In the O. Henry short story “The Gifts of the Magi,” love triumphs over all for the impoverished but smitten couple, Jim and Della.
The actors playing the roles of Jim and Della in the Theatrical Outfit’s “The Gifts of the Magi” seem to have taken that message to heart, and are now planning to tie the knot.
Nick Arapoglou and Caroline Freedlund became acquainted during the Theatrical Outfit’s first production of the show, in 2012, when they also played Jim and Della.
During last year’s production they decided it was time for life to imitate art.
They’ve set a date for April 2015, and plan an outdoor ceremony in Seaside, Fla. The honeymoon will be in the Greek Islands, from whence Arapoglou’s ancestors sprang. (Hence, the exotic name.)
Freedlund, whose family comes from Sweden, says she is delighted to move up in the alphabet. “I’m taking the name, I’m all in on this thing,” said 23-year-old Harrison High School graduate. “I’m excited to spend my life going ‘Arapoglou, A-R-A-P-O …’”
This is the third Christmas that the Theatrical Outfit has performed the seasonal musical in its downtown playhouse.
Fans of the O. Henry story will know that the loving but penniless couple, Jim and Della, each sell their most valued possession to buy the other a Christmas present.
Nick and Caroline’s gestures have been no less romantic, but perhaps economically more prudent. For his first Christmas present she crafted a mixed media art object, incorporating all the menus, Playbills and movie tickets from their many dates, and included chopsticks from one of their favorite Japanese restaurants.
In return, Arapoglou created a video recap of their first months together, which culminated in a proposal. In the final scene his Labra-hound Manny wears a sign that reads, “Will You Marry Me?”
Apparently, it worked.
"The Gifts of the Magi" continues through Dec. 21. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. 2:30 p.m. Sundays and Dec. 20. Tickets $20-$50. Balzer Theater at Herren's, 84 Luckie St. N.W., Atlanta. 678-528-1500, www.theatricaloutfit.org.
VISUAL ART
Bling is the thing at Tellus Science Center
You know that sinking feeling you get when you fetch the mail and it’s nothing but bills?
If your mailbox were anything like the one included in the exhibit “Jeweled Objects of Desire” at Cartersville’s Tellus Science Museum, you likely wouldn’t care.
That’s because this mailbox, purchased at a hardware store but then greatly enhanced by San Francisco jewelry maker Sidney Mobell in 1991, is plated with 24-karat gold and studded with 137 sapphires weighing 48.20 carats, 100 rubies (24.50 carats), 25 diamonds (2.25 carats) and 10 emeralds (1.75 carats).
For the United States Postal Service’s eagle logo, Mobell set sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds.
Extravagant? Proudly so.
But the idea behind it — and the other 46 pieces in the touring exhibit drawn from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s collection — was to show how simple materials can be transformed into remarkable treasures with artistic skill and ingenuity (oh, and bling — can’t forget the bling).
Other works on view through Nov. 1, 2015 include a 14-karat gold Nokia cellphone encrusted with 39 diamonds, 21 rubies and 212 sapphires; an 18-karat gold hourglass pendant harboring 200 diamonds; and an 18-karat gold pomegranate-shaped brooch that, when opened, converts into a pendant boasting a sunburst of 181 yellow and brown diamonds radiating from a center diamond.
“Jeweled Objects of Desire” inaugurates a special exhibit space in Tellus’ Mineral Gallery, an addition funded out of its Vision for the Future capital campaign that concluded last year.
100 Tellus Drive (Exit 293 off I-75), Cartersville. 770-606-5700, www.tellusmuseum.org.
Late painter’s timeless beauties displayed
It’s almost all lovely ladies depicted in the framed paintings of the late Jim McRae lining the walls of Decatur’s Aimee Jewelry & Fine Art Gallery through Jan. 3.
The Marietta native, who spent the first part of his six decades as a studio artist in Atlanta, loved the female form and painted it with grace and beauty. McRae, a World War II veteran who attended the Atlanta College of Art on the GI Bill and later taught figure drawing there, moved in 1973 to Franklin, N.C.
The prolific artist died in 2010, leaving a large body of work, including his portraits of women, some dressed fancily, some wearing nary a stitch. One of his children, Keith McRae of Decatur, approached Amy Elfersy, owner of the year-old downtown Decatur gallery, about an exhibit.
Wowed, Elfersy said yes, and the Georgian's art has come back home through Dec. 26. You can find some of these and others at mcraestudio.com.
335B W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-371-0099, www.aimeejewelryandgallery.com.
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