Looking for something cultural to do in the next week or so? Here’s our select list of recommendations. Pictured: Kyle Brumley in “Equus” at Actor’s Express. Photo: BreeAnne Clowdus
The Drowsy Chaperone. This hilarious show-within-a-show begins when a die-hard musical theater fan plays his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit called The Drowsy Chaperone, and the musical magically bursts to life in his apartment. Fun fact: In its first incarnation, this show was a wedding gift for the real Janet Van De Graaff (the leading lady), a Canadian stage actor, and Bob Martin, (a co-creator and Broadway’s original Man in Chair). $16-$35. Through April 7. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 10 a.m. April 3 (replacing the 8 p.m. show). 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free parking in attached deck at 153 Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com. (Pictured: Steve Hudson as Man in Chair. Photo by R. Todd Fleeman)
Equus. IN PREVIEWS | OPENS SATURDAY. Some plays are classics because teachers say they are. Others are classics because they never lose the power to thrill, shock and engage an audience. Peter Shaffer’s 1973 Equus, the season finale at Actor’s Express, is the latter. It’s a roller-coaster drama about a psychiatrist’s attempt to make sense of one young man’s horrifying and brutal crime. The cast features Chris Kayser as the doctor and Kyle Brumley as the young man. Note: Contains nudity. Previews: $15. Regular run: $22-$45 plus fees (book online and save fees). Opening night sold out. Through April 21. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. 887 W. Marietta St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com.
The Fabulous Lipitones. WORLD PREMIERE. Previews March 27-29. Opens March 30. At Theatrical Outfit. When a founding member drops dead mid-performance, a small-town barbershop quartet must find a new tenor — and soon! Enlisting an Indian Sikh, who has the right vocal range but dubious immigration credentials, makes the National Competition even more nail-biting. This musical offers a lesson on the true meaning of harmony. The cast (pictured, from left): William S. Murphy, Glenn Rainey, Tom Key and Daniel Hilton. $15-$22. Through April 21. 7:30 Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday (also at 2:30 p.m. April 4; no 7:30 p.m. show April 20). Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 1.877.725.8849.
The Leopard Tale. Atlanta’s Ballethnic Dance Company returns with this signature piece, a ballet that infuses a story of surviving in the wild with African dance. Act 1 was created in 1991, Act 2 in 1994. The score is by L. Gerard Reid, the choreography by Ballethnic co-founder Waverly T. Lucas II. If you’ve never seen this athletic, breathtaking piece, do yourself a favor and see it now. Or see it again. $29-$39. 7:30 tonight; 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.413.9849.
New Choreographic Voices. Atlanta Ballet continues its season with three pieces — the Atlanta premiere of Minus 16, created by much-in-demand Israeli choregrapher Ohad Naharin; the world premiere of I AM by choreographer Gina Patterson; and Rush by Christopher Wheeldon. Note: The program includes nudity. Parental discretion is advised. $20-$120. 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway. Details, tickets HERE.
Tanz Farm Series s3: Hippodrome — A Triptych of Urban Stages. WORLD PREMIERE. Don’t let the long title intimidate you! GloATL continues this series with a full-length work that includes art, music and dance, and looks at communication, collection, loss and growth in urban life. Participants include Atlanta Opera singers, gloATL dancer-choreographer Lauri Stallings, visual artist Gyun Hur and the contemporary music ensemble Sonic Generator. (The series concludes at 7:30 p.m. Monday with Hippo Tryp: Drench the Senses. Tickets to the “intuitive” feast are $100.) $25. 8 tonight-Sunday. Goat Farm Arts Center, 1200 Foster St. Details, tickets HERE.
The Whipping Man. This crackling three-actor drama, set in Richmond at the close of the Civil War, is among the most popular titles at American regional theaters this season. Playwright Matthew Lopez’s drama opens in 1865, when a wounded Jewish Confederate soldier returns to find his family home in ruins and occupied by two former slaves. The cast: Jeremy Aggers, Keith Randolph Smith and John Stewart (pictured). The critics: “An intriguing allegory, with its new angle on a complicated milieu … but in the end it doesn’t quite make good on its promise” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com); “An intensely dark drama, gothic in every contour, chilling to the bone. … [It] feeds an audience hungry for tales of love, war, faith and the epic wrong of slavery” (Wendell Brock, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Alliance Theatre‘s Hertz Stage. $35-$39. Through April 7. 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. Details, tickets HERE. Meet the director, Atlanta-raised, New York-based Alexander Greenfield, in this Encore FEATURE. Meet actor John Stewart in this Encore SNAPSHOT. (Photo: Greg Mooney)
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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. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
