WELCOME TO OUR weekly curated column. Feature photos: Ben Levi Ross as Evan Hansen and the Company of the First North American Tour of Dear Evan Hansen, coming to the Fox Theatre next week. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Last chance
Pipeline. Through April 21. Horizon Theatre. Nya Joseph is a dedicated, inner-city public high school teacher who is committed to her students’ achievement, while she sends her only son, Omari, to a private boarding school. When Omari is threatened with expulsion from his school after being involved in an incident, Nya is forced to reconcile her own decisions with their impact on Omari, wrestle with the public and private school systems, any rally to support her son. The play was written by Dominique Morisseau – a MacArthur Foundation Fellow and playwright of True Colors Theatre Company’s recent Skeleton Crew – who aims to shed light on broken systems and hardships that affect life in urban African-American communities across various eras. Tickets and info on Horizon Theatre’s website.
Coming next week
Shakespeare’s Birthday Party & Measure for Measure. April 23. Shakespeare on Draught at Orpheus Brewing. It’s the Bard’s birthday! Join Shakespeare on Draught for a night of birthday festivities and one of their signature delightfully under-rehearsed performances. Hosted as usual by Orpheus Brewing, Shakespearean birthday festivities will begin at 7:00pm and the show will start at 8:00pm. No tickets – but pay-what-you-can donations are always appreciated! More information on the Shakespeare on Draught website.
Dear Evan Hansen. April 23 – 28. Broadway in Atlanta @ Fox Theatre. A letter that was never meant to be seen changes the life of Evan Hansen in this contemporary and touching musical. Evan, a high school student who experiences anxiety and depression, seeks connectedness in a fast-paced, social media-driven world. His desire for friendship and belonging allow an accidental lie to grow into something Evan could not have foreseen. The show’s music and lyrics are by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the team behind the music of La La Land and The Greatest Showman, and the book is by Steven Levenson. Dear Evan Hansen premiered in Washington, D.C. in 2015, played Off-Broadway in May 2016, and officially opened on Broadway in December 2016. Each iteration of the production has been nominated for and won multiple awards, including Helen Hayes Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards, Obie Awards, Grammy Awards, and Tony Awards, including wins for Best Musical and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Tickets and info on the Fox Theatre website.
One more week
Approval Junkie. Through April 28. Alliance Theatre. Faith Salie has returned home to Georgia to perform this stage adaptation of her memoir – a collection of thoughtfully irreverent and honest essays. Salie shares heartfelt and hilarious stories that look back on a lifetime of searching for validation, from winning her high school beauty pageant to picking the perfect outfit to wear to her divorce. When not performing on stage, Salie is a comedian and Emmy Award-winning journalist best known for her roles on NPR’s “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” and CBS News Sunday Morning. In this witty, candid, and sometimes heartbreaking performance, Salie’s descriptions of looking for approval in all the wrong places ultimately reveals how she finally pleased her toughest critic – herself. Info on the Alliance Theatre website. Discount tickets on PoshDealz.com.
Falsettos. Through April 28. Actor’s Express. Falsettos is a musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The show consists of March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, the last two installments in one trio of one-act Off-Broadway musicals. When Marvin leaves Trina, his wife, for a young man named Whizzer, the pair and their precocious son work to salvage both their family ties and the plans for their son’s bar mitzvah. Included in the mix are a lovesick psychiatrist and the two lesbians next door. These characters navigate both happiness and heartbreak in this unique and touching musical. The show has its Broadway premiere in 1992 and was revived in 2016. Tickets and info on the Actor’s Express website.
Save the date
The Secretaries. Runs May 2 – 18. Out Front Theatre Company. In the guise of satiric exploitation-horror, the all-female cast of The Secretaries takes an unflinching look at the warping cultural expectations of femininity. Pretty Patty Johnson is thrilled to join the secretarial pool at the Cooney Lumber Mill under the iron-fisted leadership of sultry office manager Susan Curtis. But she soon begins to feel that all is not right—the enforced diet of Slim-Fast shakes, the strange clicking language between the girls, the monthly disappearance of a lumberjack. By the time Patty discovers murder is part of these office killers’ skill set, it’s too late to turn back! Tickets and info on the Out Front Theatre Company Website.
Billy Elliot. Runs May 3 – 12. City Springs Theatre Company @ Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. Based on the hit film and featuring a score by legend Elton John, Billy Elliot the Musical is the inspirational story of a young boy’s struggle against the odds to make his dream come true. Billy journeys from the boxing ring to ballet class where his passion for dance is ignited, inspiring both his family and community and changing their lives forever. Set in a northern English mining town against the background of the 1984 miners’ strike, Billy Elliot the Musical uplifts with its powerful storyline, rousing score, and sensational choreography. Info on the City Springs Theatre Company website. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.
