Join Virginia Stage Company and the YWCA of South-Hampton Roads at these open-panel discussions highlighting the Harlem Renaissance.
Every Brilliant Thing at Eastern Virginia Medical School
Every Brilliant Thing tour performed at Eastern Virginia Medical School on November 29, 2023 to a great turnout!
Photos courtesy of EVMS.
Watch our segment featured on WAVY TV here!
Vino Culture Wines for FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Mistletoe Market!
Virginia Stage Company is proud to partner with local artists, artisans, and crafters for its second Seasonal Mistletoe Market to be held during Norfolk’s Grand Illumination Parade! If you’re looking for a warm and wonderful place, full of holiday cheer and historical theatre history to enjoy while observing the Grand Norfolk Parade then look no further!
The bar will be open with warm drinks such as coffee and hot chocolate as well as our regular beverages and snacks for parade attendees while they wait for the Parade to pass by on Granby Street. Enjoy the opportunity to get your photo with Santa as his ‘Ho Ho Ho’s grace our historical theater lobby. Coloring sheets and take-home ornament crafts for the little ones, and one of the most beautiful marketplaces you’ll ever see! Nothing says Holidays from the Heart like homemade and well-crafted art pieces from Hampton Roads locals…and these artists will have their wares on sale for all guests!
Holiday favorite The Doorway Singers will be caroling down Tazewell and Granby, making their way to and from the Wells.
Doors will open to the public at 4pm, photos with Santa will be available until 6pm just before the parade starts and our doors will remain open throughout the parade and downtown holiday festivities. No tickets required for entry, just swing by and take photos in our historic Wells Theatre, enjoy our arts and crafts, partake in the Mistletoe Market and who knows; maybe if you’re lucky you’ll catch a glimpse of one of our most Infamous Holiday Spirits…The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come!
Vendors Include…
The VSC Costumers’ Collection
VSC’s Ryan Clemens (instagram), Puns and Miniature Art
VSC’s Crystal Tuxhorn (instagram), photography prints & miscellany
Critical Hit Creations (website) (fb) (instagram), custom dice and 3D printing
Setzer Collections (etsy) (fb) (instagram), handmade bows and accessories
Nickolai Walko (website) (instagram), Hand-Cut Mixed Media Artwork
LA NEIGE (website), One-of-a-kind coastal themed décor
Maison Soleil (website) (fb) (instagram), stylish artisan-made products
Noonday Collection (website) (instagram), jewelry & accessories made around the globe
Spring Scott, crochet creations
Haunted Hampton Roads | The Wells Theatre in Downtown Norfolk
NORFOLK, Va. — With more than a century of history in Downtown Norfolk, workers at the Wells Theatre believe some people loved this place so much, they never left.
“The tales of the hauntings have been going on for as long as we’ve had folks in The Wells,” said Ryan Clemens, the lead resident teaching artist with the Virginia Stage Company.
Brothers Jake and Otto Wells founded the theater back in the early 1900s. Since its inception, the Wells has gone through many changes. It's been a silent movie theater, an opera, an x-rated movie house, and now for more than 40 years, home of the Virginia Stage Company.
Clemens has worked at The Wells for more than a decade. While he hasn’t encountered any ghosts himself, he said he’s come in close contact with people who have.
“I’ve been next to folks who have made a corner and then come back with their eyes the size of silver dollars,” Clemens said.
Clemens said four ghosts are rumored to haunt the Wells: a man in a top hat, a lady in white, a sailor named Ned, and a young boy called Boots.
Disclaimer: None of these stories are based in fact. All are legends passed by word of mouth.
The Man in the Tophat:
The Man in the Tophat often resides in one of the box seats close to the stage.
According to Clemens, there's only one way to get up to the box seats.
House managers, who are the last to leave after the play, have reported seeing a man in one of the box seats; however, after making the trek up to the boxes, no one is there.
The Lady in White:
"She's often heard before she's seen," Clemens said.
Clemens said the Lady in White is often heard singing on the first balcony. People have also reported seeing a figure in white walking along that area.
According to Clemens, house managers have reported seeing the Woman in White, only for her to disappear at second glance.
Ned the Sailor:
Ned is said to be a "mischievous" spirit that haunts the Wells.
As the story goes, Ned was a sailor at the turn of the century who worked the theater's rigging system. Ned was said to be a gruff character who "liked the ladies," according to Clemens.
According to the legend, Ned would use his vantage point way above the stage to look down at the actresses; however, one day, he leaned over a little too far.
Now, every so often, staff and guests report seeing a swinging rope or hearing a funny sound coming from above the stage.
"...Maybe you're walking along the stage and you hear a funny sort of noise -- a step or a stomp, even a whistle," Clemens said.
Moreover, theater technicians have reported missing tools and after asking Ned to return the tool, it will reappear the next day.
"Now, I don't know if these are real stories. They certainly sound like fun hijinks. Whether they're carried out by somebody that is no longer on this mortal plane or whether they're carried out by technicians having a little fun, who knows?" Clemens laughed.
Boots:
Boots is known among workers as a playful spirit.
Legend has it, in the early days of the Wells, Boots was watching a showing on the second balcony, when some sort of alarm went off, causing a mass panic among guests.
According to the tale, Boots was trampled to death in the chaos.
“From time to time, what we’ll hear are the squeaky-squeak-squeak sounds of Boots up there, but always accompanied with a feeling of childlike playfulness,” Clemens said.
Workers have tales of items missing from the costume department only to reappear in plain sight hours later.
While they are just stories, Clemens said several staff members have reported similar phenomena.
“Who knows what’s real but certainly, you can’t deny that there are things that are felt here and experienced here,” Clemens said.
Author's note: This is the first story in 13News Now's weekly Haunted Hampton Roads series.
Be on the lookout for similar stories about legends of Colonial Williamsburg, Fort Monroe in Hampton and the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach.
Visit the original story at 13News: Haunted Hampton Roads | The Wells Theatre in Downtown Norfolk
