Wave and say good-bye to June. Looking for something cultural to do as the month wraps up? Our select list of recom-mendations includes always funny, in-deliciously-bad-taste “Spamalot” at Atlanta Lyric Theatre with Bart Hansard (right) as King Arthur and Christopher Kent as his sidekick, Patsy. Photo by Casey Callaway.
RECOMMENDED
As You Like It. CLOSES SUNDAY. Georgia Shakespeare‘s season opener moves indoors from Piedmont Park to prove again that “all the world’s a stage, and the men and women merely players.” Courtney Patterson and Ann Marie Gideon (so good together in The Geller Girls at the Alliance Theatre a few months back) lead the cast. Check out Georgia Shakespeare’s new extras this season: relocated pre-show talks, actor chats, post-show cabarets and new picnicking furniture. The critics: “Audiences eager to relive the charms of the two leading ladies from Geller Girls will find no shortage of funny, winning scenes” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com); “A personal triumph for Courtney Patterson as Rosalind” (Manning Harris, Atlanta INtown); “A solid, safely acted and nicely designed endeavor of Shakespeare’s great comedy about loss, crisscrossed love and redemption” (Wendell Brock, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution): “If you think Shakespeare is boring and bland, you need to see As You Like It” (Kenny Norton, atlantatheaterfans.com). $14-$33. 8 tonight-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details HERE or at 404.504.1473.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. THROUGH AUG. 2. Serenbe Playhouse produces a one-of-a-kind retelling of the classic L. Frank Baum story with a bookish Dorothy who creates magic in her own backyard with organic visuals created by Center for Puppetry Arts artists. Performed outdoors in the Animal Village (enter at The Inn). Bring your own seating. The critics: “In the theatrical landscape of Atlanta, there really is no place like Serenbe” (Wendell Brock, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution); “Forget what you knew about Oz. When you step into the immersive, magical land at Serenbe Playhouse, you will find a fresh, imaginative take” (Kenny Norton, Atlantatheaterfans.com). $15; $10 ages 13 and under. 11 a.m. Friday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday and July 13, 20 & 27. 10950 Hutcheson Ferry Road, Chattahoochee Hills. Details HERE. Tickets available HERE until one hour before show time, then on-site. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com. (Pictured, from left: Will Skelton, Skylar Nicholson, Lauren Chambliss and Alex Towers. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.)
CLOSING THIS WEEKEND
C.S. Lewis On Stage. THROUGH SUNDAY. Let actor-director-writer Tom Key lead you through the wardrobe in this one-man show acclaimed by C.S. Lewis scholars and cheered by audiences around the world. His words come straight from Surprised by Joy, The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce and more. Lewis (1898-1963) is considered one of the 20th-century’s great thinkers. The critics: “If you’ve never seen it before, buy a ticket this weekend and go” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com). $25-$35. 7:30 tonight-Friday; 2:30 & 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Theatrical Outfit at the Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.528.1500. (Pictured: Key as Lewis. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.)
Spamalot. THROUGH SUNDAY. Atlanta Lyric Theatre stages this Tony Award-winning best musical (2005), lovingly ripped off from the movie classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Follow King Arthur (Bart Hansard) and his Knights of the Round Table as they search for that elusive Grail, persevering despite death, cowardice, Laker Girls, flying cows, killer rabbits and taunting Frenchmen. “A consistently clever kick” (Bert Osborne, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). $25-$50. 8 tonight-Friday; 2 & 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Jennie T. Anderson Theatre, Cobb County Civic Center Complex, 548 S. Marietta Parkway, Marietta. Details, tickets HERE.
Ten Mile Lake. THROUGH SUNDAY. In this world premiere by California playwright Tira Palmquist, a father and daughter learn the true meaning of the word “home.” Featuring Bryan Brendle, Veronika Duerr and Mark Kincaid. $25; $20 students. Serenbe Playhouse, on the Grange Lake Dock (behind the Nest Homes). 10950 Hutcheson Ferry Road, Chattahoochee Hills. Tickets available HERE until one hour before show time, then on-site. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
NOW PLAYING
Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat. THROUGH JULY 20. Featuring the Cat in the tall striped hat, Sally and her brother, their pet Fish, and Thing 1 and Thing 2 in an adventure for anyone age 4 and older. Told with rod puppets and animation. $16.60; under 2 free. 10 a.m. & noon Tuesday-Friday; 11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m. Saturday; and 1 & 3 p.m. Sunday. Closed July 4. Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.873.3391.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dad’s Garage and Friends. JULY 11 | TWO SHOWS. Dad’s Garage Theatre Company is joined by celebrity friends Aisha Tyler (“Archer”), Colin Mochrie (“Whose Line Is it Anyway?”), Kevin McDonald (“Kids in the Hall”) and Tim Meadows (“Saturday Night Live”) for a fundraising night of comedy, song and dance. The centerpiece is a full set of unscripted hilarity. Atlanta dancers, singers, visual artists, cocktail slingers and food truck vendors will join the improvisers. 7:30 & 10:30 p.m. General admission: $25 advance; $28 at door. Reserved seating: $45 advance; $48 at door. Goat Farm Arts Center, 1200 Foster St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404-523-3141.
The Frog Prince. JULY 1-26. Georgia Shakespeare makes merry with a musical retelling of the Grimm Brothers fairy tale about a beautiful princess, a frog and how things aren’t always what they seem. Stay afterward for kids’ crafts, photos with the cast and, after select shows, prince/princess parties with the actors. $10. 11 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday plus 7 p.m. July 1. No shows July 4, 8 or 9. Conant Performing Arts Center, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details HERE or at 404.504.1473.
The Little Mermaid. JULY 8-13. Atlanta debut. Go under the sea with Disney and the mermaid who wants to grow human legs so she can be with the prince she loves. This is a revised version of the musical that ran on Broadway for nine months in 2008-09. Presented by Broadway in Atlanta. $30-$90. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 2 & 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 & 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 855.285.8499. Get up close and personal with the bewitching Liz McCartney, who plays the evil Ursula, in this ENCORE FEATURE. (Pictured: Jessica Grové as Ariel. Photo by Bruce Bennett/ Theatre Under the Stars.)
Same Time, Next Year. OPENS JULY 8 | THROUGH AUG. 3. Kenny Leon and Phylicia Rashad play lovers George and Doris, who meet by chance on business in 1951 and, though married to others, promise to rendezvous every year at the same time at same place (wonder where the title comes from?). The 1975 script is by Bernard Slade. Directed by Chris Coleman, a co-founder of Atlanta’s Actor’s Express, who’s been artistic director at Portland Center Stage in Oregon for 14 years. $35. Schedule varies. True Colors Theatre Company at the Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road S.W. Tickets HERE. Directions HERE.
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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 Theatrical Outfit, mentioned above. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
