Looking for something cultural to do this weekend and beyond? Our select list of recommendations includes the funny, frenzied “One Man, Two Guvnors” with Joe Knezevich (left) and Aaron Muñoz at Georgia Shakespeare. Photo by Greg Mooney
RECOMMENDED
One Man, Two Guvnors. THROUGH JULY 27. Highly recommended. Georgia Shakespeare bites lustfully into this laugh-out-loud mix of satire, song, slapstick comedy and one-liners. Aaron Muñoz (Theatrical Outfit’s 2010 Confederacy of Dunces) delivers a tour-de-force performance as the man in the middle. The evening does get a tad long, though, with Beatles-inspired music from the local trio The Head, which plays live onstage before and during the show. Contains naughty bits and language, so parental guidance is encouraged. Check out the groovy new picnicking furniture and relocated concession and gift shops. Creative Loafing’s Curt Holman calls Muñoz’s work “one of the best comedic performances I’ve ever seen at the company.” $14-$33. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.504.1473. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
Modern Life, Modern Music. JULY 25. Famed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra blow open the National Black Arts Festival‘s inaugural Spotlight Series with this all-new concert curated by Marsalis and featuring compositions by orchestra members. 8 p.m. $45-$90 plus fees. Limited VIP tickets are $175 plus fees and include premier seating, a post-performance reception and toast with Marsalis and orchestra members, and wine and dessert. Atlanta Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Tickets, Details HERE. For more on this year’s NBAF, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
That Uganda Play. OPENS FRIDAY | THROUGH AUG. 16. World premiere. This co-winner of the Essential Theatre Play Festival runs in rotation with Karla Jennings’ Ravens & Seagulls (opening July 24). In Uganda, playwright Theroun Patterson tells 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 that African nation. This piece, in development for some time, was stunning at a Working Title Playwrights reading last year. $18-$23. Performances: 8 tonight (preview), 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and July 25, 30-31 and Aug. 2, 7-8, 11, 13 & 16. Also at 2 p.m. Aug. 3. West End Performing Arts Center, 945 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.756.6465. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com. For more, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. EXTENDED. NOW THROUGH AUG. 17. Serenbe Playhouse has broken its own box-office records with this signature retelling of the classic L. Frank Baum story featuring a bookish Dorothy who creates magic in her own backyard with organic visuals created by the Center for Puppetry Arts. Don’t expect Judy Garland or a musical. 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). $15; $10 ages 13 and under. 11 a.m. Friday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday and July 27. 10950 Hutcheson Ferry Road, Chattahoochee Hills. Details HERE. Tickets available HERE until one hour before show time, then on-site.
OPENING THIS WEEKEND
Mary Poppins. OPENS TONIGHT | THROUGH AUG. 31. The nanny who’s practically perfect takes flight, literally, at Aurora Theatre, supported by 27 regular humans and a live orchestra. This Broadway version of the story is based on author P.L. Travers’ original tales and the Disney movie. Galen Crawley is Poppins, Andy Meeks is Bert and William S. Murphey is George Banks. Some shows are already selling out; check before you go. $30-$50. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 & 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Discount matinees ($20) at 10 a.m. Aug. 6, 13 & 20. No evening show Aug. 6. 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered and attached parking in city of Lawrenceville deck at 135 E. Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or 678.226.6222. (Pictured: Crawley and Meeks. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.)
Right On. OPENS SATURDAY| THROUGH AUG. 31. Horizon Theatre stages a soul-filled story of laughs, tears and a funky beat from playwright Darren Canady, the 2007 winner of the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition (False Creeds). His story features the reunion of former black radicals and the education of one of their sons. The cast: Donna Biscoe, Marguerite Hannah, Tonia Jackson, Dane Troy, Minka Wiltz and LaParee Young. Contains strong language and adult situations. Recommended for ages 13 and up. Staged in conjunction with the National Black Arts Festival. $20-$30. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. 1083 Austin Ave. N.E. at Euclid Avenue. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450. (Pictured, from left, Minka Wiltz, Donna Biscoe, Marguerite Hannah and, Tonia Jackson. Photo: Bradley Hester.)
OPENING MONDAY
Late: A Cowboy Story. OPENS MONDAY | THROUGH AUG. 5. Music, poetry and the mysteries of love collide in this piece by Sarah Ruhl (In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play) offered by the Weird Sisters Theatre Project on the Actor’s Express stage. The cast: Kelly Criss, Christen Orr and Jacob York. Jaclyn Hofmann directs. $20. Performances begin with a preview at 8 p.m. Sunday ($10). Show times vary: 8 p.m. July 21, 28-29 and Aug. 4-5; 2:30 p.m. July 26 and Aug. 2; 2:30 & 6 p.m. July 27; and 6 p.m. Aug. 3. King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. Details, tickets HERE.
NOW PLAYING
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 and photos with the cast. $10. 11 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Conant Performing Arts Center, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details HERE or at 404.504.1473.
The Odd Couple. THROUGH AUG. 3. Fussy Felix Unger and slovenly Oscar Madison sniffle and spar again in this Stage Door Players‘ staging of the Neil Simon comedy. Producing artistic director Robert Egizio is Felix with Alan Kilpatrick, associate artistic director at Atlanta Lyric Theatre, as Oscar. $22-$27; $12 under 12. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 8 p.m. July 31. North DeKalb Cultural Center, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Details HERE. Tickets HERE or at 770.396.1726. Pictured: Egizio, Kilpatrick.
The Rocky Horror Show. THROUGH AUG. 9. Actor’s Express’ 15-member cast invites you to do the “Time Warp” again. Follow innocents Brad and Janet as they seek refuge in a mysterious castle on a rainy night, encountering the lab of Dr. Frank N. Furter and his gaggle of aliens and misfits. Madness and rock ‘n’ roll ensue. Not for kids. Contains strobe lights, haze, adult language, nudity, violence, sex, loud music and aliens. $26-$46. No fees if you buy online. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 8 p.m. & midnight Saturday (no Sunday shows). King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.SHOW.
Same Time, Next Year. THROUGH AUG. 3. Kenny Leon and Phylicia Rashad play lovers 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. The 1975 script is by Bernard Slade. Directed by Actor’s Express co-founder Chris Coleman, who’s been leading Oregon’s Portland Center Stage for the past 14 years. Tickets are going fast, plan ahead. $35. Schedule varies. True Colors Theatre Company at the Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road S.W. Tickets HERE. Directions HERE. (Pictured: Leon and Rashad.)
LOOKING AHEAD
Oklahoma! OPENS JULY 24 | THROUGH AUG. 17. Serenbe Playhouse emphasizes the dark side of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical about farmers, cowmen and their loves and desires. The large cast includes Edward McCreary as Curly, Kelly Schmidt as Laurey, Bryant Smith as Jud Fry, Lala Cochran as Aunt Eller, Jessica Miesel as Ado Annie, Austin Tijerina as Will Parker, Steve Hudson as Andrew Carnes and Tony Larkin as Ali Hakim. $15-$30. 8:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. This site-specific piece is performed at the Hay Barn at The Inn, 10950 Hutcheson Ferry Road, Chattahoochee Hills. Follows signs to “show today/parking.” Tickets HERE until one hour before show then available on-site. Details HERE or at 770.463.1110. Pictured: Schmidt and McCreary. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
Ravens & Seagulls. OPENS JULY 24 | THROUGH AUG. 17. World premiere. This co-winner of the Essential Theatre Play Festival runs in rotation with Theroun Patterson’s That Uganda Play. In Ravens & Seagulls, three women face the final days of their ailing sister’s life in a drama that’s emotionally raw and painfully funny. $18-$23. Performances: 8 p.m. July 23 (preview). Opens at 8 p.m. July 24. Also at 8 p.m. July 26 and Aug, 1, 4, 6, 9, 12-15 and 2 p.m. Aug. 10 & 17. West End Performing Arts Center, 945 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.756.6465. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com. For more, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
Sojourner Washing Society: A Musical in Gospel & Blues. JULY 24 ONLY. Staged reading. Part of the National Black Arts Festival. As Atlanta becomes Georgia’s largest city a few years after the Civil War, it’s ready to celebrate itself as the New South. But the town boosters find themselves at odds with a group they call “the Washing Amazons,” 3,000 spirited black women who hold onto the city’s dirty laundry and go after a raise. The playwright is Thulani Davis. Free! Reservations recommended. 7:30 p.m. Alliance Theatre mainstage, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details HERE, tickets 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. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
