The experiences of immigrants, seniors and gays are hot-button topics in America today. No surprise, then, that Atlanta’s smart, socially attuned theater community takes up these issues in its fall lineup. Here’s a look at five of the most interesting shows on the calendar:
“Choir Boy”
Susan V. Booth, artistic director of the Alliance Theatre, said the best reason for picking this play was its author, Tarell Alvin McCraney. "Choir Boy," the autobiographical tale of a young gay man navigating the cruel world of prep school, is a homecoming of sorts for its playwright, whose "In the Red and Brown Water" won the theater's 2008 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition. "The year that Tarell won," Booth said, "every single judge had the same response: 'This is an utterly original and utterly genius voice. You have to produce this play.'" Shortly thereafter, the-Yale educated McCraney, now in his early 30s, was celebrated as one of the most promising playwrights of his generation. "He has gone on to productions across this country and in the United Kingdom," Booth said. "He has been commissioned and produced by America's leading theatres. He has become a Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member. He's a rock star." "Choir Boy," which examines the choices made by Pharus, a closeted young man with an angelic singing voice, has already been staged in New York by the Alliance's prestigious co-producer, Manhattan Theatre Club. Booth expects we'll be hearing more about "Choir Boy." "I'll bet you a dollar you'll see this play in a whole bunch of theaters (next season)," she said. The real question might be when we'll see McCraney back at the Alliance. Sept. 20-Oct. 13. Alliance Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-733-5000; alliancetheatre.org
“Almost Heaven: John Denver’s America”
Robert Farley, artistic director of Georgia Ensemble Theatre in Roswell, has always been more turned on by Woodstock than John Denver, "this blond-haired guy who wore a tie and sang with the Muppets." But when two young performers told Farley about "Almost Heaven," he listened. Hearing Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" and "Sunshine on My Shoulders," Farley was struck by the songwriter's great themes: "World peace; our capacity as humans to lead a life of compassion; our fundamental rights to clean air and water; and the romanticism, contradictions and value of our relationships to those we love." From then on, Farley had no qualms about opening his theater's 21st season with the Denver revue, in which singers Mary Nye Bennett, Dolph Amick, Scott DePoy, Jeremy Wood and Chris Damiano will evoke the winsome soul of the bespectacled folk singer who died in 1997 when his self-piloted aircraft crashed in the Pacific. Sept. 5-22. Georgia Ensemble Theatre, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. 770-641-1260; get.org
“Third Country”
The "tipping point" for her new play, said Atlanta playwright Suehyla El-Attar, was Warren St. John's book, "Outcasts United," about Clarkston's refugee soccer team founded by Jordanian-born Luma Mufleh. But because that book had been optioned for a movie, El-Attar had to find her own story, which she did by interviewing the people of Clarkston. "The characters are an amalgam of everyone I interviewed, combined with characters I'd need to tell this story," said El-Attar, who insists it's not a saga of refugees. "It's the town's story. It's the conflict of how every human being deserves to have a home. Providing a home and accepting a home are huge responsibilities." El-Attar's first play, "The Perfect Prayer," was a deeply personal tale of growing up Muslim in Mississippi. So did being a child of Egyptian immigrants inform her latest effort? "I'm not sure," she said. "I just know that I'm keenly aware of the difference between an immigrant and a refugee. One chose to be here and one needed to be here." Sept. 20-Oct. 20. Horizon Theatre, 1083 Austin Ave., Atlanta. 404-584-7450; horizontheater.com
“Milvotchkee, Visconsin”
Chicago-based Laura Jacqmin's story about Molly, a woman suffering from dementia, is based on the playwright's experiences with her late grandfather and the residency she did at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Center on Age and Community. (You can hear the name of that Midwestern city in the scrambled-sounding title of the play.) "My grandfather passed away in 2008 after struggling with dementia for a number of years," Jacqmin said. "My grandmother was his primary caregiver and it was an incredible strain on both of them. Doing this fellowship a year after he died was incredibly freeing. My grandmother had really done everything right. But doing everything right is still very difficult." Most plays on dementia are about loss and tragedy, Jacqmin said. She wanted "to flip that formula." As her Synchronicity world premiere approaches, Jacqmin is working on her first TV series, "Lucky 7," which airs on ABC beginning Sept. 24. "It's about seven gas station workers in Queens who win the lottery," she said. "It's a really populist story and there's a lot of wish fulfillment. It's been an incredible first job in television." Sept. 27-Oct. 20. Synchronicity. 14th Street Playhouse, 173 14th St., Atlanta. 404-484-8636; synchrotheatre.com
“Hamlet”
Many actors cluck about the scale of playing Shakespeare's tormented hero Hamlet. It's Everest! It's the Titanic! It's overwhelming! But Atlanta actor Joe Knezevich, who will portray the brooding Dane at Georgia Shakespeare this fall, tries to avoid the cliches, treating "Hamlet" as if it was a brand new play, ripe for discovery. "I like to let myself off the hook about that stuff: the great Hamlets, the history of the play, the immortal speeches," said Knezevich. "If this were a new script, none of it would be precious. I'd just attack each line, each moment, one at a time, with specificity. So it's not a mountain to climb, just a really great play and those are always a blast." Knezevich has understudied Hamlet twice. "Understudying did put those lines somewhere up there in the hard drive," he said. "But finding them again is still challenging. What a talker this guy is!" Knezevich said he has no idea how he'll attack the psychological complexity of the character until he gets in rehearsal. "But it sure is fascinating, isn't it? I mean, I'd love to sit down with Hamlet and a bottle of bourbon and find out some things." Oct. 3-27. Georgia Shakespeare. Oglethorpe University. 4484 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-504-1473; gashakespeare.org
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