Want to put some culture in your weekend? See a show! Our top recommendations include the Alliance Theatre’s excellent “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” with (from left) Richard Garner, Jeremy Proulx, Neal A. Ghant, Joe Knezevich, Andrew Benator, Anthony P. Rodriguez and (partially hidden) Eric Mendenhall. Photo by Greg Mooney.
RECOMMENDED
Memphis. CLOSES SUNDAY. This Theatrical Outfit/Aurora Theatre co-pro is in its final week at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Memphis isn’t the best musical you’ll ever see, but this 27-member cast and nine-piece band joyfully tear up the joint. The Tony Award winner is based on the true story of a pioneering disc jockey who moves Southern rock ‘n’ roll from radio to TV. $40-$48. 7:30 tonight-Friday; 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The Rialto is at 80 Forsyth St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.528.1500.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. CLOSES SUNDAY. It’s a shame this run is so short! The Alliance Theatre has assembled a who’s who of Atlanta actors to tell the story of rebel Randle P. McMurphy (Neal A. Ghant), his crazy-house cohorts and the intractable Nurse Ratched (Tess Malis Kincaid). See it if you can. The ensemble includes Andrew Benator, Richard Garner, Ann Marie Gideon, Chris Kayser, Joe Knezevich, Bethany Anne Lind, Eric Mendenhall and Anthony P. Rodriguez. $20-$68. 7:30 tonight; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. For more, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
Stupid F*cking Bird. THROUGH OCT. 11. Visit Actor’s Express this season, you’ll thank us. Start now with Aaron Posner’s comedy, taken from Chekhov’s The Seagull, and butterflied into a tale of love, art and revolution. Its people: a passionate young director, a famous novelist, a beautiful young actress, the director’s mother — an aging Hollywood star — and her lover. Along the way they discover the disappointments and joys of life and love. Among the cast: Lane Carlock, Matt Felton, Stephanie Friedman and Theo Harness. $26. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com. (Pictured: Friedman. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)
CLOSING THIS WEEKEND
Celles d’en Haut (Women on Top). CLOSES SUNDAY. A Théâtre du Rêve and 7 Stages co-production. See it in English or French. Celles d’en haut asks: Who are we when we’re removed from the context of our lives? Created by artists from Brussels, Belgium; Montreal; Atlanta; and Chicago. The four-person cast features Atlanta actors Carolyn Cook and Park Krausen. $10-$22. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.7647. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
Winter Journey (Winterreise). CLOSES SUNDAY. The Atlanta Opera presents a theatrical version of Franz Schubert’s famed song cycle, a romantic journey that tells the story of unrequited love. This production is essentially “illustrated,” with a projection-mapped set that serves as a landscape and changes from song to song. Baritone David Adam Moore sings the title role. In German with English subtitles. $35-$45. 7:30 tonight; 8 p.m. Saturday; and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Conant Performing Arts Center on the Oglethorpe University campus, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.881.8885.
THIS WEEKEND ONLY
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra opening weekend. TONIGHT + SATURDAY. Music director Robert Spano conducts Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with the ASO Chorus and soloists Laura Tatulescu and Kelley O’Connor. The evening includes a red-carpet welcome and a champagne toast. This begins the orchestra’s 71st season and the 15th year of Spano’s artistic partnership with principal guest conductor Donald Runnicles. $20-$89. 8 nightly. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. (Pictured, from left: Spano and Runnicles. Photo by J.D. Scott)
Seth MacFarlane With the ASO. FRIDAY ONLY. The singer, songwriter, actor, producer and director gives his vocal cords a workout at Symphony Hall. Expect Broadway, big band and jazz hits (“The Moon Was Yellow,” “Zing Went the Strings of My Heart.” $29.50-$99.50. 8 p.m. Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
NOW PLAYING
Calendar Girls. THROUGH OCT. 4. Georgia Ensemble Theatre opens its season with the U.S. premiere of this comedy-drama based on the 2003 feature film. Nine friends from a British women’s club find their bonds tested when a fundraising effort for their hospital lands them in the international spotlight. $30 and up. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 4 p.m. Sept. 19 + 26. Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. Details HERE or at 770.641.1260. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com. (Pictured, from left: Meg Gillentine, Alex Bond, Courtenay Collins and Bethany Irby. Photo by NiceShotTed)
Jar the Floor. THROUGH OCT. 4. Cheryl West’s beloved comedy features four generations of women who gather to celebrate their matriarch’s 90th birthday, for good and bad. The cast: Cycerli Ash, Donna Biscoe, D. Woods, Cara Mantella and Bernardine Mitchell. Presented by Dominion Entertainment. $15-$35. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 4 p.m. Sunday. Additional shows at 11 a.m. Sept. 23 + 30. Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta. Tickets HERE or at 800.838.3006.
NEXT WEEK
ASO: Spano Conducts Avner Dorman’s Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! SEPT. 24 + 26. Israeli composer Avner Dorman describes his concerto for percussion and orchestra this way: “The title refers to three substances that are extremely appealing, yet filled with danger. Spices delight the palate but can cause illness; perfumes seduce but can also betray; toxins bring ecstasy but are deadly.” The piece showcases ASO percussionists Thomas Sherwood and Charles Settle. 8 nightly. $20-$79. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
In the Next Room, or the vibrator play. OPENS SEPT. 25 | THROUGH OCT. 18. Synchronicity Theatre reprises its 2011 hit with a mostly new cast. Welcome to 1887. Chester Arthur is in the White House. Women are wearing bustles and corsets, and men drive horse-drawn carriages. The invention of the light bulb and a handy new instrument to treat “hysteria” in women has Dr. Givings’ patients all aglow and his young wife very curious. Sarah Ruhl’s comedy, about intimacy and equality in the vein of a British farce, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and three 2010 Tony awards, including best play. Contains adult themes. The cast is led by Daniel Thomas May (“The Walking Dead”) as the good doctor and Bryn Striepe (Lasso of Truth) as his wife. With Tony Larkin, Wendy Melkonian, Danielle Mills, Doyle Reynolds and Maria Rodriguez-Sager. $20-$28 (swanky — reserved seats — are $10 more). 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. Synchronicity Theatre at Peachtree Pointe, 1545 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.484.8636. (Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)
The Playboy of the Western World. PREVIEWS SEPT. 24 | OPENS SEPT. 25. Arís Theatre, Atlanta’s stage for Celtic culture, presents a true classic. In J.M. Synge’s play, Christy Mahon thinks he killed his da’, and every girl in the county can’t stop thinking about him. Synge’s comedy caused riots at its 1907 debut, revived an Anglo-Irish word and quite possibly launched the title of a magazine. John Ammerman directs. $15-$25. Through Oct. 11. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. Additional show at 8 p.m. Sept. 30. Georgia Public Broadcasting, 260 14th St. N.W., Studio B. Details, tickets HERE. Information at 404.692.0053. Discount tickets 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. Full disclosure: She’s affiliated with Synchronicity Theatre, mentioned above. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
