “A Sherlock Carol” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” In this musical production, he honors Sinatra in a way that is special, Quaintance said.
“You can’t walk away from that show without a smile on your face,” Quaintance said.
Wichmann is also an actor, writer, director and communication specialist in the Navy Reserve. Back in the mid-1990s, he performed at Busch Gardens, starring in the one-man show “Enchanted Laboratory.”
