The Cooke Book: The Music of Sam Cooke starring Darrian Ford. Featuring more than 20 classics from Cooke’s songbook, including gospel to pop. 7:30 p.m. Saturday at The American Theatre, 125 E. Mellen St., Hampton. Tickets start at $25. To buy online, visit hamptonarts.org.

NashFest 757 will feature “Hot Chicken, Hard Drinks, and Music City Sounds!” Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday at Town Point Park, Waterside Drive, Norfolk. Admission is free. For more information, including vendors, visit festevents.org.

“Misery,” presented by the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach. 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, through Oct. 6. 550 Barberton Drive. Tickets start at $25. Season passes or single ticket discount options available. To buy online, visit ltvb.com.

Parker McCollum brings his “Burn it Down” tour to Portsmouth. Opening are Chayce Beckham, Ashley Cooke. 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion, 16 Crawford Circle. Tickets start at $25. For more information or to buy online, visit pavilionconcerts.com.

Chelsey Green and The Green Project, part of the Arts for All Community Concert Series. 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at Ferguson Center for the Arts, Peebles Theatre, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News. Tickets start at $10. To buy online, visit fergusoncenter.org.

Events may change. Check before attending.

Always operatic in scope and the singing required, it’s a production graced with best-in-class showstoppers: greatest mean comic villain song (“Master of the House”); greatest rousing drinking song (“Drink With Me to Days Gone By”); best poignant mourning song (“Empty Chairs”) and surely the best Act 1 summing-up song ever written (“One Day More”) — all sung with verve and skill.

Despite tour producer Nederlander’s dubious practice of using Norfolk’s first night to give understudies a workout (for instance, putting David Andino in the part of comic villain Thénardier in the Tuesday night performance), Andino held his own, along with the show’s excellent regulars Nick Cartell as Jean Valjean, Preston Truman Boyd as Javert, and Victoria Huston-Elem doing Madame Thénardier, Thénardier’s long-suffering but co-villainous wife.

This restaging abandons the revolving stage of early productions in favor of projections. Not an improvement in many shows, here somber but evocative computer-generated sets do work inspired, in part, by Victor Hugo’s paintings. Other theatrical moves from the original staging (the students’ marching in place, Javert’s leap into the Seine), are retained and even enhanced by the new stagecraft. Designer Matt Kinley’s projections for the Paris sewer scene are a total knockout.

But rest assured, it’s still Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables,” full of sentimentality, moral quandaries and philosophical musings, born of Hugo’s own larger-than-life life (1802-85), itself full of contradictions. Hugo went from conservative royalist to liberal radical. He was a feminist but, in the words of show historian Edward Behr, “also a rake” with “prodigious sexual appetites.” He had a wife, a permanent mistress and innumerable stand-ins for both. He was both a political exile and a member of parliament. Literally millions attended his funeral in Paris. “Les Miz” is centered on the abortive student uprising of 1832 (the show’s famous barricade scenes), though it’s easily confused with much earlier events of the 1789 French Revolution, and particularly the later 1871 Commune uprising (more barricades).

If the French history is confusing, so is the musical’s production history, starting with its 1980 fully French forerunner version by Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel and Claude-Michel Schönberg. The much-modified English version features lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, with “adaptation” by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Trevor Nunn, John Caird and Cameron Mackintosh. The Chrysler production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell and features a company of 42(!).

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Here’s a quick reminder of what it’s all about: The show includes a pre-title prologue. Jean Valjean (Cartell) has stolen a loaf of bread for his sister’s starving child, earning five years in prison plus 14 more for attempted escape. There he first tangles with Javert (Boyd), who warns and taunts Prisoner 24601 on releasing him. Once out, Valjean sees that his prison-marked identity papers label him as a criminal and impulsively rips them up. He steals silver from a bishop (a minor role admirably executed by Randy Jeter). The bishop forgives him and gives him the silver, declaring, “I have bought your soul for God!”

We jump eight years to 1823, a span during which Valjean has parlayed that silver into owning a factory. The familiar songs begin, “At the End of the Day” suggesting the discontent and meanness of some of Valjean’s workers. One of them, Fantine (the fine Haley Dortch), unbeknownst to Valjean, is being sexually harassed by her foreman and taunted by fellow workers. The hits continue with Fantine’s account of first love, “I Dreamed a Dream.” Unfortunately, that love ended in her lover’s desertion and a child, Cosette, whom she supports. Fantine’s only recourse now is to join the “Lovely Ladies” of the night. Valjean rescues her from violent abuse by a john and takes responsibility for her fate (she’s dying) and that of her child: “Come to Me.”

We then jump locations to Montfermeil, where Cosette is being likewise abused by her purported caretakers, the Thénardiers who (comparatively speaking) dote on their child, Éponine. Talented child actors play the young Éponine (this night, Azalea Wolfe), young Cosette (Ava Buesing), the ill-fated Gavroche (Leo Caravano) and little Gervais (also Caravano). Little Cosette sings her fantasy “escape” song, “Castle on a Cloud.” Her oppressors, the Thénardiers, sing their irresistibly gross and comic theme “Master of the House,” explaining M. Thenardier’s innkeeping philosophy: “Charge ’em for the lice,/ Extra for the mice,/ Two percent for looking in the mirror twice./ Here a little slice,/ There a little cut,/ Three percent for sleeping with the window shut.” His wife, singing the same tune, then exposes her husband: “Cunning little brain/ Regular Voltaire./ Thinks he’s quite a lover/ But there’s not much there.” Lest we miss her diss of her husband’s physical “gifts,” she takes a long, phallic baguette of bread and tears off a much shorter piece to show us. Valjean blessedly rescues little Cosette from this sordid mess.

We jump ahead nine years to 1832 Paris, where we meet students and the poor on the edge of revolt. The volatile conditions are described in the song “Look Down.” Javert sings his philosophy-of-life song, “Stars.”  Valjean and Javert will constantly encounter each other throughout the play, leading to agonizing decisions on Valjean’s part. They always boil down to “save yourself” or “save others.”  Valjean does the right, selfless thing. Javert, for his part, suffers from what we might call “idées fixes,” mindless moral certainties that he doesn’t bother to question.

The Parisian students we meet also debate justice. Led by Enjolras (Devin Archer), they include our young hero Marius (Jake David Smith), who encounters the now-grown Cosette (Delaney Guyer, good except for breaks in accent). They immediately fall in love, with Marius oblivious to the fact that a grown-up Éponine (the also fine Mya Rena Hunter) loves him. We get musical hit after hit: “Red and Black,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?” “In My Life,” and the unwitting love triangle’s “A Heart Full of Love.” Act 1 culminates in that ultimate plot resumé song “One Day More.”

Act 2 continues the love triangle and Valjean’s sometimes secret ministrations to his adopted children Cosette and soon Marius (whom he saves after the barricade slaughter). We have more poignant deaths and the aforementioned great drinking songs, and the now-affluent Thénardiers continue their lowdown ways. Having determined his whole life was misguided, Javert departs, with dramatic stage effects.

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Hey, it’s “Les Miz,” in an excellent production! Don’t miss it. As my very American father used to say, “It’s worth every last sou” you spend on a ticket.

Page Laws is dean emerita of the Nusbaum Honors College at Norfolk State University. prlaws@aya.yale.edu

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If you go

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Blvd., Norfolk

Tickets: Start at $40

Details: sevenvenues.com

The VSO will perform “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a musical journey through an art gallery. The orchestra will also perform “Philharmonia Fantastique” and “Fanfare for Uncommon Times.”

Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased by visiting virginiasymphony.org.

The program will be repeated Sept. 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach.

From Sept. 10-13, visitors to the living history farm can meet Russell — otherwise known as “the chair guy” — and see him demonstrate the art of creating strong chair seats from the shucks of corn cobs.

Corn shuck seat weaving stemmed from the necessity of having to use what was on hand to make an item of function.

Several corn shuck chairs are part of Island Farm’s collection, indicative of the period. On Roanoke Island in the mid-19th century, corn was produced in high volumes. Today, original corn-husk woven chair seats are as rare as the people that know the trade.

Admission to Island Farm at 1140 North U.S. Highway 64, north of Manteo on Roanoke Island, is $10, with children under 3 free. See obcinc.org/island-farm for more information.

Monday, the Hampton History Museum will have a talk and tour of the exhibit “Chris Kraft: Hampton’s Unlikely Space Hero.” Allen Hoilman, the museum’s deputy director and curator, will discuss Kraft’s accomplishments and Hampton’s integral role in the Space Race of the 1950s and ’60s.

Kraft was born in Phoebus and attended Hampton High School and Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech) before working at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (now NASA Langley Research Center) in 1945. In 1958, he was assigned to a group to develop manned space flight – putting a man in space and bringing him home safely. Kraft was a central figure in projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo.

He led the development of the operations control system, Mission Control. He became the flight director, responsible for the flight components of the missions near Earth and in space. He was named director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1972 and retired in 1982. After Kraft died in 2019, his family donated to the museum a collection of personal memorabilia that he’d saved from growing up in Hampton and his career at NASA.

The exhibit will be open through March 2.

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If you go

When: 7 to 8 p.m. Monday
Where: Hampton History Museum, 120 Old Hampton Lane
Tickets: Free for museum members; others, $5
Details: hamptonhistorymuseum.org

According to a timeline of the studio’s 2025 films, the film will come to theaters on May 9. The musical will be directed by Michel Gondry and produced by Williams. Gondry won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2005 as a writer for “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” which he also directed.

“Atlantis” is written by Martin Hynes, one of the writers of “Toy Story 4,” and Steven Levenson, who co-wrote “tick, tick… BOOM!” and “Dear Evan Hansen.”

Multiple music industry headliners have signed onto the project, according to IMDB. The site lists R&B superstar Mary J. Blige, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Portsmouth native Missy Elliott and rapper André 3000 as castr members.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, winner of the 2024 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for “The Holdovers,” will star along with actor Kelvin Harrison Jr., who will play the lead role.

“Atlantis” has begun filming in the resort city. In June, the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier was taken over by a crew shooting a scene. The movie is set in 1977, prompting classic cars and vintage-clad extras to settle at the Oceanfront.

The musical will join another upcoming movie under the Virginia Beach native’s repertoire.

“Piece by Piece,” the story of Williams’ development as an artist using animated Lego pieces, is scheduled for theatrical release in October. The animated film will also feature Timbaland, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes.

Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com

“The Pajama Game” presented by Williamsburg Players. 8 p.m. Friday with dates/times through Sept. 22 at James-York Playhouse, 200 Hubbard Lane. Tickets start at $22; discounts for children. To buy online, visit williamsburgplayers.org.

Bobby BlackHat Music Series, featuring performances by Matt Thomas, Lana Puckett and Kim Person, others. 6 p.m. Saturday at Ferguson Center for the Arts, Peebles Theatre, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News. Tickets start at $25. To buy online or to view the series lineup, visit fergusoncenter.org.

ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd bring their “Sharp Dressed Simple Man” tour to Virginia Beach. The Outlaws will open. 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater, 3550 Cellar Door Way. For ticket availability, visit livenation.com.

Mushroom Festival, featuring mycologist and keynote speaker Tradd Cotter. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Norfolk Botanical Garden, 6700 Azalea Garden Road. Free with garden admission. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/NBGmushroom.

Broadway in Norfolk presents “Les Misérables.” 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10-12 with more dates, times through Sept. 15 at Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Blvd. For ticket availability, visit ticketmaster.com. For discounts, visit sevenvenues.com.

Relive the ’70s when Stayin’ Alive: One Night of the Bee Gees makes a stop in Newport News. 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at Ferguson Center for the Arts, Diamonstein Concert Hall, 1 Avenue of the Arts. Tickets start at $38. To buy online, visit fergusoncenter.org.

Events may change. Check before attending.

Patty Jenkins, patty.jenkins@pilotonline.com

“It was the first time I had ever been rewarded or made money for something I created,” Miller said. “It was probably the first time I really started to consider the fact that artists get to make art for a living. I thought maybe it could be a career path for me.”

Now, Miller, an art teacher at First Colonial High School, will be showcasing her art skills again at the iconic Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach.

“It’s a full circle moment for me,” she said.

Miller just painted a large-scale mural at 405 30th St. She was chosen by the Neptune Festival organization to paint her interpretation of “Celebrating the Beach Life” for the festival’s 50th anniversary. Her mural design will also be used for the Neptune Festival poster.

She said the design is a mashup of a few different things that come to mind when thinking about the Neptune Festival. She represented the International Sandsculpting Championship with a large sand castle and featured clinking wine glasses for the event’s wine festival.

The art and craft show is shown through the painting hands and collage/craft-inspired cloud placement, and music notes throughout the skyline give a nod to live music from the Boardwalk Weekend and Symphony by the Sea Concert Series.

Miller added that she wanted to take the design beyond just the “beach” theme. Her composition includes hands that represent the people that bring the festival together such as the volunteers, artists, attendees and musicians.

“I am so thrilled to have been selected for this opportunity,” Miller said. “ I hadn’t imagined ever getting to create the poster for the festival, let alone a mural.”

Miller is a mixed media artist who mostly works in acrylic, watercolor and graphite. She had a full-time career in graphic design before becoming an art teacher and has painted six murals in Virginia Beach.

The 50th annual Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend will be held Sept. 27-29, on Second to 33rd streets on the Boardwalk. Posters of Devon Miller’s Neptune Festival design can be purchased on the Boardwalk or online at neptunefestival.com.

The family-friendly weekend will include the arts and crafts show, International Sandsculpting Championship, a parade, fitness classes, Atlantic Regatta, dock dogs, a family fun zone and free concerts.

Lee Belote jlbelote@verizon.net

The source of a letter — written in 1945 by a serviceman stationed in Hampton Roads and found last month in Florida — has been identified.

Mike Meyer, 65, lives in Safety Harbor, Florida, and said he put the letter in the bottle and sent it out to sea earlier this year.

Meyer’s father was born in 1929 and was too young to join the military until the end of World War II but often wrote and received letters from older friends who’d left their Illinois hometown to enlist. One buddy, Jim Peters, wrote to Meyer’s father, Leroy, on March 4, 1945. The message was jotted in cursive underneath the letterhead “United States Navy, Amphibious Training Base, Little Creek, Virginia.”

That letter and bottle were found on the side of a Safety Harbor road last month by Suzanne Flament-Smith amid storm debris after Hurricane Debby. It had been washed back ashore not far from where it was let go.

The bottle also contained some sand, a bullet casing and a circular hunk of metal that Flament-Smith described as “about the size of a Whopper candy.” She quickly took to social media to share her discovery and a question: Where had it come from?

The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post and dozens of other news outlets wrote or carried stories about the curiosity.

“I didn’t think it was that big a deal,” Meyer told The Pilot about the fuss over his dad’s old letter.

“I guess the first thing is …” he said, and then he unraveled the mystery. Leroy Meyer stored many of his wartime correspondences in a box that was passed down to his children after he died in 2001. The letters were stored at his daughter’s home until Mike got them several years ago.

Mike Meyer read and reread his father’s letters. Some had been sent from soldiers overseas. One was from a girlfriend working in a factory that made Lockheed P-38 Lightning airplanes. He came to consider them historical documents and a friend’s recent retirement sparked an idea of how to share them with the world.

“She had sold her business and was throwing away some rare inventory,” he said. “She had all these Message-in-a-Bottle kits.”

Keeping his 10 favorites, he put 40 of his dad’s letters into the kits — one letter per bottle — and this spring began launching them, a few at a time, several times a week, watching through a pair of binoculars as they floated out on the tide.

“I usually put something shiny in there so they were more likely to be seen.”

He put a shell casing and a ball bearing in a bottle on April 16 along with the March 4, 1945 letter.

“I just turned it loose.”

Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8138, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com

Virginia Symphony Orchestra presents “Once Upon a Symphony,” various dates and locations. Friday at Lake Matoaka Amphitheater, Williamsburg; Saturday at Riverwalk Landing, Yorktown; Sunday at Chesapeake City Park; Tuesday at 31st Street Park, Virginia Beach; and Sept. 7 at First Flight High School, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. All shows start at 7:30 p.m. For ticket info, including wristband options, visit virginiasymphony.org.

Two Candlelight shows, presented by Fever, Friday: 6:30 p.m., Neo-Soul Favorites featuring songs by Prince, Childish Gambino, others; and 8:45 p.m., A Tribute to Coldplay on Strings. Both at Zeiders American Dream Theater, 4509 Commerce St., Virginia Beach. Tickets start at $36. To buy online, visit feverup.com.

Labor Day weekend to feature free live music and more. 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday at 17th, 24th and 31th Street stages on the sand, Virginia Beach Oceanfront. For the complete weekend lineup, including times, and before you go info, visit beacheventsvb.com.

Hip-hop veteran Juvenile brings his 25th anniversary tour to Norfolk. Mannie Fresh will open the show at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at The NorVa, 317 Monticello Ave. For ticket availability, visit thenorva.com.

Los Angeles rock band Jane’s Addiction with Love and Rockets will make a tour stop in Portsmouth Sept. 5. Crawlers will open the 7 p.m. show at Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion, 16 Crawford Circle. Tickets start at $39.50. To buy online, visit ticketmaster.com.

Capitol Fools make a return to Hampton for an evening of political comedy. 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at The American Theatre, 125 E. Mellen St. Tickets start at $25. To buy online, visit hamptonarts.org.

Events may change. Check before attending.

Patty Jenkins, patty.jenkins@pilotonline.com