Say hello to “Moby Dick” (Alliance) and the Capitol Steps (Rialto Center) and goodbye to “Anne Boleyn” (Synchronicity) and “Thurgood” (Outfit). Atlanta Opera’s “Seraglio” continues. Pictured above, from left: Jamie Abelson as Ishmael and Christopher Donahue as Ahab in “Moby Dick.” Photo by Liz Lauren.
** Indicates an Encore Atlanta fall season best bet
Recommended
** Anne Boleyn. CLOSES SUNDAY. Regional premiere. Synchronicity Theatre stages a “fresh take on a familiar tale of romance, betrayal and political intrigue.” Devout as she is ambitious, Anne deftly navigates courtly love, lust and lies in this revisionist history. Keeping her head is a different matter. Richard Garner directs. Brooke Owens is Anne Boleyn, Brian Hatch doubles as Henry VIII and James I. $15-$50. 8 tonight-Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. Synchronicity Theatre at Peachtree Pointe, 1545 Peachtree St. NE. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.484.8636.
[ENCORE SNAPSHOT: MEET BRIAN HATCH, THE RULER OF 2 KINGS]
** Freed Spirits. THROUGH OCT. 30. A world premiere by Atlanta-based playwright Daryl Lisa Fazio about a freak tornado that cuts through Atlanta’s historic Oakland Cemetery, exposing buried clues and evoking eerie sightings. With Suehyla El-Attar and Bryn Striepe. At Horizon Theatre. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 + 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. 1083 Austin Ave. NE (at Euclid Avenue). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450.
[ENCORE SNAPSHOT: MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT BEHIND THIS CEMETERY CAPER]
The Ghastly Dreadfuls. THROUGH OCT. 29. Something for grown-ups at the Center for Puppetry Arts. This seasonal spooktacular by master storytellers Jon Ludwig and Jason Hines turns 10 as its almost-humans and various puppets portray a motley band of specters celebrating Halloween with creepy stories, frightful songs and devilish dances. For ages 18+. $25. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. 1404 Spring St. NW. Details HERE. Tickets HERE or at 404.873.3391.
** Moby Dick. IN PREVIEWS | OPENS OCT. 19. The Alliance Theatre presents Lookingglass Theatre’s high-flying adaptation of Herman Melville’s 1851 novel. Bold trapeze and acrobatic work turn this seafaring American classic into a gravity-defying experiment in aerial storytelling. You might recall Chicago’s Lookingglass from its 2010 Alliance visit with Lookingglass Alice. $20+. Through Oct. 30. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 + 7:30 p.m. Sunday (no 2:30 p.m. show Oct. 15; no 7:30 p.m. show Oct. 30). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
[READ MORE: HOW THIS WHALE OF A TALE CAME TO BE]
This weekend only
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. TONIGHT + SATURDAY. The first concert in the ASO’s Modern Masters series, which focuses on work created in the last century. It features John Adams’ Lollapalooza, George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F and Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3. Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin makes his ASO debut on the Gershwin. American conductor Hugh Wolff, music director of the Belgium National Orchestra, is on the podium. $20-$49. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. NE. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
The Capitol Steps: What to Expect When You’re Electing. 8 P.M. SATURDAY. The D.C.-based funsters return to Georgia State’s Rialto Center for the Arts with satire, silliness and pointed humor in song, dance and sketch comedy. Of the 35-year-old troupe, The New York Times says: “Those who complain that politicians and government are good for nothing are wrong. Capitol Steps … makes clear that more often than not, they’re good for a laugh.” $39-$74. 80 Forsyth St. NW. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.413.9849.
Last chance
The Abduction From the Seraglio. CLOSES SUNDAY. Atlanta Opera‘s 37th season-opener is Mozart’s comic stew of Turks, sex and farce. Kevin Burdette (the Pirate King in last season’s Pirates of Penzance) returns to play the evil Osmin. $25-$140. 8 p.m. Friday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.881.8885. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
[THE ‘WHY’ BEHIND MOZART’S EARLY FARCE]
Atlanta Black Theatre Festival. CLOSES SATURDAY. This five-year-old event features full-length performances (more than 25), educational workshops, celebrity panels and a readers’ theater series. Most are at Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center; check the online schedule for other venues. Some events are free; others begin at $7. Porter Sanford is at 3181 Rainbow Drive in Decatur. Details, tickets HERE.
Thurgood. CLOSES SUNDAY. Geoffrey D. Williams is Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. This one-man show at Theatrical Outfit follows Marshall from back-alley Baltimore to Howard University, from his fight for equality in the South to a seat on the highest court in the land. Eric J. Little directs. $20-$50. 7:30 tonight-Friday; 2:30 + 7 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 100 Luckie St. NW. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.528.1500.
Still running
As You Like It. THROUGH OCT. 29. New York’s Folding Chair Classical Theatre brings its all-female production to 7 Stages, with the help of Atlanta’s Celtic-themed company Arís! Folding Chair features a signature, fast-paced, text-based minimalist style. Here, seven actors in an empty space play 21 characters using Shakespeare’s words, their bodies and their voices to conjure the tale of love, death, sex, loyalty and betrayal. $18 plus fees. 8 tonight-Friday, Oct. 26-28; 2 + 8 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. Oct. 19-21 + 29; and 2 p.m. Oct. 22. 7 Stages Back Stage, 1105 Euclid Ave. NE. Details HERE. Tickets HERE.
Democracy Achieved. THROUGH NOV. 5. Dig into campaign season the Dad’s Garage way with a scripted sketch comedy that’s an “ode to the perfection of American politics.” What to expect? The unexpected, plus a Joe Biden Dos Equis commercial, brief Atlanta Street Car sketches, and Trump and Hillary. Written by Linnea Frye, Kevin Gillese, Matt Horgan and Mark Kendall. $12.50-$20.50 (you save if you buy online). 8 nightly. 569 Ezzard St. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.3141.
The Sleepy Hollow Experience. THROUGH NOV. 6. Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones and the Headless Horseman gallop through Serenbe Playhouse for a fourth season of ghoulishly good fun amid the trees and shadows. Note: This is a traveling performance without seating, but chairs can be provided by request through the box office. $20-$30. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday + Sunday; 8 + 10:30 p.m. Friday; 8 + 10:30 p.m. Saturday. The Horseman’s Meadow at Serenbe, 10950 Hutchesons Ferry Road, Chattahoochee Hills. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.463.1110. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
Women in Jeopardy. THROUGH OCT. 23. Southeastern premiere. Aurora Theatre brings Wendy MacLeod’s flirtatious 2015 comedy to life, a piece that follows two middle-aged women who trade wineglasses for spyglasses. $20-$55. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. $16 + up for 10 a.m. show Oct. 19. 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free, covered, attached parking in city of Lawrenceville deck at 153 E. Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222.
Next week
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. OCT. 20-23. Conductor-composer-violinist Joseph Swensen joins the orchestra on Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, and Assistant Conductor Joseph Young leads the orchestra in James Lee III’s Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula and Dvořák’s “From the New World” Symphony. $20-$79. 8 nightly. Note: The Casual Fridays concert ($25 all seats) begins at 6:30 p.m. and features only the Barber and Dvořák. Symphony Hall, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. NE. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
