Looking for something cultural to do this weekend and beyond? Here are Encore Atlanta’s recommendations (in alphabetical order). Pictured: Skylar Nicholson as Alice, in new spin on “Alice in Wonderland” at the inventive Serenbe Playhouse. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.
Alice in Wonderland. OPENING WEEKEND. Serenbe Playhouse opens its third season with this adaptation by Atlanta playwright Rachel Teagle. We meet an introverted Alice, closed off from the world, her imagination and her ability to dream. With help from a ragtag troupe of magical masked characters, she loses herself in the rapture of nonsense, unlocks her imagination and learns what it means to be her true self. This site-specific romp is staged outdoors on the Forest Glen Stage. Through July 28. 11 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Serenbe is in Chattahoochee Hills, west of Palmetto and about 30 minutes from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. $15; $10 students and children; under 2 free. Details, tickets, directions: www.serenbeplayhouse.com or 770.436.1110. For discounts, visit poshdealz.com.
Community Day at the Woodruff. Six hours of free events help the Woodruff Arts Center mark the 50th anniversary of the Orly plane crash that killed 122 Atlanta arts patrons and reshaped the city’s arts scene. The day features free admission to the High Museum of Art; storytelling, puppets, music and art projects with Young Audiences; performances and acting workshops by the Alliance Theatre; an instrument “petting zoo” by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; a poetry reading by Pearl Cleage commemorating the anniversary; and a Q&A session with Atlanta native Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy), who will premiere his new family drama Apples & Oranges at the Alliance in October. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. in Midtown. Reservations requested: www.woodruffcenter.org/orly-community-day.aspx.
Illyria: A Twelfth Night Musical. SEASON OPENER. If Georgia Shakespeare is back, it must be summer! The company begins its 26th season Wednesday with this gender-bending love triangle set to a musical mix of rock ‘n’ roll, country, gospel and Andrew Lloyd Webber-ish theater songs. The music is by John R. Briggs (Shrew: The Musical) and Eric Frampton. Briggs also adapted the piece, directs and contributed the lyrics. The cast features Courtney Patterson, Joe Knezevich, Chris Kayser and a cast of thousands, well, 17. Good for ages 6 and up. Picnicking before the show on the covered and shaded terrace is encouraged. Bring a basket and your favorite bottle of wine or pre-order from Carole Parks Catering, the company’s preferred partner, and dinner will be waiting for you. Check the website for a schedule of pre-show and post-show chats. June 6-Aug. 5. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Season packages still available; single tickets $15-$45. Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details, tickets: www.gashakespeare.org or 404.504.1473. For discounts, visit poshdealz.com.
Jersey Boys. Still here and still getting good word-of-mouth. This musical bio about the Four Seasons makes its second Fox Theatre stop, with its warts-and-all portrayal of four guys from a tough neighborhood who made it big in pop music. This isn’t a jukebox musical; it actually has a story line, and a pretty good one. Each member of the quartet — Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi — gets to tell the story from his point of view. Winner of the 2006 Tony Award for best musical and now in its 11th year on Broadway. Through June 10. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday (no 6:30 p.m. show June 10). $20-$135. Presented by Broadway in Atlanta at the Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E. Tickets HERE or 1.800.745.3000. Read more about the making of Jersey Boys HERE.
The Waffle Palace: Smothered, Covered and Scattered 24/7/365. WORLD PREMIERE. This loving sendup of that most Southern of institutions has heart and plenty of quirky humor. It comes to Horizon Theatre compliments of playwrights Eddie Levi Lee and Larry Larson. The plot: John Pickett (Larson) and his staff battle to keep their Midtown diner open against heavy odds. The nimble, often hilarious cast features LaLa Cochran, Allan Edwards, Marguerite Hannah, Enoch King, Eric Mendenhall and Maria Rodriguez-Sager. In a brilliant bit of marketing, Horizon is selling waffle-flavored pastries at the theater, and will have Nana G’s Chicken & Waffles food truck outside the theater from 5 to 8 p.m. June 23 (call 404.584.7450, buy a $13 meal voucher and part of the proceeds benefit Horizon). Through July 1. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. $20-$30 plus taxes. 1083 Austin Ave. N.E. at Euclid Avenue. Tickets HERE or 404.584.7450.
Xanadu. Disco balls. Roller skates. ’80s hairstyles. What’s not to love? Actor’s Express wraps its season with this powder puff of a musical, a surprise hit in the 2007-08 Broadway season that parodies the Olivia Newton-John movie. Critics, save one, call it “silly fun” and “completely wacky, delightfully preposterous and totally irresistible.” But if you don’t like musicals, stay home! The cast: Jordan Craig and Lindsey Lamb Archer (pictured) as well as Mary Nye Bennett, Greg Bosworth, Jordan Craig, Jill Hames, Marcie Millard, Christen C. Orr, Al Stilo and Craig Waldrip. Through June 16. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. $25-$47 plus fees ($2 discount when you buy ONLINE). 887 W. Marietta St., in the King Plow Arts Center. Box office: 404.607.7469. For discounts, visit poshdealz.com.
::
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.
