Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it — the famous quote by the philosopher George Santayana — was running through my mind as I watched/witnessed #CHARLOTTESVILLE, written and performed by Priyanka Shetty, in its world premiere at the Keegan Theatre under the creative direction of Yury Urnov.
#CHARLOTTESVILLE was developed in part by Voices Festival Productions, which produced a workshop production of the play for the Capital Fringe Festival in July 2023.
With the the current administration’s flood-the-news-zone strategy, yesterday seems a decade, and August 11 and 12, 2017, seem like ages ago, but as the play’s last line resounds ominously: these two days “were not an anomaly, but a warning.”
The Unite the Right rally on August 11, James Alex Fields’ subsequent vehicular murder of Heather Heyer on August 12, and his trial in 2018, which laid all the blame on a lone-wolf driver, all happened in the “second-friendliest town in the United States” and feel like old news. What Shetty does in this innovative, avant-garde solo production is make it urgent.
She also makes it entertaining. Inhabiting over a dozen characters, this performance artist makes an Anna Deavere Smith star turn as an actor-writer.
The most entertaining scene was the most absurd — the Cabaret-style takedown tribute to the “Crying Nazi’ Christopher Cantwell, alt-right radio host and provocateur at the Charlottesville rally. The subsequent video of him sobbing at his arrest warrant went viral. Shetty’s mocking is sharp and witty and offers the relief and power of laughter and cheers.
The most touching and moving scenes of the play are when Shetty gives us her younger self struggling with “Susan,” the department chair in the dramatic arts programs at the University of Virginia. These moments provide insights into #CHARLOTTESVILLE’s development as well as the actor-writer’s life as an immigrant, as a student facing racism among her peers and professors, and her struggle to find her own voice in the university community.
The emotional center of the play is with Shetty’s portrayal of Heather Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro. Here we witness not just a powerful actor-writer at work but the personal cost of hate, senseless violence, and illiberalism. Her loss is our loss. It’s searing.
At points, a few of the characters that Shetty inhabits get lost in the shuffle of history and information overload. The courtroom moments leave one wondering which side is arguing for who and what. The satire could have been sharper with her portrayal of the 45th, now 47th, president — though these days, he takes the oxygen out of the room even in satire. However, when the play pulls into the personal, into the impact on those who were there as witnesses from the community, into her own sense of anger and outrage, the experience is effectively immersive.
Yury Urnov’s directing skillfully leans into the one-person drama. Multiple screens display video, and black-and-white images work with a minimum of sound and lighting shifts on a stage bearing a single key prop — the American flag — to signal character and mood shifts. The intimate setting of the Keegan Theatre is perfect for this one-person show.
While this play might have benefited from going deeper into fewer characters and employing more absurdity to contrast with, it has overall a deep, meaningful, and moving message to convey: August 11 and 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, was a warning. Are we remembering?
Running Time: 70 minutes, no intermission.
#CHARLOTTESVILLE plays through April 13, 2025, at the Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St NW, Washington DC, with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm, and select Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $59 ($49 students and seniors) and may be purchased online, by phone at 202-265-3767, or in person at the Keegan Theatre Box Office, which opens on the day of the show one hour prior to the performance.
Cast and production team credits and bios are here (scroll down).
COVID Safety: Masks are optional but encouraged. Keegan’s Health and Safety policies are here.
SEE ALSO:
World premiere of ‘#CHARLOTTESVILLE’ to open at Keegan March 22 (news story, March 16, 2025)
