Happy Thanksgiving from Encore Atlanta! Looking for something cultural to do this holiday week and maybe even beyond? Here are our recommendations (in alphabetical order). Pictured: Chris Kayser as cranky Ebenezer Scrooge, with Tiny Tim. Photo: Alliance Theatre.
Aurora’s Christmas Canteen 2012. The Lawrenceville playhouse stages its 17th annual nostaglic revue with a cast of six (Brandon O’Dell, Jevares C. Myrick, Eric Moore, Courtney Godwin, Taryn Bryant and Kathryn Berrong) and a swinging band led my music director Ann-Carol Pence. Opens Friday. Through Dec. 23. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday (no show Nov. 28); 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. $30-$40. Aurora Theatre, 128 Pike St., Lawrenceville (free parking in attached garage at 153 W. Crogan St.). Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222.
A Christmas Carol. God bless us, everyone. Celebrate with some of Atlanta’s best actors via the Alliance Theatre‘s annual gift. You know the story: miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, the poor Cratchit family, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. This staging features beautiful caroling, sumptuous sets and levitating characters. Begins previews Friday (no 7:30 p.m. show Nov. 25). Opens Nov. 29 and runs through Dec. 23. 7 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. $21-$60. Alliance Mainstage, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000. For discounts, vist PoshDealz.com.
The Mountaintop. True Colors Theatre Company presents the regional premiere of this Katori Hall drama directed on Broadway by Kenny Leon. Jasmine Guy directs here. The piece re-imagines events the night before the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. Danny Johnson (the Alliance Theatre’s recent What I Learned in Paris), plays King. Demetria McKinney is Camae. The Broadway production received mixed reviews with a thumb’s up from Newsday and The Associated Press and a thumb’s down from The New York Times, BackStage and AM New York (read more HERE). You be the judge. Note: Contains adult language and onstage smoking. Through Dec. 16. No show Thanksgiving Day or Friday. Additional shows at 6 p.m. Sunday and 11 a.m. Nov. 28. Otherwise 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. $20-$60. Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road S.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 1.877.725.8849.
Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas. Yes, the wacky Nunsense universe includes a Christmas spectacular. The conceit: The Little Sisters of Hoboken present the first TV special taped in the cable-access studio the Reverend Mother had built in the convent basement. Sister Mary Leo, Sister Mary Amnesia, Sister Robert Anne and Co. are joined by Father Virgil and four talented students to celebrate the holiest of holidays as only they can — with un-saintly humor, original tunes and a Secret Santa audience participation. Opens Friday. Through Dec. 22. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and 3 p.m. Sunday. $12-$20 in advance; $15-$23 at the door. OnStage Atlanta, 2597 North Decatur Road. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.897.1802. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This Center for Puppetry Arts holiday entry is based on the classic — and I do mean CLASSIC — 1964 stop-motion animated special about Rudolph and his misfit friends. Catch up with Yukon Cornelius, Hermey the elf (and would-be dentist), Charlie-in-the-Box and the Bumble. Adapted and directed by Jon Ludwig. Various times through Jan. 6. No show Thanksgiving Day. $13.25-$20.50; age 2 and under free. 1404 Spring St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.873.3391. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com.
The Santaland Diaries. OPENING WEEKEND. Want a little snark with your Santa? Look no further than Horizon Theatre Company‘s Santaland Diaries, featuring Crumpet (Harold Leaver, left), a rebel without a, uh, Clause. This David Sedaris-penned piece — returning for its 14th season — tells the true-life tale of an out-of-work writer who spent one unhappy holiday season as a Macy’s department store elf. Note: Contains mature language and situations. Please don’t bring the kids! Opens Friday. Through Dec. 30 (no shows Nov. 27 or Dec. 24). 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 6 p.m. Sunday. Additional show at 8 p.m. Dec. 24. $25-$40. 1083 Austin Ave. N.E. (at Euclid Avenue). Details, tickets HERE. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com.
The Summer of Daisy Fay. FINAL WEEK. The new Marietta Theatre company (in the former Theatre in the Square space) opens for business with this semi-autobiographical one-character comedy about a young girl coming-of-age in 1950s Mississippi. It’s based on the novel Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg and features Veronika Duerr as Daisy, a role she performed to much applause at Actor’s Express in 2011. AJC reviewer Wendell Brock calls Duerr “an irrepressible comedic wunderkind.” 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. No Thanksgiving Day show. $20. 11 Whitlock Ave., Marietta. Details HERE. Tickets at 470.255.0074.
Titus Andronicus. FINAL WEEK. Shakespeare’s first and, perhaps, bloodiest tragedy, follows the ancient Roman’s descent into madness, revenge and redemption. (Grab a pint from the bar and hold onto your seats!) This New American Shakespeare Tavern staging features Maurice Ralston in the title role. Through Nov. 25. 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. $15-$36. 499 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com.
Wolves. WORLD PREMIERE. This savagely funny fairy tale for grown-ups tells the story of a timid young city dweller who freaks out when his roommate brings home someone, who may or may not be a wolf. Melissa Foulger directs this Actor’s Express staging. The script comes from the wild imagination of playwright Steve Yockey (Octopus), a former Atlantan now living and working in Los Angeles. The first-rate cast: Brian Crawford, Kate Donadio, Clifton Guterman in a tour de force (right), and Joe Sykes. The critics: “At a brisk 70 minutes, Wolves is the rare production that I wish were longer” (Curt Holman, Creative Loafing); “Smart, funny, dark contemporary theater that has found a good home at Actor’s Express” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com); “A prime example of what theater should be: bold, provocative and deep” (Kenny Norton, AtlantaTheaterFans.com). Through Dec. 2 (no Thanksgiving Day show). 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. $22-$45 and least expensive when purchased online. King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St. Details, tickets HERE or via human at 404.607.7469. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com. Learn more about Guterman, who plays the ax-wielding Ben, in this ENCORE SNAPSHOT.
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Kathy Janich, Encore Atlanta’s managing editor, has been seeing, covering or working in the performing arts for most of her life. Please email: [email protected].
