Looking for something cultural to do in the next week or so? Here’s our select list of recommendations. Pictured: Sam Costantino as Samuel the Boy in Serenbe Playhouse’s “The Velveteen Rabbit” opening Friday. Photo: BreeAnne Clowdus
RECOMMENDED
Atlanta Fringe Festival. THROUGH SUNDAY. Celebrate indie, underground, risky, weird and edgy live theater with 120 performances, 24 shows, five venues and two parties. This second annual festival is dedicated to connecting adventurous artists with appreciative audiences at multiple venues: 7 Stages, Horizons School (theater and gym), the Village Theatre and Theatrical Outfit. Passes recommended: $40 for six shows, $60 for 10 shows and $99 for the entire fest. Single tickets $10 (cash only at door). Details HERE. Tickets HERE. Read more about the Atlanta Fringe Fest in this Encore FEATURE.
One-Minute Play Festival. MONDAY-TUESDAY. For a second year Actor’s Express partners with New York’s One-Minute Play Festival for two nights of really quick plays — approximately 70 of them — by Margaret Baldwin, Paris Crayton III, Gabriel Jason Dean, Phillip DePoy, Suehyla El-Attar, Daryl Lisa Fazio, Neeley Gossett, Michael Haverty, Patricia Henritze, Karla Jennings, Hank Kimmel, Nathaniel Lachenmayer, Jon Ludwig, Matt Myers, Vynnie Meli, Addae Moon, Lee Nowell, Theroun Patterson, Topher Payne, Steve Yockey and many others Directing: Justin Anderson, Veronika Duerr, Christina Hoff, Jaclyn Hofmann, Grant McGowen, Ellen McQueen, Sherri Denise Sutton and Nichole Palmietto. With that lineup, there’s certain to be more hits than misses among the mini-shows.$20. 8 p.m. King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.SHOW (tickets always cheaper when bought online.) Note: The Express parking lot is undergoing renovations and unavailable. Alternatives HERE.
The Velveteen Rabbit. OPENS FRIDAY. Through July 27. Travel to a time when toys were sewn by hand and modern technology was not all the rage. Serenbe Playhouse begins its third season with this original adaptation of the Margery Williams classic about a toy rabbit that longs to be real. All Serenbe shows are performed outdoors. This event takes place in the Grange Creek area, behind Fern’s Market. Please bring your own seating. $15; age 13 and under $10. 11 a.m. Friday-Saturday. 9110 Selborne Lane, Palmetto. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.463.1110. Half-price tickets (June 15-July 20 shows) at PoshDealz.com.
THIS WEEKEND ONLY
Distant Worlds: Music From “Final Fantasy.” FRIDAY-SATURDAY. Iconic selections from the 25-year catalog of the “Final Fantasy” franchise of video games, movies, anime and more. The multimedia experience includes HD video from the game developers, vocal and instrumental soloists, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Music director Arnie Roth conducts, with singer-songwriter Susan Calloway as special guest. 8 p.m. $40-$90 ($90 VIP tickets include a limited-edition concert tour booklete and post-concert meet-and-greet with Roth and Calloway.) Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
LAST CHANCE
Dancing at Lughnasa. CLOSES SUNDAY. Stage Door Players presents this 1992 Tony Award-winning best play by Brian Friel, detailing the lives of five unmarried sisters in 1930s Ireland. Tess Malis Kincaid directs a cast featuring Erin Considine, Rachel Frawley, Gina Rickicki, Mary Saville, Ann Wilson and some guys. $12-$27. 8 tonight-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.396.1726. (Pictured: Mary Saville, left, and Erin Considine as two of the five sisters. Photo by Stage Door Players)
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf. CLOSES SUNDAY. In this revealing, no-squealing adaptation of the 1996 Jon Scieszka book, Alexander T. Wolf tells his side of the story: He only wanted a cup of sugar, and he had a cold. For ages 4 and up. Paul Mesner Puppets of Kansas City (Mo.) tells the tale with rod, body and shadow puppets. At the Center for Puppetry Arts. $16.50 nonmembers; 2 and under free. 10 a.m. and noon today-Friday; 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday. 1404 Spring St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.873.3391.
STILL PLAYING
Hamlet. THROUGH JUNE 23 in repertory with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Jonathan Horne plays the melancholy Dane in this New American Shakespeare Tavern staging. $15-$36. 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details (including show dates), tickets HERE. Get a $50 gift card at PoshDealz.com for only $25.
The Great McAnigan. THROUGH JUNE 22. This Collective Project world premiere tells a tale of the amazing, the astounding and the poetically disabled. Our hero: Young Andrew McAnigan, who excels at everything except poetry. The script is by Atlanta writer-actor-teacher-director Dave Lauby. The Collective is experimenting with a “see the play before you pay” system. Patrons can reserve a priority seat HERE or by calling 678.680.3853, see the play and pay for the performance afterward. Anyone wishing to opt out of this system can buy tickets at the regular price at the door or ONLINE ($20; $15 age 25 and younger). Goat Farm Arts Center’s Rodriguez Room, 1200 Foster St. Directions HERE.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. THROUGH JUNE 22 in repertory with Hamlet. A hilarious inversion of the tragedy, as seen through the eyes of bumbling gravediggers R&G and the imagination of playwright Tom Stoppard. $24-$36. New American Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details (including show dates), tickets HERE. Get a $50 gift card at PoshDealz.com for only $25.
Samurai Davis Jr. and Dim Sum’s Super Mega Happy Fun Time Improv Show. THROUGH JULY 26. Dad’s Garage Theater Company‘s improvised Japanese game show returns with peanut butter lap dances, cheeseburger milkshakes, karaoke flash mobs, non-English-speaking hosts and sassy sailor girls. $14-$26. 10:30 p.m. Friday. Dad’s Garage mainstage, 280 Elizabeth St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.3141. Buy online and save. Read more about Dad’s impending move from Inman Park in this Encore FEATURE.
LOOKING AHEAD
Curious Encounters. JUNE 14-15. Multiple performances for one price. 7 Stages and Out of Hand Theater curate this collection of Atlanta artists and ensembles. They’ll do short, interactive performances throughout 7 Stages’ nooks and crannies. Participants: performer Tera Beurkle, the multi-instrumentalist Klimchak, The Object Group, Out of Hand, Red Cabinet Theater and Saiah. $10 advance; $15 at door. 7-10 p.m. (arrive at any time). 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Details, tickets HERE.
Metamorphoses. PREVIEWS JUNE 20 | OPENS JUNE 21. Georgia Shakespeare reprises its 2005 hit, 10 stories about what it means to be human and to be in love. Based on the Ovid myths — and set in a pool. Note: Contains brief nudity. $13.08-$44.86. Through July 21. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Additional shows: 8 p.m. June 25; 2 p.m. June 29 and July 6; 7 p.m. June 30 and July 7. No show July 4. Conant Performing Arts Center, Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.504.1473. (Pictured: A fluid scene from Metamorphoses).
Playmaking for Girls. JUNE 15 ONLY. Synchronicity Theatre presents its annual, powerful — and one-night-only — performance of plays written and performed by formerly detained young women. The evening includes the show, a vibrant dialogue with participants and teachers afterward, and a post-show reception. Free, but seating is limited. Reservations required. 6 p.m. Dahlberg Hall at Georgia State University, 30 Courtland St. N.E. Details HERE. Tickets at 404.484.8636.
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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. Full disclosure: She’s affiliated with Synchronicity Theatre mentioned above. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
