Looking for something cultural to do in the next week or so? Here’s our select list of recommendations. Pictured: Allan Edwards (left) and Robin Bloodworth as Soviet and American arms negotiators, respectively, in “A Walk in the Woods” at Serenbe Playhouse. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus
RECOMMENDED
5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche. OPENS TONIGHT. Weird Sisters Theatre Project, a company committed to creating theater by women, for everyone, opens a two-show summer season with this clever comedy by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood. It’s 1956 and the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are having their annual quiche breakfast. Will a Communist strike interrupt their idyll? The cast: Jaclyn Hofmann, Bryan Lee, Tiffany Porter, Megan Rose and Annie York. Kelly Criss directs. $15. 7:30 p.m. Also 7:30 p.m. July 9-10 and 15 (limited tavern menu available); and 10:30 p.m. July 5-6, 12-13. New American Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.874.5299. Read more about the Weird Sisters in this Encore FEATURE. (Pictured: Hofmann, left, and Porter)
Metamorphoses. THROUGH JULY 21. Put Georgia Shakespeare‘s reprise of this 2005 hit on your must-see list. This beautiful, bawdy, raucous and heartbreaking piece tells 10 stories about what it means to be human. The 2002 Broadway hit from creator Mary Zimmerman is based on the myths of Ovid, an ancient Roman poet, and does take place in and around a pool. Even if you’ve seen it before, there’s much that’s new. The critics: “Theatrical lightning does indeed strike twice” (Bert Osborne, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution); “As Atlanta audiences saw when the company did the show in 2005 and again in 2007, it’s a gorgeous, smart, funny, sexy production” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com). Contains brief nudity. $13.08-$44.86. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Additional show: 2 p.m. July 6 and 7 p.m. 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. A few discount vouchers are left at PoshDealz.com.
A Walk in the Woods. THROUGH JULY 14. Can major change happen with a simple walk in the woods? That’s the question asked in this Serenbe Playhouse drama, in which two superpower arms negotiators — a Russian and an American — meet outside Geneva, Switzerland, to negotiate nuclear disarmament. Fair warning: This is a short ru, and tickets likely will go fast. Cast: Robin Bloodworth and Allan Edwards. Lee Blessing’s 1987 drama was a Pulitzer Prize nominee and is based on a real-life series of meetings in 1982. Performed in the clearing at the Serenbe Farmers and Artists Market. The critics: “The spread of the natural environment provides a powerful and symbolic contrast to this otherwise intimate personal story about a pair of basic Everymen and the global issues surrounding them” (Bert Osborne, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). $25 plus fees; $20 students. 8:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. 9110 Selborne Lane, Palmetto, about 30 minutes from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Details, tickets HERE. Half-price tickets (July 6, 12, 13 shows only) at PoshDealz.com.
THIS WEEKEND ONLY
All-American Celebration. 8 P.M. FRIDAY. Celebrate the Fourth on the fifth with fireworks, free parking (through PoshDealz only), sing-alongs and the full glory of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Jere Flint leads the orchestra and chorus in an evening of patriotic songs and anthems that commemorate our independence. $15-$45. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta. Hooray for the red, white and blue! Details, tickets HERE. For ticket discounts plus a free parking pass (emailed in advance of the concert), visit PoshDealz.com.
OPENING THIS WEEKEND
Liquid Culture. SATURDAY-JULY 20. gloATL invites you to “come witness uniqueness.” The company returns this summer to explore themes of freedom in six physical installations in four distinct places in the span of 14 days. glo, a visual art and movement company, is defined as the marriage of art forms, blending classical elements with the groove of today’s urban culture. 8:30-10 p.m. Saturday. The Sound Table lot, 483 Edgewood Ave. S.E. (at the corner of Boulevard). Liquid Culture continues at 5 p.m. July 10 at the corner of 10th and Peachtree streets in Midtown. All events are free — and, to work, members of the public must show up. Details HERE. RSVP on Facebook HERE.
STILL PLAYING
Dementia Juice. THROUGH JULY 27. Dad’s Garage Theatre Company says goodbye to its memory-filled mainstage with this off-kilter, puppet-filled ride to hell, aka the in-laws’ house. This scripted comedy uses moving set pieces, masks and puppets to help the audience experience what the main character does. Written and directed by Dad’s Artistic Director Kevin Gillese and 7 Stages’ Associate Artistic Director Michael Haverty. $7-$28. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. 280 Elizabeth St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.3141. Buy online and save. Read more about Dad’s imminent, involuntary move from Inman Park in this Encore FEATURE.
Mighty Myths and Legends. THROUGH JULY 20. In this family play at Georgia Shakespeare, a Nordic god puts his strength to the test, a magical mermaid wanders too far from home and a young man learns the meaning of trust. The greatest legends of human history come together in this action-packed original play adapted from international myths and legends, telling very modern stories about love, consequences and transformation. 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday; 11 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday (no show July 4; no 7 p.m. show July 16). $13.08. Conant Performing Arts Center, Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.504.1473.
Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat. THOUGH JULY 28. The Center for Puppetry Arts teams with the rhythm doc for this Atlanta premiere. Told with rod puppets and animation. Originally produced by the National Theatre of Great Britain. Directed here by Jon Ludwig. $16.50 non-members; $9.25 members. 10 a.m. and noon Tuesday-Friday; 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday. Closed July 4. 1404 Spring St. N.W. at 18th Street. Details, tickets HERE, at tickets@puppet.org or 404.873.3391.
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 move from Inman Park in this Encore FEATURE.
The Velveteen Rabbit. THROUGH JULY 27. Travel to a time when toys were sewn by hand and modern technology was not all the rage. Serenbe Playhouse sets the Margery Williams classic in post-Civil War Savannah. It’s still about a toy that longs to be real. The critics: “Imaginative, playful and often interactive” (Jim Farmer, ArtsATL.com). All Serenbe shows are performed outdoors. This one is in the Grange Creek area, behind Fern’s Market. Please bring your own seating. $15; $10 age 13 and under. 11 a.m. Friday-Saturday. 9110 Selborne Lane, Palmetto, about 30 minutes from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.463.1110. Half-price tickets (July 6 only) at PoshDealz.com.
LOOKING AHEAD
Mysterious Connections. JULY 12-AUG. 9. World premiere. Essential Theatre launches its annual summer festival with this fantasy-drama about love and terror, forgiveness and second chances. And it’s funny. The script, by Essential Producing Artistic Director Peter Hardy, features two lonely women who are haunted by their pasts yet drawn to one another from the first time they meet and soon find themselves able to enter one another’s dreams. $18-$23. 8 p.m. July 11 (preview), 12-13, 19, 27 and Aug. 2, 5 and 9. Also at 2 p.m. July 28 and 7 p.m. Aug. 4. Note: For mature audiences. Includes sexual situations, smoke and fog effects. Stray Dogs by Matthew Myers, the winner of the 2013 Essential Playwriting Award, opens July 17. Swimming With Jellyfish by Katie Grant Shalin, the third offering in the three-show festival, opens July 24. Details, tickets HERE or at 1.866.811.4111.
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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 Weird Sisters Theatre Project listed above. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
