August/September 2009

The High Museum’s new Wieland Pavilion.

In a city filled with original shows, world-renowned exhibitions and spectacular performing arts facilities, audiences are looking forward to another season of innovative arts and entertainment. Here is a look at where you can find some of the best and brightest shows and exhibits—those that make the city’s arts and entertainment scene a showstopping success.

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MUSEUMS

Atlanta History Center
With its permanent and temporary exhibitions, its hands-on activities, lectures and workshops, and its 33 acres of gardens, the Atlanta History Center (404-814-4000, www.atlhist.org) offers more than enough to keep visitors engaged and happy. The Center also oversees the Margaret Mitchell House (404-249-7015, www.gwtw.org), the birthplace of celebrated author Margaret Mitchell, who penned the classic Southern tale Gone With the Wind.

Fernbank
The city’s two renowned science museums, Fernbank Museum of Natural History (404-929-6300, www.fernbankmuseum.org) and Fernbank Science Center (678-874-7102, www. fernbank.edu), make children of all ages “ooh” and “aah” through the museums’ corridors. From large-scale dinosaur fossils to the fivestory- high, 72-foot-wide IMAX movie screen to the planetarium and observatory, science reigns supreme at Fernbank.

Gone With the Wind Museum
Dedicated to the beloved Southern classic, The Gone With the Wind Museum (770-794-5576, www.mariettaga.gov/gwtw) features an extensive collection of memorabilia, including the original honeymoon gown worn by Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in the movie, promotional pieces and rare foreign copies of the novel, as well as Margaret Mitchell’s personal volumes.

High Museum of Art
The leading art museum of the Southeast, the High Museum of Art’s (404-733-5000, www. high.org) unprecedented and groundbreaking partnership with the Musée du Louvre in Paris will end its three-year exhibition this fall, and it may be your last chance to view works from the Louvre that have never been seen before in the U.S. Opening October 6 is Leonardo da Vinci: Hand of the Genius.

Imagine It!
Children’s Museum A place for children to discover through play, Imagine It! has consistently been ranked bynational parenting magazines as one of the best children’s museums in the country. All hands will be engaged in the museum’s art centers, water discovery, dress up areas, and other exhibits aimed at letting children discover and explore. (404-659-5437, www.childrensmuseumatlanta. org)

Michael C. Carlos Museum
Emory University’s Michael C. Carlos Museum (404-727-4282, http://carlos.emory.edu) made headlines when it uncovered King Tut’s mummy—and then returned it to Egypt. Continuing to bring history to life, the Carlos Museum draws on collections from around the world, including this fall’s exhibit, Scripture for the Eyes: Bible Illustration in Netherlandish Prints of the 16th Century.

Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum
One of the newest museums to Georgia is the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum (770-606-5700, www.tellusmuseum.org) in Cartersville, which brings the past, present and future to life in four unique galleries. Kids will cower beneath the Tyrannosaurus Rex, become mad scientists in The Collins Family Big Backyard, and get up close and personal with sparkling gems and minerals.

CONCERT & THEATER VENUES

Alliance Theatre
It’s been two years since the Alliance Theatre (404-733-4600, www.alliancetheatre.org) at Woodruff Arts Center was awarded the Tony Award for outstanding regional theater, and the Theatre continues to bring new works, celebrated directors and shows that range from musical comedies to classic dramas. The upcoming season is just as exciting as those of celebrated years past, including A Life in the Theatre featuring Broadway legend Andre De Shields, and the ever-popular annual run of A Christmas Carol, returning for its 20th year.

The Center for Puppetry Arts
A unique cultural treasure celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Center for Puppetry Arts (404-873-3089, www.puppet.org) offers yearround performances for all ages including original adaptations of classic stories, new works and innovative shows. This year’s series features everything from The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf, which presents a new spin on the storybook classic, to the Tales of Edgar Allan Poe. The Center also is known for its hands-on museum where visitors can experience the wonder of puppetry through permanent and special exhibits, including the ongoing Jim Henson exhibit.

	The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre celebrates its second anniversary in September.

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
The first major performing arts facility to be built in Metro Atlanta in four decades, the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre (770-916-2800, www.cobbenergycentre.com) is a $145-million project that includes a 2,750-seat theater and a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, making it an ideal venue for ballet performances and corporate meetings alike. The centre, which features performances by the Atlanta Opera, the Atlanta Ballet, the Atlanta Broadway Series, and popular concerts, celebrates its second anniversary on Sept. 15.

Ferst Center for the Arts
At the Ferst Center for the Arts (404-894-9600, www.ferstcenter.org), located in the heart of Georgia Tech’s downtown campus, audiences have been dazzled by national and international performers for more than 15 years. This season promises to be one of the best, with a lineup that includes the Atlanta premiere performance of The Pirates of Penzance, performed by New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, and the Monterey Jazz Festival Tour.

The Fox Theatre
Making its place in history as the theatre where Gone With the Wind debuted, the Fabulous Fox Theatre (404-881-2100, www.foxtheatre. org) continues to run a series of movies, plays, musicals, dance performances and concerts. Both Theater of the Stars and Broadway Across America bring world-class shows to the Fox, as well as a number of concerts and performances, including comedian Robin Williams in October and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes starting in November.

Rialto Center for the Arts
The world is at your fingertips at Georgia State University’s Rialto Center for the Arts (404-413- 9849, www.rialtocenter.org), where international performers introduce Atlantans to art in all of its cultural manifestations. The Center worked with Atlanta’s Loridans Foundation to help put Atlanta on the dance “map,” and this season will bring more dance companies, exposing many of Atlanta’s audiences to some of the most innovative and critically acclaimed choreographers in the field.

Spivey Hall
Located at Clayton State University, Spivey Hall (678-466-4200, www.spiveyhall.org) presents jazz and classical music in one of the best acoustical settings in Atlanta. Here is where acts like organist Daniel Pyle, soprano Christine Brewer, Georgian Chamber Players and guitarist William Hearn find their audiences in an intimate 400-seat hall.

Theater of the Stars’ fall line-up at the Fox Theatre features the classic musical 42nd Street and RAIN

PERFORMING ARTS

Atlanta Ballet
Atlanta is home to the oldest professional dance company in America, the Atlanta Ballet (404- 873-5811, www.atlantaballet.com). Applauded for classics such as Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet since it gained professional status in 1967, the Atlanta Ballet is now noted for its versatile and inventive repertoire, and the 2009-2010 season will be no exception, bringing favorites like Mozart’s Magic Flute, Cinderella and the Christmas spectacular, The Nutcracker, an Atlanta tradition for more than 40 years.

Atlanta Opera
With more than 250 performances and 75 productions since 1979, the Atlanta Opera (404-881- 8801, www.atlantaopera.org) has entertained more than 800,000 people while providing the highest in musical and theatrical standards. The opera kicks off its 2009-10 season with Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love in October and will bring Verdi’s Aida and Mozart’s The Magic Flute to opera fans during its third season home at the Cobb Energy Centre.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
With Robert Spano directing and Donald Runnicles conducting, the award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (404-733-5000, www.atlantasymphony.org) is tuned for its exciting 64th season, with more than 200 concerts planned. The 2009-2010 season will combine the best of classical work with newly commissioned pieces, including the world premiere weekend in October when Yo-Yo Ma will perform with the ASO in a new cello concerto.

Broadway Across America
The national production company known as Broadway Across America (404-817-8700, www.broadwayacrossamerica.com) offers the hottest tickets in town. For more than 25 years, Broadway Across America has brought blockbuster shows direct from the Great White Way to Atlanta, such as the Radio City Rockette’s Christmas Spectacular in November, next spring’s run of Mamma Mia! and Dora the Explorer Live! in August.

Georgia Shakespeare
Oglethorpe University’s permanent 509-seat theater is home to Georgia Shakespeare (404-264- 0020, www.gashakespeare.org), the professional theater company of Atlanta’s finest artists who have been showcasing the works of the master dramatist since its founding in 1985. Bring a picnic—before the show begins, you’ll enjoy live entertainment and dinner on the terrace of the theater—then watch the tragedy unfold in the historical Julius Caesar, showing Oct. 8-Nov. 1.

Theater of the Stars’ fall line-up at the Fox Theatre features A Tribute To The Beatles.

Theater of the Stars
Founded more than 50 years ago to produce and present the Broadway musicals to regional theaters, the best of Broadway calls the Fox Theatre home with Theater of the Stars (404-252-8960, www.theaterofthestars. com). From world-famous musicals such as Chicago, 42nd Street and The Jersey Boys to newer productions such as RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles, there is something that will please everyone’s palate during the 2009-10 season. Be sure to check out the three show package, offered at a special rate.