"The Lion, The Mouse & Other Aesop's Fables," by Red Herring Puppets of Fairview, N.C. is on the Center for Puppetry Arts 2010-11 series.

The Center for Puppetry Arts announced its 2010-11 season this week, one packed with family shows, a few not-for-kids shows, films and workshops. Some of the shows written locally by Jon Ludwig include “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”,”The Body Detective” and “Beauty & The Beast, and there are plenty of shows produced by other theaters, as well.

I’ve posted the list below, or you can see more details on the shows, times and prices.

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FAMILY SERIES
May 25-June 6: “Stellaluna” by Tears of Joy Theatre of Portland, Ore.
June 8-20: “The Lion, The Mouse & Other Aesop’s Fables,” by Red Herring Puppets of Fairview, N.C.
June 22-July 3: “Hansel & Gretel,” by Tanglewood Marionettes of Ware, Mass.
July 6-18: “Billy Goats Gruff and Other Stuff,” by All Hands Productions of Atlanta
July 20-Aug. 1: …

Continue reading Center for Puppetry Arts announces 2010-11 season »

Not so long ago, if someone had told me that Conan O’Brien was coming to the Fox Theatre, I would’ve thought, “Oh, that’s nice.” Guy is funny, sure, but we can see him most nights on TV.

Now that we can’t, though, expect tickets to his June 14 performance here to go quickly.

Read more about at Rodney Ho’s Radio TV Talk blog, or just hop in line — tickets are on sale now.

Want to go? Conan O’Brien performs. 8 p.m. June 14. $54.55-$98.75. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E. 404-881-2100, www.foxtheatre.org.

Continue reading Missing Conan O’Brien? He’s coming to the Fox June 14! »

"Spring Awakening" and all its teen angst is at the Fox Theatre through March 14.

A list of ways I will sort “Spring Awakening” into my memory:

• Musicals I’m unlikely to see performed by high school drama programs.
• Theater experience I don’t want share with anybody I’ve only just met.
• Conversely, theater experiences I don’t want to share with my dad.
• Musicals that address puberty and sex, but not like in, say, “Once Upon a Mattress,” where the young are comically naive, or even in “West Side Story,” where the young and naive are in love.
• Shows that use words I’m not allowed to type in this family-friendly blog in a musical way.
• Shows that include words like “labia majora” in the script.
• Shows that make me wonder, “Wait, which of those 1990s radio hits belonged to Duncan Sheik?”
• Shows where audience members laugh uncomfortably, hoot like high school kids, raise their eyebrows and mutter “Oh, hell no…” when two characters begin to kiss, and then stand on their feet to applaud at …

Continue reading What do you think of ‘Spring Awakening’ at the Fox? »

This is the last weekend of Synchronicity Theatre’s production of “Free To Be…You And Me,” and all the memories of the 1970s kiddie phenom came flooding back. (I was a child of the 1980s, but the material lasted.) Here’s a look back at “Free To Be…” in multimedia, including the stage show.

The book: “Free To Be…You And Me” by Marlo Thomas and friends appeared in 1972. A 35th anniversary edition was published in 2008. Here’s a sweet story by Cory Doctorow on Boing Boing about an extremely pleasant transaction over www.freetobeyouandme.com.

Free To Be, the album

The album: Here’s how I remember “Free To Be…You And Me”: Working on art projects in my third-grade classroom in Warren, Mich. — that was the year of the swirly, metallic Crayolas — with a record on in the background, when the teacher asked us to set everything down and really pay attention to the song “It’s All Right To Cry.” I didn’t know who (Georgia-born!) Rosey Grier was, and it would be years before I knew his name …

Continue reading ‘Free To Be…You And Me’ in books, music, TV and on stage »

Helena Bonham Carter is the Red Queen in the new "Alice in Wonderland" film.

I expect to see Disney’s new “Alice in Wonderland” film among the top moneymakers this weekend. The theater was packed when I saw a preview this week, the audience all too gleeful to put on 3D glasses, to sign and laugh at the right moments, to applaud at the end.

The film, which opens today, is a little of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” a little “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There,” a bit too much Disney and a lot Tim Burton. I have an extreme fondness for rabbits and loyal dogs, but the Red Queen is an unusually great villain. She’s evil in every way, but still worth our sympathy; she’s clearly hurt and insecure.  Unfortunately for everyone else, her only coping skill is beheading dissenters.

"Lookingglass Alice" opens at Alliance on March 31.

But that’s far from the only Alice you’ll see around Atlanta this month. Gwinnett Ballet Theatre will present the …

Continue reading ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in the movies, on Atlanta stages »

Free Georgia Shakespeare Shake at the Lake performances return to Piedmont Park in May with "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Here, a performance of "The Servant of Two Masters" by Goldoni. AJC file photo

After a year off because of funding cuts, Georgia Shakespeare’s popular Shake at the Lake performances will return to Piedmont Park in May.

The troupe will present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” beside Lake Clara Meer. Reported AJCer Howard Pousner:

The performances overlooking Lake Clara Meer were popular between 2004 and 2008, but funding cuts shelved them in 2009. Presenting sponsor Bank of America and several other supporters stepped forward this year.

Here are more photos of Shake at the Lake from 2008.

Did you miss Shake at the Lake last year? Will you head back this year? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Want to go? Georgia Shakespeare’s Shake at the Lake stages “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” 7:30 p.m. May 5-9. Free. Tickets distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis …

Continue reading Shake at the Lake returns to Piedmont Park in May »

Well, let’s just go ahead and say what’s not in the works at the Alliance Theatre for its 2010-11 season: a Stephen King-John Mellencamp musical called “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.” Indeed, such a thing exists, and theater hawks apparently were expecting it to be there, but no, it is not.

AJCer Howard Pousner goes into some detail in his story, “Surprises in Alliance Theatre 2010-2011 season announcement,” but I’ll just leave you with the juicy list of what will be on stage. Yes, there will be cheerleaders.

The Alliance Theatre’s 2010-11 season includes…

On the Alliance Stage:

• “The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years,” a world premiere by Pearl Cleage.
• “Bring It On: The Musical,” another world premiere, featuring the cheerleader movie title, but an original story.
• “August: Osage County,” a Tony winner for best play and Pulitzer winner for drama.
• Another show yet to be announced, but not “Ghost …

Continue reading Alliance Theatre season: yes cheerleaders, no Mellencamp »

This is a scene from the Broadway production of "Spring Awakening." You could be on stage for this when the show comes to the Fox in March. File photo

Strange as it sounds, the most affordable seat inside the Fox Theatre when “Spring Awakening” comes to town is the one on stage.

The Tony Award-winning show has incorporated audience members into seats on stage since its early days off Broadway. When “Spring Awakening” comes to Atlanta in March, you could be one of them for $25. The seats are available for purchase only in-person at the Fox Theatre Box Office in Midtown starting Feb. 23. The box office is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.

Of course, because you’re on stage, this is not the typical theater experience. Audience members with on-stage seats have to arrive a half-hour early, or they won’t be seated till after intermission. Personal belongings are stored in secured lockers because they can’t be taken on stage, and they’ll ask those …

Continue reading Tickets available next week to sit on stage during ‘Spring Awakening’ at the Fox Theatre on March 9-14 »

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will perform "Uptown" at Atlanta's Fox Theatre on Feb. 18. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will perform some attention-getting choreography at the Fox Theatre the next few days, including “Uptown,” a Harlem Renaissance love letter by long-time company member Matthew Rushing, “Dancing Spirit” a tribute 20 years with Alvin Ailey director Judith Jamison and “Best of 20 Years,” excerpts from nearly 100 ballet’s she has has commissioned during her tenure.

We’re lucky to have this show in town now, with the dance company propelled forward with the momentum of a Kennedy Center Opera House performance. A review in the Washington Post said the night went from giddy to focused with “Uptown”:

“Uptown” is what so many dance companies are yearning for these days: a work that unfurls a story, with vivid characters that tell us about themselves without the help of complicated program notes but solely — and significantly — in the way …

Continue reading Alvin Ailey dancers head ‘Uptown’ at the Fox Theatre »

gloATL dancers perform "Bloom" this weekend only at Lenox Square. AJC photos by Jamie Gumbrecht

I’ve gotten all gushy about gloATL before, and I’d do it again here, but instead, there are photos and video.

To summarize: it’s tremendously fun to show up in a place like Lenox Square and see people gathered around because they know something kind of crazy and different is happening, and they’re not sure what, but they’re willing to watch. I’ll bet the Starbucks and Great American Cookies near the stage did pretty well this weekend, too.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch the dance, from above and at the same level.

If you want to see, there’s another performance on Sunday.

Till then, here are some photos of the performance, and a video:

Want to go? “Bloom” performed by gloATL and presented by Flux Projects. 4 p.m. Feb. 14. Free. Outside Macy’s at Lenox Square, 3393 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-233-6767, www.fluxprojects.com.

This gloATL dancer exited the stage, but …

Continue reading PHOTOS & VIDEO: gloATL’s ‘Bloom’ at Lenox Square »