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ATLANTA’S ARTISTIC ARRAY: Check out what’s going on in Atlanta’s art world this season
ATLANTA’S artistic array
Whether you’re a theater geek, a dance fanatic, musical maniac, or art afficionado, Atlanta’s arts scene is top-notch and sure to impress. Check out what’s going on in Atlanta’s art world this season.
The World’s a Stage
If plays and musical theater are your things, but a pricey ticket to the Big Apple isn’t, take a look at what’s on stage in the ATL.
Since its inception in 2016, LGBTQ-owned Out Front Theatre Company (OutFrontTheatre.com) has produced outstanding theatrical experiences which focus on the voices of the LGBTQ community. The theatre is the only in Atlanta that caters specifically to LGBTQ audiences. Each summer, Out Front also hosts camps for emerging young artists ages 13 to 17 to teach them about the art of theatre, film, and TV.
The famous Fox Theatre has a slew of Broadway favorites in its 2022/23 season. Check out classics like “Chicago,” “Moulin Rouge,” “Wicked,” “Chicago,” and more. Learn more and buy tickets at FoxTheatre.org. You may have heard of the Alliance Theatre (AllianceTheatre.org) because it boasts its very own Tony Award. For its 54th season, Alliance is back at the Woodruff Arts Center with “Everybody,” “The Hot Wing King,” “Water for Elephants,” “The Many Condrous Realities of Jasmine Starr-Kidd,” “Lonely Planet,” and of course, their annual performance of “A Christmas Carol.”
If you’re a theater buff who’s looking to discover a new, lesser-known favorite, Atlanta is also home to theaters that bring independent works into the spotlight. Horizon Theatre (HorizonTheatre.com) has 172 seats to watch its contemporary plays. On September 30 through November 6, catch “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812,” deemed by the New York Times as “the
SINCE 1989 BILL LOWE GALLERY
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best new musical to poen on Broadway since ‘Hamilton!’”
Actor’s Express grows talent through regular performances at the King Plow Arts Center. This season, enjoy shows like “Oh, to be Pure Again,” “Urinetown,” “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train,” “Prayer for the French Republic,” “cullud wattah,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” and more. Buy tickets at Actors-Express.com.
7 Stages Theatre (7Stages.org), located in Little 5 Points off Euclid Avenue, has brought works of political and social importance to the stage since 1979. They also host the Atlanta Fringe Festival, a week’s worth of live performances spanning genre and format, including comedy, drama, dance, circus, aerial, puppetry, poetry, and more.
Now’s the time to make plans to attend the spectacular shows scheduled for the City Springs Performing Arts Center at City Springs! In their 2022/23 season, enjoy “Anything Goes,” “In The Heights,” “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” and “Cats.” Learn more and buy tickets at CitySpringsTheatre.com. Theatrical Outfit is an Atlanta-based theater company whose purpose is to provide their diverse audiences, actors, and artists with rich theater experience. In their 2022/23 season, they’re showing “Flex,” “The White Chip,” “Tiny Beautiful Things,” and “The Humans.” Learn more and buy tickets at TheatricalOutfit.org.
Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company
(TrueColorsTheatre.org) is a non-profit theater company cofounded by Tony-winning Broadway director Kenny Leon and Jane Bishop in 2002. The theatre company produces worldpremiere plays by diverse playwrights with a commitment to preserving African American classics. As there is no permanent theater space for the company, they have dubbed themselves a “moveable feast,” presenting plays at the Southwest Arts Center, Theatrical Outfits Balzer Theatre, Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center, and the Rialto Center for the Arts.
The Aurora Theatre (AuroraTheatre.com) in Lawrenceville welcomes in a number of performances this summer, including their Summer Chills and Thrills series in partnership with Lawrenceville Ghost Tours. This season, expect “Mary Poppins,” “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” “Kim’s Convenience,” and “The Play That Goes Wrong.”
The Sound of Music
There’s more — much more! — to Hotlanta’s art scene than theater. Atlanta Ballet (AtlantaBallet.com) is one of the nation’s premier dance companies, and its 92-year history helped make it the State Ballet of Georgia. The dancers bring us a fabulous slate of performances this season, including their annual “The Nutcracker” performance during the winter holidays as well as “Beauty and the Beast” and “Don Quixote.”
Voices of Note, the organization that includes both the Atlanta Women’s Chorus and the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus, presents dynamic vocal performances that act as catalysts for social change. Keep up with their performances at VoicesOfNote.org.
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The Atlanta Opera is another can’t-miss swarm of vocal talent, bringing performances like “Madama Butterfly,” “Don Giovanni,” “Candide,” and “Das Rheingold” to audiences at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Marietta. Learn more and buy tickets at AtlantaOpera.org.
We can’t forget the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. This season, the symphony is hosting a variety of events, including Beethoven’s Ninth, conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann; Coco in Concert; The Fab Four, a Beatles tribute show; Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons;” and more. Learn more and buy tickets at Aso.org.
Eye Spy
It’s hard to be in Atlanta without noticing all the visual art around — it’s in gift shops, it’s on murals, it’s on the walls of famous Krog Street Tunnel. It’s also on display in more traditional museums and galleries, like the High Museum in Midtown. The High’s upcoming exhibits include “Stephen Burks: Shelter in Place,” “Rodin in the United States: Confronting the Modern,” and “Monir Farmanfarmaian: A Mirror Garden.” Learn more and buy tickets at High.org.
Atlanta also boasts several other amazing art galleries, including the Museum of Contemporary Art(MocaGa. org), the Museum of Design Atlanta (MuseumOf Design.org), Bill Lowe Gallery (LoweGallery.com). Alan Avery Art Company (AlanAveryArtCompany.com), Tew Galleries (TewGalleries.com), and the rek Gallery (Rek.Gallery).
If paintings and pictures aren’t your thing, you can also check out SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film (ScadFash.org) and the Center for Puppetry Arts (Puppet.org).
If seeing art isn’t enough for you, you can also make your own! Make a pit-stop at Decatur Glassblowing (DecaturGlassblowing.com), All Fired Up (AllFiredUpArt. com), Atlanta Clay Works (AtlClayWorks.org), and MudFire(Mudfire.com) for some one-of-a-kind, handmade souvenirs from your trip to the big city.
Catch a Concert
If you’re looking to see your favorite artist in concert, they might be coming to Atlanta! Some of Atlanta’s best music venues include the Eastern (EasternAtl.com), the Masquerade (MasqueradeAtlanta.com), Tabernacle (TabernacleAtl.com), Terminal West (TerminalWestAtl. com), Variety Playhouse (Variety-Playhouse.com), and City Winery (CityWinery.com). Bigger artists may perform at State Farm Arena (StateFarmArena.com), MercedesBenz Stadium (MercedesBenzStadium.com), or Ameris Bank Ampitheatre (EncoreParkAmpitheatre.com).
Ellsworth Kelly (American,1923–2015), Red Curve VI, 1982, Oil on canvas
at the High Museum.
Courtesy image
“Strictly Sondheim” is a celebration of the life of legendary Broadway composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim made his debut as a lyricist in 1957 with “West Side Story”, and went on to revolutionize the modern musical with his unique style, which is represented by shows like “Company”, “Sweeney Todd”, “Sunday in the Park with George”, “Into the Woods”, and many more. The AGMC and AWC look forward to honoring this gay icon by performing pieces from his illustrious career. All proceeds from this concert will benefit the choruses, allowing us to keep making music for years to come.
