Since I've been reviewing Atlanta theater, Theatre in the Square's Alley Stage has become a favorite destination, a purveyor of work often more raw and edgy than from intown venues, including Actor's Express and the Alliance. I doubt, for example, that the white-gloved Alliance would have had the cojones to produce Richard Greenberg's "Take Me Out." (Shower scenes? Nudity? That might offend someone!!) Local theater-goers wondered why an adventurous, inside-the-perimeter theater company didn't scoop up Greenberg's scathing account of the closeted world of professional baseball, which won the 2003 Tony for best new play. Or, to cite another deliciously naughty ...
Blaming the economy, the Alliance Theatre has announced "the beginnings of a significant administrative restructuring process" -- and the first head to fall is that of managing director Tom Pechar, who has been with the Woodruff Arts Center's resident ensemble since 2002.
In a five-paragraph press release issued at the end of the day Friday, theater board chair Howard Feinsand said: “In these unprecedented and difficult financial times, the traditional theater management model must be constantly re-examined. Similar to our peer arts institutions around the nation, we are always seeking ways to innovate and achieve operational efficiencies. This principle of innovation applies ...
If the name Jasson Minadakis rings a bell, that's probably because he used to live in Atlanta. As artistic director of Actor's Express from 2003-2006, he introduced Atlantans to the work of playwright Tracy Letts, producing the unsettling "Bug" and "Killer Joe" when other local theaters wouldn't dare take the risk of offending audiences. (Some of my other favorites from Minadakis' time were David Lindsay-Abaire's "Kimberly Akimbo," Edward Albee's "The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?" and Martin McDonaugh's "The Pillowman.")
At any rate, Minadakis, who now runs the Marin Theatre Company in California, has returned to direct Georgia Shakespeare's "Cat on ...
When the economy gets tough, live music is often deemed a luxury. Orchestras are costly. Musicians' unions demand fair wages. And dance companies and theaters around the company often end up playing to recorded music. Such is the case with the Atlanta Lyric Theatre and its final show of the season, Kander and Ebb's "Cabaret." As I point out in today's AJC, the musical gets a G rating and is performed to taped music. (Claci Miller as Sally Bowles, photo by Cayce Callaway.)
Artistic director Brandt Blocker says the reason is purely financial: The theater's March production of the flapper ...
Editor's Note: We're pleased to announce that Wendell Brock will join Steve Murray covering theater for artscriticATL. Wendell was the AJC's chief drama critic from 2001 until he left the paper last month, and for this site he'll contribute original reporting, features and reviews. Like Cathy and Pierre, he'll also still write freelance pieces for the AJC, and we'll link to them. You can reach us at artscriticATL [at] gmail [dot] com. -- Pierre
Georgia Shakespeare opened its 24th season over the weekend with a smartly conceived production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." During the curtain call, Chris Kayser — who ...
