Calendar of Events
Upcoming events and things to do in Asheville, NC. Below is a list of events for festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, group meetups and more.
Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.
La Vie Boheme! Join the HS Company in the musical that shaped a generation of audiences and taught us all to measure our life in love.
Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent School Edition is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, it has become a pop cultural phenomenon with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.
Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Rent School Edition follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.
Please note, this performance is rated PG-13. This musical contains mature themes that center around the AIDS Crisis.
Written by Carlyle Brown
Directed by Stephanie Hickling Beckman
ABE LINCOLN AND UNCLE TOM IN THE WHITE HOUSE portrays a gripping re-imagination of the the events the night before Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Alone in the Executive Office, President Abraham Lincoln is struggling with signing the Emancipation Proclamation when he is mysteriously visited by Uncle Tom, the fictional character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly. These two iconic characters from life and literature—one real, the other fiction—attempt to understand each other across a chasm of race in the midst of the Civil War. Throughout one late night and into the dawning day, they find themselves crossing over into each other’s world in a tale of suffering, self-discovery, and redemption.
“I hadn’t read the book [Uncle Tom’s Cabin], and I had fallen victim to the mentality that says when you hear the name Uncle Tom you get the picture of the worst individual you could imagine, In reading the book, I found a character of honor and dignity and I thought, maybe this character deserves to be looked at again.” – James A Williams
By: Tim Firth
Based on the Miramax motion picture by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth
Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Director: Brandi Andrade
Approximate Run Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Rating: Mature due to adult situations, humor, and language
Tim Firth’s hilarious play is based on the true story of eleven middle-aged women who famously posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukemia Research Fund in 1999. When Annie’s husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They persuade four friends and fellow members of the Women’s Institute to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar, assisted by hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. News of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in Yorkshire, England. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their new-found fame.
By Duncan MacMillian with Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Charlie Flynn-McIver and Starring Scott Treadway
One of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression—and possibly one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see, full stop…There is something tough being confronted here—the guilt of not being able to make those we love happy—and it is explored with unflinching honesty.” —The Guardian (UK)
Content Warning: Although the play balances the struggles of life while celebrating all that is wonderful in living each day, Every Brilliant Thing contains descriptions of depression, self-harm, and suicide. It is recommended for audience members 14 and older. If you or somebody you know is struggling, please call 988, The Suicide & Crisis Hotline.
We invite you to drink in the nectar of our heart’s creative delight… A Love Potion by OMotion!
THE SHOW
A one of a kind unique multi-dimensional event !!!!
Muses & Mocktails is not only a show to indulge the senses; it is also a fundraiser for our next full length production, Cycles of Dance, coming up Autumn 2023!
Join us for an evening of potent performance art & herbal elixirs!
OMotion Collective & featured performers convene to share an infusion of musings woven together.
Highlighting:
- Dance
- Burlesque
- Flow arts
- Comedy
- Poetry
– & –
- Looping Musical Mastery
The mocktails being served are The MerTails curated by local purveyor: The NOHM. These herbaceous libations hold a sweet reminder to savor every drop of this creative healing elixir as we rejoice with a cheers.
———————————————–
THE AFTER-SHOW DANCE PARTY
The show will be followed by a dance party. Electronic sets by local talents Blacknote and Atum are sure to getcha’ moving once you’re bubbling with inspiration after the spectrum of expressive acts we have brewed up.
TIming conflicts or preference to just come after the main show & shake it on out? If you can’t make it to the main show, you can purchase a reduced price ticket which is only valid for the after-show Dance Party.
_________________________
Doors at 6:30pm
Show at 7:30pm
Dance Party 9:15pm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENERAL ADMISSION: $33 per person – Full Access Show + Drink + Dance Party
VIP: $88 for 2 persons – Full Access Show + Drink + Dance Party ( with reserved table for 2 with a decadent spread of fruits, nuts & local chocolate)
DANCE PARTY ONLY: $22 per person – Admittance following the end of the main show
Tania, a very pregnant PHD candidate, and Pablo, her high-powered lawyer husband, realize the American dream when they buy a house with a backyard in Washington, DC. Living next door to community stalwarts Virginia and Frank is great – until a disagreement arises over a long-standing fence line between their homes. The conflict spirals into an all-out war of taste, class, privilege, and entitlement. With witty humor and engaging real-life drama, Native Gardens showcases conflict – and the worst and best ways to work it out!
Content Warning: Native Gardens contains mature themes, depictions of smoking, pregnancy/childbirth, microaggressions, and discussions of racism.
Accessibility:
All performances: Accessible wheelchair/scooter seating available.
Saturday, Feb 25, 2023: ASL-Interpreted Performance
The Magnetic Theatre is thrilled to kick off its 2023 Mainstage Season with HappyLand, a fun and fantastical new musical by Brayden Dickerson and Zach Knox of Asheville’s blues-fusion band Smooth Goose, featuring live tunes and an exciting ensemble of quirky characters.
This non-stop rock opera tells the tale of a delivery person who doesn’t quite fit into the titular town of HappyLand. Tasked with delivering one last package before the vacation they have been dreaming of, our bicycling box-bearer embarks on an epic journey through the barren Neither, where a host of unsavory characters contrives to stay this courier from their appointed rounds. Nevertheless, our maudlin messenger is determined to make it to SadLand. But what will they find when they arrive? Could the addressee be the love of their life? What message does the all-important package contain? And can our hero deliver the earth from annihilation?
Directed by Jason Phillips and featuring an ensemble cast with rotating lead actors, HappyLand is a delightful extravaganza of song, silliness, dance, romance, and splendiferous space battles.
With unrivaled arena production quality, Jurassic World comes to life against a backdrop of captivating scenery where dinosaurs from the iconic franchise, including fan-favorite Velociraptor Blue and a Tyrannosaurus rex more than 40 feet in length, take center stage. The production features more than 24 film-accurate, life-sized dinosaurs, with scale, speed and ferocity, operated by animatronics and performers.
Jurassic World’s unmistakable score combined with projection and practical scenery transforms the arena into the dense jungles of Isla Nublar, where real Gyrospheres roll through the valley and scientists work to unravel a corrupt plan and save anew dinosaur from a terrible fate. With pulse-pounding stunts and an original, authentic storyline, this show is guaranteed to make memories that will last another 65 million years.
With unrivaled arena production quality, Jurassic World comes to life against a backdrop of captivating scenery where dinosaurs from the iconic franchise, including fan-favorite Velociraptor Blue and a Tyrannosaurus rex more than 40 feet in length, take center stage. The production features more than 24 film-accurate, life-sized dinosaurs, with scale, speed and ferocity, operated by animatronics and performers.
Jurassic World’s unmistakable score combined with projection and practical scenery transforms the arena into the dense jungles of Isla Nublar, where real Gyrospheres roll through the valley and scientists work to unravel a corrupt plan and save anew dinosaur from a terrible fate. With pulse-pounding stunts and an original, authentic storyline, this show is guaranteed to make memories that will last another 65 million years.
La Vie Boheme! Join the HS Company in the musical that shaped a generation of audiences and taught us all to measure our life in love.
Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent School Edition is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, it has become a pop cultural phenomenon with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.
Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Rent School Edition follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.
Please note, this performance is rated PG-13. This musical contains mature themes that center around the AIDS Crisis.
Written by Carlyle Brown
Directed by Stephanie Hickling Beckman
ABE LINCOLN AND UNCLE TOM IN THE WHITE HOUSE portrays a gripping re-imagination of the the events the night before Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Alone in the Executive Office, President Abraham Lincoln is struggling with signing the Emancipation Proclamation when he is mysteriously visited by Uncle Tom, the fictional character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly. These two iconic characters from life and literature—one real, the other fiction—attempt to understand each other across a chasm of race in the midst of the Civil War. Throughout one late night and into the dawning day, they find themselves crossing over into each other’s world in a tale of suffering, self-discovery, and redemption.
“I hadn’t read the book [Uncle Tom’s Cabin], and I had fallen victim to the mentality that says when you hear the name Uncle Tom you get the picture of the worst individual you could imagine, In reading the book, I found a character of honor and dignity and I thought, maybe this character deserves to be looked at again.” – James A Williams
By: Tim Firth
Based on the Miramax motion picture by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth
Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Director: Brandi Andrade
Approximate Run Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Rating: Mature due to adult situations, humor, and language
Tim Firth’s hilarious play is based on the true story of eleven middle-aged women who famously posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukemia Research Fund in 1999. When Annie’s husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They persuade four friends and fellow members of the Women’s Institute to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar, assisted by hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. News of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in Yorkshire, England. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their new-found fame.
By Duncan MacMillian with Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Charlie Flynn-McIver and Starring Scott Treadway
One of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression—and possibly one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see, full stop…There is something tough being confronted here—the guilt of not being able to make those we love happy—and it is explored with unflinching honesty.” —The Guardian (UK)
Content Warning: Although the play balances the struggles of life while celebrating all that is wonderful in living each day, Every Brilliant Thing contains descriptions of depression, self-harm, and suicide. It is recommended for audience members 14 and older. If you or somebody you know is struggling, please call 988, The Suicide & Crisis Hotline.
Tania, a very pregnant PHD candidate, and Pablo, her high-powered lawyer husband, realize the American dream when they buy a house with a backyard in Washington, DC. Living next door to community stalwarts Virginia and Frank is great – until a disagreement arises over a long-standing fence line between their homes. The conflict spirals into an all-out war of taste, class, privilege, and entitlement. With witty humor and engaging real-life drama, Native Gardens showcases conflict – and the worst and best ways to work it out!
Content Warning: Native Gardens contains mature themes, depictions of smoking, pregnancy/childbirth, microaggressions, and discussions of racism.
Accessibility:
All performances: Accessible wheelchair/scooter seating available.
Saturday, Feb 25, 2023: ASL-Interpreted Performance
Tryon Fine Arts Center 2022-2023 Season:
Apri 1, 2023
Loudon Wainwright III
Iconic Grammy Winning Singer/Songwriter
The Magnetic Theatre is thrilled to kick off its 2023 Mainstage Season with HappyLand, a fun and fantastical new musical by Brayden Dickerson and Zach Knox of Asheville’s blues-fusion band Smooth Goose, featuring live tunes and an exciting ensemble of quirky characters.
This non-stop rock opera tells the tale of a delivery person who doesn’t quite fit into the titular town of HappyLand. Tasked with delivering one last package before the vacation they have been dreaming of, our bicycling box-bearer embarks on an epic journey through the barren Neither, where a host of unsavory characters contrives to stay this courier from their appointed rounds. Nevertheless, our maudlin messenger is determined to make it to SadLand. But what will they find when they arrive? Could the addressee be the love of their life? What message does the all-important package contain? And can our hero deliver the earth from annihilation?
Directed by Jason Phillips and featuring an ensemble cast with rotating lead actors, HappyLand is a delightful extravaganza of song, silliness, dance, romance, and splendiferous space battles.
With unrivaled arena production quality, Jurassic World comes to life against a backdrop of captivating scenery where dinosaurs from the iconic franchise, including fan-favorite Velociraptor Blue and a Tyrannosaurus rex more than 40 feet in length, take center stage. The production features more than 24 film-accurate, life-sized dinosaurs, with scale, speed and ferocity, operated by animatronics and performers.
Jurassic World’s unmistakable score combined with projection and practical scenery transforms the arena into the dense jungles of Isla Nublar, where real Gyrospheres roll through the valley and scientists work to unravel a corrupt plan and save anew dinosaur from a terrible fate. With pulse-pounding stunts and an original, authentic storyline, this show is guaranteed to make memories that will last another 65 million years.
By Duncan MacMillian with Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Charlie Flynn-McIver and Starring Scott Treadway
One of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression—and possibly one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see, full stop…There is something tough being confronted here—the guilt of not being able to make those we love happy—and it is explored with unflinching honesty.” —The Guardian (UK)
Content Warning: Although the play balances the struggles of life while celebrating all that is wonderful in living each day, Every Brilliant Thing contains descriptions of depression, self-harm, and suicide. It is recommended for audience members 14 and older. If you or somebody you know is struggling, please call 988, The Suicide & Crisis Hotline.
By: Tim Firth
Based on the Miramax motion picture by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth
Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Director: Brandi Andrade
Approximate Run Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Rating: Mature due to adult situations, humor, and language
Tim Firth’s hilarious play is based on the true story of eleven middle-aged women who famously posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukemia Research Fund in 1999. When Annie’s husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They persuade four friends and fellow members of the Women’s Institute to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar, assisted by hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. News of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in Yorkshire, England. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their new-found fame.
With unrivaled arena production quality, Jurassic World comes to life against a backdrop of captivating scenery where dinosaurs from the iconic franchise, including fan-favorite Velociraptor Blue and a Tyrannosaurus rex more than 40 feet in length, take center stage. The production features more than 24 film-accurate, life-sized dinosaurs, with scale, speed and ferocity, operated by animatronics and performers.
Jurassic World’s unmistakable score combined with projection and practical scenery transforms the arena into the dense jungles of Isla Nublar, where real Gyrospheres roll through the valley and scientists work to unravel a corrupt plan and save anew dinosaur from a terrible fate. With pulse-pounding stunts and an original, authentic storyline, this show is guaranteed to make memories that will last another 65 million years.
The Magnetic Theatre is thrilled to kick off its 2023 Mainstage Season with HappyLand, a fun and fantastical new musical by Brayden Dickerson and Zach Knox of Asheville’s blues-fusion band Smooth Goose, featuring live tunes and an exciting ensemble of quirky characters.
This non-stop rock opera tells the tale of a delivery person who doesn’t quite fit into the titular town of HappyLand. Tasked with delivering one last package before the vacation they have been dreaming of, our bicycling box-bearer embarks on an epic journey through the barren Neither, where a host of unsavory characters contrives to stay this courier from their appointed rounds. Nevertheless, our maudlin messenger is determined to make it to SadLand. But what will they find when they arrive? Could the addressee be the love of their life? What message does the all-important package contain? And can our hero deliver the earth from annihilation?
Directed by Jason Phillips and featuring an ensemble cast with rotating lead actors, HappyLand is a delightful extravaganza of song, silliness, dance, romance, and splendiferous space battles.
This Readers’ Theater piece is comprised of letters exchanged over a lifetime between two people who grew up together, went their separate ways, but continued to share confidences. As the actors read the letters aloud, what is created is an evocative, touching, frequently funny but always telling pair of character studies in which what is implied is as revealing and meaningful as what is actually within the script itself.
If you missed last year’s magnificent performance, this is a great opportunity to enjoy this moving production as performed by local professional actors Melissa Stone & Robert Dale Walker as directed by our own Janice Vertucci Schreiber.
This irreverent and hilarious troupe is back in Asheville by popular demand — bringing the most fun you will ever have at the ballet. Dancing the line between drag and ballet, the divas and cavaliers of this all-male company blend their expert knowledge of ballet with a comic approach, proving that men can, indeed, dance en pointe. Donning tutus and false eyelashes, The Trocks perform classical ballet, maintaining its artistry and athleticism, with a twist.
Magnetic Theatre host Black Diamond Enterprise in the Black Poetry Theatre presentation of RAISING BLACK. Join us as we explore the Joy, Pain, Sunshine & Rain of life. Come for the encouragement, good time & singing!
Call Magnetic Theatre for tickets – (828) 239-9250
By Duncan MacMillian with Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Charlie Flynn-McIver and Starring Scott Treadway
One of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression—and possibly one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see, full stop…There is something tough being confronted here—the guilt of not being able to make those we love happy—and it is explored with unflinching honesty.” —The Guardian (UK)
Content Warning: Although the play balances the struggles of life while celebrating all that is wonderful in living each day, Every Brilliant Thing contains descriptions of depression, self-harm, and suicide. It is recommended for audience members 14 and older. If you or somebody you know is struggling, please call 988, The Suicide & Crisis Hotline.
This irreverent and hilarious troupe is back in Asheville by popular demand — bringing the most fun you will ever have at the ballet. Dancing the line between drag and ballet, the divas and cavaliers of this all-male company blend their expert knowledge of ballet with a comic approach, proving that men can, indeed, dance en pointe. Donning tutus and false eyelashes, The Trocks perform classical ballet, maintaining its artistry and athleticism, with a twist.
Brevard College Theatre presents
Cosmic Theories of a Romantic’s Heart
by Emily Kitchens
A play about love and how the Earth came to orbit the Sun.
CAST
Star: Gabe Bernhard
Comet: Sarah Hajkowski
Girl: Mickey Lasco
Moon: Anna Ervin
Sun: Eli Hughes
Written by Carlyle Brown
Directed by Stephanie Hickling Beckman
ABE LINCOLN AND UNCLE TOM IN THE WHITE HOUSE portrays a gripping re-imagination of the the events the night before Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Alone in the Executive Office, President Abraham Lincoln is struggling with signing the Emancipation Proclamation when he is mysteriously visited by Uncle Tom, the fictional character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly. These two iconic characters from life and literature—one real, the other fiction—attempt to understand each other across a chasm of race in the midst of the Civil War. Throughout one late night and into the dawning day, they find themselves crossing over into each other’s world in a tale of suffering, self-discovery, and redemption.
“I hadn’t read the book [Uncle Tom’s Cabin], and I had fallen victim to the mentality that says when you hear the name Uncle Tom you get the picture of the worst individual you could imagine, In reading the book, I found a character of honor and dignity and I thought, maybe this character deserves to be looked at again.” – James A Williams
By Duncan MacMillian with Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Charlie Flynn-McIver and Starring Scott Treadway
One of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression—and possibly one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see, full stop…There is something tough being confronted here—the guilt of not being able to make those we love happy—and it is explored with unflinching honesty.” —The Guardian (UK)
Content Warning: Although the play balances the struggles of life while celebrating all that is wonderful in living each day, Every Brilliant Thing contains descriptions of depression, self-harm, and suicide. It is recommended for audience members 14 and older. If you or somebody you know is struggling, please call 988, The Suicide & Crisis Hotline.
The Magnetic Theatre is thrilled to kick off its 2023 Mainstage Season with HappyLand, a fun and fantastical new musical by Brayden Dickerson and Zach Knox of Asheville’s blues-fusion band Smooth Goose, featuring live tunes and an exciting ensemble of quirky characters.
This non-stop rock opera tells the tale of a delivery person who doesn’t quite fit into the titular town of HappyLand. Tasked with delivering one last package before the vacation they have been dreaming of, our bicycling box-bearer embarks on an epic journey through the barren Neither, where a host of unsavory characters contrives to stay this courier from their appointed rounds. Nevertheless, our maudlin messenger is determined to make it to SadLand. But what will they find when they arrive? Could the addressee be the love of their life? What message does the all-important package contain? And can our hero deliver the earth from annihilation?
Directed by Jason Phillips and featuring an ensemble cast with rotating lead actors, HappyLand is a delightful extravaganza of song, silliness, dance, romance, and splendiferous space battles.