What to see? What to do? It’s a relatively light week, but the ASO returns, “Charley’s Aunt” opens at Georgia Ensemble, and many don’t-miss productions are just ahead.
New this week
Charley’s Aunt. OPENS TONIGHT | THROUGH JAN. 24. Director David Crowe (Romeo and Juliet) trains his eye on this cross-dressing farce, a chestnut from 1892. The Georgia Ensemble Theatre cast 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 to set things straight. $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.
This weekend only
ASO: Rex Plays Korngold. TONIGHT + SATURDAY. Principal cellist Christopher Rex plays Viennese composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s cello concerto. Also planned: the Die Fledermaus overture by Johann Strauss II, Korngold’s Straussiana and Wiener Blut, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 3. French conductor Ludovic Morlot is on the podium. $20-$79. 8 nightly. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
ASO: Casual Friday. 6:30 P.M. A shorter program featuring principal cellist Christopher Rex on Korngold’s Cello Concerto, plus Brahms’ Symphony No. 3. All seats $25. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
Still playing
As You Like It. THROUGH JAN 31. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Take a trip into Shakespeare’s enchanted woods, where Rosalind and Orlando pursue love in the most circuitous way. Pub menu and libations available. Join the cast and crew for a post-show Q&A on Jan. 10. $15-$36. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 6:30 p.m. Sunday. New American Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.874.5299, Ext. 0. Discount gift certificates at PoshDealz.com.
Pinocchio. THROUGH SUNDAY. This one-man show combines found-object puppets and audience participation to tell the story of a puppet’s journey toward becoming a real boy. The storyteller is Atlanta’s Lee Bryan, aka That Puppet Guy. $20.50. 10 a.m. + 11:30 a.m. today-Friday; 11 a.m., 1 p.m. + 3 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. + 3 p.m. Sunday. Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.873.3391.
Next week
ASO: Shostakovich + Rachmaninov. THURSDAY + SATURDAY. Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski joins music director Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony for Rachmaninov’s Piano Concert No. 2. The orchestra also plays Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 in G minor, Opus 135 and is joined by vocal soloists Morris Robinson and Tatiana Monogarova. $20-$79. 8 nightly. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
ASO: King Tribute Concert. FRIDAY ONLY. The Atlanta Symphony honors the dreams and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with a concert marking his birthday, and featuring music director Robert Spano, assistant conductor Joseph Young and bass soloist Morris Robinson, the ASO’s artist-in-residence. $20-$35. 8 p.m. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
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 Broadway company is in its fifth year; 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 ticket office or at 855.285.8499. Catch up with Atlanta-bred actor Jevares Myrick, who’s in the cast, in this ENCORE FEATURE.
Home Brew Series: Red Summer by Theroun Patterson. JAN. 16 ONLY. In the summer of 1919, a young black teenager stepped on the sands of a white-only beach. Mistake or an act of defiance? What followed shaped the destinies of two families from then until now. Today, as protests over the killing of a black teenager threaten to turn violent, three people confront the questions: What price must we pay to become a post-racial society? And can we ever truly make peace with the deepest of wounds? Patterson is the playwright behind such works as That Uganda Play and A Thousand Circlets. Home Brew is 7 Stages’ development reading series for metro artists. Free (fills up, come early). 2 p.m. 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Details HERE.
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 English professor who’s 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.
Coming up
Disgraced. PREVIEWS JAN. 27 | OPENS FEB. 3. 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. American playwright Ayad Akhtar tells the story of a lawyer who’s rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his Muslim roots. When he and his wife host a dinner party, friendly conversation turns deeper and more dangerous. 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 work is done throughout the country, and none has achieved the acclaim of this two-character drama about teenage classmates and the strange and transcendent connections between them. 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. A Marine in Afghanistan connects with his son by crafting a handmade book. As the unfinished book journeys around the world, all who touch it are sparked to add their personal stories, contributing to its 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. BEGINS JAN. 20 | OPENS JAN. 23. 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. AE artistic director Freddie Ashley directs. This 1980 musical thriller won eight Tony awards, including best musical, best score, best actor (Len Cariou) and best actress (Angela Lansbury). Through Feb. 22. Director’s Rough Cut at 8 p.m. Jan. 20; previews 8 p.m. Jan. 21-22. $21-$40. At the King Plow Arts Center, 887 West Marietta St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469.
