It may be cold outside, but Atlanta’s winter arts season is as hot as can be. Run to the Alliance’s “Disgraced” (ending Sunday), and don’t let Aurora close the book on “I and You” without seeing why Decatur-born playwright Lauren Gunderson is making headlines. Above (from left): Tinashe Kajese, Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte, Courtney Patterson, Andrew Benator in “Disgraced.” Photo: Greg Mooney.
Recommended
Disgraced. CLOSES SUNDAY. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama, a Tony Award best-play nominee, the most-produced play in America this season and soon an HBO movie. American playwright Ayad Akhtar tells the story of a lawyer who’s climbing the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his Muslim roots. When he and his wife host a dinner party, friendly conversation turns his world upside down. Post-show conversations follow most performances. Contains profanity, extreme violence and adult themes. For ages 17 and up. $20-$95. 7:30 tonight; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. For more, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
[VIDEO: PLAYWRIGHT AYAD AKHTAR DISCUSSES HIS WORK]
I and You. THROUGH FEB. 21. None of Decatur-bred, San Francisco-based playwright Lauren Gunderson’s considerable works have achieved the acclaim of this award-winning two-character drama about teenage classmates and the strange, transcendent connection between them. $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.
[VIDEO: GUNDERSON ON “I AND YOU”]
Moxie. THROUGH FEB. 28. This world premiere is a big deal. The script, by Atlanta playwrights Lane Carlock and Brian Kurlander, was developed in part in the first year of the Alliance Theatre’s Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab. The story: A Marine in Afghanistan connects with his son by crafting a handmade book. As the unfinished book travels the world, it picks up more stories and a mystical force. At Theatrical Outfit. $20-$55. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.528.1500. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. THROUGH FEB. 28. Kevin Harry is the main reason to see Actor’s Express‘ version of Stephen Sondheim’s dark musical. Harry (AE’s Murder Ballad, Aurora’s Les Miserables) plays the barber bent on revenge with a baritone made of iron-fisted velvet. Deborah Bowman (Serenbe’s A Streetcar Named Desire) is his Mrs. Lovett, a scheming partner in crime and the making of meat pies. Benjamin Davis makes a wonderful lovesick Anthony. $21-$40. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Selling out, so plan ahead. At the King Plow Arts Center, 887 West Marietta St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469.
Special event
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. CLOSES TUESDAY. The biggest film festival in metro Atlanta — and the largest Jewish film festival in the United States — presents a mix of features, documentaries and shorts screening at eight metro locations. Among this week’s highlights: Atomic Falafel (2015, 93 mins), in which the next generation squares off against old-guard military hardliners to prevent a Middle East nuclear crisis. The farce skewers the current Israel-Iran showdown. See it Wednesday at 1:35 p.m. (UA Tara Cinemas) and 6:40 p.m. (Lefont Sandy Springs). $9-$13 for single films, $18 for special events via the AJFF website or the box office at 678.701.6104. Phone orders include a $2.50 fee. Details, daily schedules and more HERE.
Opening this weekend
American Buffalo. PREVIEWS TONIGHT | OPENS FRIDAY. Three small-time criminals pull off a big-time heist in this oft-produced play by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross). Neal A. Ghant (Race, the Alliance’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) leads the True Colors Theatre cast and is joined by G. Valmont Thomas and Garrett Gray. The scathing drama, first produced on Broadway in 1977, has since been revived twice (1983, 2008). Adult language; for ages 15 and up. $15-$60. Through March 6. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 11 a.m. Feb. 17. Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road. Details HERE. Tickets HERE or at 877.725.8849 (Ticket Alternative).
This weekend only
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. THROUGH SUNDAY. The 58-year-old company makes its annual visit to the Fox Theatre with performances featuring two works by artistic director Robert Battle. All audiences will see “Revelations,” the company’s signature piece. All audiences (except 8 p.m. Friday) will see either the world premiere of Battle’s “Awakening” or his Holocaust-themed “No Longer Silent.” $21.50-$66.50. 8 tonight-Friday; 2 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 3 p.m. Sunday. 660 Peachtree St. N.E. Details HERE. Tickets HERE or at 855.285.8499. For more on Ailey and Battle, see this ENCORE FEATURE.
A Valentine’s Romance. FRIDAY-SUNDAY. The Atlanta Symphony goes pops with guest artists John Pizzarelli (jazz guitarist / bandleader) and Jessica Molasky (vocalist and Broadway regular). They happen to be married. Expect tunes ranging from Nat “King” Cole, Frank Sinatra and the Gershwins, to Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Lennon and McCartney. If you haven’t seen them in concert, do yourself a favor. Single tickets $16.20-$43.74; deals available. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
Still playing
Moulin Rouge: The Ballet. CLOSES SATURDAY. Atlanta Ballet invites you to bohemian Paris, the spiritual birthplace of the squealing, skirt-flipping cancan and the most famous cabaret in history. Experience a tale of young love and rising stardom in this story ballet choreographed by Jorden Morris. $20-$127. 8 tonight-Saturday. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.892.3303. Discount tickets (tonight only) at PoshDealz.com.
The Toxic Avenger. THROUGH MARCH 13. Horizon Theatre presents off-Broadway’s 2008-09 Outer Critics Circle Award-winning rock musical, based on the 1984 superhero horror comedy movie. It features Nick Arapoglou — who’s been away from the stage too long — as our hero. Also in the cast: Leslie Bellair, Julissa Sabino and Michael Stiggers. $25 and up. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 + 8:30 p.m. Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. At Austin and Euclid avenues in Little Five Points/Inman Park. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450.
Next week
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. FEB. 18 + 20. Karen Gomyo plays Tchaikovsky’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Opus 35. Also on the program: Stravinsky’s Petrushka (1947 version) and Islamey, Opus 18, by Mily Balakirev. Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru is on the podium. $20-$89. Concerts at 8 p.m. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE at 404.733.5000.
