1) True Colors Theater Company’s Black Nativity continues at the Rialto Center.
2) Bodies … The Exhibition continues at Atlantic Station.
3) Madeline’s Christmas continues at Horizon Theatre.
4) Fantasy in Lights continues at Callaway Gardens.
5) Sound Tribe Sector 9 plays the Tabernacle.
(Photo by Horace Henry)
1) Little Things Mean a Lot continues at Swan Coach House.
2) True Colors Theatre’s Black Nativity continues at the Rialto Center for the Arts.
3) Norman Rockwell’s Home for the Holidays continues at the Atlanta History Center.
4) Dan Linehan discusses his book, SpaceShipOne: An Illustrated History, at Eagle Eye Book Shop.
5) The First Emperor continues at the High Museum.
(Image by Dayna Thacker)
FELLOWSHIP OF THE SING: Shay Latte as an angel (left), Galen Williams as Joseph, Kelly Young as Mary, Sam Collier as an angel
Audiences could be forgiven for worrying that True Colors Theatre Company’s Black Nativity might evoke a high school’s annual birth of Jesus holiday pageant. The perennial musical’s first half takes place “When Christ was born” and hits all the requisite beats of the first Christmas: angels, shepherds, Magi, etc. Plus, True Colors follows a similar approach as its recent holiday productions of The Wiz by casting primarily high school and college students as well as some recent graduates.
Fortunately, Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity resembles a revue more than a plot-and-character-driven musical. The material turns out to be an ideal vehicle for the young ensemble, since director/choreographer Patdro Harris and music director J. Michael can cast to the performers’ individual strengths, while acting never really becomes an issue. (more…)
