THEATER
In spite of a recent fire, the Shakespeare Tavern will present the final performances this weekend of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Directed by Charlie T. Thomas, written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield and consisting of all 37 plays and 154 sonnets in two hours, this irreverent production is filled with laughs, off-color jokes and plenty of bard trivia. Thursday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets $26-$46.
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The Essential Theatre Festival concludes this weekend at 7 Stages Theatre. Catch Matthew Hoffman’s The Manuscript, winner of the 2023 Essential Playwriting Award, on stage Friday at 8 p.m. Beverly Austin’s 2020 winning play, The Wishing Place, will be on the festival stage Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets start at $25.
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Woodstock Arts presents Airness for the final time this weekend. Written by Chelsea Marcantel, directed by Joseph Arrigo and starring Olivia Schaperjohn, Airness follows Nina as she enters her first air guitar competition and makes new friends along the way. Read ArtsATL writer Luke Evans’ recent preview of community theater for more about how this production kicks off Woodstock’s “season of community.” Tickets are $18 online and $20 at the door.
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MUSIC
Atlanta Black Pride Weekend will be anchored by the Pure Heat Community Festival at Piedmont Park Sunday from noon until 8 p.m. The festival’s roots go back to 1984, when a group of Black gay friends gathered for backyard cookouts, and it has grown into a major annual event to celebrate the city’s Black LGBTQ+ community. Sunday’s lineup includes performances by Kadence, Jhonni Blaze, Big Freedia, Alexis Branch and many others. There will be a concurrent Youth Festival from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. and vendors aplenty.
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Kevn Kinney, the frontman for the iconic Atlanta rock band Drivin N Cryin, released a solo album last December and returns to Eddie’s Attic for a solo show Wednesday at 7 p.m. Think About It had its roots in the introspective solitude of the pandemic, and Kinney described it as a very personal record. It was recorded in Athens with guest artists that included R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Bill Berry, along with Brad Morgan of the Drive-By Truckers. Tickets start at $26.70.
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K-pop band iKon has returned to the United States for its first tour in four years. The group grew out of two South Korean reality music show competitions that launched the group to incredible hype in Asia. iKon’s first single, “My Type,” drew more than 1.7 million views on YouTube within 24 hours of its release, and the group’s first concert drew 13,000 people. iKon is touring the States behind a new album, Take Off, and comes to The Eastern September 7 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $50.
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ART+DESIGN
The Haunts of Black Kirby, an exhibition of works celebrating Afrofuturism, opens Saturday with a 7 p.m. reception at the ArtsXchange. Black Kirby is the pseudonym of artists and professors John Jennings and Stacey Robinson. Here they remix Black history, hip-hop, comic book mythology and biting satire to create new universes. The exhibit runs through October 28 and will include various events, including comic book illustration classes.
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This is the last weekend to see Ancient Nubia: Art of the 25th Dynasty at the High Museum of Art. The exhibit comprises 200 artifacts from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Made during the peak of Nubian power, some are masterpieces that highlight the skill, artistry and innovation of artisans and reflect the wealth and power of that culture’s royalty. In his review, ArtsATL critic Jerry Cullum makes note of the “gorgeous diversity of jewelry on display.”
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Three solo exhibits open today at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. Cecilie Redding, a ceramic artist from Temple, Georgia, responds to family loss in her show What Now? Tikva Lantigua is an Atlanta-based artist and writer who melds language, imagery and color in her Refraction Error exhibit. And Gretchen Wagner, a professor at SCAD, presents monoprints that meld printmaking and embroidery in Complement. Reception 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Shows run through September 27 when there will be a closing reception and artist talks.
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DANCE
Inside: out — body of water is the latest screen dance project from Core Dance’s Sue Schroeder and collaborator Christian Meyer, an award-winning composer and musician who has been part of several of Schroeder’s works. The film will screen nightly from dusk to midnight on the dance company’s storefront windows in Decatur. Friday through October 12.
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The contemporary dance company Staibdance will rehearse in the Anne Cox Chambers Wing lobby of the High Museum of Art every Friday through September 29. This is part of the museum’s new DanceLab initiative, which gives dance companies free space in which to rehearse and museum visitors a behind-the-scenes look into the process of creating a dance work. Staibdance is the first company to participate in the initiative. 10:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. Included with museum admission, which is $18.50 for nonmembers and free for members.
