Please check with your venue before heading out. This week’s #ATLlaska has changed some schedules. If you are looking for something cultural to do this weekend and beyond, our select list of recommendations includes Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which will perform its signature “Revelations” at each of its five Fox Theatre performances.
RECOMMENDED
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. OPENS FRIDAY | FIVE SHOWS ONLY. Thrill to new works by some of the world’s best choreographers and enjoy the famed New York-based company’s classic “Revelations.” Program varies from show to show, all worth the ticket price. $16.50-$62. 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday (the 7:30 p.m. show Sunday replaces tonight’s performance, rescheduled because of the weather). Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E. Details and tickets HERE. Follow a day in the life of an Ailey dancer in the ENCORE FEATURE.
LAST CHANCE
On Golden Pond. CLOSING SUNDAY. Theo Harness and Jackie Prucha (two Atlanta actors we don’t see enough of), play the bickering Thayers spending a summer at their lake home, facing the vagaries of age and a generation gap. $22-$27; $12 under age 12. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Stage Door Players, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Details HERE or at 770.396.1726. Tickets HERE.
Roméo et Juliette. THROUGH SATURDAY. Atlanta Ballet performs the Southeastern premiere of this cinematic piece choreographed by Jean-Christophe Maillot, seeking to redefine the story of Verona’s star-crossed lovers. The Prokofiev score is performed live by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. $20-$120. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway. Details, tickets HERE.
OPENING THIS WEEKEND.
Shakespeare’s R&J. OPENS TONIGHT | THROUGH MARCH 2. In this adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, four prep school students, weary of routine, dig into a copy of the tragedy and discover how it mirrors their own structured lives. Brian Clowdus of Serenbe Playhouse directs a cast featuring Chase Steven Anderson, Kyle Brumley, Brian Hatch and Justin Walker. The Joe Calarco play is at Fabrefaction Theatre Conservatory. $18-$22. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Additional show at 8 p.m. Feb. 17. 999 Brady Ave. Details, tickets HERE. Ticket discounts at PoshDealz.com.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. OPENS FRIDAY | THROUGH MARCH 9. Based on the 2010 Newbery Honors book by Grace Lin. Young Minli lives with her parents near Fruitless Mountain, surviving on the meager fare they can produce. Inspired by the rich tales her father tells (and by magical goldfish), Minli determines she will find the Old Man of the Moon who, it is said, knows the secret of good fortune. Told with actors, puppetry, masks and flying kites. Recommended for ages 5 and up. Justin Anderson directs this Synchronicity Theatre staging. $10-$40. 7:30 p.m. Friday; 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday; and 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Synchronicity at the 14th Street Playhouse, 173 14th St. N.E. at Juniper Street. Details, tickets HERE.
Whistling Psyche. OPENS FRIDAY | THROUGH FEB. 23. Well-known Atlanta actors Kathleen McManus and Joanna Daniel star in this piece about two 19th-century innovators, who wait in a Victorian railway station for a chance to tell their personal stories, stories that will change the course of medicine. This drama will lead to the launch of Arís Theatre, a new Irish-Celtic-Scottish company producing its first show in June. $15-$25. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Additional pay-what-you-can show at 8 p.m. Feb. 19. Third-floor, black-box space at the Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Ticket and parking discounts at PoshDealz.com. For more on Whistling Psyche and Arís Theatre, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
THIS WEEKEND ONLY
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. 8 P.M. FRIDAY-SATURDAY. A night of romantic songs with Rich Ridenour on piano, Broadway’s Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins) on vocals and Principal Pops Director Michael Krajewski on the podium. $22-$60. Atlanta Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
NOW PLAYING
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. THROUGH FEB. 20. This annual event, now in its 14th year, is an international cinematic exploration of Jewish life, culture and history. The 2014 lineup features 65 narrative and documentary films, including 12 shorts. Both contemporary and classic films are screened. The festival will close with the documentary Next Year Jerusalem, about eight Connecticut nursing home residents who make a transformative trip to the Holy Land. $11 (single tickets). At six venues including the Lefont Sandy Springs and Atlantic Station Stadium 16. Details at 866.214.2072 and www.ajff.org. Get a closer look in this ENCORE FEATURE.
The Best of Enemies. THROUGH FEB. 23. Based on the true story and book of the same name. Two very different people — a civil rights activist (Elisabeth Omilami) and a high-ranking KKK official (Bruce Evers) — come together for a common good. Enoch King and Lala Cochran complete the Theatrical Outfit cast. The critics: “The Best of Enemies isn’t the sharpest or most comprehensive of plays, but in its own quiet way it works, proving timely and debate worthy” (Jim Farmer, ArtsATL.com); $20-$35. Schedule varies, details HERE. Tickets HERE or at 877.725.8849. Ticket discounts at PoshDealz.com.
In Love and Warcraft. THROUGH Feb. 23. The 2013-14 winner of the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition. In this world premiere by Madhuri Shekar (University of Southern California), meet Evie, a master of relationships (other people’s relationships). She does it by employing the skills she learned a World of Warcraft champion. The critics: “A cute little comedy that should delight its target audience of college students and gamers eager for a chance to laugh a bit at their own foibles” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com); “A canny blend of Jane Austen and Cyrano de Bergerac — as viewed through a geeky collegiate lens (Wendell Brock, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution); “The irony of In Love and Warcraft is that the play never feels more alive than when it departs from real life” (Curt Holman, Creative Loafing). $25-$33. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Hertz Stage, Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Tickets, details HERE or at 404.733.5000. Discount ticket-and-drink packages for Feb. 7, 14 and 21 at PoshDealz.com. Meet the playwright in this ENCORE FEATURE. (Pictured: Lily Balsen as Evie and Evan Cleaver as Raul. Photo by Greg Mooney)
Much Ado About Nothing. THROUGH MARCH 28. Part of the Romance Repertory at the New American Shakespeare Tavern. Andrew Houchins is Benedick, with Erin Considine as Beatrice, in this famous battle of the sexes. British pub menu and libations available. $20. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 6:30 p.m. Sunday, but schedule varies. In rep with Romeo and Juliet and The Taming of the Shrew. 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.874.5299.
Fugitive: EROS and The Chemicals Between Us. OPENS FRIDAY | THROUGH FEB. 23. Two new heartbreakers from Atlanta playwright Theroun D’arcy Patterson. In Fugitive: EROS, Eros, the Greek god of love, has left the heavens when the love lives of several couples in a small coastal town take some strange twists and turns. The Chemicals Between Us asks: In this age of the quick fix, what are the benefits and pitfalls when love can be deconstructed and sold over the counter? $17-$22 in advance; $20-$25 at the door. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Out of Box Theatre, 585 Cobb Parkway, Suite C-1, Marietta. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.653.4605.
Romeo and Juliet. THROUGH MARCH 30. Part of the Romance Repertory at the New American Shakespeare Tavern. Nick Arapoglou makes his Tavern debut as Romeo, with Annie York Hester at Juliet. British pub menu and libations available. $20. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 6:30 p.m. Sunday, but schedule varies. In rep with The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing. 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.874.5299.
The Taming of the Shrew. THROUGH MARCH 29. Part of the Romance Repertory at the New American Shakespeare Tavern. See who gets tamed when Matt Nitchie and Laura Cole face off as the battling Petruchio and Kate. British pub menu and libations available. $20. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 6:30 p.m. Sunday, but schedule varies. In rep with Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing. 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.874.5299.
LOOKING AHEAD
Red Badge of Courage. FEB. 27-MARCH 23. This staging, a co-production of 7 Stages and Kennesaw State University’s College of the Arts, uses tabletop puppetry, live actors and a multi-layered web of projected silhouettes and animation to tell Stephen Crane’s story about the Civil War and a Union soldier named Henry Fleming. $10-$20. co-created by 7 Stages’ Michael Haverty and KSU’s Jane Barnette. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. Also at 2 p.m. March 15 & 22. 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.7647. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
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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’s affiliated with Synchronicity Theatre listed above. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
