Looking for something cultural to do in the next week or so? Here’s our select list of recommendations. Pictured: Cynthia D. Barker as Nura in “Third Country,” a world premiere by Suehyla El-Attar at Horizon Theatre.
RECOMMENDED
Choir Boy. FINAL WEEKEND. Don’t let this great piece of American theater pass you by. The Alliance Theatre celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition with new plays by past winners. Award-winning playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney (In the Red and Brown Water, 2008) returns with this coming-of-age story about a charismatic young man and the challenges he encounters at an all-boys prep school for African-Americans. McCraney last month won a prestigious MacArthur “genius” grant. The critics: “An exceptionally beautiful, heart-pummeling piece of theater. … McCraney is a ferocious talent” (Wendell Brock, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution); McCraney masterfully pulls into the frame matters of history, sexuality, identity and politics, all of them specifically grounded in [his] characters and their world, but also with all their immensity, complexity and uncertainty left intact” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com). $33-$38. 7:30 tonight; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Hertz Stage, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. For more on McCraney, read this Encore FEATURE.
Milvotchkee, Visconsin. THROUGH OCT. 20. World premiere. Meet Molly. She has a hole in her head. Find out why in this comedy about a tragedy, staged by Synchronicity Theatre at the 14th Street Playhouse. Molly guides us through and beyond Wisconsin Concrete Park (a real place) and the vagaries of getting older with a sense of bewilderment and a can-do attitude. The script is by Laura Jacqmin (TV’s “Lucky 7.” Dementia expert Teepa Snow called the production “powerful and rich” and said “anyone who has anything to do with dementia or Alzheimer’s or is in the Atlanta area should take time to attend.” 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. $15-$45. 173 14th St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.484.8636.
Third Country. EXTENDED THROUGH OCT. 25! This Horizon Theatre world premiere, by Atlanta playwright Suehyla El-Attar, is inspired by real-life events in Clarkston and features a tour-de-force performance from Cynthia D. Barker as a refugee named Nura. Especially strong work also comes from Eric J. Little as Asad An-Naim, ably supported by such Atlanta pros as Tess Malis Kincaid, Marcie Millard, William S. Murphey and Tom Thon. While you’re at Horizon, stop in the Blue Room downstairs and check out items crafted by refugee women and for sale. $20-$30. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. Additional shows at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 22, 24-25 (student and senior citizen matinees; $12 and $15) and 8 p.m. Oct. 23-24. 1083 Austin Ave. N.E. (at Euclid Avenue). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450.
THIS WEEKEND ONLY
Scandinavian Smorgasbord. 8 TONIGHT; 7:30 P.M. SATURDAY. Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki (pictured, at right) makes her Atlanta Symphony Orchestra debut with a program that features Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, Barber’s Violin Concerto and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. ASO concertmaster David Coucheron takes center stage for the Ravel. $24-$75. Atlanta Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
LAST CHANCE
The Navigator. CLOSES SUNDAY. A large-scale, interactive theatrical spectacle for brave children and thrill-seeking adults, says 7 Stages. It’s based on the young-adult fantasy adventure novel by Eoin McNamee in a production masterminded by associate artistic director Michael Haverty. It combines puppetry, video and shadow projection, live performers, music and roving set pieces. Theatergoers will meet Owen, a young boy whose life is upended when time begins to flow backward and his family and friends disappear, and accompany him over the grounds of the Goat Farm Arts Center. The critics: “Using multi-disciplinary styles Haverty has created a world of chaos, fights, oddball characters, creatures known as ‘bog hounds’ and nifty special effects. … As ambitious as it is, it can be exhausting, both mentally and physically” (Jim Farmer, ArtsATL.com). $7-$16. 8 tonight-Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday. 1200 Foster St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.7647. For ticket discounts, visit PoshDealz.com.
Tosca. 8 P.M. FRIDAY; 3 P.M. SUNDAY. The Atlanta Opera presents Giacomo Puccini’s dramatic love triangle. Tomer Zvulun, the company’s new general and artistic director, directs. Sung in Italian with projected English translations. $26-$133. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 200 Cobb Galleria Parkway. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.881.8885. For ticket discounts (plus a restaurant gift card), visit PoshDealz.com. (Pictured: Kara Shay Thomson as Tosca and Luis Ledesma as Baron Scarpia. Photo by Ken Howard)
Spunk. CLOSES SUNDAY. True Colors Theatre Company offers a compendium of three stories by Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston, adapted by George C. Wolfe and infused with great blues music by Chic Street Man and S. Renee Clark. The critics: “Spunk delivers on its title, offering bold and brassy tales in the key of life” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com); “Evocative and, eventually, entertaining” (Bert Osborne, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). $15-$60. 8 tonight-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 14th Street Playhouse, 173 14th St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE.
STILL PLAYING
All Childish Things. THROUGH OCT. 27. A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … Cincinnati, actually … Dave and friends plan a risky maneuver from his mom’s basement. It will deliver them from the Darth Vader-like clutches of life’s dark side. At Aurora Theatre. Contains adult language and situations. $20-$30. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday (also at 10 a.m. Oct. 23, $16; no evening show that day). Theater at 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, attached parking available via entrance at 153 E. Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 578.226.6222. For ticket discounts, visit Poshdealz.com.
Hamlet. THROUGH OCT. 27. Georgia Shakespeare gives the bard’s greatest murder mystery a fast-paced, muscular treatment — with a body count. Featuring Joe Knezevich as Hamlet, Carolyn Cook as Gertrude greatest murder mystery a fast-paced, muscular treatment — with a body count. Featuring Joe Knezevich as Hamlet, Carolyn Cook as Gertrude, Chris Kayser as Claudius and Ann Marie Gideon as Ophelia. The critics: “Georgia Shakespeare has created a swiftly moving, fluent, ‘no fear’ production of Hamlet” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com). $16-$48. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday (additional show at 2 p.m. Oct. 12). Conant Performing Arts Center on the Oglethorpe University campus, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.504.1473. Ticket discounts at Poshdealz.com. (Pictured: Ann Marie Gideon as Ophelia and Joe Knezevich as Hamlet)
Urinetown: The Musical. THROUGH OCT. 20. It’s a privilege to pee! So says Urinetown, the 2001 award-winning Broadway musical that tells a smart, hilarious and pointed tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution in the midst of a serious water shortage. This irreverent musical satire, opening Fabrefaction Theatre Company‘s professional season, is set in a Gotham-like city, where a 20-year drought has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. This upstart musical, which defied all naysayers on its way to success, paved the way for such shows as Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon and Spamalot. The critics: “Funky title and all, Urinetown nails its satirical humor lock, stock and barrel. There’s an intimacy and knowingly homespun quality at Fabrefaction that perfectly suit the show. I wouldn’t have wanted to see it anyplace else” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com). $13-$27. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. 999 Brady Ave. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.876.9468. For ticket discounts, visit PoshDealz.com.
LOOKING AHEAD
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark. PREVIEWS BEGIN OCT. 16 | OPENS OCT. 23 | THROUGH NOV. 10. Hollywood in the 1930s was a place of glamour, humor, personality and screwball comedies. It was also a place that cultivated insecurity, cutthroat competition and scarce opportunities — especially for women of color. This is where you’ll meet a beautiful force of nature called Vera Stark, one of those women of color. By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, at the Alliance Theatre, is the newest play from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage (Intimate Apparel, at the Alliance in2006). It was inspired by the life and career of Theresa Harris, a pioneering African-American movie actress. $30-$75. 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. 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. For ticket discounts, visit PoshDealz.com. For more on Nottage, read this Encore FEATURE.
Harabel: A Sparrow Over a Minefield. OCT. 23-NOV. 10. This one-woman triumph, which received its world premiere in a two-night run at Theatrical Outfit last winter, is back for a well-deserved three-week run. It’s written and performed in stunning fashion by Jonida Beqo (Yo-NEE-duh BAY-chow), known on the international slam/performance poetry scene as Gypsee Yo. This autobiographical piece is told in a series of poetic snapshots that follow the journey of one brave girl from her home in war-torn Albania to the American South, and her transition from stranger to American. $20-$50. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 84 Luckie St. N.W. Details HERE or at 678.528.1500. For ticket discounts, visit Poshdealz.com.
Vienna Choir Boys. 7:30 P.M. OCT. 16 ONLY. The famed choristers stop at Atlanta Symphony Hall to perform everything from Austrian folk songs to classical masterworks. $35.70-$88.10. Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
Waiting for Balloon. OCT. 17-NOV. 9. In this Alliance Theatre play for the very young, two childlike hobo-clown characters wait near railroad tracks for “balloon.” Neither, however, knows what exactly “balloon” is. This joyful, gentle riff on Waiting for Godot introduces clowning and puppets made from found objects. For ages 18 months to 5 years. Note: Get your tickets early. Seats for this innovative programming sell out early. $10. Black Box Theatre, 3rd Floor, Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
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Kathy Janich, Encore Atlanta’s managing editor, has been seeing, working in or covering the performing arts for most of her life. Full disclosure: She is affiliated with Synchronicity Theatre and Fabrefaction Theatre Company, both mentioned above. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
