Looking for something cultural to do this weekend and beyond? Here are Encore Atlanta’s recommendations (in alphabetical order). Pictured: Renita James as Petite Rouge and Brian Harrison as the very hungry gator, Claude, in Synchronicity Theatre’s family musical “Petite Rouge.”
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Adam Schoenberg, Grieg & Nielsen. André Watts takes the keyboard for Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Also on the program: a world premiere by Adam Schoenberg, the youngest composer in the ASO’s in-house composers’ program, and Nielsen’s searing Symphony No. 5. Music Director Robert Spano conducts. 8 tonight-Friday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta, Ga., 30309. $21-$79. www.atlantasymphony.org. 404.733.4900.
Avenue Q. Come for the award-winning tunes and off-color humor. Stay afterward for photos with the peeps and puppets that populate Q. Even if you have some familiarity with the story, the fresh performances, laughs and video will keep you thoroughly entertained. Winner of seven 2011-12 Suzi Bass Atlanta theater awards. Extended through April 11. (Call. Ahead. For. Tickets.) 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. 1083 Austin Ave. N.E., Atlanta, Ga., 30307. $20-$50. tickets.horizontheatre.com. 404.584.7450. READ MORE.
Brilliant Traces. OPENING WEEKEND. Synchronicity Theatre opens Part 2 of its spring repertory with this two-actor mystery about grown-ups who run away from home. (Dress warm, we’re in Alaska.) Cast: Kate Graham and Chad Martin. Directed by Rachel May. Through March 25 at 7 Stages Backstage Theatre, 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta, Ga., 30307. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday. Also 7 p.m. March 14 and 21. $25 adults; $18 students with ID, senior citizens and artists. Tickets: synchrotheatre.com or 404.484.8636.
The Golden Ticket. FOUR PERFORMANCES ONLY. Atlanta Opera presents the comic opera based on the Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Discover a landscape of chocolate rivers, inflating blueberries and magic elevators. Music by Peter Ash, libretto by Donald Sturrock. READ MORE. Sung in English with English supertitles. 8 p.m. Saturday; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; 8 p.m. March 9; and 3 p.m. March 11. $15-$140. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, Ga., 30330. Tickets: www.tickets.atlantaopera.org or 404.881.8885. For discounted tickets, see PoshDealz.com.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY. Trumpeter, composer and bandleader Wynton Marsalis is, arguably, the finest jazz musician of our time. He leads a program of big band works. 8 p.m. Saturday. Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta, Ga., 30309. $301-$90. www.atlantasymphony.org. 404.733.4900.
Red. The 2010 Tony Award winner takes us inside the head and claustrophobic studio of enigmatic painter Mark Rothko, a 1960s modernist. It’s Tom Key vs. Jimi Kocina is this two-man tour de force. Through March 11 at Theatrical Outfit. 84 Luckie St. N.W., Atlanta, Ga., 30303. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. $15-$35. Tickets: theatricaloutfit.org or 877.725.8849. READ MORE.
Petite Rouge. Synchronicity Theatre charms all ages with this zydeco retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood tale. Little Red is a duck, her best friend is a timid cat, and there’s a big, bad gator named Claude (in the wolf role) chasing them through Mardi Gras as they try to take gumbo to Petite’s ailing Grandmere. Three swift and versatile storytellers join in, playing more than 20 human and animal characters – crayfish, turtle, frog, riverboat tourists, Mardi Gras dancers, funeral-goers and more. It’s a toe-tapping 70 minutes good for ages 3+. Through March 25 at 7 Stages Backstage Theatre, 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta, Ga., 30307. 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday; and 10:30 a.m. Wednesday-Thursday (call ahead). $15-$30. Tickets: synchrotheatre.com or 404.484.8636.
Soweto Gospel Choir. ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY. From the crucible of apartheid-strangled South Africa comes 52 voices that sound like heaven on earth. Choir members use their voices, bodies and percussion to share the joy of faith, blending elements of Negro spirituals, reggae and American popular music with their African gospel foundation. Their repertoire includes “Amazing Grace” and “This Little Light of Mine” alongside more traditional South African praise songs. 7 p.m. Sunday. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta, Ga. 30308. $35, $45 and $65 plus fees for adults; $15 and $16 plus fees for children. Ticketmaster.com or 800.745.3000. READ MORE.
The Wizard of Oz. Director Rosemary Newcott gives this American classic a folksy spin and folk-art feel in a shortened version for young audiences. Good for ages 4+. Show times vary. This Saturday only: FAMILIES Centerstage turns the Woodruff Arts Center Galleria into a family fair with arts, crafts and music. Oz performances at 1 and 4 p.m. Also at 1 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Alliance Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta, Ga., 30309. $35; $25 children. Tickets: alliancetheatre.org, 404.733.5000.
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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. She spent 25 years in daily newspapers and was most recently on staff at Atlanta’s smart, bold and gutsy Synchronicity Theatre (full disclosure!). To suggest someone for this column, please email kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
