You can tell it’s a holiday weekend. Celebrate, and when your plans call for something cultural in the days ahead, consider one of these options.
OPENINGS
The Frog Prince. THROUGH JULY 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. No shows July 4, 8 or 9. Conant Performing Arts Center, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details HERE or at 404.504.1473.
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.
Essential Theatre Play Festival. READINGS BEGIN JULY 7 | SHOWS OPEN JULY 18 & 24. This 16th annual new-play phantasmagoria features a series of readings and two fully produced world premieres, all by Georgia playwrights. On July 7, Trolls by Robin L. Burke of Snellville can be heard at 7 Stages Black Box, 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Free, but donations are happily accepted. That Uganda Play by Theroun Patterson, opens July 18. It’s an epic story that moves from America to Africa and back again, imagining the ghosts of war, political corruption and personal betrayal that might lie behind recent anti-gay legislation in Uganda. Ravens & Seagulls by Karla Jennings opens July 24. It features three women facing the final days of their ailing sister’s life in a drama that is emotionally raw and sometimes painfully funny. $18-$23. West End Performing Arts Center, 945 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.756.6465. For much more, see this ENCORE ATLANTA FEATURE.
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.
One Man, Two Guvnors. JULY 9-27. Georgia Shakespeare bites into this laugh-out-loud mix of satire, song, slapstick comedy and one-liners based on the famous Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni (famously staged here, indoors and in Piedmont Park, in 2007-08). Young local rock band The Head plays live onstage during the show. One Man, Two Guvnors contains naughty bits and naughty language, so parental guidance is encouraged. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road NE. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.504.1473. (Pictured, from left, Travis Smith, Aaron Muñoz and Ann Marie Gideon. Muñoz photo by Angela Wiggins. Artwork by BreeAnne Clowdus.)
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 the 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 has 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. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
