11087786_10152910237718218_7238149834808830831_oWant to get your culture on? We suggest starting with “Storefront Church” at Theatrical Outfit, with (from left) Tom Key as a greedy banker and Anthony Rodriguez as an ambitious politician. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.

 

RECOMMENDED

marcus-1Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet. FINAL WEEKEND. A young African-American (Terry Guest) discovers his sexual identity in the Louisiana bayou in this drama from multi-award-winning playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. (Choir Boy, In the Red and Brown Water). $26-$45. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469. See what’s happening at the Express in 2015-16 in this ENCORE FEATURE. Learn more about Guest in this ENCORE SNAPSHOT. (Pictured: Guest as Marcus. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus).

Storefront Church. THROUGH MAY 3. Visit a wintery Bronx, where greedy capitalists devour giant gingerbread houses, a disenchanted preacher rediscovers his faith and a curmudgeonly loan officer experiences a rebirth. This piece concludes Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley’s Church and State trilogy, which included the Pulitzer Prize-winning Doubt. $20-$35. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.528.1500.

 

THIS WEEKEND ONLY

LD-_Sheet_MusicCreation/Creator. TONIGHT + SATURDAY. World premiere. Be part of history when the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra presents a staged version of this piece by Christopher Theofanidis, which will be recorded for a CD. Theofanidis weaves text and ideas from philosophy, science, poetry and religion to examine the relationship between God and humanity. This event includes five soloists, the ASO, its Chorus and music director Robert Spano on the podium. $25.50-$75.50. 8 tonight; 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.

 

LAST CHANCE

My Fair Lady. CLOSES SUNDAY. Wouldn’t it be loverly? Georgia Ensemble Theatre closes its 22nd season with Lerner and Loewe’s classic take on Shaw’s Pygmalion. $15-$39. 8 tonight-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.641.1260.

Shak_Tav-_LOGO_CROPOur Town. CLOSES SUNDAY. The New American Shakespeare Tavern becomes the fictional town of Grover’s Corners in this staging of Thornton Wilder’s classic, one of America’s great plays. Artistic director Jeff Watkins is the Stage Manager, with Galen Crawley and Adam King as young sweethearts Emily and George. 7:30 tonight-Saturday; 6:30 p.m. Sunday. $15-$39. 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.874.5299. Discount gift certificates at PoshDealz.com.

Real Women Have Curves. CLOSES SUNDAY. Five Mexican-American women travel the road of self-discovery in this coming-of-age drama, part of Aurora Theatres Teatro del Sol programming. In Spanish with English supertitles. $20-$30. 8 tonight-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. In the Harvel Lab. 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, lighted parking in city deck at 153 E. Crogan St., Lawrenceville. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222.

040615-grand-concourse_2Grand Concourse. CLOSES SUNDAY. At Horizon Theatre. This comic-drama, set in an urban soup kitchen, is described as “insightful, with a moving, even shocking epiphany” by the Huffington Post. The cast is led by Horizon regular Maria Rodriguez-Sager. The playwright is Heidi Schreck (TV’s “Nurse Jackie”). $20-$30. 8 tonight-Friday; 3 + 8:30 p.m. Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. 1083 Austin Ave. N.E. Details, tickets at HERE or at 404.584.7450. Learn more about Rodriguez-Sager in this ENCORE SNAPSHOT. (Pictured: Rodriguez-Sager)

 

NOW PLAYING

Costume designs by Lex Liang.
Costume designs by Lex Liang.

Blues for an Alabama Sky. THROUGH MAY 10. Join the Alliance Theatre for its 20th anniversary staging of this Pearl Cleage drama, a timeless look at hopeful dreams in hopeless days during the twilight of the Harlem Renaissance. The Alliance played host to the world premiere of “Blues” in 1995. $25 and up. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details (including talkbacks and other special events), tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. For more, see this ENCORE FEATURE. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.

082 - Breakers Preview NightsThe Breakers. THROUGH MAY 10. World premiere. 7 Stages invites you to this interactive erotic thriller, which asks its audience to cast voyeuristic eyes on a mysterious couple (Angele Masters, Kevin Stillwell) whose betrayal creates a haunted house of passion, lies and destruction. The script is by Michael Haverty, 7 Stages’ associate artistic director. For ages 21 and up. $22.50 advance; $25 at the door. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Additional shows at 10 p.m. May 2 + 9. At the Goat Farm Arts Center, 1200 Foster St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.7647. (Pictured, from left: Stillwell, Masters and Emma Yarborough. Photo by Arno Hunter Myers)

 

NEXT WEEK

Shekar
Shekar

Antigone, Presented by the Girls of St. Catherine’s. APRIL 30-MAY 9. A world premiere by 2014 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition winner Madhuri Shekar (In Love and Warcraft). Shekar retells Sophocles’ classic tragedy through the lens of a contemporary high school, specifically the Catholic, all-girls St. Catherine’s. Performed by the Alliance Theatre Teen Ensemble. Recommended for ages 16 and up. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Hertz Stage, Alliance Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. 

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Kathy Janich, Encore Atlanta’s managing editor, has been seeing, working in or writing about the performing arts for most of her life. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.

About Kathy Janich

Kathy Janich is a longtime arts journalist who has been seeing, working in or writing about the performing arts for most of her life. She's a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, Americans for the Arts and the National Arts Marketing Project. Full disclosure: She’s also an artistic associate at Synchronicity Theatre.

View all posts by Kathy Janich