Looking for something cultural to do in the next week or so? Here’s our select list of recommendations. Pictured: The cast of “Hair” at Serenbe Playhouse. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.
RECOMMENDED
Embagga Means Party. 7:30 TONIGHT ONLY. The Grammy-nominated African Children’s Choir sings at the Buckhead Theatre. The choir began in Uganda during 1984’s bloody civil war. In now includes children from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and South Sudan. More than 1,000 young singers have participated and more than 52,000 children have been educated with funding from the choir. This event is designed to raise awareness about, and support for, the choir and an independent documentary film about them titled Imba Means Sing. The filmmaker is award-winning Atlantan Erin Levin. $45; VIP packages at $200 and $300. 3110 Roswell Road. Details, tickets HERE. For a sneak peek at the documentary, go HERE.
Every Tongue Confess. THROUGH AUG. 25. The summer heat is rising and flames are flying in this fantastical whodunit at Horizon Theatre. The staging isn’t perfect, but it’s theater you’ll definitely want to experience. As the citizens of Boligee, Ala., try to find out who’s behind a string of church fires, the gossip simmers and secrets start to slip out. The script — by poet-playwright Marcus Gardley, a young writer with a national reputation — is rooted in history and magic realism. Minka Wiltz and Victor Love lead a strong cast. With original blues and gospel by S. Renee Clark. The critics: “Minka Wiltz is nothing short of phenomenal in the role of Mother Sister” (Kenny Norton, AtlantaTheaterFans.com). $20-$30 plus tax. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450. Half-price tickets (selected performances) at PoshDealz.com. Read more about Minka Wiltz in this Encore SNAPSHOT.
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. OPENS TONIGHT | THROUGH AUG. 11. Join hands, pick a wildflower and commune with The Tribe, a group of politically active, long-haired hippies in the Age of Aquarius as they protest and fight against the Vietnam War. Note: This Serenbe Playhouse production contains nudity and adult language/content. Anyone under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult. $25; $20 students. 8:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday (only standing-room tickets remain for Aug. 3). The Wildflower Meadow (enter off Hutcheson Ferry Road, past the Serenbe entrance). 9110 Selborne Lane, Palmetto, about 30 minutes from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.463.1110. Discounts at PoshDealz.com.
THIS WEEKEND ONLY
280 Elizabeth Street – Dead to Us: A Farewell TheatreSports. 10:30 P.M. JULY 27 ONLY. As you may have heard, Dad’s Garage Theatre Company is losing its longtime Inman Park space. This is the company’s final show there. Ever. So the gang will pack the stage and say goodbye with its longest-running improv show. TheatreSports is a fast-paced competition with two teams, a host/referee, audience participation and an infamous “scum box.” $40-$50. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.3141. Buy online and save. Read more about Dad’s involuntary exit in this Encore FEATURE.
Youth Creates 2013: MorphaFreaks. 8 P.M. FRIDAY-SATURDAY. An interactive, original show written, designed, devised and performed by the young artists of 7 Stages’ Youth Creates ensemble. Step right up and join in a thrilling carnival ride of personal enlightenment and emergence , where the freedom of transformation lets individuals embrace their inner freak! $10. 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.7647.
LAST CHANCE
Dementia Juice. CLOSES SATURDAY. 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 is going through. Written and directed by Dad’s Artistic Director Kevin Gillese and 7 Stages’ Associate Artistic Director Michael Haverty. The critics: “In true Dad’s style, drama, comedy and raunchiness meld” (Scott Daughtridge, ArtsATL.com). $7-$28. 8 tonight-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.
Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat. THOUGH SUNDAY. 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 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. at 18th Street. Details, tickets HERE, at tickets@puppet.org or 404.873.3391.
OPENING THIS WEEKEND
Les Misérables. Aurora Theatre begins its 18th season with its largest undertaking ever, the epic sung-through musical about an antihero named Jean Valjean and revolution in 19th-century France. The 28-person cast is led by Bryant Smith as Valjean, Natasha Drena as Fantine and Kevin Harry as Javert. The show won eight 1987 Tony Awards. Justin Anderson directs. $30-$40. Through Sept. 8. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Also at 10 a.m. Aug. 14, 21 and 28 ($20; no evening shows those days). 128 East Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, attached parking deck at 153 Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222. Discounts at PoshDealz.com. (Pictured, from left: Bryant Smith as Jean Valjean and Kevin Harry as Inspector Javert. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)
Swimming With Jellyfish. THROUGH AUG. 3. World premiere. Part of Essential Theatre‘s three-play summer festival. This comedy-drama by Atlanta playwright Katie Grant Shalin features a family trying to hold it together as the kids get ready to leave the house and Mom and Dad, who should be settling down, find everything falling apart. (In repertory with Stray Dogs by Matthew Myers and Mysterious Connections by Peter Hardy). 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, Tuesday and Aug. 3. Actor’s Express, 887 W. Marietta St. Note: The King Plow Arts Center parking lot is under construction. Alternate parking options HERE. Details, tickets HERE or at 1.866.811.4111. Read more about the Essential Theatre festival in this ENCORE FEATURE. (Pictured: Audra Pagano and Matt Busch play a sister and brother. Photo by Nancy Johnson)
STILL PLAYING
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. THROUGH AUG. 17. Shakespeare’s fairy-filled romp through the woods. $15-$36. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. New American Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.874.5299. Get a $50 gift card, good on tickets, food and drink, for $25 HERE.
Mysterious Connections. THROUGH AUG. 9. World premiere. Part of Essential Theatre‘s three-play summer festival. The script, by Essential Producing Artistic Director Peter Hardy, features two lonely women haunted by their pasts yet drawn to one another from the first time they meet. $18-$23. (In repertory with Stray Dogs by Matthew Myers and Swimming With Jellyfish by Katie Grant Shalin). 8 p.m. Saturday and Aug. 2, 5 and 9. Also at 2 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Aug. 4. Note: For mature audiences. Includes sexual situations, smoke and fog effects. Actor’s Express, 887 W. Marietta St. Note: The King Plow Arts Center parking lot is under construction. Alternate parking options HERE. Details, tickets HERE or at 1.866.811.4111. Read more about the Essential Theatre festival in this ENCORE FEATURE.
Stray Dogs. THROUGH AUG. 10. World premiere. Part of Essential Theatre‘s three-play summer festival. Playwright Matthew Myers won the 2013 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award with this script, a comedy/crime story/romance in the Tarantino style. Jackson is a petty criminal who’s not as smart as he thinks. Violet is a teenage call girl who’s not nearly everything she pretends to be. What happens when they get together — along with corrupt cops and organized crime? (In repertory with Mysterious Connections by Peter Hardy and Swimming With Jellyfish by Katie Grant Shalin). 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1 and 10; 7 p.m. Sunday; and 2 p.m. Aug. 4. Actor’s Express, 887 W. Marietta St. Note: The King Plow Arts Center parking lot is under construction. Alternate parking options HERE. Details, tickets HERE or at 1.866.811.4111. Read more about the Essential Theatre festival in this ENCORE FEATURE.
The Velveteen Rabbit. EXTENDED THROUGH AUG. 3. 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, about a toy who longs to be real, in post-Civil War Savannah. The critics: “Imaginative, playful and often interactive” (Jim Farmer, ArtsATL.com). Performed outdoors in the Grange Creek are, 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 19-20 and 26 only) at PoshDealz.com.
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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.
