The Heritage Theatre Festival opens Thursday at the University of Virginia, ready to delight audiences with swashbuckling pirates, classic characters like Charlie Brown, the incisive wit of “Seinfeld” writer Pat Hazell and more.  

In its 42^nd year, the festival continues to attract renowned actors and directors to collaborate with UVA drama students and faculty. Below, UVA Today got a sneak peek of dress rehearsals for the opening show, “The Pirates of Penzance,” directed by associate professor of drama Colleen Kelly, the festival’s interim artistic director.

Audiences can also look forward to:

• “Souvenir”: “Souvenir” chronicles talentless would-be opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins and her accompanist, Cosme McMoon. A movie version starring Meryl Streep premieres in August. Director Cate Caplin calls the play “hilarious and deeply heart-wrenching,” challenging audiences to weigh dedication and persistence against talent. Caplin will direct the show in UVA’s Ruth Caplin Theatre – named for her late mother – as her father, Law Professor Emeritus Mortimer Caplin, celebrates his 100^th birthday.
• “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”: Director Bryan Garey anticipates that “Peanuts” fans will discover even more to love in the musical. “The really terrific music adds a whole new dimension to the characters,” he said. “It’s fun, poignant and entertaining.” Garey, a festival veteran and UVA’s assistant vice president of human resources, will also direct a July 27 autism-friendly performance through UVA’s student-led Autism Theatre Project.
• “The Odd Couple”: UVA drama lecturer David Dalton directs this Neil Simon classic featuring divorced New York City roommates Oscar Madison and Felix Unger. The comedy has inspired several spinoffs in film and television. Dalton calls it “a hilarious play with many classic lines” and true-to-life characters.
• “The Wonder Bread Years”: Famed “Seinfeld” writer Pat Hazell writes and performs a one-man comedy that is a wry salute to Americana. Jerry Seinfeld himself calls it “milk-snortingly funny.”

Full schedule and tickets available here.

Photos by Sanjay Suchak