Looking for something cultural to do this weekend? Here are Encore Atlanta’s recommendations, compiled by Managing Editor Kathy Janich.
Annie. Final weekend. Take the kids for the orphans and the dog, then settle in and watch the grown-ups go to work. Sally Struthers, who was singing and dancing long before she played Archie Bunker’s cutie-pie daughter on “All in the Family,” lets loose her comic timing as Miss Hannigan. Broadway regular Brad Oscar (The Producers, Spamalot, The Addams Family) balds it up as Daddy Warbucks. At 35, Annie simply works. It’s timeless, timely, tuneful and well-written. Fox Theatre. 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. $25-$65. www.ticketmaster.com.
Avenue Q. They’re ba-a-a-a-ck!! Those politically incorrect, hilarious slackers from the wrong part of New York City return to Horizon Theatre with their songs, sad stories and puppetry high jinks. This Tony Award-winning musical, first seen at Horizon last summer, won seven 2011-12 Suzi Bass Awards (Atlanta’s version of the Tony Awards) including best musical, lead actor (Nick Arapoglou) and featured actress (Leslie W. Bellair). Performances are selling out, so don’t delay — and don’t bring the kids. Even though Q has puppets, it’s strictly for adults. Through Feb. 26. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. $20-$50. tickets.horizontheatre.com, 404.584.7450.
Beethoven and Britten. Donald Runnicles, who just re-upped for another two years as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s principal guest conductor, makes his season debut. The program: “Eroica,” aka Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Opus 55, and Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto, Opus 15. Britten, a central figure in 20th-century British classical music, composed orchestral, choral, solo vocal, chamber, instrumental and film music. The Britten Concerto spotlights Canadian violinist James Ehnes, described by The Guardian as “hair-raisingly virtuosic.” 8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center. $21-$79. www.atlantasymphony.org. 404.733.4900.
A Body of Water. Opening weekend. There are two big reasons to see this 2005 Lee Blessing mystery at Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville: Tess Malis Kincaid and Mark Kincaid. Yes, they’re married. Yes, to each other. And both are terrific actors. She won the 2011-12 Suzi Bass Award for lead actress in a play for her searing performance as a put-upon daughter/wife in August: Osage County at the Alliance Theatre. He’s been seen locally at the Alliance, Theatre in the Square, Actor’s Express and at some of the top regional theaters in the country. Last summer, he played the title role in SHIPWRECKED! The Amazing Adventures of Louis De Rougement at upstart Serenbe Playhouse. Through Feb. 12. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Some performances are already sold out, so call ahead. Tickets: $20-$30. 678.226.6222.
God of Carnage. Plenty of folks are wild about this Tony Award-winning comedy, now at the Alliance Theatre. It’s already been extended — and it just opened! Jasmine Guy (in the role that brought Marcia Gay Harden a Tony Award), Keith Randolph Smith, Crystal Fox and Geoffrey Darnell Williams battle it out in Yasmina Reza’s wildly emotional 80-minute sprint about the ongoing adventure of parenting and taking responsibility for our actions. The movie version, titled Carnage, is in theaters now with Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz. Have yourself a weekend and do a double dip. Through Feb. 4 at the Alliance. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. $20-$50. alliancetheatre.org, 404.733.5000.
Next Fall. A drama about religion and relationships with a first-rate cast of Atlanta actors: Mitchell Anderson, John Benzinger, Patricia French, Jennifer Levison, William S. Murphey and Joe Sykes. The 2009 off-Broadway play moved to Broadway in 2010 and is now at Actor’s Express. The New York Times called the Geoffrey Nauffts piece “smart, sensitive and utterly contemporary.” Through Feb. 11. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $25-$30. www.actors-express.com, 404.607.7469
Kathy Janich has been seeing, editing, writing about or working in the theater and performing arts for most of her life. She spent 25 years in daily newspapers and was most recently on staff at Atlanta’s smart, bold and gutsy Synchronicity Theatre.
