If I could see anything this weekend, I’d take another ride through Washington with Horizon Theatre’s “The City of Conversation.” What’s in your cultural plans? “Significant Other” at Actor’s Express, perhaps, with (from left) Brittany Inge, Lee Osorio and Diany Rodriguez. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus
Recommended
Berlioz and Philip Glass. TONIGHT + SATURDAY. Toronto-born conductor Peter Oundjian leads a program featuring Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Opus 14, and Glass‘ Violin Concerto No. 2, The American Four Seasons. Glass composed the piece for violinist Robert McDuffie, who performs it here. $20-$89. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
The City of Conversation. THROUGH JUNE 26. The New York Times called this 2014 piece “smart, literate and funny,” and it is, indeed, all that. Anthony Giardina’s play follows the Washington, D.C., lives of one politically active family from the Carter years through Obama’s historic election. Justin Anderson directs a must-see Horizon Theatre cast: Deborah Bowman, Carolyn Cook, Allen Edwards, Rachel Garner, Chris Kayser, Tess Malis Kincaid, Joshua D. Mitchell and Justin Walker. $25 and up. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 + 8:30 p.m. Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday (no Saturday matinee June 4). 1083 Austin Ave. at Euclid Avenue. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450.
[MEET ‘CITY’ ANTAGONIST RACHEL GARNER IN THIS ENCORE SNAPSHOT]
Openings
The Merchant of Venice. PREVIEWS TONIGHT | OPENS FRIDAY. A lost fortune, a lover’s choice and one of the most powerful expressions of “the quality of mercy” in literature. Meet Portia, Bassanio and Shylock, the Jewish moneylender and one of Shakespeare’s most controversial characters, at the Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse. Full pub menu and bar. $20 tonight. Regularly $18-$35. Through June 19. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 6:30 p.m. Sunday. 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.5299.
Last chance
I’m Not Rappaport. CLOSES SUNDAY. Aurora Theatre ends its 2015/16 mainstage season with this gentle 1996 Tony Award-winning comedy about two old men who inhabit a bench in New York’s Central Park. Kenny Raskin and Rob Cleveland reprise the roles they played in younger days at Theatrical Outfit. Contains salty language and mature themes. $20-$55. 8 tonight-Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, attached parking in city deck at 153 Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222.
The Swan: An Ugly Duckling Tale. CLOSES SUNDAY. As told by Théâtre de Deux Mains of Montréal. A cygnet seeking his identity and his parents meets chickens, a snowy owl and ducks as he gets closer to his goal. Told with rod and marionette puppets. For ages 2-5. $20.50. 10 a.m. + noon 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.
Still playing
The 39 Steps. THROUGH JUNE 12. Playwright Patrick Barlow mixes Hitchcock and Monty Python in this 2005 comic whodunit that features a plane crash, missing fingers, romance and a handful of actors playing more than 150 characters, At Stage Door Players. Cast: Stephanie Friedman, Tony Larkin, John Markowski and Jacob York. $15-$30. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.396.1726.
Charlotte’s Web. THROUGH JULY 31. Best friends Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider tell truths about life, death and harsh realities in this staging based on E.B. White‘s famous children’s book.. At Serenbe Playhouse, where the action unfolds outdoors, real animals keep you company, and a cast of six plays live folk music. Performed rain or shine. $20; $14 students + senior citizens; $10 age 12 + under. 11 a.m. Friday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. The Animal Village in Serenbe, 10950 Hutchesons Ferry Road in Chattahoochee Hills. Details, directions, tickets HERE or at 770.463.1110. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
Pancakes, Pancakes! THROUGH JULY 10. A world premiere with original music inspired by the picture book by Eric Carle. Pancakes, Pancakes! explores the process of cooking and celebrates the joy in the labor and the final feast. Adaptation by Kenneth Lin (Alliance Theatre’s Warrior Class, said Saïd), with original songs by Atlanta playwright/composer Phillip DePoy (Edward Foote). $15; $8 age 6-17; under 5 free. 10 + 11:45 a.m. today; and 7 p.m. Friday. Performances become more frequent beginning June 11. Staged by the Alliance Theatre in conjunction with the High Museum of Art exhibit I See a Story: The Art of Eric Carle, running through Jan. 8. Hertz Stage, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
[LEARN MORE ABOUT CARLE AND ‘PANCAKES, PANCAKES!]
Significant Other. THROUGH JUNE 19. In this script by Joshua Harmon (last season’s Bad Jews), a man named Jordan is looking for Mr. Right. As each close-knit girlfriend couples off, he moves from best friend to lonely friend, searching for love and learning to move on. The funny-sad comedy, which closes the Actor’s Express season, had its world premiere in New York last summer, becoming a New York Times critic’s pick. $26 and up. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. King Plow Arts Center in West Midtown, 887 W. Marietta St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
Next week
ASO Season Finale. JUNE 9, 11-12. Music director Robert Spano returns to the podium for an all-Brahms closure to the 2015/16 classical season. It features André Watts on Piano Concerto No. 2 followed by the quite different Symphony No. 2. $25-$94. 8 tonight + Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
The Toxic Avenger. JUNE 9-12. Horizon Theatre reprises its version of the campy off-Broadway musical in the open air at Piedmont Park. It’s about an unlikely hero, his girlfriend, a corrupt New Jersey mayor and two guys who play everything from bullies and mobsters to old ladies and stiletto-wearing backup singers. Not appropriate for children. General admission is free; reserved seating (closer to stage) is $15; table seats are $35; private table for six is $200. 7:30 nightly. The Promenade at the north end of Piedmont Park, near the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450.
Just ahead
One-Minute Play Festival. JUNE 12-13. Twelve directors, dozens of actors and more than 50 original short plays. This wild, unpredictable national event comes to Atlanta for a fifth season, intending to take the city’s temperature and create locally sourced playwright-focused community events that promote the spirit of “radical inclusion.” It was created and is curated by New York-based producing artistic director Dominic D’Andrea. Atlanta is one of more than 20 cities with annual events. Among this year’s playwrights are Margaret Baldwin, Megan Hayes, Matt Myers, Amina S. McIntyre, Addae Moon, Lee Nowell, Theroun Patterson, Topher Payne and Steve Yockey. $12. 8 nightly. Actor’s Express, King Plow Arts Center in West Midtown, 887 W. Marietta St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469.
