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About the Play
Winner! 2022 Tony Award for Best Play
Winner! 2022 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play
Winner! 2022 Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Play
Nominee! 2019 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play

On a cold September morning in 1844, a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is joined by his two brothers, and an American epic begins. 163 years later, the firm they establish – Lehman Brothers – spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, triggering the largest financial crisis in history.

Weaving together nearly two centuries of family history, this epic theatrical event charts the humble beginnings, outrageous successes and devastating failure of the financial institution that would ultimately bring the global economy to its knees. The Lehman Trilogy is the quintessential story of western capitalism, rendered through the lens of a single immigrant family.

The Lehman Trilogy contains some adult language and descriptions and depictions of anti-Semitism. Recommended for ages 14+.

Vanity fair
"True blockbuster theatre that will hold you captive until the final curtain call.”

Directed by David Winitsky
Starring Kevin Shimko, Scott Tynes-Miller, and Becca Worthington

Details
• November 3 – 18, 2023
• Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7 p.m.
• Sundays at 2 p.m.
• The show runs over 3 hours with two intermissions and will be a theatrical event, like you have never experienced.
• All shows will be at The Arts Factory at 1545 W Trade Street, Charlotte NC 28216

Don’t miss your chance to experience the greatest immersive and live art presentation in 2023. With interactive elements and a locally composed music score and sound design connecting expressions from jazz, beats, classical, and electronic. Watch the visual art come to life with live painting. This performance is inspired by the earth’s four elements and the awareness that EVERYTHING IS ENERGY. Be a part of something memorable with people you love on August 18th. Bring your friends for conversation afterwards.


The Universe Within is an extraordinary and captivating musical odyssey that transcends the boundaries of conventional compositions. The award-winning group of composer-performers takes you on a deep journey through the elements of air, water, earth, light, and ether. Artfully weaving livetronica, classical composition, jazz, lo-fi, beats, drone, and ambient music into a surround-sound immersive concert experience. A completely new and fresh artistic experience you will not want to miss!

One night only!

Sound and visuals converge through layers, waves, textures, and colors. They are joined by internationally acclaimed multi-media artist SHE Sapona, dramatically interpreting the music into visuals - mixing and applying color using pigments from around the world - performing as a member of the group.

A new original production by some of the creators of Your Neighborhood Orchestra - awarded “Best Local Show” 2022 Critic’s Pick by Queen City Nerve. All ages are welcome!

Elizabeth Kowalski (vocal/flute)
RoyalCity Lif (beat machine)
Scott McLaughlin (percussion)
John Shaughnessy (bass, synth)
Leo Wolf (synths, spatial audio processing)
Katie Kilroy (percussion/timpani)
SHE Sapona (contemporary multimedia artist)

"Wickedly entertaining…a sparkling ensemble comedy as tautly woven as one of the intricate hairdos in Jaja’s Harlem salon.” - Washington Post

Jaja's African Hair Braiding
written by Jocelyn Bioh
directed by Donna Bradby

NOMINEE- 2024 Tony Award for Best Play
NOMINEE- 2024 Drama League Outstanding Production of a Play
NOMINEE- 2024 Outer Critics Circle Outstanding New Play
New York Times Critics’ Pick
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding in Harlem is a salon full of funny, whip-smart, talented women ready to make you look and feel “nice nice.” On this particularly muggy summer day, Jaja’s rule-following daughter Marie is running the shop while her mother prepares for her courthouse, green card wedding—to a man no one seems to particularly like. Just like her mother, DREAMer Marie is trying to secure her future; high school graduation is around the corner and all she wants to do is go to college. While Marie deals with the customers' and stylists' laugh-out-loud drama, news pierces the hearts of the women of the salon, galvanizing their connections and strengthening the community they have longed to make in the United States.

Jaja's African Hair Braiding contains some adult language and content. Recommended for ages 14+.

November 8 - 24, 2024
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Sundays at 2 p.m.
Runtime: 95 minutes no intermission

All performances at The Arts Factory, 1545 W Trade Street

Artist Talk: April 25, 2-3 pm
Workshop: April 30, 6-8 pm

Through the Ether is a group of mixed media works deeply influenced by and connected to film editing. April collects and stores unrelated images from different modalities and mediums—3D modeling, photographs, paintings, advertisements. She removes the color, texture, and context from which they originate. These elements form a visual depository or footage bin, from which she uses the montage process to construct a new landscape independent of their source. This reconstruction process resembles building a scene in a film. However, it creates an emotional landscape unto itself, devoid of the requirements of narrative and story—nullifying the necessity of a beginning, a middle, and an end.

About April Simmons: April received her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in film. She worked as an experimental non-narrative filmmaker and as a film editor for both nonfiction and fiction films. Her films have screened at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center (Views), Anthology Film Archives in New York, the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) in Chicago, among others. April taught film production, theory, and history at the university level for nearly two decades. She began working in digital photo collage and mixed media in 2022. Her work has been shown at The Galleries at Cabarrus Arts Council (“Liminal”) and at The Mint Museum (“Coined in the South”) in Uptown Charlotte.

Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film and the Broadway musical, Shrek The Musical Jr. reminds us that beauty is truly in the eye of the ogre. When Davidson Community Players’ Connie Company takes the stage, audiences are invited into a big, bright, beautiful world where Shrek and a cast of fairy-tale misfits set out on an adventure that leads to friendship, love, and self-acceptance. Part romance and part twisted fairy tale, Shrek Jr. is a playful, family-friendly production that showcases the talents of DCP’s up-and-coming young performers while sharing a powerful message for audiences of all ages.



Happens on the following Dates:
Feb 6, 2026, 7:00pm to 8:30pm Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Feb 7, 2026, 1:00pm to 2:30pm Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Feb 7, 2026, 4:00pm to 5:30pm Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Feb 8, 2026, 4:00pm to 5:30pm Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Feb 12, 2026, 7:00pm to 8:30pm Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Feb 13, 2026, 7:00pm to 8:30pm Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Feb 14, 2026, 1:00pm to 2:30pm Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Feb 14, 2026, 4:00pm to 5:30pm Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Isn’t it time for a little JOY? “Dauntless: An Ode to 2916” combines theatre, immersive art installations, and music to explore joy as a community shield and a weapon.

The show invites you to explore rituals of joy that float through the history of 2916 Parkway Avenue in Charlotte from 1933 to 2026. Follow the life of Martha’s Daughter and her family. See how joy keeps them together over the decades, even in times of trouble – from birthday parties to dancing in the kitchen at midnight. Immerse yourself in the joy of the big and little moments that bind us and find your own joy along the way.

During this 55-minute show, you’ll walk through an Enderly Park home with just nine other audience members.The performance and show environment will surround you, blurring the lines between audience and participant. Don’t miss this intimate, immersive theatrical experience that promises to wrap you up in that joyful feeling.

Show dates and times include:

Thursday, August 20 @7:30 pm and 8:30 pm
Friday, August 21 @7:30 pm and 8:30 pm
Saturday, August 22 @ 2 pm, 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm
Sunday, August 23 @ 2 pm and 3 pm
Thursday, August 27 @7:30 pm and 8:30 pm
Friday, August 28 @7:30 pm and 8:30 pm
Saturday, August 29 @ 2 pm, 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm
Sunday, August 30 @ 2pm and 3 pm

From the award-winning artist collective Mixed Metaphors Productions, co-sponsored with QC Family Tree.

Last spring, Trump froze almost $500 million in funding to three Central American countries to pressure them to stop the flow of migrants. The impact on farmers could end up increasing migration.

Congressional lawmakers return to D.C. with a massive September agenda, including efforts to avoid a government shutdown and a debate on whether to change the rules for confirming nominees.

Donald Trump drew more working-class voters to the GOP than any president since Ronald Reagan. Now Republicans are trying to maintain that Trump appeal without Trump on the ballot in 2022.

The holiday spirit is in the air! Bring your family out to enjoy a festive, fun-filled and COVID-safe evening at the drive-in. Enjoy Jingle Jangle, a new African-American holiday film classic, along with complimentary popcorn and snacks provided by Check To Protect. The price of admission? A free safety recall check! When you arrive, staff will check your license plate or VIN number to see if your car has any vehicle safety recalls. If so, they will let you know how easy it is to get free repairs before you hit the road this holiday season. REMINDER: This is a FREE event; however, to be guaranteed entry, upon arrival you must provide us with your license plate or VIN number so that we can assist you with checking for open recalls on your car. Your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is often located on the dash, inside the driver door, on your registration or insurance card or app.

The House is in recess, but senators return to Washington this week to take up the House-passed financial aid bill to address the economic threat to workers posed by the coronavirus.

Some small businesses buy their health plans through trade associations. The GOP health bills would make those cheaper. But that could also make employer-based insurance more expensive for others.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth briefed top lawmakers on Wednesday on a series of strikes conducted by the Trump administration on alleged drug boats.

After tense talks in the Oval Office, congressional leaders said they were hopeful they could reach a deal to avert a partial government shutdown on Friday. But they appeared divided on Ukraine aid.

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee about the compromise framework for a 2024 spending plan and the response from inside the GOP congressional conference.

9:00, Monday, January 19, 2015African-Americans haven’t had it easy in this country but black males may have the most difficult time of all. They have…

An update on the growing "Tent City" on the outskirts of Charlotte: It is a constant, highly visible reminder of our growing need for affordable housing. So, what are city and county leaders doing about it?

It’s full steam ahead to the 2022 midterms. And these elections are already shaping up to be contentious. As we move toward the primary and the election, candidates and their issues will be vying for your attention and we get a head start by bringing together the hosts of WFAE’s political podcast, “Inside Politics,” to give us a preview of what to expect.

People are quitting their jobs in droves during the pandemic and reconsidering their priorities. Why is this happening? And is quitting smart?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced local officials to work harder to house Mecklenburg County's more than 3,000 homeless residents. We'll talk about permanent solutions and efforts toward a five-year housing and homelessness strategy.