Looking for something cultural to do in the next week or so? Here’s our select list of recommendations. Pictured: Chris Blair (left) and Ed Morgan in “Samurai Davis Jr. and Dim Sum’s Super Mega Happy Fun Time Improv Show” at Dad’s Garage. Photo: Stacey Bode
RECOMMENDED
Seminar. THROUGH JUNE 16. Actor’s Express finishes its season with this comedy by Theresa Rebeck (Mauritius, TV’s “Smash”). It follows four aspiring writers who take a class from a brilliant, egomaniacal, world-famous author (Andrew Benator). The critics: “A whip-smart 90 minutes of intense infighting among some pretty feral cats. In the next few weeks, a lot of Atlantans — especially the writers in town — will be asking one another, ‘Have you seen Seminar yet?’ ” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com); “A deliciously biting production … Benator is giving one of the best performances of the Atlanta theater season” (Wendell Brock, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). $22-$45 (buy ONLINE and save). King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. in West Midtown. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.SHOW. (Pictured, from left: Barrett Doyle and Andrew Benator. Photo: BreeAnne Clowdus)
THIS WEEKEND ONLY
Jean-Yves Thibaudet with the ASO. 8 P.M. THURSDAY, SATURDAY; 3 P.M. SUNDAY. The popular French pianist introduces Atlanta audiences to The Mysteries of Life, Scottish composer James MacMillan’s Piano Concerto No. 3, written in 2011. Maestro Robert Spano is on the podium for that piece as well as Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute and Jupiter Symphony (No. 41). $24-$75. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. Half-price tickets available for Sunday concert only at PoshDealz.com.
Tony Bennett with Jackie Evancho. FRIDAY ONLY. The legendary and ageless singer brings his time-tested tunes and memories to the stage at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta. Afterward, vocalist Jackie Evancho joins the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for tunes from her fourth album, Songs From the Silver Screen. 8 p.m. $29-$125. Details, tickets HERE.
OPENING
The Great McAnigan. PREVIEWS TONIGHT-FRIDAY | OPENS SATURDAY. Through June 22. This Collective Project world premiere tells a tale of the amazing, the astounding and the poetically disabled. Our hero: Young Andrew McAnigan, who excels at everything except poetry. The script is by Atlanta writer-actor-teacher-director Dave Lauby. The tickets are free, sort of. The Collective is experimenting with a “see the play before you pay” system. Reserve your seat or, if you prefer, buy tickets HERE. $20; $15 age 25 and under. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Goat Farm Arts Center’s Rodriguez Room, 1200 Foster St. Directions HERE.
LAST CHANCE
Apnea. CLOSES SATURDAY. To sleep, perchance to dream. Or not. Mike Schatz takes over the Top Shelf space at Dad’s Garage for his one-man comedic fever dream about sleep apnea. Expect video, a visit from the wise old Spirit Moose, bumbling sex-capades and a trash-talking Winnie the Pooh. $7-$20. The critics: “Apnea includes the jokes and wild creativity that Dad’s audience has come to expect but with a greater maturity of purpose. Schatz’s play suggests that you can enjoy pleasant dreams when you find them, as long as you take care of business in your waking life” (Curt Holman, Creative Loafing). 8 tonight-Saturday. 280 Elizabeth St. N.E. (The Top Shelf is around the back, so you may want to enter off North Highland Avenue.) Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.3141. Read more about Schatz in this Encore Q&A. Read more about Dad’s impending move from Inman Park in this Encore FEATURE.
STILL PLAYING
Dancing at Lughnasa. THROUGH JUNE 9. Stage Door Players presents this 1992 Tony Award-winning best play by Brian Friel, detailing the lives of five unmarried sisters in 1930s Ireland. Tess Malis Kincaid directs a cast featuring Erin Considine, Rachel Frawley, Gina Rickicki, Mary Saville, Ann Wilson and some guys. $12-$27. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 8 p.m. June 6. 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.396.1726.
Hamlet. THROUGH JUNE 23 in repertory with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Jonathan Horne plays the melancholy Dane in this New American Shakespeare Tavern staging. $15-$36. 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details (including show dates), tickets HERE. Get a $50 gift card at PoshDealz.com for only $25.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. THROUGH JUNE 22 in repertory with Hamlet. A hilarious inversion of the tragedy, as seen through the eyes of bumbling gravediggers R&G and the imagination of playwright Tom Stoppard. $24-$36. New American Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details (including show dates), tickets HERE. Get a $50 gift card at PoshDealz.com for only $25. (Pictured: Nick Faircloth, left, and Paul Hester)
Samurai Davis Jr. and Dim Sum’s Super Mega Happy Fun Time Improv Show. THROUGH JULY 26. Dad’s Garage Theater Company‘s improvised Japanese game show returns with peanut butter lap dances, cheeseburger milkshakes, karaoke flash mobs, non-English-speaking hosts and sassy sailor girls. $14-$26. 10:30 p.m. Friday. Dad’s Garage mainstage, 280 Elizabeth St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.3141. Buy online and save. Read more about Dad’s impending move from Inman Park in this Encore FEATURE.
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf. THROUGH JUNE 9. In this revealing, no-squealing adaptation of the 1996 Jon Scieszka book, Alexander T. Wolf tells his side of the story: He only wanted a cup of sugar, and he had a cold. A. Wolf explains what really happened to those houses made of straw, sticks and bricks. For ages 4 and up. Paul Mesner Puppets of Kansas City (Mo.) tells the tale with rod, body and shadow puppets. At the Center for Puppetry Arts. $16.50 nonmembers; 2 and under free. 10 a.m. and noon Tuesday-Friday; 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday. 1404 Spring St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.873.3391.
LOOKING AHEAD
Atlanta Fringe Festival. OPENS WEDNESDAY. Through June 9. Celebrate indie, underground, risky, weird and edgy live theater with 120 performances, 24 shows, five venues and parties. This second annual festival is dedicated to connecting adventurous artists with appreciative audiences at multiple venues: 7 Stages, Horizons School (theater and gym), the Village Theatre in Decatur and Theatrical Outfit. Passes recommended: $40 for six shows, $60 for 10 shows and $99 for the entire fest. Single tickets $10 (cash only at door). Details HERE. Tickets HERE.
One-Minute Play Festival. JUNE 10-11. For a second year Actor’s Express partners with The One-Minute Play Festival from New York for two nights of really quick plays by Margaret Baldwin, Paris Crayton III, Gabriel Jason Dean, Phillip DePoy, Suehyla El-Attar, Daryl Lisa Fazio, Neeley Gossett, Michael Haverty, Patricia Henritze, Karla Jennings, Hank Kimmel, Nathaniel Lachenmayer, Jon Ludwig, Matt Myers, Vynnie Meli, Addae Moon, Lee Nowell, Theroun Patterson, Topher Payne, Steve Yockey and many others Directing: Justin Anderson, Veronika Duerr, Christina Hoff, Jaclyn Hofmann, Grant McGowen, Ellen McQueen, Sherri Denise Sutton and Nichole Palmietto. $20. 8 p.m. King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.SHOW (tickets always cheaper when bought online.)
The Velveteen Rabbit. JUNE 7-JULY 27. Travel to a time when toys were sewn by hand and before modern technology became all the rage. Serenbe Playhouse begins its third season with this original adaptation of the Margery Williams classic about a toy rabbit that longs to be real. All Serenbe shows are performed outdoors. This event takes place in the Grange Creek, behind Ferns Market. Please bring your own seating. $15; age 13 and under $10. 11 a.m. Friday-Saturday. 9110 Selborne Lane, Palmetto. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.463.1110. Half-price tickets (June 15-July 20 shows) at PoshDealz.com.
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Kathy Janich, Encore Atlanta’s managing editor, has been seeing, covering or working in the performing arts for most of her life. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
