Stacy Melich (left) as real-life French playwright Olympe De Gouge and Park Krausen as Marie Antoinette. Photo: Stungun Photography

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. When you take your spring fling into the dark this weekend, allow us to recommend Lauren Gunderson’s “The Revol-utionists” at 7 Stages; the family-friendly “Fancy Nancy the Musical” at Synch-ronicity Theatre; and Atlanta Ballet’s wide-ranging “20/20: Visionary.” Pictured: Stacy Melich (left) as real-life French reformer and writer Olympe de Gouges and Park Krausen as Marie Antoinette. Photo: Stungun Photography.

Recommended

20/20: Visionary. THIS WEEKEND ONLY. Atlanta Ballet presents a mash-up of cultures and styles reflected in Atlanta’s vibrant diversity. The program features Boiling Point, a fast-paced, athletic piece by Darrell Grand Moultrie; the world premiere of Playground by British choreographer Douglas Lee; and Home in 7, an emotionally charged exploration of Atlanta that touches on darker stories of the past, Southern belles and baseball. It was created by choreographer Amy Seiwert, spoken-word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph and composer-musician Daniel Bernard Roumain. $25 + up. 8 p.m. Friday; 2 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.892.3303.

[VIDEO: A SNEAK PEEK AT “20/20: VISIONARY”]

"Home in 7," with dancers p. Gamino, Tara Lee and xxxxx>
“Home in 7,” with dancers Brandon Nguyen, Tara Lee and Jordan Leeper. Photo: Charlie McCullers

 

Sterling McClary, Ashley Anderson. Photo: BreeAnne Clowdus
Sterling McClary, Ashley Anderson. Photo: BreeAnne Clowdus

Fancy Nancy the Musical. CLOSES SATURDAY. A clever family musical based on the popular book series. Nancy and her best friend Bree can’t wait to be mermaids in the school ballet, but when they get other roles, Nancy wonders if she can stay truly fancy. $15-$30. 7:30 p.m. Friday; and 1 + 4 p.m. Saturday. Synchronicity Theatre, 1545 Peachtree St. N.E. (in the Peachtree Pointe building). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.484.8636.

The Revolutionists. CLOSES SUNDAY. Attention must be paid to any script by Decatur-born, San Francisco-based playwright Lauren Gunderson, and so it is with this 7 Stages comedy, yes, comedy. Revisit 1793 Paris, during the Reign of Terror, where four dynamic Frenchwomen tackle gender inequality, racial tension and rising  radicalism while facing the guillotine and writing a play of their own. Cast: Rachel Frawley, Stacy Melich, Parris Sarter and Park Krausen, as Marie Antoinette. Heidi S. Howard directs. $22.50. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 1 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.7647. 

[VIDEO: “THE REVOLUTIONISTS” TRAILER]

Last chance

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. CLOSES SUNDAY. Tess Malis Kincaid (the White Witch) and Enoch King (Aslan) lead a nine-member Alliance Theatre cast in a family-friendly, one-act staging of the famous C.S. Lewis story about siblings who journey through a wardrobe and into the magical land of Narnia. $20 children; $35 adults. 1 + 3:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Alliance Theatre mainstage, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.

[READ: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED IN THIS NARNIA]

This weekend only

King
King

Tapestry: The Carole King Songbook. FRIDAY-SATURDAY. Broadway’s Liz Callaway (Baby, Miss Saigon, Cats) headlines two nights of concerts celebrating iconic singer-songwriter Carole King. With vocalists Allison Blackwell (opera, gospel, Broadway) and Bryce Ryness (Miss Trunchbull in the first national tour of Matilda the Musical), plus the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra led by principal pops conductor Michael Krajewski. 8 nightly. $20-$65. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets (via Ticketmaster) HERE. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.

[VIDEO: LIZ CALLAWAY SINGS WITH THE BOSTON POPS]

Still playing

Galapagos George and a friend. Photo: Warren Johnson
Galapagos George and a friend. Photo: Warren Johnson

Galapagos George, the Little Tortoise. THROUGH APRIL 3. This eco-fable by Barefoot Puppets of Richmond, Va., tells the true story of a not-so-little tortoise named George, who’s the last of his kind. With rod, shadow and tabletop puppets. For ages 4 and up. $20.50. 10 + 11:30 a.m. Tuesday-Friday; 11 a.m., 1 p.m. + 3 p.m. Saturday; 1 + 3 p.m. Sunday. No show March 27. Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. N.W. (at 18th Street). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.873.3391.

Into the Woods. THROUGH APRIL 17. Atlanta’s season of Sondheim continues at Aurora Theatre with this award-winning musical (three Tonys, five Drama Desk awards), a collection of fractured fairy tales that explores what happens after “happily ever after.” Caroline Arapoglou (Rapunzel), Natasha Drena (the Witch), Brandon O’Dell (the Baker) and Wendy Melkonian (the Baker’s Wife) lead a 20-person cast. Not for children. Selling fast. 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, attached parking in city deck at 153 E. Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.

The "Into the Woods" cast. Photo: Chris Bartelski
The “Into the Woods” cast. Photo: Chris Bartelski

 

Laura_and_MattMuch Ado About Nothing. THROUGH MARCH 26. Confirmed bachelor Benedick and the independent Beatrice engage in Shakespeare’s second-most-famous battle of the sexes. Matt Nitchie and Laura Cole play B+B in this iteration. Pub menu, brews and a full bar available. Also apple crisp. $30. 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. (Pictured: Nitchie and Cole)

Next week

EthelEthel. PREVIEWS BEGIN MARCH 25 | OPENS MARCH 30. A one-woman glimpse into the magnificent and complicated life of legendary stage and film star Ethel Waters (“Stormy Weather,” Cabin in the Sky, The Member of the Wedding), written and performed by Atlanta-based actor Terry Burrell (Broadway’s original Dreamgirls, Threepenny Opera, Into the Woods, Thoroughly Modern Millie). Profanity, adult situations. For ages 11 + up. Through April 17. $20-$39. Hertz Stage, Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733-5000.

Coming up

serial-bf-200Serial Black Face. PREVIEWS START MARCH 30 | OPENS APRIL 2. A world premiere from Janine Nabers, whose script won the 2014 Yale Drama Series, besting more than 1,600 entries from 41 countries. In 1979, Atlanta is a city with 23 missing children. A single mother copes with the disappearance of her son while trying to give her teenage daughter a fresh start. Then love walks in. At Actor’s Express, with artistic director Freddie Ashley directing. Through April 24. $20-$40. 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.

sexwithstrangers-squareSex With Strangers. OPENS APRIL 1 | THROUGH MAY 1. Playwright Laura Eason’s comedy about fame, cyber-identity and ambition is a contemporary romantic dram-com about a 24-year-old scenester who blogs about his sexcapades and meets a 30-year-old failed writer at a Michigan retreat. The 2011 piece is one of the Top 10 most-produced plays of the 2015-16 season in American regional theaters. The two-person cast features Megan Hayes (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) a longtime Atlanta actor-writer now based in Los Angeles, and Florida’s Michael Shenefelt. $25 and up. At Horizon Theatre, 1083 Austin Ave. N.E. (at Euclid Avenue). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450.

About Kathy Janich

Kathy Janich is a longtime arts journalist who has been seeing, working in or writing about the performing arts for most of her life. She's a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, Americans for the Arts and the National Arts Marketing Project. Full disclosure: She’s also an artistic associate at Synchronicity Theatre.

View all posts by Kathy Janich