With time on your hands and, perhaps, family in town, what’s there to do and see? We offer a few Christmas tidbits and a peek at some of January’s best. (Pictured: Emerson Steele, left, and Christy Baggett in “A Little Princess” at Theatrical Outfit. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.)
Recommended
A Little Princess. CLOSES SUNDAY. Privileged Sara Crewe, daughter of an adventurer in Africa, finds herself in Victorian London — as a servant. Emerson Steele (Broadway’s Violet) is Sara. This family musical by Brian Crawley and Andrew Lippa is based on the 1905 Frances Hodgson Burnett novel. $25-$50. Final performances at 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. today (Wednesday) and Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Theatrical Outfit‘s Balzer Theatre at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.528.1500. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
A Year With Frog and Toad. CLOSES SUNDAY. Synchronicity Theatre reprises its popular musical with a mostly new cast. The cheerful Frog and grumpy Toad can get hopping mad at each other, but their friendship sees them through a year of adventures. Chase Davidson (Actor’s Express’ Rent) is Frog; Robert Lee Hindsman (AE’s Stupid F*cking Bird) is Toad. This is Synchronicity’s sixth staging of the show and its best. $15-$35. Final performances at 2 p.m. today (Wednesday); 11 a.m. Christmas Eve; 1 + 4 p.m. Saturday; and 2 + 5 p.m. Sunday. Synchronicity Theatre at Peachtree Pointe, 1545 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.484.3686.
Last chance
Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker. CLOSES SUNDAY. A hallmark of metro Atlanta’s holiday season. This year marks the 20th anniversary of artistic director John McFall’s staging; he’s retiring at the end of the season. $20-$127, plus ticketing fees of up to $17.95 per ticket. Remaining performances: 2 + 7:30 today (Wednesday); 1 p.m. Christmas Eve; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.892.3303. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com. For more, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
A Christmas Carol. CLOSES SUNDAY. Bah, humbug, indeed. The Alliance Theatre’s multicultural, musical staging of the Dickens classic returns with David de Vries as Scrooge for a second season; longtime Scrooge Chris Kayser returns, after a year off, as Marley. Tickets start at $20. Remaining performances: 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. today (Wednesday); 2:03 p.m. Christmas Eve; 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. For more, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. CLOSES SUNDAY. Rudolph, Hermey, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius and the Abominable Snow Monster return in the Center for Puppetry Arts‘ adaptation of the classic holiday TV special. You know the story. It has something to do with reindeer games. Told with rod, body, blacklight and animated puppets. For ages 4 and up. $20.50. Remaining performances: 10 a.m., noon + 2 p.m. today (Wednesday) and Thursday; 11 a.m., 1 p.m. + 3 p.m. Saturday; and 1 + 3 p.m. Sunday. 1404 Spring St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.873.3391.
Still playing
The Snow Queen. THROUGH DEC. 30. The story of best friends Gerda and Kai, and the evil queen who separates them, returns for a second season at Serenbe Playhouse. Adapted by frequent Serenbe collaborator Rachel Teagle from the Hans Christian Andersen tale that also led to the Disney movie Frozen. The 50-minute show takes place outdoors, is family-friendly, performed rain or shine and requires walking. The box office is sold out, but a few discount tickets are still available on PoshDealz.com. $10. 6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday and Dec. 28-30. 10642 Serenbe Lane, Chattahoochee Hills. Directions HERE. Details HERE or at 770.463.1110.
January’s best
The Book of Mormon. OPENS JAN. 12 | THROUGH JAN. 24. Those shiny-faced Mormon missionaries return to Atlanta (and Uganda) for a two-week run of equal-opportunity offensiveness, fun and a surprising amount of heart. The New York company is in its fifth year on Broadway. Atlanta sees one of two national touring companies. The show, by Matt Stone and Trey Parker (“South Park”) and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q), won nine Tony awards, including best musical. $35-$150. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE, in person at the Fox tickets office or at 855.285.8499.
Charley’s Aunt. OPENS JAN. 7 | CLOSES JAN. 24. Director David Crowe (Romeo and Juliet) trains his eye on this cross-dressing farce, a chestnut from 1892, at Georgia Ensemble Theatre with a cast that promises good things: Hugh Adams, Joanna Daniel, Scott DePoy, Stephanie Friedman, Rachel Garner, Charles Green, Steve Hudson and Joe Sykes. The story: Jack loves Kitty, and Charley loves Amy. But things are about to get complicated, and it requires a young man donning bloomers and a corset. $26-$35. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 4 p.m. Jan. 16 + 23. Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.641.1260. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
Disgraced. PREVIEWS JAN. 27 | OPENS FEB. 3. American playwright Ayad Akhtar tells the story of Amir Kapoor, a lawyer who is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his Muslim roots. When Amir and his wife host a dinner party, friendly conversation explodes into something far deeper and more dangerous. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama, a Tony Award nominee for best play, the most-produced play in America this season and soon to be an HBO movie. Post-show conversations follow most performances. Note: Contains profanity, extreme violence and adult themes. Recommended for ages 17 and up. Through Feb. 14. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. (no show at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 30). Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
I and You. OPENS JAN. 29 | THROUGH FEB. 21. Decatur-bred, San Francisco-based playwright Lauren Gunderson’s plays are done throughout the country, yet none has achieved the acclaim of this two-character drama about teenage classmates and the strange and transcendent connections between us all. Winner of the 2014 Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association new play award. $20. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Harvel Lab, Aurora Theatre, 128 East Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, attached parking in city deck at 153 East Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222.
Moxie. PREVIEWS JAN. 28-29 | OPENS JAN. 30. World premiere. An American Marine in Afghanistan connects with his son across the world by crafting a handmade book. As the unfinished Book of Moxie journeys around the world, all who touch it are sparked to add their personal stories, contributing to its enchanting and mystical force. The script by Atlanta playwrights Brian Kurlander and Lane Carlock was developed in part in the inaugural year of the Alliance Theatre’s Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab. The 11-member cast is led by Carolyn Cook and Bobby Labartino. At Theatrical Outfit. $20-$55. Through Feb. 21. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. Saturday (7:30 p.m. show only on opening night); and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.528.1500.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. JAN. 23-FEB. 22. The musical considered by many to be Stephen Sondheim’s masterwork comes to Actor’s Express with Kevin Harry (Murder Ballad, Aurora’s Les Miserables) as Todd and Deborah Bowman (Serenbe’s A Streetcar Named Desire) as the scheming Mrs. Lovett. Revenge, murder, meat pies and macabre fun are all on the menu. Directed by Freddie Ashley. This 1980 musical thriller won eight Tony awards, including best musical, best score, best actor (Len Cariou) and best actress (Angela Lansbury). $21-$40. At the King Plow Arts Center, 887 West Marietta St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469.
Wit. OPENS JAN. 14 | THROUGH FEB. 7. Atlanta educator Margaret Edson’s one and only play won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In this iteration at Aurora Theatre, Mary Lynn Owen plays Dr. Vivian Bearing, an exacting university professor of English who is dying of ovarian cancer and learning life lessons along the way. Chris Kayser doubles as Vivian’s chief oncologist and her father. $30-$50. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 10 a.m. Feb. 3. 128 East Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, attached parking in city deck at 153 East Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222.
