The 2014-15 season was a strong one at the box office for Aurora Theatre. First “Mary Poppins” broke a record for the Lawrenceville troupe’s most successful show in its 19-year history late last year. Then that record that was eclipsed by its encore staging of “Les Misérables” at the beginning of this year.
How to top that for its 20th anniversary season?
In part, Aurora is getting a little help from two colleague theaters inside the Perimeter. It will open its just-announced 2015-16 Peach State Federal Credit Union Signature Series in July with a co-production with Theatrical Outfit of “Memphis” and follow that in October with a co-production with Horizon Theatre of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”
The season also includes “Wit,” “Into the Woods,” “I’m Not Rappaport” and a holiday show.
“There’s something for everyone to enjoy – comedies, dramas, musicals – and our hope is that regional audiences identify the caliber of our productions with that of other popular theater companies,” Aurora Producing Artistic Director Anthony Rodriguez said in the announcement.
The lineup:
July 23-Aug. 30: "Memphis." The Tony Award-winning, 1950s-set musical from Joe DiPietro and David Bryan follows a white DJ who falls for R&B music and a magnetic black singer who's chasing stardom. Using the same cast as Aurora, Theatrical Outfit will stage the show Sept. 10-20 next door to its downtown home at the larger Rialto Center for the Arts.
Oct. 1-25: "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," Christopher Durang's madcap comedy is about a trio of middle-aged siblings who still butt heads in a rather childlike fashion. Aurora will have the same cast as Horizon's hit production, which continues through June 28.
Nov. 19-Dec. 20: "Christmas Canteen 2015," the 20th holiday production for this nostalgic musical revue laced with comedy.
Jan. 14-Feb. 7, 2016: "Wit," Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize winner about a brilliant and exacting poetry professor as she undergoes an experimental cancer treatment.
March 10-April 17, 2016: "Into the Woods," Stephen Sondheim's (music and lyrics) and James Lapine's (book) musical twist on Brothers Grimm fairy tales.
May 5-29, 2016: "I'm Not Rappaport": Outrageous yarns shared between two octogenarians on a Central Park bench lead to profound truths in Herb Gardner's enduring script that opened on Broadway in 1985.
Single-show tickets go on sale starting July 1. Subscriptions, more information: 678-226-6222, www.auroratheatre.com.
VISUAL ART
Dashboard celebrates five years with KSU show
Dashboard, which has garnered national attention for presenting pop-up art exhibitions in neglected urban spaces it tries to help revitalize, will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a show well outside its usual ZIP codes.
Opening June 27 at Kennesaw State University's Zuckerman Museum of Art, "Rachel's Killin' It" will feature multimedia works by eight artists, each encouraging community and social interchange in different ways, installed throughout the ZMA's East Galleries and exterior.
Curated by Dashboard founders Courtney Hammond and Beth Malone, “Rachel’s” installations include Mike Stasny’s “Club MSIF,” a microdance club that uses the party scene to explore human connections; and Ben Wolf’s “Tint Token,” a 16-foot ring of patterned fabric and light suspended like a spaceship from the gallery ceiling that invites interaction when curious visitors duck inside it for viewing.
Other artists include Mike Black, Lee Deigaard, Nikita Gale, Osman Khan, Melanie Manos and Nathan Sharratt.
The 6-8 p.m. June 27 opening reception for “Rachel’s Killin’ It” and “8-Bit Fictions” — a show by Indiana artist Jason Lahr and curator Joe Thomas exploring the intersection of art and technology — features DJ Ben Coleman, with a set inspired by video games depicted in Lahr’s paintings. At 8 p.m., visitors may partake of music and fireworks as part of KSU’s Independence Day celebration.
Both exhibits through July 26. Gallery hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sundays. 492 Prillaman Way, Kennesaw. Free. 470-578-3223, zuckerman.kennesaw.edu.
THEATER
Fabrefaction finds new location for acting classes
Fabrefaction Theatre Conservatory, which recently gave up its Westside home of five years at 999 Brady Ave. as part of a reorganization, has relocated nearby.
It has struck an accord with Actor’s Express to use its King Plow Arts Center space at 887 W. Marietta St. for Fabrefaction’s summer programs and 2015-2016 conservatory classes. Starting July 17, 24 and 31, the troupe is offering week-long intensives in performance techniques for students from elementary school through college.
Information: www.fabrefaction.org.
ARTS
Hannan to lead Woodruff Arts Center campaign
The Woodruff Arts Center has announced that Georgia-Pacific Chief Executive Officer and President Jim Hannan will serve as the campaign chairman of the 2015 -2016 Annual Corporate Campaign, the art center’s primary annual fund-raising effort.
The recently completed 2014-15 campaign chaired by Paul Garcia, former board chairman and chief executive officer of Global Payments Inc., raised a record $13.8 million to support the Woodruff’s art and education work.
