WELCOME TO OUR weekly curated column. Feature photo: Experience Slavic Delights at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra this weekend.
This weekend only
Slavic Delights. March 7 and 9. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Guest conductor Henrik Nanasi returns to Symphony Hall to lead the Orchestra in a program of Slavic delights, concluding with Tchaikovsky’s towering “Fate” Symphony No. 4. Henrik Nánási has been General Music Director of the Komische Oper Berlin since 2012. Julius Conus’ lush and romantic Violin Concerto performed by the ASO’s own David Coucheron. The program concludes with Tchaikovsky’s towering “Fate” Symphony No. 4. Tickets and info on the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra website.
Eugene Onegin. Runs March 2 – March 10. The Atlanta Opera @ Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. What if..? Everyone has regrets, or those “what if” moments. How different would life be had you chosen another path, the road not taken? Tchaikovsky explores this theme of love lost, found, and the one that got away in the lush, romantic, and beautifully Russian opera Eugene Onegin. This new production takes its cues from the poet Robert Frost and the musical language of Pushkin’s novel, telling the story of a brash young man who makes bold statements and bolder mistakes, only to find that perhaps happiness was in front of him the whole time. Tickets and info on The Atlanta Opera website.
Last chance
Skelton Crew. Through March 10. Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company @ Fulton County Southwest Arts Center. Written by Dominique Morisseau, a MacArthur Fellow, Skeleton Crew is part of The Detroit Project trilogy. This three-play series examines the sociopolitical history of Detroit at its cross-sections of race and policing, of labor and recession, of property ownership and gentrification. The Skeleton Crew explores the significance of work to workers and the threatening impact of layoffs. Set in 2008’s Great Recession, The Skeleton Crew follows factory workers at the last auto stamping plant in Detroit as rumors of their plant’s imminent closing begin to trigger anxiety and instability. The group, a strongly connected work family, must balance prioritizing their own well-being and need to survive with their sense of loyalty to each other. Tickets and info on the True Colors Theatre Company website.
Goodnight, Tyler. Through March 10. Hertz Stage @ Alliance Theatre. Join the Alliance Theatre at the world premiere of Goodnight, Tyler by B.J. Tindal. The winner of the 2019 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, Tindal’s show portrays Tyler’s friends and family reeling after their loved one’s death at the hands of a police officer. The show illuminates the characters’ different perceptions of the incident, and the complexity surrounding their varied reactions to the devastating news. Tyler tries desperately to control the narrative surrounding his death, haunting his friends in an attempt to express his desired legacy. While the show is often humorous, its overarching questions aren’t necessarily light – How will Tyler be remembered? And who will shape his legacy? Tickets and info on the Alliance Theatre website.
Opening this weekend
South Pacific. March 8 – March 17. City Springs Theatre Company @ Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. Join the City Springs Theatre Company for this 10-time Tony Award-winning classic! Love transcends the harsh realities of war and prejudice in this sweeping Pulitzer Prize-winning tale centered around two unlikely love affairs. Set on a tropical island during World War II, this timeless Rodgers and Hammerstein classic features some of the most beautiful music ever composed woven into an inspiring story cherished the world over. The beloved score’s songs include “Some Enchanted Evening,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” and “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame” amidst big, Broadway performances and a chorus of American sailors and Navy nurses ready to take you to Bali Ha’i. Tickets and info on the City Springs Theatre Company website.
Men with Money. Runs March 7 – April 7. Aurora Theatre. Set in 1950s New York, Men With Money is a subversive, Technicolor romp about three young men looking to find wealthy spouses. Louis, Max, and Sonny are charming, young, eligible. With two of them looking for husbands and the other looking for a wife, they may just have the charm and chutzpah to pull off their own rags to riches story. With book and lyrics by Bill Nelson, and music and additional lyrics by Joseph Trefler, this new musical is full of dreams, schemes, and lavish musical numbers. Tickets and info on the Aurora Theatre website.
Coming soon
Shenandoah. Runs March 13 – April 7. Serenbe Playhouse. Join Serenbe Playhouse for Shenandoah, the story of one Shenandoah Valley family’s struggle to survive the upheaval of the Civil War. Charlie Anderson, a pacifist widower and the family’s patriarch, cannot continue to avoid the war happening around him after his youngest son is taken prisoner. A story of heartbreak and hope, Shenandoah shows war-time turmoil and its all-too-common scars. Staring American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and X Factor finalist Rachel Potter, Serenbe Playhouse’s production will transport audiences to the rolling hills of Virginia and will include a full-fledged war reenactment with soldiers, horses, and canons. Tickets and info on the Serenbe Playhouse website.
I Am My Own Wife. Runs March 14 – March 30. Out Front Theatre Company. The Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning I Am My Own Wife is based on a true story, inspired by interviews conducted by the playwright over several years, and tells the fascinating tale of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a real-life German trans woman who managed to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime. Tickets and info on the Out Front Theatre Company website.
