Review: #CHARLOTTESVILLE at Keegan Theatre

When I walked into the Keegan Theatre Saturday evening to see the galvanizing play #Charlottesville, I noticed two changes since I reviewed this play at the Capital Fringe Festival one year and eight months ago: this play is no longer about one portentous and isolated incident but, rather, this play is a succinct encapsulation of an incident that is a mirror of what is going on in society at the present time. 

With an oppressive political climate that is oppressively bending truth into alternate facts, cutting off veteran’s rights and erasing the rights of the marginalized, and stifling academic, medical, and scientific research---we are truly living in a veritable hell where everybody’s voice is needed to fight back against an authoritarian narrative. The Keegan Theatre should be praised for presenting such a powerful indictment of “the past becoming the present.”

The second change I noticed was on an aesthetic level: the original play that I reviewed on July 19, 2023 was more of a developing workshop whereas we now have a fully- developed play with more fluid character transitions courtesy of the mesmerizing dramatic skills of performer Priyanka Shetty. Ms. Shetty transitions from character to character with absorbing skill and aplomb. The vast number of characters performer Shetty has to portray must be a huge and taxing physical endurance test and Ms. Shetty amazes with her agility and dynamic stage presence -----there are complete characterizations which are truthfully and naturally presented.

The new director at the helm here ---Yury Urnov---has wisely pruned away overtly confusing excesses of the previous play and now the play congeals as a much more pragmatically cohesive and cathartic show. Mr. Urnov has directed Ms. Shetty to be a bit more ironic, cutting, and droll in her psychological fighting defenses against such a harsh and shallow infrastructure of hate, class, and racial divisions. This results in a more authentically rounded performance by Ms. Shetty. Ms. Shetty portrays counter-protestors, residents of Charlottesville, university professors and students, and alt-right group members and so many more in this transformative and thought-provoking production.

The utilization of very striking and impressive visual projections by Dylan Uremovitch adds immeasurably (and is much better than in the Capital Fringe production) by conveying the differing trajectories of the other figures involved in the proceeding ---these include the hateful Jason Kessler, Richard B. Spencer, and Matthew Heimbach.

There are also provocative and dryly witty projections of Ms. Shetty as a newscaster and a commentator. Poetic and symbolic images of snow falling, torches flaring, and a woman sobbing help to visually propel this harrowing narrative.

The production centers around The March on Charlottesville/Unite the Right Rally that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 11-12, 2017. Events leading up to and following the rally are referred to throughout and the play is based on many interviews, court transcripts and news reports of the time.

Charlottesville, Virginia takes on the persona of almost being a character in the play itself --–somewhat akin to the way in which Laramie, Wyoming became a distinct focal point of the play The Laramie Project.

Layers upon layers are intertwined-- Ms. Shetty’s overarching perspective is embedded in her roles as an idealistic drama student at the University of Virginia, while she is alternately realistically embedded in the milieu of the town of Charlottesville, Virginia.

Ms. Shetty’s original writing of this play based on transcript sand interviews is masterful and tautly immersive for the audience. A grieving mother of a killed protester, a drama university teacher, and a friend from the University all constitute some of the many characters portrayed by Ms. Shetty in this jolting and beautifully realized production.

The tradition of one-person shows has a long and varied history harkening back to Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight and Julie Harris in The Belle of Amherst. However, in this play, Ms. Shetty must meet the challenge of playing a large assortment of characters (akin to Lily Tomlin in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe and Anna Deavere Smith in Fires in the Mirror) and she exceeds expectations.

Compositions by Heather Mease are remarkably effective and have an almost eerie, surreal, and dystopian ambience.

Dialect Coach Monica Blaze Leavitt deserves commendations.

Scenic design by Matthew J. Keenan is efficient and functional to stress the themes of this relevant production.

The repercussions of #Charlottesville are being horrifyingly felt today, so here is a hearty salute to Priyanka Shetty, Director Yury Urnov and the Keegan Theatre for this courageous and creative production.

Running Time: 70 minutes with no intermission

#Charlottesville runs through April 13, 2025, at the Keegan Theatre located at 1742 Church Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036.

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