One thing that is perfectly clear is that Endesha Ida Mae Holland was a determined woman. There are times in her life story, told as a series of overlapping stories and vignettes in an autobiographical two-act play, when the author lapses into self-aggrandizement, and times when even the clarity of the actors’ speech stumbles over the muddy thickness of Mississippi Delta axioms.

Though not as formidable in number or in impact as the hat acts of the’80s and’90s (Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, et al.), combos producing a twang-light version of country pop are casting an increasingly large presence on the Billboard country charts and mainstream radio airwaves. Along with groups like Reckless Kelly, Eli Young Band and The Lost Trailers, the Zac Brown Band has recently made the jump from local heroes to contenders for the title of Nashville’s newest greatest thing.

The only food onstage is toast—lots of toast—but you could make a meal out of “True West.“ Henley Street Theatre Company saved its most artistically satisfying production of the season for last. The 1980 Sam Shepard play is just delicious. There’s a pleasurable echo, too, of the Shepard play we had in Richmond last year, “The Late Henry Moss,“ at Firehouse Theatre Project. In both works the playwright mines the emotionally painful territory of fraternal rivalry and an alcoholic father self-exiled to the unforgiving desert. But unlike the tense drama of “Henry Moss,“ “True West” is a comedy of menace with plenty of laughs.

ZZ Top has always been a dichotomy—a band that projects a cartoonish image with the beards, hats, shades and furry guitars, yet musically, churns out swampy blues rock that rivals idols such as Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix. Both ZZs showed up last night at Innsbrook’s Snagajob.com Pavilion, with the classic rock radio-friendly hits “Got Me Under Pressure” and “Gimme All Your Lovin’” launching the 90-minute show.

J.J. Abrams’ hugely anticipated summer extravaganza “Star Trek” boldly goes to the past within the distant future of the “Trek” universe, years ahead of the TV series and the myriad movies and spinoffs it spawned. 

You will be shocked shocked!—to learn that in “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,“ Matthew McConaughey plays an arrogant womanizer who coasts on his looks and charm but eventually realizes that love does matter.  Call it laziness; call it finding your niche. You’ve seen McConaughey in this kind of role before, usually with Kate Hudson as his co-star. (Jennifer Garner stands in as the voice of reason this time.)

The Richmond Ballet is closing out its 25th-anniversary season with two dynamic performances.  George Balanchine’s “Four Temperaments,“ first performed for the opening of the Ballet Society in 1946, is an enduring classic, and one of Balanchine’s first experimental works, fusing classical lines with angularity. Stripped down to practice clothes and devoid of scenery, the work’s deceptive simplicity masks the truth:—It is one of the master’s most difficult ballets to perform.

The Richmond Symphony Orchestra and the RSO Chorus once again showed their versatility as they combined to provide the music for “Video Games Live” at the Landmark Theater on Saturday night. Playing to a rowdy yet courteous crowd of video-game enthusiasts, the orchestra and chorus seemed to be having fun onstage as three giant projection screens showed bits of video games from the early favorites such as “Pong” and “Frogger” to some rather sophisticated new games that utilize computer-generated images and over-the-top lighting effects to the max.

The Great American Trailer Park Musical” brings new meaning to the term uneven. The Firehouse Theatre Project’s bid to recapture last season’s “Reefer Madness” audience features the return of director Jase Smith with another campy, extravagant show. Smith has a cast of seven knockout performers, a funny-tacky set by Edwin Slipek and great costumes by Carole Jones. Then you have the unsuccessful lighting design by Larry Bauer, the occasionally overpowering band directed by Leilani Mork and Smith’s lackluster transitions, with songs and scenes bumping to unceremonious ends.

A perennial highlight of watching and listening to the Dave Matthews Band in concert is witnessing the joy the band oozes while performing. Even with the subtle sadness of missing member LeRoi Moore, who died of complications from injuries suffered in ATV accident last summer, this is a band that relishes playing live—illustrated by the silly grins and goofy faces among band members all night.

Normal” is a musical that tackles the weighty and relevant subject of eating disorders and how one young girl’s struggle affects her entire family. Artistic Director Chase Kniffen writes in his program notes that “Normal” not only deserves a place in Stage 1’s inaugural season, but that it was, in fact, the reason he wanted to create a new theatrical venue in central Virginia dedicated to new and recent works by American playwrights - especially musicals.

It began in typical shambolic fashion—the disheveled-looking band ambled onstage, noodled around with instruments for a few minutes as if at sound check and then, with a few foot taps from Phil Lesh, launched into the first song of a three-hour night. But what was atypical about last night’s show from The Dead at John Paul Jones Arena—only the third stop on a 22-date tour—were some of the song selections and arrangements.

Sunshine Cleaning” isn’t quite “Little Miss Sunshine Cleaning,“ though it does share the same enjoyable quirkiness, some of the same themes and Alan Arkin. Written by Richmonder Megan Holley, the film tells the story of two sisters who bond by working in an unusual profession: They specialize in cleaning up bloody and otherwise unsavory crime scenes.

No more the timid cook. Mark Bittman isn’t kidding when he calls his book “How to Cook Everything.“ Now revised and reissued for its 10th-anniversary edition, it is a book no beginning or intermediate cook should be without. Well, either it or “Joy of Cooking.“

There’s an energy crisis at the Gay Community Center, where Richmond Triangle Players’ “Pulp” is playing. This winking theatrical version of 1950s lesbian pulp novels should snap and crackle, but John Knapp’s production is more enervating than exhilarating. Patricia Kane’s 2004 musical (Kane wrote the lyrics; Amy Warren and Andre Pluess wrote the music) re-creates this underground literary genre with six characters and five actresses.