Culture Surfing

LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME: Marianne Fraulo (left), Tom Thon, Mary Lynn Owen, Cara Mantella and Will Bradley in Third

Professor Laurie Jameson exhorts her students to challenge the dominant power structure and antiquated ways of thinking at the outset of Wendy Wasserstein’s Third. Played by Mary Lynn Owen, Laurie doesn’t quite realize she belongs to the dominant power structure as a lauded literature professor at a Northeastern college, the kind of liberal bulwark that boasts America’s first transgender dorm, but no fraternities.

Laurie must confront her own complacency and preconceived notions with the enrollment of a new student, Woodson Bull III (Will Bradley), a college wrestler who prefers to go by “Third” and aspires to be a sports agent. Laurie quickly pegs him as a Young Republican jock-type born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The beginning of the play, directed by Lisa Adler at Horizon Theatre, coincides with the U.S. congressional vote to authorize the Iraq War. Third reminds Laurie of all the reasons she hates George W. Bush. His paper on King Lear sets off an academic scandal that causes the professor to badly misunderestimate the student.

Continue reading “Horizon Theatre’s Third skewers academe’s liberal prejudice”

(Photo courtesy Horizon Theatre Company)

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MAKING WAVES: Bernardine Mitchell in A Cool Drink a Water at Horizon Theatre

Thomas W. Jones II seems to have found a summer home at Horizon Theatre. The actor/director/composer co-founded Jomandi Productions in the late 1970s, but left the Atlanta-based African-American theater company in 2000. In the past decade, however, Jones has frequently collaborated with Horizon on summer productions that coincide with the National Black Arts Festival, including his world premiere musicals Two Queens, One Castle and Three Sistahs.

Jones takes to the Horizon stage to co-star in his latest world premiere, A Cool Drink aWater. A non-musical play, Water nonetheless presents a kind of jazz improvisation on themes that Lorraine Hansberry explored in 1959 with her landmark African-American drama A Raisin in the Sun. Andrea Frye directs the oft-engaging comedy/drama that seems more confident with the comedy than the drama.

Continue reading “Cool Drink’s comedy comes at drama’s expense”

(Photo by Allie Bartelski)

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1) Bob Théâtre presents Nosferatu at the Center for Puppetry Arts.

2) Jay-Z and Ciara perform at Chastain Park Amphitheater.

3) Horizon Theatre stages A Cool Drink a Water.

4) DJ Spooky’s ReBirth of a Nation makes its Atlanta premiere at Le Bam Art Space.

5) Eli Keszler performs at Eyedrum.

See more Atlanta events.

(Photo by LL de Mars)

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This weekend, Atlanta theater could use a traffic cop. Normally summer proves the lightest of theatrical seasons, yet through some kind of bad mojo, numerous intriguing shows are opening in competition with each other. Figuring out which ones to see requires a Sophie’s Choice level of sacrifice.

A Cool Drink of Water (July 10-Aug. 23), Horizon Theatre. Playwright Thomas W. Jones III, a frequent summertime collaborator with Horizon, offers the world premiere of a family drama billed as a contemporary twist on A Raisin in the Sun. Andrea Frye directs.

Fingertips (July 10-Aug. 1), Dad’s Garage Theatre. Subtitled “21 Short Works By Our Favorite Band,” this world premiere features short plays from many current and former Atlantans. Improv ensemble member Amber Nash originated the concept. So who’s the band? Hmmm…

Ice Glen (July 10-31), Essential Theatre. Essential Theatre’s 2009 Power Plays Festival continues with the regional premiere of Joan Ackerman’s drama about a brilliant, obscure poet and the editor who wants to publish her work.

Titus Andronicus (July 10-Aug. 2), Georgia Shakespeare. Artistic director Richard Garner takes on Shakespeare’s most notorious bloodbath, featuring Chris Kayser as Roman general Titus Andronicus, Tess Malis Kincaid as Goth Queen Tamora and Neal Ghant as Aaron the Moor.

The Blood Knot (July 11-Aug. 2), Theatrical Outfit. I saved this for last because only Kenny Leon and Tom Key previously starred in the Outfit’s terrific production in 1998. The Alliance Theatre’s Susan V. Booth directs Athol Fugard’s superb apartheid-era two-actor play, which makes The Blood Knot a must-see, despite all the competition.

Think you can play catch-up next week? Hah! For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf at True Colors Theatre Co. and Jim Crow and the Rhythm Darlings at Essential Theatre both have opening nights on Wed., July 15.

Updated: Bob Théâtre of Rennes, France, was to have presented a found object puppetry version of Nosferatu (pictured) at The Center for Puppetry Arts, but the July 10-12 run of the show has been cancelled “due to unforeseen visa delays.”

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1) The Rock ’n’ Roll Monster Bash returns to Starlight Six Drive-In.

2) Evolver Atlanta presents EvolverFest at the Lake Claire Community Land Trust.

3) Randall Bramblett and Geoff Achison perform at Eddie’s Attic.

Continue reading “5 things to do: Sunday”

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STAR-CROSSED LOVERS: Rachel (Maia Knispel, left) and Nelson (Nick Arapoglou)

In Horizon Theatre’s comedy End Days, wife and mother Sylvia Stein (Stacy Melich) takes the concept of a “personal relationship with Jesus” to a whole new level.

Sylvia’s not just a devout evangelical Christian, having converted from Judaism a few months earlier. She literally sees Jesus all the time, in her kitchen or at the protest line outside the local XXX bookstore. Adam Fristoe plays the Son of God as invisible and inaudible to the rest of the cast but a beaming, supportive presence to Sylvia. When someone mentions “The Rapture is coming,” Sylvia and Jesus fist bump. When Sylvia says they almost lost a convert to the Unitarians, Jesus does a spit-take with his Starbucks.

End Days’ Jesus favors the Buddy Christ from Kevin Smith’s film Dogma and serves as a droll joke that Horizon’s production executes perfectly. Like the playhouse’s fall musical Altar Boyz, End Days tweaks some of contemporary Christianity’s quirks without maligning the belief system. Playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer lapses into some familiar theatrical formulae, but End Days’ ability to find raucous humor in millennial anxiety and post-traumatic depression seems almost miraculous.

Continue reading “Horizon Theatre’s End Days comes Rapture-ready”

(Photo by Lisa Adler)

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CL’s Chanté LaGon and Curt Holman discuss two local stage plays that involve strong female characters: Horizon Theatre’s And Her Hair Went With Her and Actor’s Express’ Suddenly, Last Summer.

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WIGGIN' OUT: Karan Kendrick (seated) and Tonia M. Jackson

You can probably tell more about people based on their hairstyles than on factors such as astrological signs, political party affiliations or favorite TV shows. Horizon Theatre’s comedy And Her Hair Went With Her takes place at an African-American hair salon and at one point, two stylists judge personality types based on their hairdos. A tall, natural afro signifies health and freedom, “black women with braids got their shit together,” and more.

Fashion aficionados could read volumes into the different wigs and ’dos chosen for Horizon’s hilarious production, but And Her Hair Went With Her only devotes a fraction of its 90-minute run to hair-centric discussions. Hairstylists Angie (Karan Kendrick) and Jasmine (Tonia M. Jackson) spend most of their time encountering wacky customers and arguing over cultural values that could come up at any number of places, not just the beauty shop.

Angie, an intellectual, Angela Davis-worshipping would-be writer and single mother, advocates for higher learning and cerebral pursuits. Jasmine embraces her sensuality and her McDonald’s habit with earthy abandon. While Jasmine’s not against education, she’s also in favor of keeping it real. In between clients, they quiz each other with Nina Simone trivia and discuss whether “chitlins” should be enunciated as “chitterlings.”

Continue reading “Diverging plot gives Horizon’s Hair split ends”

(Photo by Allie Bartelski)

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