Want to get your culture on this weekend? Our recommendations include the reprise of Les Misérables, Aurora Theatre’s biggest hit ever, with Bryant Smith as Jean Valjean (pictured). Check the “Looking Ahead” section for some of the bigger arts events on the horizon. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.
RECOMMENDED
Les Misérables. THROUGH MARCH 1. The revolution returns, if you can get a ticket. Aurora Theatre reprises its 2013 hit, winner of five Suzi Bass awards, including best musical, with most of the original cast. Justin Anderson again directs; Bryant Smith, Kevin Harry and Natasha Drena return as Jean Valjean, Inspector Javert and Fantine. Check before you go; many performances are sold out. The first available are Feb. 18. $30-$50. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 & 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Matinees at 10 a.m. Feb. 4 & 25 (from $20). 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, attached parking in city of Lawrenceville deck at 153 E. Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222.
THIS WEEKEND ONLY
ASO: A Birthday Surprise. TONIGHT-SUNDAY. Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan and German conductor Matthias Pintscher lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in an intimate program celebrating the magic that Cosima Wagner felt on Dec. 25, 1870, as Richard swept her out of bed with a special gift, Siegfried Idyll. Also on the bill: Mozart’s Concerto No. 24 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4. $24-$99. 8 tonight; 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Atlanta Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
OPENING THIS WEEKEND
Bad Jews. IN PREVIEWS | OPENS SATURDAY | THROUGH FEB. 22. A comedy developed by playwright Joshua Harmon during an Actor’s Express residency. Daphna (Galen Crawley) is a “real Jew.” Her cousin Liam (Pluto’s Wyatt Fenner) is a self-described “bad Jew,” complete with a shiksa girlfriend (Rachel DeJulio). Not surprisingly, the two clash when they meet up for a family funeral. New York Times critics voted Bad Jews the best comedy of the 2012-13 season. Some performances are selling out; more are being added. Check the website. $20-$32 (parking $5). 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. Tickets, details HERE or at 404.875.1606. (Pictured: Crawley as Daphna. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)
LAST CHANCE
The Big Bad, Little Red, Pig Show. THROUGH SUNDAY. The Big Bad Wolf is working double-time in this mash-up of fairy tales. Along the way, you’ll meet Little Red Riding Hood and pigs named Hamlet, Miss Barb B. Que and Kevin Bacon. Performed with hand, rod and glove puppets by Lee Bryan, an Emmy-nominated Atlanta puppeteer known as “That Puppet Guy.” $9.25 members age 2 and up; $16.50 nonmembers. 10 & 11:30 a.m. today-Friday; 11 a.m., 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. Saturday; and 1 & 3 p.m. Sunday. Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.873.3391.
NOW PLAYING
Private Lives. THROUGH FEB. 8. Husband-and-wife Mark Kincaid and Tess Malis Kincaid, two of Atlanta’s favorite (and best) actors, square off as ex-lovers in Noel Coward’s comedy of manners. Also in the cast: the wonderful Rachel Garner and Joe Sykes. $15-$30. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday (no 8 p.m. show tonight). Stage Door Players, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.396.1726. (Pictured: Mark and Tess Malis Kincaid)
Tuck Everlasting. IN PREVIEWS | OPENS JAN. 28 | THROUGH FEB. 21. A young girl dreaming of adventure meets a family with a fascinating secret. Their chance encounter will change them all forever. A world premiere musical at the Alliance Theatre, based on Natalie Babbitt’s 1975 novel. Atlanta’s Sarah Charles Lewis plays Winnie, the young girl. The script, direction and choreography are by a team of Tony Award winners and nominees. For ages 10 and up. $21-$60. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 & 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 & 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Alliance Theatre mainstage, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. Ticket discounts at PoshDealz.com. For more on the show, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
LOOKING AHEAD
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. FEB. 11-15. This storied dance company makes its annual visit for six performances only, showcasing 10 works including its signature piece “Revelations,” and the new “Odetta,” a tribute to American singer-songwriter and civil rights activisit Odetta Holmes. $19.50-$70. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2 & 8 p.m. Saturday; and 3 p.m. Sunday. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E. Details HERE, tickets HERE or at 855.285.8499. (Pictured: Husband-and-wife company members Glenn Allen Sims and Linda Celeste Sims. Photo by Andrew Eccles.)
Detroit ’67. FEB. 10-MARCH 8. It’s 1967 in Detroit, and Motown is the sound. Chelle and her brother make ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours club. But when a stranger enters their lives, the siblings clash. As their feelings erupt, so does their city, and they’re caught in the middle of the ’67 riots in America’s Motor City. Of Detroit ’67, the 2014 Kennedy Center award winner for drama, The New York Times said: “Crackling with humor! Fire up some Motown, get those hips moving and everything will work out fine.” True Colors Theatre at the Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road. Details, tickets HERE or at 877.725.8849.
fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life. FEB. 5-22. 7 Stages presents Sarah Gubbins’ story about a lesbian teenager’s daily struggle to avoid being noticed, to survive bullying and to embrace one teacher’s determination to provide hope. Inspired by Georgia native Carson McCullers’ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Artistic director Heidi Howard directs. Gubbins is an award-winning, Chicago-based playwright (Actor’s Express staged her Fair Use in 2009). $18 & $22.50. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. Additional performance at 2 p.m. Feb. 21. Post-show talks on Feb. 12 & 19. 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.7647.
Roméo et Juliette. FEB. 6-14. Atlanta Ballet reprises this popular story ballet choreographed by Jean-Christophe Maillot, a fresh take on Shakespeare’s masterpiece that digs deep into the power of young, forbidden love. Of last season’s performances, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said: “Audiences should pack a tissue or two and see this production.” $23-$124. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Additional show at 2 p.m. Feb. 7. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway. Details, tickets HERE. Ticket discounts at PoshDealz.com.
Silent Sky. FEB. 12-MARCH 1. Put this on your don’t-miss list. Decatur-born, San Francisco-based playwright Lauren Gunderson makes her Theatrical Outfit debut with this smart and luminous script about real-life American astronomer Henrietta Leavitt (1868-1921) who must deal with dismissive male colleagues, family disapproval and career setbacks in her fight to discover stars in galaxies beyond our own. Features Elizabeth Diane Wells (the Outfit’s Dividing the Estate, A Christmas Carol at the Alliance) as Leavitt. $20-$35. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Additional performances at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 21 & 28. The Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. N.W. Tickets, details HERE or at 678.528.1500. Ticket discounts at PoshDealz.com.
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Kathy Janich, Encore Atlanta’s managing editor, has been seeing, working in or writing about the performing arts for most of her life. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
