What to see? What to do? Our top recommendations include “Wit” at Aurora Theatre, one of the winter/spring season’s don’t-miss events, and the return of those wacky missionaries in “The Book of Mormon” at the Fox Theatre.
Recommended
The Book of Mormon. THROUGH JAN. 24. Those shiny-faced Mormon missionaries are back in Atlanta (and Uganda) for more equal-opportunity offensiveness and a surprising amount of heart. The Broadway company is in its fifth year; Atlanta sees one of two national touring companies. The show, by Matt Stone and Trey Parker (“South Park”) and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q), won nine Tony awards, including best musical. $35-$150. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE, in person at the Fox ticket office or at 855.285.8499.
[FEATURE: MORMON ACTOR AND ATLANTA NATIVE JEVARES MYRICK]
Wit. OPENS TONIGHT | THROUGH FEB. 7. Atlanta educator Margaret Edson’s only play won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In this Aurora Theatre iteration, Mary Lynn Owen plays Dr. Vivian Bearing, an exacting university English professor who’s dying of ovarian cancer and learning life lessons along the way. Chris Kayser doubles as Vivian’s chief oncologist and her father. $30-$50. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 10 a.m. Feb. 3. 128 East Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, attached parking in city deck at 153 East Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222.
[VIDEO: WIT INSIGHTS FROM PLAYWRIGHT MARGARET EDSON]
This weekend only
ASO: Shostakovich + Rachmaninov. TONIGHT + SATURDAY. Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski joins music director Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony for Rachmaninov’s Piano Concert No. 2. The orchestra also plays Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 in G minor, Opus 135 and is joined by vocal soloists Morris Robinson and Tatiana Monogarova. $20-$79. 8 nightly. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
ASO: King Tribute Concert. FRIDAY ONLY. The Atlanta Symphony honors the dreams and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with a concert marking his birthday, and featuring music director Robert Spano, assistant conductor Joseph Young and bass soloist Morris Robinson, the ASO’s artist-in-residence. $20-$35. 8 p.m. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
Home Brew Series: Red Summer. SATURDAY ONLY. Atlanta playwright Theroun Patterson’s drama begins in the summer of 1919, when a young black teenager steps on the sands of a white-only beach. Mistake or an act of defiance? What followed shaped the destinies of two families. The piece confronts two questions: What price must we pay to become a post-racial society? And can we ever truly make peace with the deepest of wounds? Patterson is the playwright behind such works as That Uganda Play and A Thousand Circlets. Home Brew is 7 Stages’ development reading series for metro artists. Free (fills up, come early). 2 p.m. 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Details HERE.
Still playing
Charley’s Aunt. THROUGH JAN. 24. Director David Crowe (Romeo and Juliet) trains his eye on this cross-dressing farce, a chestnut from 1892. The Georgia Ensemble Theatre cast promises good things, with Hugh Adams, Joanna Daniel, Scott DePoy, Stephanie Friedman, Rachel Garner, Charles Green, Steve Hudson and Joe Sykes. The story: Jack loves Kitty, and Charley loves Amy. But things are about to get complicated, and it requires a young man donning bloomers and a corset to set it straight. $26-$35. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 4 p.m. Jan. 16 + 23. Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.641.1260. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
As You Like It. THROUGH JAN 31. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Take a trip into Shakespeare’s enchanted woods, where Rosalind and Orlando pursue love in the most circuitous way. Pub menu and libations available. $15-$36. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 6:30 p.m. Sunday. New American Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.874.5299, Ext. 0. Discount gift certificates at PoshDealz.com.
Next week
ASO: Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. THURSDAY + SATURDAY. Missa solemnis has been a constant part of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus repertoire since the days of maestro Robert Shaw (1916-1999). This performance is, in part, a celebration of his legacy. Principal guest conductor Donald Runnicles is on the podium, joined by soloists Kim-Lillian Strebel (soprano), Stephanie Lauricella (mezzo-soprano), Shawn Mathey (tenor) and Brian Mulligan (baritone). $25-$94. 8 nightly. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
[AUDIO: SHAW AND THE ASO PERFORM MISSA SOLEMNIS]
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. BEGINS JAN. 20 | OPENS JAN. 23. The musical often considered Stephen Sondheim’s masterwork comes to Actor’s Express with Kevin Harry (Murder Ballad, Aurora’s Les Miserables) as Todd and Deborah Bowman (Serenbe’s A Streetcar Named Desire) as the scheming Mrs. Lovett. Revenge, murder, meat pies and macabre fun are all on the menu. Artistic director Freddie Ashley directs. This 1980 musical thriller won eight Tony awards, including best musical, best score, best actor (Len Cariou) and best actress (Angela Lansbury). Through Feb. 22. Director’s Rough Cut at 8 p.m. Jan. 20; previews 8 p.m. Jan. 21-22. $21-$40. At the King Plow Arts Center, 887 West Marietta St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
Coming up
Disgraced. PREVIEWS JAN. 27 | OPENS FEB. 3. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama, a Tony Award nominee for best play, the most-produced play in America this season and soon to be an HBO movie. American playwright Ayad Akhtar tells the story of a lawyer who’s rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his Muslim roots. When he and his wife host a dinner party, friendly conversation turns deeper and more dangerous. Post-show conversations follow most performances. Note: Contains profanity, extreme violence and adult themes. Recommended for ages 17 and up. $20-$95. Through Feb. 14. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. (no show at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 30). Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. Discount tickets for preview performances at PoshDealz.com.
[VIDEO: PLAYWRIGHT AYAD AKHTAR DISCUSSES HIS WORK]
I and You. OPENS JAN. 29 | THROUGH FEB. 21. Decatur-bred, San Francisco-based playwright Lauren Gunderson’s work is done throughout the country, and none has achieved the acclaim of this two-character drama about teenage classmates and the strange and transcendent connections between them. Winner of the 2014 Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association new play award. $20. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Harvel Lab, Aurora Theatre, 128 East Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, attached parking in city deck at 153 East Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222.
Moxie. PREVIEWS JAN. 28-29 | OPENS JAN. 30. World premiere. A Marine in Afghanistan connects with his son by crafting a handmade book. As the unfinished book journeys around the world, all who touch it are sparked to add their personal stories, contributing to its mystical force. The script by Atlanta playwrights Brian Kurlander and Lane Carlock was developed in part in the inaugural year of the Alliance Theatre’s Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab. The 11-member cast is led by Carolyn Cook and Bobby Labartino. At Theatrical Outfit. $20-$55. Through Feb. 21. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. Saturday (7:30 p.m. show only on opening night); and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.528.1500.
