1) Donny Vomit emcees an evening of burlesque, carnival-themed films and music at the Five Spot.
2) The Plaza Theatre celebrates the 25th anniversary of Purple Rain.
3) George Dawes Green discusses Ravens at Margaret Mitchell House & Museum.
4) Walter Trout plays Smith’s Olde Bar.
5) Italian classic Pinocchio continues at the Center for Puppetry Arts.
(Photo courtesy www.coneyisland.com)
1) The Center for Puppetry Arts hosts a screening of In Xanadu.
2) Grupo Fantasma performs at Variety Playhouse.
3) Harvey Milk and Torche play the Earl.
4) Humpday opens at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.
5) Simone performs at Atlanta Symphony Hall.
(Photo © Shadowlight Productions)
1) The Taste & Tour of Cheshire Bridge begins.
2) Paschal’s Restaurant hosts Heineken with a Heart.
3) La Muela del Rey Farfan (The Toothache of King Farfan) opens at the Center for Puppetry Arts.
4) Knot Feeder plays 529.
5) Fresh Blood continues at Mason Murer Fine Art.
(Photo by Yuki Nakato)
1) The annual Fringe Binge music fest returns to the Star Bar.
2) Alice in Wonderland opens at Georgia Shakespeare.
3) Rockshow 2: Rock ‘n’ Roll Photography opens at Composition Gallery.
4) The Center for Puppetry Arts celebrates Jim Henson Day.
5) The Westside Arts District holds its monthly Art Walk.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
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.
(Photo by LL de Mars)
1) MA09 Design Is Human launches with a SieMatic showroom lecture and a reception for Wm. Coleman Mills’ Patterns: Landscapes of the Sublime, Ridiculous and Contrived exhibit at the Mansion on Peachtree.
2) Park Tavern hosts ZAP Grand Tasting, with dozens of zinfandels from nonprofit Zinfandel Advocates & Producers.
3) Bone Garden Cantina holds Supper Club to benefit Atlanta Community Food Bank.
4) Michael Malone discusses his new book, The Four Corners of the Sky, at Decatur Library.
5) The Little Pirate Mermaid continues at the Center for Puppetry Arts.
(Photo courtesy Modern Atlanta)
1) The Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons attempts a Gnome March World Record at the Inman Park Festival.
2) Atlanta Steeplechase features horse racing and hat contests, all for a good cause.
3) The Center for Puppetry Arts screens Puppet Up! — Uncensored.
4) Bangkok Fight Night invades Center Stage.
5) The Atlanta Film Festival wraps up with Rudo y Cursi at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.
(Photo by Pentadact/flickr.com)
1) John Legend and Raphael Saadiq perform at the Fox Theatre.
2) High John the Conqueror and African Folktales opens at Theatre in the Square’s Alley Stage.
3) The Plaza Theatre hosts a screening of Sid and Nancy, alongside an art exhibit of ’80s-era punk fliers.
4) Dixie Purvis: New Paintings continues at Sandler Hudson Gallery.
5) Don Quixote opens at the Center for Puppetry Arts.
(Photo © Sony Music Entertainment)
Max Arbes and CL’s Curt Holman discuss two Hans Christian Andersen adaptations: The Center for Puppetry Arts’ Sam the Lovesick Snowman and Synchronicity Performance Group’s The Snow Queen.
Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.
Subscribe to the Air Loaf RSS feed to download each new episode automatically
The Muppets have always been all over Christmas. Some of their holiday shows include the “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” from 1977; “John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together” from 1979 (hey, we had that album), The Muppet Christmas Carol theatrical film (with Michael Caine as Scrooge) from 1992; and one of my favorites, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (with Joan Cusack as the villain) from 2002. “A Muppet Family Christmas” from 1987 deserves note as the only special to feature “crossover” appearances from the four major Muppet franchises: “Sesame Street,” “The Muppet Show,” “Fraggle Rock” and (ugh) “Muppet Babies.” You can check out some of Jim Henson’s actual muppet creations at an exhibit currently running at Center for Puppetry Arts.
Just when you start wondering if there’s maybe some other holiday the Muppets could pile on, a new holiday special airs tonight, Dec. 17 on NBC. A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa features appearances from “The Sopranos” Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa, “30 Rock’s” Jane Krakowski and Uma Thurman, among others. There’s a clip edited to show the Muppets rocking out to the Beatles-esque “Glad All Over” performed the Dave Clark Five, which has presumably has nothing to do with Christmas and may not even be in the special. Still fun, though:
Judging from this clip, “A Muppets Christmas: Letters To Santa” also includes my favorite of the “new generation” puppets, Pepe the King Prawn, whom you can check out singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” with talk show host Craig Ferguson.
ICE CAPADES: Sam the snowman and his friend Alice the dog (Photo ©2008 Center for Puppetry Arts)
At the end of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Ariel becomes a walking, talking human and weds the prince under a rainbow. That’s not how Hans Christian Andersen would remember it.
The Danish author’s original version concludes with the prince marrying someone else and the mermaid throwing herself into the sea, where she dissolves into foam and becomes a spirit. Many of Andersen’s classics follow the example of the Brothers Grimm and offer harsh cautionary tales in sharp contrast to today’s uplifting messages for young ears. Shaping themes to fit contemporary concerns is part of the process of handing stories down through generations.
The Center for Puppetry Arts’ Sam, The Lovesick Snowman and Synchronicity Performance Group’s The Snow Queen each offer charming versions of Hans Christian Andersen tales, yet espouse opposite philosophies of adaptation. (more…)
This week’s cover story on “Creepy Cabarets” talks about Atlanta’s Halloween-themed shows, most notably The Ghastly Dreadfuls II at the Center for Puppetry Arts. One of the highlights is the “Danse Macabre” segment, a live rendition of Saint-Saens’ famously eerie composition as a graveyard jamboree. Trick puppets feature witches on errant broomsticks, ghosts giving birth to little haints, and skeletons that guzzle alcohol, make out, split apart and snap back together. A hold-over from the Center’s original Ghastly Dreadfuls, “Danse Macabre” seems clearly inspired by the 1929 animated short “Skeleton Dance.” Produced by Walt Disney and animated by the great Ub Iwerks, the Silly Symphony installment “Skeleton Dance” was voted #18 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time, and is the perfect treat to get you in the mood for All Hallow’s Eve:
Today’s Air Loaf features Max Arbes and CL’s Curt Holman chatting about plays around town that are sure to get you in the Halloween spirit, including The Ghastly Dreadfuls II at the Center for Puppetry Arts and Monster Movie at Dad’s Garage Theatre.
Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.
Subscribe to the Air Loaf feed to download every new episode automatically.
(Image from Google Photos)
Last night I hit The Center for Puppetry Arts for opening night of The Ghastly Dreadfuls II: Handbook of Practical Hauntings and Other Phantasmagoria by Jon Ludwig and Jason Von Hinezmeyer. I’ll review it in more detail closer to Halloween, but wanted to mention that it easily lives up to its entertaining predecessor, The Ghastly Dreadfuls: Compendium of Graveyard Tales and Other Curiosities (which I previewed in 2006).
The follow-up has the same cast and same format, presenting seven undead storyteller/musicians, who use puppetry to recount chilling ghost stories while playing spooky tunes between tales. The new version presents new songs and stories, with the exceptions of “The Girl in the New Dress,” inspired by vintage Coca-Cola print ads, and “Danse Macabre,” a performance of the classic-Saint-Saens composition while amorous, boozing skeletons and other haints party down in a graveyard. You can catch glimpses of the latter two in this preview clip edited from the show’s previous incarnation:
So a funny thing happened at opening night…
1) Jenny Lewis plays the Variety Playhouse.
2) Diane Wilson reads from Holy Roller: Growing Up in the Church of Knock Down, Drag Out; or, How I Quit Loving a Blue-Eyed Jesus at First Existentialist Congregation.
3) Sarah Borges plays the Earl.
4) Brer Rabbit and Friends opens at Center for Puppetry Arts.
5) Candye Kane plays the Laughing Skull Lounge at Vortex Midtown.
(Photo © Jenny Lewis)
1) Visit the 17th Street Art Fair for its final day at Atlantic Station.
2) In the tradition of the Harlem Renaissance, Linda Villarosa discusses her new novel, Passing for Black, at Charis Circle.
3) Brian Henson, co-CEO of the Jim Henson Company, presents his oeuvre, The Future of Digital Puppetry, at the Center for Puppetry Arts.
4) Stop by Eyedrum for the Gimme Shelter Benefit for the Madhousers, builders of shelter for the homeless.
5) Relive history and take the Grant Park Tour of Homes.
(Image by Dagmar Bruehmueller)
