Around Atlanta
Alliance Theatre’s 2021-22 In-Person Season Calendar
The 53rd season will feature eight productions including the previously announced HANDS UP and TONI STONE, and four world premieres including the musical DARLIN’ CORY by Phillip DePoy and Grammy Award winner Kristian Bush, plus, a world premiere musical directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon to be announced later this summer, & the 2021/22 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition winner, DREAM HOU$E
The new season will also introduce the Alliance’s elaborate new adaption of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, featuring a new script, set, and costume design.
Atlanta’s nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Susan V. Booth, and Managing Director Mike Schleifer, are pleased to announce the productions of the Alliance’s 53rd season. After a year that saw the Alliance produce a variety of new works for streaming platforms, an animated film, a drive-in production, and an outdoor tent series, the Alliance is excited to announce a return to in-person performances on its Coca-Cola Stage and Hertz Stage beginning in September 2021. The new season will feature eight productions including four world premieres, two musicals, and an elaborate new staging of its annual production, A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
“As a theater, we’ve been able to do a lot in this past upside-down year. The same commitment which helped us continue inspiring thousands of Atlantans (and beyond) while our stages were dark will enable us to do more innovative, equitable, and uplifting work as we come together in-person for our 2021/22 season,” said Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director. “After the past year of pivoting with speed, agility, and yes, humor that we might never have imagined, it is thrilling to be announcing today our plans for the productions of our 53rd season.”
The 2021/22 season will begin in September on the recently renovated and award-winning Coca-Cola Stage with DARLIN’ CORY, a haunting new musical inspired by local lore with an original folk-country score by Grammy Award winner and Sugarland front man Kristian Bush (Troubadour), book by playwright and novelist Phillip DePoy (Edward Foote), and direction by Susan V. Booth.
Opening the Hertz Stage in October is THE NEW BLACK FEST’S HANDS UP: 7 PLAYWRIGHTS, 7 TESTAMENTS. HANDS UP depicts the realities of Black America from the perspective of varying genders, sexual orientations, skin tones, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This production of HANDS UP is co-directed by Spelman Associate Professor Keith Arthur Bolden and Spelman alumna and Alliance Spelman Fellow Alexis Woodard.
In November, the Alliance will unveil the new adaptation of its annual production A CHRISTMAS CAROL by David H. Bell with direction by Leora Morris. This reimagined version features a new scenic design by Tony Award winner Todd Rosenthal, costume design by Mariann Verheyen, lighting design by Greg Hofmann, sound design by Clay Benning, original music by Kendall Simpson, and puppet design by Tom Lee and Blair Thomas.
Next up for the Hertz Stage is CLUB HERTZ LIVE – a music series that will host some of Atlanta’s most exciting performers and musicians in a relaxed lounge atmosphere. CLUB HERTZ LIVE will feature a new act each night and a variety of genres during the month of December. Bands and performers will be chosen by a panel of music-industry professionals. Performers are invited to apply to be a part of the series on the Alliance’s website here.
In January 2022, the Alliance will produce the world premiere of this year’s Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition winner, DREAM HOU$E, by Eliana Pipes of Boston University. In DREAM HOU$E, two sisters go on a reality tv show to renovate and sell their childhood home. The show quickly drives a wedge between the sisters as they come to terms with how much of their family’s heritage they are willing to sacrifice in this funny and touching look at the truths of gentrification.
On the Coca-Cola Stage, the Alliance will present TONI STONE, the “must-see play” (TheatreMania) by Lydia R. Diamond based on the true story of the first female athlete to play professional baseball in the Negro Leagues. Toni Stone is a heartwarming and fascinating story of race, gender, and raw ambition. This production will be directed by the Alliance’s BOLD Artistic Director Fellow Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and is a co-production with Milwaukee Rep.
In March 2022, the Alliance will produce the world premiere of BINA’S SIX APPLES by Lloyd Suh and directed by Obie Award winner Eric Ting. Set against the backdrop of the Korean War, BINA’S SIX APPLES is a harrowing and uplifting story of courage and finding home. BINA’S SIX APPLES is a co-production with Children’s Theatre Company.
Closing the season on the Coca-Cola Stage, the Alliance will produce a world premiere musical with direction by Tony Award winner, Kenny Leon. Leon is known to Atlanta audiences as the former Artistic Director of Alliance Theatre and as the Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre. The details of the new production will be announced later this summer.
In addition to the Alliance Series on the Coca-Cola Stage and Hertz Series on the Hertz Stage, the Alliance will produce five productions for the Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young – two for streaming and three in-person productions in the Selig Family Blackbox at Alliance Theatre. The titles in the Theatre for the Very Young Season are SOUNDS OF THE WEST END (streaming); THE CURIOUS CARDINAL (streaming); KNOCK, KNOCK; IN MY GRANNY’S GARDEN; and DO YOU LOVE THE DARK?. This season marks the 10th anniversary of the Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young program, which commissions and produces new works designed for children five years old and younger.
To prepare for audiences to return to the theater, the Alliance has replaced all HVAC units with HVAC ionization systems, which provide a 99.4% reduction of COVID-19 within 30 minutes. HVAC ionization is more effective than other air-cleaning methods and helps kill other types of viruses, such as the flu, and air pollutants. The Alliance has also increased the cleaning schedule of surfaces in the theater, modified the ticketing process to eliminate physical tickets, and increased the number of hand-sanitizing stations across the campus. The Alliance will continue to closely monitor local, state, and federal policies regarding indoor activities and plan our safety protocols accordingly.
When possible, live performances of the 53rd season will be filmed for streaming on the Alliance Theatre’s streaming platform, Alliance Theatre Anywhere.
DARLIN’ CORY (World Premiere Musical)
September 8 – October 3, 2021
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre
Music by Kristian Bush
Lyrics by Phillip DePoy and Kristian Bush
Directed by Susan V. Booth
Set against the backdrop of 1930s Appalachia, DARLIN’ CORY is a haunting new musical by playwright & novelist Phillip DePoy (EDWARD FOOTE) and Sugarland’s front man & Grammy Award winner Kristian Bush (TROUBADOUR). In a tiny mountain town with no road in – and no road out – a community carries secrets of all sizes. But when a young woman with ambition and intelligence collides with a pastor deeply committed to preserving the status quo, cracks begin to form in the town’s well-constructed façade. And when a stranger appears with a mysterious backstory and the best moonshine anyone’s ever tasted – some of those secrets threaten to spill. With an original folk-country score, this modern-day myth inspired by local lore promises to leave audiences on the edge of their seats. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/darlin
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (new adaptation)
November 12 – December 24, 2021
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by David H. Bell
Directed by Leora Morris
The Alliance Theatre’s beloved production A CHRISTMAS CAROL will return to the Coca-Cola Stage this year with an exciting new adaption, including a completely reimagined set design and stunning new costumes. Audiences will be transported to the streets of London to revisit the timeless story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey to redemption, told with beautiful live music and an all-star cast. Join the Alliance Theatre for one of Atlanta’s most treasured holiday traditions. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/carol
TONI STONE
February 10 – 27, 2022
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre
By Lydia R. Diamond
Directed by Tinashe Kajese-Bolden
Considered a pioneer, Toni Stone is the first woman to play baseball in the Negro Leagues, also making her the first woman to play professionally in a men’s league. Against all odds, Toni blazes a path in the male-dominated sports world, breaking through the limitations others placed on her, and creating her own set of rules. Follow Toni’s journey as she fights for love, equality and a chance to do what she wants the most — play some world class baseball. Declared the Best New Play of 2019 by The Wall Street Journal, TONI STONE is a funny and fascinating story of race, gender, and raw ambition… and an unheralded superstar you will never forget. For tickets and info, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/tonistone
BINA’S SIX APPLES (world premiere)
March 11 – 27, 2022
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre
By Lloyd Suh
Directed by Eric Ting
Bina’s family grows the finest apples in all of Korea. But when war forces her to flee her home, Bina is alone in the world with just six precious apples to her name. Can these meager possessions help her find her family? Join Bina on her spirited journey that ranges from the heartbreaking to the humorous. Encountering new challenges at every turn, Bina is forced to rely upon her apples and their important legacy as she begins to discover the power of her own resilience. Often mesmerizing, always heartwarming, Bina will discover that she’s not the only one on a difficult quest for a place to call home. For tickets and info, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/binasapples
A World Premiere Musical, to be announced later this summer
May 25 – June 26, 2022
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre
Directed by Kenny Leon
HERTZ SERIES
THE NEW BLACK FEST’S
HANDS UP: 7 PLAYWRIGHTS, 7 TESTAMENTS
October 8 – 31, 2021
Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre
By Nathan James, Nathan Yungerberg, Idris Goodwin, Nambi E. Kelley, Nsangou Njikam,
Eric Holmes, and Dennis Allen II
Co-Directed by Keith Arthur Bolden and Alexis Woodard
Across seven monologues written by seven Black playwrights, HANDS UP depicts the realities of Black America from the perspective of varying genders, sexual orientations, skin tones, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The play was originally commissioned in 2015 by the New Black Fest in response to a police officer fatally shooting an unarmed Black teenager, Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. The themes and stories it tells still ring true today. HANDS UP is produced in association with Spelman College. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/handsup
CLUB HERTZ LIVE
December 8 – 24, 2021
Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre
Experience a special concert series featuring some of Atlanta’s most exciting performers and musicians in a relaxed lounge atmosphere. CLUB HERTZ LIVE will feature a new performer each night and a variety of genres during the month of December. Bands and performers will be chosen by a panel of music-industry professionals. Performers are invited to apply to be a part of the series on the Alliance’s website. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/clubhertz
DREAM HOU$E (world premiere, winner of the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition)
January 22 – February 13, 2022
Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre
By Eliana Pipes
DREAM HOU$E follows two Latinx sisters on an HGTV-style reality show who are selling their family home, hoping to capitalize on the gentrification in their “changing neighborhood.” As they perform for the camera, one sister grapples with turmoil in the family’s ancestral past while the other learns how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the family’s future. What is the cultural cost of progress in America — and is cashing in always selling out? DREAM HOU$E is the winner of the 2021/22 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/dreamhouse
KATHY & KEN BERNHARDT THEATRE FOR THE VERY YOUNG
SOUNDS OF THE WEST END
August 17, 2021 – May 31, 2022
Streaming on Alliance Theatre Anywhere
Conceived and Directed by Ameenah Kaplan
Inspired by In the West End written by Will Power and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, commissioned by the Alliance Theatre in partnership with the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club
This aural adventure will immerse you in the sounds of the historic Atlanta neighborhood. From the talk on the sidewalks to the whoosh of the Marta trains, join us for a rhythmic and tasty trip through the epicenter of vegan cooking in Atlanta. For tickets or information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/sounds.
THE CURIOUS CARDINAL
October 12, 2021 – May 31, 2022
Streaming on Alliance Theatre Anywhere
Written and Directed by Mark Valdez
A Palette Production
Original composition by Eugene H. Russell IV
Created in partnership with the Fernbank Museum of Natural History
As the seasons come and go in this GA forest, so too do all of the varied wildlife. Except, of course, for the curious cardinal, who stays put the entire year, curiously exploring all of the changes that the seasons bring. Join our cardinal as he bickers with the blue jays in spring, outwits the mischievous squirrels in summer, and bids a fond farewell to the friendly otters in the fall. This animated short celebrates the majesty of the natural habitats of GA and the daily adventures of an everchanging world. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/cardinal
(KNOCK, KNOCK)
December 2 – 23, 2021
Selig Family Blackbox Theatre at Alliance Theatre
Created by Olivia Aston Bosworth & Samantha Provenzano
Directed by Samantha Provenzano
Come in from out of the cold and celebrate community, family, and warmth this holiday season! Welcome to The Apartment Building. Below us, above us, and beside us, the residents are preparing for the holidays and trying to stay warm. Join us on a floor to floor adventure, meeting and celebrating with a variety of friends who all call The Apartment Building home. Surprises hide behind each door — all you need to do is (Knock, Knock). For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/knock
IN MY GRANNY’S GARDEN
March 16 – April 24, 2022
Selig Family Blackbox Theatre at Alliance Theatre
Directed by Rosemary Newcott
Based on In My Granny’s Garden written be Pearl Cleage and Zaron Burnett Jr. and illustrated by Radcliffe Bailey, commissioned by the Alliance Theatre in partnership with the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club
In My Granny’s Garden invites our youngest audiences to explore the glory of growing your own food. Watch a tiny seed become a field of corn, green beans, collard greens, and bright red tomatoes. Step into a visual feast inspired by world renowned artist Radcliffe Bailey’s original paintings, and discover the one superpower that fuels Granny’s garden. This play promises to leave you nourished in body and soul. For tickets and information, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/garden
DO YOU LOVE THE DARK? (world premiere)
January 20 – February 27, 2022
Selig Family Blackbox Theatre at Alliance Theatre
Based on Do You Love the Dark? written by Maya Lawrence and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie commissioned by the Alliance Theatre in partnership with the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club Inspired by the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club original book by Maya Lawrence and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, Do You Love the Dark? follows a young girl during a sleepless night trying to conquer her biggest fear of all: the dark! This interactive play invites the audience on an unforgettable journey to not only conquer the fear of the unknown, but to transform it into love. Join us for this humungous hug of a play and discover all the good love glowing in the dark! For tickets and information, visit alliancetheatre.org/lovedark
Source: Alliance Theatre Press Release
Encounter mythical creatures in a natural landscape when “Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles” opens March 29.
Immerse yourself in a breathtaking outdoor exhibit that intertwines Mexican cultures and contemporary art when “Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles” opens at Fernbank Museum.
From March 29 to August 3, guests can enter a supernatural world as they walk alongside towering, brightly colored and richly patterned sculptures in the natural landscape of Fernbank’s WildWoods.
Presented in both English and Spanish, this collection of brightly-colored fiberglass sculptures depicts imaginary hybrid animals and offers visitors an unparalleled journey into an imaginative take on the spiritual landscape of southern Mexico’s Indigenous traditions.
Inspiration and legend
In creating “Spirit Guides,” artists Jacobo and María Ángeles were inspired by an ancient Zapotec stone calendar. Indigenous to southern Mexico, Zapotec culture is deeply connected to plants, seasons and animals.
“Spirit Guides” beckons visitors to travel into the spiritual landscape of Mexico’s Indigenous traditions through these animal sculptures that act as both spirit guides and astrological embodiments of human character.
Some of the hybrid animals depicted include a combination of a deer-butterfly or a coyote-fish. These larger-than-life sculptures depict patterns and designs that symbolize different aspects of Zapotec life and culture, such as happiness, fertility and community.
The artists have previously stated that, according to a Zapotec legend, when you are born an animal comes to you to serve as your protector in this world. This animal is your tona, a being that shares your destiny and soul.
Along with your tona, you also have a nahual, which is assigned based on the year of your birth. This spirit animal embodies characteristics that mirror your own personality.
As guests stand before the sculptures in WildWoods — some of which stand nearly 8 feet tall and 9 feet wide — they are made conscious of the profound connection between the natural and cosmological worlds.
About the Artists
Jacobo and María Ángeles are a married artist team based in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Joyful, fanciful and distinctively patterned, the Ángeles’ animal sculptures embrace both contemporary art and folk-art traditions. They employ and teach more than 100 artisans in their workshop, which has created artworks shown in museums around the world.
Exhibit details
By drawing inspiration from the Zapotec calendar and their own imaginations, the Ángeles team sculpted their own mythical creations.
This exhibit features eight towering, vibrant fiberglass sculptures of hybrid animals, intersecting art, mythology and identity. The sculptures were designed through a multi-step process that included conceptual sketches, small wooden renderings and papier mâché molds before casting the fiberglass.
A team of artisans then helped to paint the sculptures with striking colors and intricate geometric patterns inspired by Zapotec and other Indigenous designs, each with their own unique meaning.
Organized by Denver Botanic Gardens, “Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles” is on view from March 29 – August 3, 2025. The exhibit is included with General Admission at Fernbank Museum and is free with CityPASS.
It will also be on view select nights when the museum is open, including during Fernbank After Dark and Fernbank … but Later.
For more information, please visit fernbankmuseum.org.
“Ultimate Dinosaurs” will run from February 8–May 4, 2025
“Ultimate Dinosaurs,” a special exhibit that explores the fascinating species that evolved in isolation in South America, Africa and Madagascar, stomps into Fernbank Museum from February 8 to May 4.
Through the exhibit, guests will experience an impressive blend of skeletal displays and augmented reality as they learn about the changing prehistoric landscape of dinosaurs in a new, modernized way.
Journey through the Mesozoic
Based on groundbreaking research from scientists around the world, “Ultimate Dinosaurs” highlights dinosaurs typically unfamiliar to North Americans and seeks to answer the question: why are the unique and bizarre dinosaurs in the Southern Hemisphere so different from their North American counterparts?
Starting with the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, “Ultimate Dinosaurs” takes visitors on a journey through the Mesozoic Era (250-65 million years ago) and shows how continental drift affected the evolution of dinosaurs during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
“We are excited to have “Ultimate Dinosaurs” here at Fernbank and explore the unique ways that dinosaurs have evolved in isolation,” said program manager, Maria Moreno. “This exhibit combines rarely seen specimens with interactive stations for patrons of all ages to enjoy.”
“It is also very exciting to have an exhibit highlighting our mascot, the Giganotosaurus, one of the largest land predators to have ever lived,” Moreno added.
Dino displays and hands-on activities
Guests can view a variety of full-scale dinosaur displays from the Eoraptor, Malawisaurus, Suchomimus, Rapetosaurus and more, including 14 dinosaur skeletons. One highlight is the Giganotosaurus skeleton, which is also on view in Fernbank’s permanent exhibit, “Giants of the Mesozoic.”
This special exhibit will include several real fossils, some of which will be available to visitors to touch. Additionally, “Ultimate Dinosaurs” features several hands-on activities, one of which involves exploring the physical characteristics of dinosaurs’ stride patterns, crests and frills.
Another activity uses augmented reality to transform intricately detailed skeletons into moving, flesh-and-bone creatures.
Related programming
To celebrate the grand opening of “Ultimate Dinosaurs,” Fernbank is hosting a family-friendly Dino Day on Saturday, February 8 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is included with general admission.
Additionally, the giant screen film, “T. REX 3D,” will be showing through May 16.
There will also be a lecture with Anthony (Tony) Martin, professor of practice in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Emory University, titled “On Frozen Ground Down Under: Polar Dinosaurs, Insects and other Cretaceous Fossils of Australia” this spring.
The details
Presented by the Science Museum of Minnesota, “Ultimate Dinosaurs” is open at Fernbank from February 8–May 4. The exhibit will be included with general admission tickets and is free with CityPASS.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit fernbankmuseum.org.
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