ON THE HORIZON
Check out these 14 arts highlights in the new year
Atlanta welcomes everything from Broadway to ballet to comedy in the next few months; there’s definitely something for everyone.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
The arts forecast for winter is mildly familiar (“A Chorus Line,” “Firebird”) with a high of nostalgia (the Pogues, Labelle) and a chance of unexpected avant-garde (Martijn van Wagtendonk). Here’s a look at what AJC critics are most eagerly anticipating in the coming months.
1. “Mauritius.” The sale of a priceless stamp creates a sticky situation and fast-paced suspense story. Georgia Shakespeare producing artistic director Richard Garner makes a rare stage turn, joining Atlanta favorite Chris Kayser in the new comedy by Theresa Rebeck. Actor’s Express. Jan. 22-Feb. 21.
Dana Edelson/NBC
British soul singer Adele (performing on ‘Saturday Night Live’) will perform March 17 at the Variety Playhouse.
2. “Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL.” Detroit gospel aficionado Louis St. Louis has re-envisioned the Andrew Lloyd Weber classic as a rollicking church pageant. Susan V. Booth directs what appears to be a perfect choice for Atlanta. Alliance Theatre. Jan. 14-Feb. 22.
3. “Welcome To Dreamland.” Peachtree TV has focused its cameras on recording artists Jermaine Dupri, Brutha and Monica, but we promise it has never seen a character like Jazze Pha. The producer, singer, rapper, songwriter and overall just fun guy to be around competes with fellow Atlanta production talent Drumma Boy to come up with Atlanta’s next hit act. And if this six-episode reality show in any way captures Jazze Phenzel (as he likes to call himself) at his finest, we can predict a winner right now: the viewers. Debuts Jan. 19.
4. “Martijn van Wagtendonk: Trickle Into a Lower Chamber.” If the snippets of previous work on YouTube are any indication, the UGA prof’s Atlanta debut will be a magical, kinetic experience. Expect water, light, mechanical parts and sculpture in the installation and visitor interaction. Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Feb. 7-March 21.
5. Labelle. Space-age soulful funk resurfaces some 32 years after Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash last stomped onto the stage in platform boots taller then Gene Simmons’, makeup as wild as his and his fellow Kiss band members’ and outfits tighter than Beyoncé’s. But most importantly, they could belt out harmonies (“Lady Marmalade,” “What Can You Do for Me”) as otherworldy as the singers looked. Atlanta Civic Center.
8 p.m. Feb. 14.
6. A Josef Haydn Orgy. To honor the bicentennial of Haydn’s death in 1809, the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra and conductor John Hsu — an acclaimed Haydn interpreter and scholar — delve into the composer’s witty symphonies. A few days later, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus offers Haydn’s late masterpiece “The Creation” in semi-staged performances designed by New York artist Anne Patterson. Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, 3 p.m. Feb. 22. ASO’s “The Creation,” Symphony Hall, 8 p.m. Feb. 26 and 28.
7. Black Lips. Atlanta’s garage-rocking psych-punk quartet comes home to celebrate the release of a new album, “200 Million Thousand,” coming out just three days before this gig. These guys are now an international sensation, but they’re still putting on the kind of rowdy, sweat-drenched shows that made the Atlanta kids fall in love with them. Variety Playhouse. 8:30 p.m. Feb. 27.
8. “A Chorus Line.” Some folks of a certain age grew up on Michael Bennett’s dark paean to the lure of Broadway, circa 1975. But for others, this high-energy confessional about the kicks and punches of the performing life is fresh for discovery. It will be nice to see the national tour flex its leggy muscles on the Fox Theatre stage. Broadway Across America-Atlanta. March 3-8.
9. The Pogues. The London-formed band that first turned tin whistles and accordions into instruments of punk mayhem will start its 2009 U.S. tour here. The date marks the band’s first Atlanta show with original frontman Shane MacGowan since 1989. The Tabernacle. 8 p.m. March 9
10. Adele. Fellow stand-out British soul singer Amy Winehouse didn’t make it to an Atlanta venue before she started getting arrested, recovering, fighting again, drying out again, and so on. Lucky for us this far more stable, four-time Grammy nominee will. Variety Playhouse. 8 p.m. March 17.
11. Michael O’Neal Singers. The excellent Roswell-based choir closes its 20th year with Mozart’s frighteningly impassioned Requiem and a Haydn gem, the “Little Organ Mass.” Roswell United Methodist Church, 3 p.m. March 22.
12. Atlanta Ballet’s “Firebird.” In an evening of mixed rep, the ballet’s artistic director, John McFall, presents his choreography for Stravinsky’s fairy-tale ballet “The Firebird.” There’s also a world premiere by Darrell Grand Moultrie, a hip choreographer with a growing national reputation. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. March 26-29.
13. “Driving Miss Daisy.” Alfred Uhry’s Miss Daisy Werthan may be the most famous Atlanta character since Scarlett O’Hara. Miss Daisy is possessed of the same pride, vanity and stubbornness as her predecessor. Who better to direct this show than Robert Farley, whose long-running Alliance Theatre production is one of the city’s most enduring theatrical legacies? Jill Jane Clements plays the Southern matriarch. Theatrical Outfit. April 22-May 17.
14. Tamy Ben-Tor. The Sarah Silverman of the art world, Israeli performance and video artist Tamy Ben-Tor wields a wit as sharp as a samurai sword in her first solo video exhibit in the South. Atlanta Center for Contemporary Art. April 17-June 14.
— Wendell Brock, Cathy Fox, Shane Harrison, Sonia Murray, Pierre Ruhe
