Looking for something cultural to do this weekend (and beyond)? Here are Encore Atlanta’s recommendations, compiled by Managing Editor Kathy Janich.
Avenue Q. Extended at Horizon Theatre! This 2004 Tony Award winner asks “What Do You Do With a B.A. in English?” and unabashedly asserts that “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” and “The Internet Is for Porn.” All with puppets, video and 10 actors with Energizer Bunny stamina. Winner of seven 2011-12 Suzi Bass Awards (Atlanta’s Tonys) including best musical. Be warned: It’s definitely adults-only fare and still might not be to everyone’s taste (their loss). Extended, for a second time, through March 11. 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.
A Body of Water. Reviews have been mixed but you should decide for yourself. Anytime Suzi Award winner Tess Malis Kincaid is onstage, it’s time to see some theater! Her husband, Mark Kincaid, and Cara Mantella complete the cast of this three-hander, a 2005 mystery by Lee Blessing (A Walk in the Woods, Eleemosynary) now at Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville. 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 please call ahead. $20-$30. 678.226.6222.
God of Carnage. Plenty of folks are crazy about this Tony Award-winning black comedy by Yasmina Reza, now at the Alliance Theatre. Jasmine Guy, Keith Randolph Smith, Crystal Fox and Geoffrey Darnell Williams battle it out in this wildly emotional 80-minute sprint about parenting and personal responsibility. Of note: This is the first Carnage production in the country to be done with African-American actors. 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.
The Ladies Man. Over-the-top, chaotic and funny. It’s farce, after all. Charles Morey adapts a Georges Feydeau piece about a husband’s efforts to deny himself a visit to the Moulin Rouge. And the shenanigans begin. Recommendable on the strength of its cast alone, including Andrew Benator, Veronika Duerr, Andrea Frye, Chris Kayser and Enoch King. Through Feb. 26 at Theatre in the Square in Marietta. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 2:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday (no evening show Feb. 19). Also 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 15. $24-$33. 770.422.8369, Ext.10.
Mahler’s “Resurrection.” Only one performance left. Considered, along with Symphony No. 8, to be the composer’s most popular and successful works during his lifetime. It was inspired by the death of his friend and colleague Hans von Bulow and became the first major work to mark Mahler’s lifelong view of the beauty of the afterlife. Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles leads the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in the 90-minute piece, with soprano Nicole Cabell and mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor as soloists. 8 p.m. Saturday. Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center. $21-$79. www.atlantasymphony.org. 404.733.4900.
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 it “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. Visit POSHdealz.com for ticket discounts.
Opening Jan. 31: Memphis at the Fox Theatre. The 2010 Tony Award-winning best musical runs through Feb. 5. The story, played out to a rock ‘n’ roll backbeat, concerns a white radio DJ who wants to change the world, and the black club singer ready for her big break. $39-$77.
In previews: Red, the story of 1960s modernist painter Mark Rothko, at Theatrical Outfit. Opens Feb. 4 and already extended through March 11. Tom Key plays Rothko, Jimi Kocina is his young assistant. Tickets. 877.725.8849. Visit POSHdealz.com for ticket discounts.
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Kathy Janich has been seeing, editing and writing about or working in the 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.
