ABOUT TOWN: Reasons to be cheerful
Previews of happenings all over the place
March is looking pretty good. We have a revamp of a famous Dickens story being staged by the Alliance, and a moving documentary about the imperiled inhabitants of a northern section of the Arctic. There’s an ingenious African folk artist at the AKAZ gallery and a Bahamian one, equally clever, at the Botanical Garden. Two events that make science accessible return to the scene, and a pop-up museum replete with thousands of balloons lands at Pullman Yards; the Carter Library and the Center for Puppetry Arts collaborate on a project based around the The Negro Motorist Green Book; blue collar comedian Dusty Slay brings his colorful brand of humor to Atlanta Symphony Hall; and author Maurice Carlos Ruffin appears at the Decatur Library. Read on.
Now Showing
The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness, Fernbank Museum — Florian Shulz, a National Geographic photographer from Germany, spent five years in northeastern Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, documenting its indigenous tribes, plants and animals and the peril they all face. “My work is dedicated to making these remote landscapes real, and swaying decision-makers, politicians and developers not to drill,” Schulz says on the Protect The Arctic website. “And now, with continuing threats, there can be no rest until the coastal plain of the Arctic refuge is permanently protected as wilderness.” This poignant film on the giant screen aims to show the wonders of the Arctic and what would happen if the ecosystem were to be gravely hampered by human thoughtlessness.
$25.95 for adults, $24.95 for seniors, $23.95 for children ages 3-12, free for children ages 2 and younger, and free for members. Prices are for tickets purchased online. 767 Clifton Road, Atlanta, 30307. (404) 929-6300 fernbankmuseum.org
Through Mar. 17
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Alliance Theatre — London and Paris right before the French Revolution: a time bomb of spies, lovers, madmen and unlikely doppelgangers during what Dickens called “the age of foolishness.” Dickens’s most famous work of historical fiction and one his best-selling novels, A Tale of Two Cities has been turned into multiple film and television versions, radio shows, and stage productions. Adapted by playwright Brendan Pelsue and directed by Leora Morris, this “radical reimagining” by the Alliance features eight actors playing fifty characters and sharing the identities of the powerful and the powerless. In a statement, Pelsue praised Morris for “getting us all to attend to what the script is asking, and I think we can really see that in this design that feels both estranging and recognizable.” Recommended for audiences over the age of 13.
$30 - $90. $10 teens. Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre, 1280 Peachtree Street, Atlanta 30309. (404) 733-4600 alliancetheatre.org
Through Sun., Mar. 31
Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in a Changing South, Atlanta History Center — This collection of 500 southern artifacts — pottery; chairs; textiles; tools; crafts; baskets; musical instruments; quilts and the forging work of blacksmiths — is set to finish its long run at the end of March. Videos show the processes of creating folk art and are complemented by touchable examples of various pieces, and listening rooms enable visitors to hear storytelling and music. Artists include the Meaders and Hewell family pottery makers, chair-maker Walter Shelnut, Cherokee basket-maker Lucille Lossiah, the Reeves family of basket makers, story quilter Harriet Powers and blacksmith Philip Simmons. “The changing role of folk arts, once central to the lives of ordinary southerners, offers fresh insights into the region’s social history,” says Curator John Burrison
$24 adults; $20 students/seniors; $10 youth. Atlanta History Center, 130 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta 30305. (404) 814-4000. atlantahistorycenter.com
Through Sun., Mar. 31
Jean Baptiste Djeka: Channeling His Baoulé Ancestors, AKAZ!ATL — Jean Baptiste Djeka, a young visual artist from Côte d’Ivoire, or Ivory Coast, is known to paint, sculpt, practice photography and create art installations. According to Djeka’s bio, his work “reflects the culture and the environment he grew up in, as well as his insatiable quest of the unknown and his vivid imagination.” The increased interest in contemporary art from the African continent is now far from esoteric, says Jumbe Sebunya, co-owner of this urban African art and design gallery in Atlanta. “We are so happy to share an artist who is ‘re-appropriating’ his own culture for a wide audience. He scaffolds his repertoire by both dreaming of the past and thereby fueling the future.”
Free entry. AKAZ!ATL, 364 Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, 30308. (404) 574-0120 @akazi.atl akaziatl.com
Christa & Beau Allen Collins: Forgetting to Remember - Remembering to Forget, Memento Gallery — Christa and Beau Allen Collins, a pair of artists from Tennessee now ensconced in Atlanta, have mounted an intriguing exhibition at Memento that encompasses painting, sculpture, video, drawing, photography and writing, all based on the power of memory. The collaboration between this married couple delves into the intricate layers that create the bedrock of shared narratives. Both solo and joint artworks are on display in this compelling concept. Christa works primarily in mixed-media abstract expressionism, and explores the vivid and emotional ideas behind subconscious recollection, according to the gallery; Beau, an actor, musician, and photographer, graduated from the School of Visual Arts and studied conservation at the Museum of Modern Art, both in New York. Memento, which opened in 2023, is in the Poncey-Highland area of town.
Free. Memento Gallery, 696 Somerset Terrace, Suite C, Atlanta, 30306 mementoatl.com
Through Sun., Apr. 14
Lillian Blades: Orchid Daze, Atlanta Botanical Garden — New collage works by Lillian Blades, recipient of the Excellence in Arts award from The Bahamas consulate in Atlanta, are being presented within the notably dissimilar landscapes of the Fuqua Conservatory Lobby, Orchid Center Atrium, and Orchid Center Display House. “Light plays an important part of the work. I love how it bounces, how it goes through the materials and creates a stained glass effect with color,” Blades says. “I love the fact that you can see through it, you can move around it, almost like a wall, but treating it in a way like a painting, thinking of color, value, texture, the reflective qualities, the transparency of it.” Her brilliant work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions, and in public and private commissions in the United States as well as The Bahamas, Trinidad, Germany and South Africa.
$26.95+ Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta 30309. (404) 876-5859 atlantabg.org
Through Sun., Apr. 14
Balloon Museum: Let’s Fly, Pullman Yards — With inflatable installations created by 18 international artists, this airy tour is making its second stop in the United States after stints in New York, Rome, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Naples and London. The show has already been seen by four million punters. “A beautiful world of contemporary art that is meant to be touched, moved and felt,” the hype says, “showcasing diverse artwork that explores the lightness and flight of air, uniquely contrasted with heaviness, darkness and gravity.” The show will present projects by Camila Falsini, Cyril Lancelin, ENESS, Filthy Luker, Hyperstudio, Karina Smigla-Bobinski, Kim Myongbeom, Max Streicher, Michael Shaw, OUCHHH, Quiet Ensemble, Roman Hill, Rub Kandy, Sasha Frolova, Sila Sveta, SpY, and Tadao Cern. The Atlanta exhibit will also introduce a new addition to the collection: a debut by the Italian duo Motorefisico, architects and designers from Rome. This installation, entitled “Swing,” is composed of a series of suspended spheres that come to life through interaction with the audience.
$33+ Pullman Yards, 225 Rogers Street, Atlanta 30317 balloonmuseum.world
Sat., Mar. 2; Tue., Mar. 5; Fri., Mar. 8; Sun., Mar. 10
Benjamin Britten: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre — “A whimsical fusion of opera and Shakespearean magic” is what creators are calling this new glam-fantasy production. At the helm once again is Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun, who claims the piece — which first premiered in 1960 — has never been performed locally. “Stunningly, Benjamin Britten, one of the leading composers of the 20th century, has been surprisingly underrepresented in Atlanta’s professional opera,” says Zvulun. “This magical production, developed as an original creation for our company, will correct this historical wrong in a spectacular way.” Making his Atlanta debut as well is Louis Lohraseb, who will conduct countertenor Sir Iestyn Davies as the fairy king Oberon, and soprano Liv Redpath as Tytiana; known for her performances in Eugene Onegin, Meg Marino is back at TAO to play Puck; the quartet of lovers is sung by baritone Luke Sutliff (Demetrious), soprano Susanne Burgess (Helena), tenor Kameron Lopreore (Lysander), and mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson (Hermia).
Sat., Mar. 2 at 8 p.m; Tue., Mar. 5 at 7:30 p.m; Fri., Mar. 8 at 8 p.m; Sun., Mar. 10 at 3 p.m. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta 30339. (404)881-8885. atlantaopera.org The show will be offered as a livestream Fri., Mar. 8, at 8 p.m here: stream.atlantaopera.org
Fri., Mar. 1 – Sun., Aug. 11
Truth Told Slant: Contemporary Photography, High Museum of Art — The exhibition features the work of five distinct photographers: Rose Marie Cromwell explores the effects of globalization on human interaction and social politics, and the tenuous space between the political and the spiritual; Jill Frank, an Atlanta native, whose work deals primarily with the negotiation and indeterminacy of dominant social and cultural narratives, according to the New York Times; Tommy Kha, a Chinese-American from Memphis, who blends his Asian heritage with the mythology of the South; Zora J Murff, a teacher of photography at the University of Arkansas’ School of Art, who deals with race and criminality; and Kristine Potter, aNashville-based artist whose work explores masculine archetypes and cultural tendencies toward mythologizing the past. It’s all about telling the truth via the camera lens, hence the title.
$18.50. Members free. High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree Street, Atlanta 30309. (404) 733-4400 high.org
Mon., Mar. 4
Author Maurice Carlos Ruffin, The American Daughters, Decatur Library — Ruffin’s new book was described by Publishers Weekly as “a stirring story of freedom by any means necessary,” adding, “His dignified prose and focus on the bonds of women of color help elevate the novel from the tropes of slavery narratives.” Presented by A Cappella Books and Georgia Center for the Book, Ruffin will appear at the Decatur Library reading from The American Daughters (Penguin Random House) and chatting with Atlanta author Ruth Watson. Ruffin’s book is “a gripping historical novel about a spirited girl who joins a sisterhood working to undermine the Confederates.” Copies will be available for purchase during the event.
Free admission. 7:30 p.m. Decatur Library, 215 Sycamore Street, Decatur, 30030. (404) 370-3070 acappellabooks.com
Sat., Mar. 9 - Sat., Mar. 23
The Atlanta Science Festival, various locations — The two-week celebration of local science and technology for all ages returns with more than a hundred interactive and educational events throughout Atlanta; it all wraps up with a big party in Piedmont Park. Visitors get to explore topics such as AI and brain imaging, amphibians and snapping turtles, circus acts, bugs and birds, as well as take walks through oak forests and attend storytelling shows. An array of hands-on activities, exhibits and demonstrations will feature robotics, brains, biology, space, art, nanotechnology, paper, computer science, wearable tech, bioengineering, chemical engineering, systems engineering, and more besides.
Mostly free, but some events require registration and/or a nominal fee. #atlscifest Full details on the website: atlantasciencefestival.org
Sun., Mar. 10
Neil deGrasse Tyson: The Search for Life in the Universe, Fox Theatre — There are a bunch of good reasons to attend one of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s talks. The astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science expert has a knack of explaining complicated cosmic concepts without sounding condescending. Beginning with Mars, Tyson will review the ongoing effort to search for habitable planets, liquid water, and life in the cosmos. “There are compelling arguments to suggest we are not alone,” Tyson once wrote. Highly recommended.
$69.50+ 3 p.m. Fox Theatre, 600 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, 30308. (855) 285-8499 foxtheatre.org
Sat., Mar. 30
Dusty Slay, The Night Shift Tour, Atlanta Symphony Hall — He grew up fatherless in trailer park, was a college dropout, an army reject, an exterminator and a waiter. It’s safe to say Dusty Slay wasn’t initially slated for greatness; on top of all that he had a drinking problem. When all else failed, Slay began doing open mic nights in Charleston, SC, using his life for material, and gradually cleaned up his act, so to speak. These days he claims about half a million Tik Tok followers, has appeared on both Netflix and Comedy Central and is the youngest comedian to have performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, where he now lives with his wife; the two of them host the ‘We’re Having a Good Time’ podcast. And rightly so. Slay, who credits Jeff Foxworthy as an inspiration, was listed by Variety as one of ‘10 Comics To Watch’ in 2019. Why should you see him? Because he’s damn funny.
$35.75 - $155. 7 p.m. Atlanta Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree Street, Atlanta 30309. 404-733-4800 aso.org
Sat., Mar. 30 - Sun., Jun. 23
The Negro Motorist Green Book, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum — This compelling exhibition comes to the Carter Center from the Smithsonian Institution, in collaboration with author, photographer and cultural documentarian Candacy Taylor. It’s based on the Jim Crow-era guide for African American travelers that helped them find hotels, gas stations and other businesses that would serve them without hindrance. The exhibition includes artifacts from business signs and postcards to footage, images and firsthand accounts. The library announces it also is partnering with the Center for Puppetry Arts to provide public programming for educators and students, including live performances and demonstrations based on Calvin Ramsey’s puppet play Ruth & The Green Book, as well as hosting author lectures, family days, panel discussions, and other activities throughout the run of the exhibit.
$12 for adults and $10 for college students, members of the military and seniors; free for anyone 16 or younger. Timed tickets must be purchased online in advance. Daily from 10 a.m - 4:45 p.m. Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum, 441 John Lewis Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, 30307.(404) 865-7100. jimmycarterlibrary.gov