The year was 1996, it was the second time "Les Miserables" was coming through town and I was finally going to see it live. I sat there in the dark and let that incredible score and story flow through me and was such a weepy mess that my friends questioned if I was going to be alright. That experience cemented "Les Mis" as one of my favorites and although I've seen it several times since, no production has come close to that one. How could it, right? That is until now as the current production playing at Village Theatre stunned me by turning me into that weepy mess from 17 years ago all over again and reminded me just how good this show can be.
Village Theatre's Artistic Director Steve Tomkins 'dreamed a dream' many years ago when he first saw actor Greg Stone perform in Les Miserables. After directing Stone in Jesus Christ Superstar in 1993 Tomkins wondered, "Could I put together my 'dream cast,' that included Stone, and present this monstrous legendary mega-hit musical Les Miserables at Village Theatre?" Scheduling conflicts, rights issues and budget constraints stood in his way, but much like the character Jean Valjean, Tomkins persisted. Over a decade later the stage production rights became available for a short window of time (that window closes when the Broadway revival of Les Miserables opens in March of 2014) and Tomkins got to work putting the many pieces together for a Village Theatre production.
Anyone familiar with the Atlanta theatre scene knows that there is as much talent here as in nearly anywhere else in the country, and this summer, Atlanta's 30+ professional theatre companies are putting that talent to use. While there are countless other great productions going on around the city this summer, BWW Atlanta has narrowed it down to six that will surely leave Hotlanta talking well into the winter months.
A crash of drums, a flash of light! And The Strand stage explodes with Atlanta Lyric Theatre's spectacular staging ofJOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT! This international audience hit plays The Earl Smith Strand Theatre (117 N. Park Square, Marietta) June 7 - 23, 2013. For reservations visit www.AtlantaLyricTheatre.com or call 404-377-9948.
Broadway musicals come in all different shapes and sizes. The small and cute, 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown' and 'Little Shop of Horrors;' the grand and extravagant, 'Hello Dolly!' and 'The King and I;' and the massive and epic, 'The Phantom of the Opera,' 'Les Miserables,' and 'Ragtime.' The latter, the most notable American addition to the list, opens at Marietta's Earl Strand Theatre in a production by the Atlanta Lyric Theatre on Friday. With a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty, 'Ragtime' opened on Broadway in 1998 and won, amongst others, the Tony Awards for Best Book and Score, and Audra McDonald won her third Tony for playing young-mother, Sarah. The show, set in 1902, combines the joy of a simpler time with the inevitable conflict associated with societal change.
Atlanta Lyric Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning musical Ragtime April 12 - 28, 2013 at The Earl Smith Strand Theatre (117 N. Park Square, Marietta). For reservations, visit www.AtlantaLyricTheatre.com or call 404-377-9948.
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