Atlanta Weekend: Best Bets for July 13-15,2012

Alice in Wonderland, Serenbe Playhouse, click for details

FRIDAY
Festival, music: Centennial Olympic Park plays host to the National Black Arts Festival Main Stage Events, which will include an international market, a children’s education area and lots of great music from artists such as Peabo Bryson, Leela James, Kindred and the Family Soul, Anthony David and more. It all takes place July 13-15. See our round-up of NBAF events.

Stage: Phylicia Rashad and Afemo Omilami star in True Colors Theatre Company’s new stage adaptation of the film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” It tells the story of a white woman who brings her successful black fiance home to meet her parents. Check out our preview of the production. The show continues through July 29 at the Rialto Center for the Arts.

Convention, music: Queen Breakthru 2012 Convention is the official North American convention celebrating all things Queen, the band, not the monarch. It’s at the Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel July 13-15.

Stage: The biblical tale of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” as re-imagined by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, is the latest production from Legacy Theatre in Tyrone. it continues through July 29.

Stage: In “Forever Plaid,” four young singers killed in a car crash in the 1950’s on the way to their first big concert. The quartet is miraculously revived for the posthumous chance to fulfill their dreams and perform the show that never was. The show is staged at the Cumming Playhouse through Aug. 5.

Stage: Great Cole Porter tunes are a big part of the charm of “High Society,” based on the MGM musical film of the same name and Philip Barry’s classic play, “The Philadelphia Story.” The Stage Door Players production opens July 13 and continues through Aug. 5 at the North DeKalb Cultural Arts Center in Dunwoody.

Stage: Walt and Ruthie are throwing a homecoming party for son Trane, a rising hip hop star, in the Atlanta-set “Sheddin’.” The Horizon Theatre Company production opens July 13 and runs through Aug. 19.

Stage: A childhood classic comes to life on the stage as Act I Theater presents “The Wind in the Willows.” The show runs July 13-Aug. 5 at Alpharetta Presbyterian Church.

Music: The summer company gets “Wilde” with witty tunes full of naughty innuendo in “Girls (and Boys) Gone Oscar Wilde Cabaret.” The show starts at 10:30 p.m. July 13 at Oglethorpe University.

Stage: The Atlanta Shakespeare Company continues its chronological run through the Bard’s comedies with “Twelfth Night.” It runs through July 29 at the New American Shakespeare Tavern.

Stage: Georgia Shakespeare takes a break from the Bard for Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.” It continues in repertory through Aug. 3 at Oglethorpe University. See our review of the show.

Stage: Decatur’s OnStage Atlanta presents the rousing musical “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” It runs through Aug. 4.

Stage: This year’s Essential Theatre Festival of new work features “Bat-Hamlet,” Jordan Pulliam’s re-imagining of the Shakespearean character as a caped crime-fighter; “The Local,” a collaborative work about our city by local authors; and “Evelyn in Purgatory,” by Topher Payne about a play about five school teachers awaiting possible disciplinary action. The shows run in repertory through Aug. 5 at Actors Express. Take a look at our preview of the fest and our review of “Evelyn in Purgatory.”

Stage: The Bard’s fanciful comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” gets an idyllic outdoor setting in this Serenbe Playhouse production, which continues through July 15. Read our review of the show.

Exhibition, history: “Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age” is an exhibition at the Marcus Jewish Community Center in Dunwoody that explores 90 years of the coming-of-age ritual for Jewish girls. It continues through Sept. 19.

Stage: From the mind of Center for Puppetry Arts artistic director Jon Ludwig comes “The Little Pirate Mermaid,” a seafaring adventure based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tale with a swashbuckling musical twist. It continues through July 15.

Stage: Serenbe Playhouse in Palmetto debuts a new adaptation of the beloved Lewis Carroll tale “Alice in Wonderland.” It continues through July 28. Check out the review of the production.

History, visual arts: “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” is an updated version of an exhibit that had an earlier run at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center. It features more than 200 artifacts recovered from the wreckage of the ill-fated ocean liner. See our preview of the show, which is on view at the Premier Exhibition Center at Atlantic Station.

SATURDAY
Festival: Enjoy live music, create arts and crafts, have butterflies painted on your face and catch one of four butterfly releases at the Chattahoochee Nature Center during the Flying Colors Butterfly Festival. it happens July 14-15 at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell.

History: Battle of Atlanta Commemoration. The 148th anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta will be commemorated with B*ATL from July 14 through July 22 (the actual anniversary date) in neighborhoods that now occupy the site of the battle. They’ll have van, bike and walking tours, musical entertainment, living history exhibitions and more. July 14-22. Many events are free; charges for some events.

Festival, food: Sample and celebrate Atlanta’s ever-growing flock of food trucks and street vendors at the Atlanta Street Food Festival, which happens in Piedmont Park noon-8:30 p.m. July 14.

Music: Jefferson native and University of Georgia grad Corey Smith melds country, rock and blues and plays to packed houses across the Southeast. This weekend, he’ll host Corey Smith’s Red Clay Jamboree at the Gwinnett Braves’ Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, with Dustin Lynch, The Farm and Tyler Reeve. The show starts at 5 p.m. July 14.

Music: Take a musical trip to the Caribbean with reggae stars Beres Hammond and Luciano. The show starts at 7 p.m. July 14 at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center.

Music: Richard Marx with 20 Strings will revisit the singer’s surprisingly long list of hits, which includes three No. 1 hits (”Hold On to the Nights,” “Satisfied” and “Right Here Waiting”) the show begins at 8 p.m. July 14 at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater in Peachtree City.

Music: Young rockers will get to show what they’ve learned at the Girl’s Rock Camp ATL Camper Showcase and Silent Auction. It happens at 7:30 p.m. July 14 at Variety Playhouse.

Georgia Shakespeare premieres “The Emperor and the Nightingale,” which is based on a Hans Christian Andersen tale. It opens July 14 and runs through Aug. 3 at the company’s Oglethorpe University stage.

SUNDAY
Music: Avondale Estates troubadour John McCutcheon hosts the Woody Guthrie 100th Birthday Party beginning at 7:30 p.m. July 15 at Eddie’s Attic.

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