Atlanta Weekend: Best Bets for July 27-29,2012

Saturday is Reptile Day at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, where kids will get to meet and interact with lizards, snakes, tortoises and even some amphibians. Photo courtesy Fernbank
Saturday is Reptile Day at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, where kids will get to meet and interact with lizards, snakes, tortoises and even some amphibians. Photo courtesy Fernbank


FRIDAY
Festival: Shirley Caesar, Montell Jordan, Regina Belle and many more will perform at the Atlanta Gospel Fest, but they’ll also have workshops, a fashion expo and many other activities at the Georgia World Congress Center July 27-28.

Stage: Serenbe Playhouse’s premieres the musical “Time Between Us,” a tale of two best friends attempting to balance professional success and personal fulfillment across 30 years. The show continues through Aug. 18.

Stage: The bluegrass gospel musical “Smoke on the Mountain” has been a fixture at the now-shuttered Theatre in the Square, but the Atlanta Lyric Theatre has taken up the torch and will be performing the show at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre in Marietta. It opens July 27 and runs through Aug. 5.

Performing arts, music, film: Actress and singer Sally Kellerman will perform a couple of cabaret shows at 8:30 July 27 and 8 p.m. July 28, and she’ll do a Q&A/interview session at Jerry Farber’s Side Door Club at 7:30 p.m. July 29. She’ll also be on hand for a screening of the 1970 Robert Altman film “M*A*S*H,” in which she starred as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, at 10:15 a.m. July 29 at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.

Kids, family: “Super Why Live” is based on the popular PBS Kids TV series and comes to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre at 6:30 p.m. July 27.

Music: Lorrie Morgan, daughter of late country singer George Morgan, brings her own hits to Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre in Mableton at 8 p.m. July 27.

Stage: “The Adventures of High John the Conqueror” offers stories and music celebrating one of America’s earliest, and often forgotten, folk heroes. It’s being presented by Theatrical Outfit at the Balzer Theater at Herren’s through Aug. 12.

Stage: Pinch ‘N’ Ouch Theatre presents “The Issues Plays,” works  that represent social issues that resonate in our society today. Shows are at 8 p.m. July 27-28 at on the Hertz Stage at the Woodruff Arts Center.

Stage: Suwanee Performing Arts’ Broadway in the Park presents  “Filligan’s Island” and “The Little Mermaid” beginning at 7 p.m. July 27 and 28 at Suwanee Town Center Park.

Stage: 21 actors will perform in seven plays during the Good Works Theatre Festival. The festival provides an avenue for new, emerging writers to have their works produced and it all happens at 7 p.m. July 26-8 and 3 p.m. July 29 at 14th Street Playhouse.

Stage: Georgia Shakespeare presents “The Emperor and the Nightingale,” based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of a Chinese emperor transformed by the song of a nightingale. It continues through Aug. 3 at Oglethorpe University.

Stage: Two daring paleontologists turn back the clock to discover how dinosaurs came to rule the Earth in “The Dinosaur Show,” which is at the Center for Puppetry Arts through July 29.

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.

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 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  runs through Aug. 19. See our review of the play.

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

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: 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 reviews of “Evelyn in Purgatory” and “Bat-Hamlet.”

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 our review of the production.

SATURDAY
Festival: It’s the inaugural year for the Tucker Summer Festival, which will celebrate the season and Tucker’s revitalized downtown. The fest takes place from noon until 6 p.m. July 28 on Main Street.

Kids, family, education: Fernbank Museum of Natural History celebrates its annual Reptile Day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. July 28. They’ll have special guests from the Georgia Herpetological Society, Zoo Atlanta and My Reptile Guys along with the museum’s own education staff.

Competition, music: More than 20 marching bands will compete in the Drum Corps International Atlanta Southeastern Championship at the Georgia Dome. The annual event is presented by the organization touted as “Marching Music’s Major League.” The competition begins at 2 p.m. July 28.

Music: Grammy-winning, all-female African -American a cappella outfit Sweet Honey in the Rock performs in a benefit for the Fund for Southern Communities. the performance takes place at 8 p.m. July 28 at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Music, festival: Lisa “LeftEye” Lopes Music Fest includes a kids concert, a talent showcase, a fashion show and a star studded tribute concert. The day begins at 2 p.m. July 28 at Porter Stanford III Performing Arts Center in Decatur.

SUNDAY
Music: Capitol City Opera Company’s “On the Light Side” Concert will feature the music of Lerner and Loewe. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. July 29 at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement.

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