Curtain Call of the Year: Chris Kayser
Chris Kayser reflects on what his years playing Scrooge taught him and offers advice to those who will take on the role next.
Yuletide family drama arrives early via the sold-out “A Madea Christmas”
For the curtain call of Friday night's sold-out opening night performance of "A Madea Christmas" at the Cobb Energy Centre, writer-director-star Tyler Perry traded in his wig for his CEO hat. Bringing the house lights up, The Atlanta film and television studio owner asked the crowd how much they paid to see the show being recorded for DVD release this holiday season.
Mike Tyson set to pummel Fox Theatre’s image
On Tuesday, taking a break from staging yet another warmed over musical based on a 1980s popcorn flick, the Fox Theatre announced a booking that will finally rival 2011's Charlie Sheen's "Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour in terms of sheer hot messiness. On April 20 at 8 p.m, the Fox (presumably) proudly presents convicted rapist, "The Hangover" punchline and former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson starring in his one-man show "Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth" live on stage at the Atlanta landmark.
Kick-starting arts funding
Last year the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies declared Georgia second-to-last in the nation in terms of public arts financing. That number forty-nine ranking (six cents per capita, compared with $5.77 in first-place Minnesota) may shock some Atlantans, but it surprises no one involved with the arts.
Dance debuts from gloATL and the Atlanta Ballet
In 2006 choreographer Lauri Stallings unveiled Shoo Pah Minor, her first commission for the Atlanta Ballet. After the performance, John McFall, the Ballet’s artistic director, followed Stallings to the bathroom to ask if she’d consider a three-year residency.
Jimmy Carter musical to premiere off-Broadway
A few years ago, Isaac Hopkins was browsing Wikipedia when he came across an entry for the 1969 “Jimmy Carter UFO Incident.” As many people presumably would, Hopkins found the notion of the then-gubernatorial candidate seeing a UFO in Leary, Georgia, before addressing a Lions Club International meeting hilarious. His next reaction was a little less conventional: “This could be a musical.”
Barry Manilow, Bruce Sussman introduce Harmony to Atlanta
Die-hard Fanilows (the self-appointed nickname for Barry Manilow fans) and skeptical, pop music schmaltz allergic Alliance Theatre veteran supporters streamed in together for the world premiere of Harmony A New Musical at the Woodruff Arts Center Sunday night. The ambitious show, composed by Grammy-winning Copacabana songwriting partners Bruce Sussman and Barry Manilow, is based on the real-life German singing group, The Comedian Harmonists, who battled to stay together (and alive) as the Nazis ascended to power in 1930s Germany.
“Cloris!” delivers laughs, a piano recital and multiple photo ops at Buckhead Theatre
At age 84, veteran actress Cloris Leachman has an Oscar, nine Emmys, a best-selling autobiography and a string of hit TV shows on her resume. Luckily for us, the woman does not possess a filter for her thoughts before they mischieveously sneak out of her mouth.
Conan rocks the Tabernacle!
"I want to welcome everyone who couldn't get a ticket to tonight's Braves game," Conan O'Brien told a cheering audience Monday afternoon at the first Final Four week Atlanta taping of his TBS "Conan" late night show at the Tabernacle downtown. Longtime fans like Jas Chahal and Stephanie Kasper, who had won their tickets through the TeamCoco.com website, had been milling about on Luckie Street all day. Chahal had driven up from Orlando for the occasion and from their second row seats, they had orange signs reading "ATL Luvs Coco" and "Conan Hug Me" signs at the ready (note to fans attending this week's shows at the Tabernacle: the show's stage manager requests that the audience refrain from displaying your Conan love signage since it will interfere with the cameras swinging around capturing the show in progress).
Weather woes snowball for Book of Mormon fans, Fox Theatre
For Atlanta fans of Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone’s Tony Award-winning musical The Book of Mormon, this week’s ice capades have proven scarier than the show’s “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream” number. With today’s temps promising to melt the last of the ice, the most-anticipated show of the current Broadway in Atlanta season at the Fox Theatre will — fingers crossed — finally get on stage tonight at 7:30 after the show’s producers scrapped Tuesday’s opening night and Wednesday’s media night performances. To accommodate things, producers have added an additional Monday 7 p.m. performance of the show, which, in turn, has snowballed into another headache. The Book of Mormon cast had set aside Monday night Feb. 3 (the show’s one dark night) to contribute their time and talent to Crush: A Valentine to the 90s, a benefit cabaret to raise money for the Atlanta meals on wheels nonprofit Open Hand and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS at the Woodruff Arts Center. The cabaret has now been cancelled and organizer Kevin Ireland says cabaret ticket holders will be contacted beginning today.
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